Free Tutorial For WordPress Beginners
Ok, so you’ve just finished installing WordPress with a nice looking template from one of the many free WordPress theme sites out there (or maybe you’ve had someone do it for you because you’re a writer and not a programmer!), and you’ve even managed to install a few of the best WordPress plugins. Now you’re probably wondering, “What’s next?!” You need to make your first post of course!
Oh wait, this is Internet Marketing for Dummies, isn’t it? Which means you probably don’t even know how to log in, let alone make a post! That’s ok because using WordPress is so easy that even a real idiot could figure it out. I’ll show you step by step how to make a post, how to create a page on your WordPress blog, and also how to add images and video to WordPress. Soon you will be well on your way to becoming a Professional Blogger and earning a healthy income from your blog!
How To Make Your First Post Using WordPress
Step 1. Go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin This is your main login screen so it’s probably a good idea to bookmark this URL. Enter your username and password, and you’re in. So far, so good.
Step 2. Click on either Write a New Post or just Write depending on which version of WordPress you’re using. You will see a screen that may look somewhat intimidating at first, but don’t worry! The only part you need to concern yourself with right now is this:
It’s imperative that you spend time writing a good title. Titles are probably the most important place on the page for including your keywords. Just don’t make the mistake of writing your title exclusively for Google. Some bloggers tend to forget that there are actual human beings behind the computer screen reading everything they write!
Step 3. Ok, now it’s time to tag and categorize your post. Any keywords that were used in your post should be added as tags. Don’t add extra tags, and don’t use the same tag twice or Google might see this as keyword spam and penalize you for it.
Think of it like this: Tags are for Google and categories are for people. Use your keywords as tags, and use your categories to make sure visitors can easily find and access your content.
Step 4. Finally click on Publish and… voila! Your post should now be on the front page of your blog. Pretty simple, huh? If it’s not and you somehow managed to screw this up, then you really are a dummy and there’s just no hope for you. Ok just kidding! But seriously, if that’s the case then maybe you should consider hiring some professional help.
How To Create A Page On Your WordPress Blog
You can create a page the same way you created a post. Go to the Write tab and then click on Page. Once you’ve published your page, you can always go back and edit it later. To do this, click on Manage. You can also edit posts, tags, categories and links from this tab. The first page you need to add to your blog should be a well-written About page. Click here for some tips from Darren Rowse on how to write your “About Me” page.
Speaking of Darren, his site ProBlogger is a must read for any blogger, whether you do this for fun or for business. ProBlogger is literally a gold mine of information that would cost you hundreds of dollars to read elsewhere. He gives you all of the best blogging tips and tricks and if you follow his advice, you’re sure to become a successful Professional Blogger in no time!
How To Add Images To Your Posts And Pages
Blogs without images are boring, so make sure you use an image or two in each of your posts. Here’s another article from Darren titled “Using Images to Take Your Posts to a New Level” Go read it!
How To Add Video To WordPress
So you want to make a video blog, huh? Great idea! Video is an awesome way to make your blog stand out from the crowd. Jack Humphrey, from the Friday Traffic Report, has made an informative video which will explain to you how to add video to your own WordPress blog using the “advanced wizzy wig editor” as he calls it. Here it is:
I should point out that this video is a little outdated because now all you have to do is click on HTML on your “advanced wizzy wig editor” (and you thought Clicky was a funny name? lol) instead of going through the trouble of changing your editor settings. Just don’t click back over to visual or it probably will screw up your video.
Well I guess that’s it for my 100% free tutorial for WordPress beginners. I hope you found it useful and if I’ve left anything out that you would like to know, feel free to leave me a comment or contact me. Also, be sure to bookmark or subscribe to my blog as I’ll be posting many more WordPress tutorials in the future.
P.S. Please excuse my own lack of “blog feng shui”. I’ve been so busy helping others lately that I haven’t had the time to make my own blog look pretty. But watch out, because on May 17 I will unleash Wake Up Sleepy Head Version 3.0 and it will be completely awesome!!!
Blogging Explained: Why You Should Use WordPress
This free video is from Yaro Starak of BecomeABlogger.com. If you’ve already gotten WordPress up and running, try watching these next:
Video 8 - How To Create Your First Blog Post And Blog Page
Video 9 - What RSS Is And Why You Need It
Video 10 - How To Use Feedburner For Supercharging Your RSS Capabilities
Visit Become A Blogger to watch the rest of these videos and go get a copy of Blog Profits Blueprint to learn more about how to make a full time income from blogging!
Yaro’s own blog, Entrepreneur’s Journey, was one of my main sources of inspiration to create WakeUpSleepyHead.com and start documenting my own journey. His blog contains a wealth of information and I would suggest reading some of his past articles or listening to his podcasts.
I’m downloading How to Make $250,000 a Year Selling E-Books right now to listen to while I’m walking, because my dream and my goal is to build a business and make a full time income selling ebooks and info products!
What The Hell Is Blogging?
For most of us, blogging has become just another part of every day life. For some of us it’s a very big part, but still there are others who are either new to the Internet or just new to the world of blogging and these people have no clue about blogs. People are asking the question “What the hell is blogging?” yet no one seems to be giving them a good answer. Well these people no longer have to worry because here I am and I’m going to explain blogging to you in a way that you can understand it.
A Brief History of Blogging
New York Magazine has a timeline showing the history of blogging so I will link you to that instead of explaining it myself. If you want to read something a little more comprehensive, go and check out Anton Zuiker’s blogging guide called Blogging 101. It covers the history of blogging in detail. Both of these links will open in a new tab or window so you can come back here when you’re done reading.
My Own Blogging History
I started my first blog in 2001 on blogger.com. Parts of it are still available on the Wayback Machine, but I won’t post it here because now it just seems kind of silly. My first blog was full of rants about life, funny pictures and random things that I found amusing on the Internet. I linked to friends and sites that I liked and wasn’t concerned at all with search engine placement or making money from my blog. Adsense didn’t even exist and the Internet was about more than just money. We all wrote for the love of writing and not to profit from it, which is why many of those people who started blogs years ago and kept them up are now making a full time living from them.
Make Money Blogging?
Blogging is currently a very hot topic especially in the Internet Marketing/Make Money Online niche. Many people seem to think that blogging is an easy way to make money online or even worse, that it’s some get rich quick scheme. It’s not! Blogging takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and talent, and if you hate to write you’re not going to enjoy having a blog. And if you don’t enjoy it, you’re never going to make money from it. So before you decide to make blogging your main business model, spend some time really thinking about it first.
How Do I Start Blogging?
If you love to write like me, then blogging might just be the perfect business model for you. Blogging is quickly becoming a legitimate career path for a lot of people, and there’s no reason why you can’t become one of them. In my next post I will give you some more blogging advice and also post a few videos to help you go from clueless to professional blogger in no time, so stick around.