I’m often asked how one goes about starting a blog. It’s not hard, but it can seem overwhelming until you jump in and start writing your first one. I recently ran across a great set of free video tutorials on the absolute basics of how to start blogging for the complete beginner.
My mentor, Yaro Starak, and his friend, Gideon Shalwick, put together a free series of 10 short videos (5-15 minutes each) that take you from square one - knowing nothing about blogging - and teach you everything you need to know to set up and start posting to your own WordPress blog.
These free videos are a gold mine of information I wish I’d had when I started. I watched all 10 this afternoon and I learned a few things I didn’t know. It never hurts to review the basics, especially when you learned them by the seat of your pants!
Here’s a summary of the 10 video topics:
- Why you should use WordPress
- How to get your own domain name
- How to get a web host
- How to install WordPress with one click
- How to upload files to your web host using FTP
- Choosing a WordPress theme for your blog
- How to install and use WordPress plug-ins
- How to create your first blog post and blog page
- What RSS is and why you need it
- How to use FeedBurner for supercharging your RSS capabilities
Here’s the link to the website containing the free videos:
http://becomeablogger.com
After watching the videos, you have the option of signing up for Yaro Starak’s Blog Traffic Tips Newsletter and downloading his Blog Profits Blueprint, a free report that tells you everything you need to know to eventually make a living blogging. I’ve read it and work by it, and it’s not an over-night success, get-rich-quick gimmick. It’s solid information that will require you to put in a lot of work if you want to earn at least part of your living blogging. You may become able to quit your day job after your blog(s) take off.
Again, signing up for the newsletter and Blog Profits Blueprint are optional and completely free.
So have a look at the free videos and maybe take a gander at your own blog, even if it’s just something you want to produce for your friends and family to stay connected. You don’t have to share it with the whole world if you don’t want to 
Here’s the link again:
http://becomeablogger.com
I wish you all the blogging success you desire,
Sherri Joubert
Blog Mastermind student and Blog Profits Blueprint follower
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March 25th, 2008
Posted by
joubess |
Resources |
8 comments
I wrote in my last post that my laptop failed again. I bought a refurbished desktop computer to temporarily replace my broken laptop. I didn’t mention I got the money for it from selling some stuff. This month’s budget had no wiggle room at all.
I tried to get the IDE-USB adapter to work with the refurbished machine to load my laptop data, but it didn’t work. It also turned out that the refurbished desktop had more problems than the old desktop we already own. It had trouble starting up and the PS2 ports didn’t work, so I had to use a USB keyboard and a USB mouse. I returned it and got my money back, $305.19.
Upgrade the Old Desktop?
That left the problem of what to do about a working computer. After some thought, I decided to have a serious look at our old desktop and see what needed to be done to it to get it up and running reliably.
Getting it running again required knowing if it could be upgraded as well as what needed to be repaired. It’s 5 years old now, ancient in the computer hardware world. But, when I bought it I bought the best processor and motherboard available with the maximum amount of upgrade capability, including the ability to add lots of RAM to it. Paying $150 more 5 years ago to get the most upgradeable machine was worth the money.
The CD-RW drive no longer worked, so we couldn’t load software, some of the USB ports crashed the computer when used, it needed a wireless LAN card so I could move it to my office, it only had 256 Mb of memory, and the mouse was broken. The interior was also completely caked with a thick layer of dust (1/2 inch-thick layer). It was absolutely disgusting!
I bought some compressed air in a can, took the tower outside, put on a dust mask, and sprayed it out until it was completely clean. I removed the broken CD-RW drive, and took the RAM card out so I could have the shop match the type to upgrade to at least 512 Mb or 1024 Mb (1 gig).
I got two 512 Mb RAM cards (it has two RAM card slots), a new DVD+/-RW multi-drive, and a new mouse. I kept the wireless LAN card I already bought, and I still have the IDE-USB adapter. The total cost for everything now is $250.65. I hope to work on transferring my laptop hard drive data to the desktop today. If that doesn’t work, I’ll return the adapter.
It’s working great! I’m using it right now to write this post.
Repair the Toshiba Laptop?
I’ve also rethought the issue of repairing my laptop. The main cooling fan needs to be replaced. Once that’s done, the only part left to fail will be the hard drive, which I will back up again as soon as I get the laptop back from the shop if I can’t back it up onto the desktop. There isn’t much I really need off the laptop’s hard drive. Over the last year I’ve moved to mostly web-based applications and storage. A lot of the stuff on that drive can be deleted.
Honestly, I don’t need a new laptop. The old one works fine for my needs. It was a very high-end machine when I bought it 4 years ago, and I can upgrade it with more memory and parts (including a new hard drive if needed) are still widely available for it. I talked to a technician at the shop, instead of a sales guy, and he said it would only cost about $200 to replace the fan, parts and labor. I’m going to get it repaired at the end of this month or next month, whenever I can afford it, and keep using it.
How am I going to pay for the repair?
We’re having another garage sale the Friday after Easter. The money we earn from that will cover the repair and there will be plenty left over to put toward bills and debts. Dave Ramsey says to sell so much stuff the dog goes into hiding. When you’ve lived in a house for 15 years and you don’t spring clean regularly, there is a lot of stuff to sell. I’m on a quest to clean out every room, every closet, every nook, cranny and attic (we have 3) until everything we don’t need and isn’t a family heirloom is gone.
I grew up in a military family so we moved often. When you move regularly you clean everything out then. I’ve never had to clean things out without getting ready to move before. I’m learning a whole new way of living by having to clean things out and not pack them up. I’m also going to have to look the house over and start repainting rooms that haven’t been painted since we moved in 15 years ago. That’s another thing I never did growing up. We were never in a residence long enough to have to repaint anything, or re-wallpaper, or remodel.
If I wait until next month, I’ll have my paycheck, a new budget in which I can include this item, and the money from the garage sale. I’ll probably wait to bring it in until the end of March so I won’t have to pay for the repairs until I pick it up in April. I can bring it to the shop on March 30 or 31.
Two Working Computers for Less Than the Price of a New One
For $450 we’ll have two working computers that will last awhile. I’ve started another savings fund for computer repairs, upgrades, software, and replacement. By the time we need to replace a computer I’ll have the cash saved for it. Computer prices keep going down, and I hope by the time we need to buy one, we’ll have more than enough saved. Otherwise, we’ll be sharing the working machine until we have enough for a replacement.
Some of you will ask, and rightly so, why I need a computer. Some will ask why I need two computers, again a valid question.
Here are the answers. I make part of my living online from my blogs through affiliate sales and advertising. If I can’t get on a computer and work productively, I don’t make some of my living. We need a second computer most of the time because my son is homeschooled and he attends an online school. He needs to get on the computer frequently to get his work done. When we have to share a computer neither of us gets as much done as we should. Temporarily, it’s okay, but long-term, we each need our own machine.
I hope you all will leave comments on what you would do in this situation. It helps me a lot when others make suggestions. It gets me thinking about alternatives to situations I may not see.
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March 13th, 2008
Posted by
joubess |
Cost Reductions, Unexpected Costs |
one comment
It happened again. My Toshiba laptop died (again). This time it was the primary cooling fan. Cost to repair it: $300 - $400.
Instead of fixing it I decided to purchase a refurbished desktop computer. I decided not to repair it because it just broke in October and cost me close to $300 then. Desktop computers are more sturdy than laptops. I will need a new desktop for my son soon. The old desktop is 5 years old and is getting to the point of not being upgradeable or repairable anymore. So, I’ll use the refurbished desktop until I save up to buy a new laptop (the prices keep going down so that may not take long). Then my son can have the desktop once I wipe my data off of it.
I thought about saving the Toshiba and having it repaired later this year to give to my son for Christmas. He wants a laptop so badly. But, it’s old and will likely break again soon. The computer shop I deal with said I’d have to pawn it because of our current state laws, so I can’t trade it in. They buy the ones they refurbish for pennies on the dollar from local companies who do upgrades in mass.
I also considered using the old desktop for a little while, but I found it crashes frequently for unknown reasons. I’m going to spend a little time working on it over spring break, and if I can get it running again reliably, my son can keep using it for awhile longer. I think the only hardware upgrade it needs is some RAM, and that’s very cheap and I can install it myself.
I’ll have to see how much I can get for the Toshiba at the pawn shop. I can also wipe the hard drive on the old desktop and pawn it if I can’t get it working. Or I could sell both at our next garage sale.
The refurbished desktop is an hp pavilion 533w and only cost $382 including tax, wireless adapter, and IDE to USB hard drive adapter. The adapter allows me to put the laptop hard drive into the adapter and load all my data onto the desktop. It would cost the same ($40) if I had the computer shop load the data for me, so the adapter is worth the money. I can load what I need to save and dump the rest.
I considered a refurbished laptop, but those aren’t a good deal right now. I could buy a brand new laptop for $100 more than a refurbished one ($499 vs $599 for a new one). The refurbished laptops cost twice what refurbished desktops cost. They tend to fail more often and cost more to repair. If you’re buying a laptop, you should buy new or very nearly new (like 6 months old).
Right now I don’t really need a laptop. I can’t afford to go anywhere, so portability isn’t an issue. When I see it becoming an issue, then I’ll see how much I have saved and decide then if I can afford one. If I can’t I’ll have to go to a public library, Kinko’s or other local shop that rents computer time by the hour, or borrow a friend’s while I’m out of town.
It’s a pain not being able to work on your own machine. I have everything set up in my Firefox browser to maximize my productivity while I’m working on the computer. But, most everything I do is available online, so I can go to the important websites I use, login, and work. It takes a lot more time when you can’t just click a button in your bookmark tool bar, but it is doable.
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March 11th, 2008
Posted by
joubess |
Unexpected Costs |
2 comments
I switched my email subscription service to Aweber. There are several reasons for this, the main ones being more control over frequency of updates and a more readable format.
Those of you who subscribe to this blog by email will see a change this week. Rather than getting an email whenever I publish a new post, you will now receive a weekly digest of new posts in newsletter format.
You will also receive a new opt-in form from Aweber confirming that you still want to receive updates from this site. You will continue to receive updates from the Feedburner service until you opt-in with Aweber, but you won’t receive emails from both services.
I’m trying a weekly schedule as the initial time frame. If it’s too often for the number of new posts I publish, I’ll change it to biweekly, semi-monthly or even monthly.
I value and would appreciate your feedback on the newsletter format and frequency of delivery. Please leave comments and let me know if I need to make changes.
Thank you,
Sherri
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March 8th, 2008
Posted by
joubess |
Resources |
no comments
Debts Paid in Full:
- Debts paid in full: 6
- Amount paid in full: $4,404
Status Report:
- March 2008 payments: $1,072.22
- Total amount of payments made to date: $11,859
- Debts left to pay off: 15
- Next debt in line: Northland Group - Capital One Visa $3,549.53 (to get the balance to go down on this one I’ll need to come up with $35/month)
Balance Report:
- Original Debt Balance: $200,946
- Current Debt Balance: $200,001
- Balance change since last month: $663 (increase)
- Balance change since starting the plan (April 2007): $945 (decrease)
Income and Spending
I have a total of $1,862.39 income this month to pay for everything. This isn’t enough money to pay the essentials of food, utilities, gas in the car, the first mortgage on the house, and essential medical care (essential in that without it I won’t be making any money at all). Those total costs are $2,294.96. I’m short $432.57.
On top of that, I have the non-bankruptable debts of $572, I wanted to get out from under the at&t advertising and publishing bill of $440, and I needed to pay the rest of my creditors a little something, like a few dollars each along with a letter explaining (again) that I’m working on getting a new full-time job while working part-time and earning as much as I can. That comes to $61.
The total comes to $3,367. I covered the shortage of $1505 from my Traditional IRA and we counted up all our change and rolled it. I withdrew $1500 (plus taxes and 10% penalty, ouch!). The change amounted to about $35.
I spoke with my accountant and I’m getting a tax refund for 2006. I’ll probably get at least a small one for 2007. I’m not quite done with taxes for 2007, but plan to finish that up by the end of this week and turn it over to my accountant.
I’m also eligible for the federal tax credit, so I’ll get a check for single head of household with one child.
Temporary Game Plan
The tax refunds will go into a “hill and valley” fund so we’ll have enough to pay for essentials.
After this month, if I have enough money, the non-bankruptable debts will be paid the minimum payments before the bankruptable debts. Any debt that is bankruptable will be paid a minimum of a few dollars a month until my income increases if there is any money left.
I will not be working on my debt snowball until I start making enough money to pay for more than the essentials. There may be some progress because I put every debt in the debt snowball, including a large business loan and a large home equity loan.
We are having another yard sale, and any money we earn will either pay an essential bill or go into the savings account to cover essentials next month in case my income is still too low, depending on tax refunds.
February was a slim month tutoring. It was a short month, and in Louisiana, we had Mardi Gras week with no school, so I had many cancellations. I will make more in March because there are more school days. It still won’t be as high as it could be because spring break is in March and I’ll have a lot of cancellations for that week. April will be a full month with no breaks, and May will be lucrative because of final exams. I’ll get lots of extra sessions from my regular students and I’ll be able to pick up a few extra hours from students who just want exam review tutoring.
I’ll still need to sock some money away for summer (June and July) when tutoring hours are lean. I’ll also pick up another part-time job (pizza delivery) to cover expenses unless I land a good-paying job or get a business going like gangbusters.
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March 3rd, 2008
Posted by
joubess |
Debt Reports, Earnings Updates |
4 comments
