A reader recently asked some blogging questions and I though the answers would benefit all…

Do you mind sharing with me what you did to learn how to create your site?

Not at all…My wordpress site is based on another theme. There is nothing wrong with taking a theme and tweaking it till you like it. However, you can make them from scratch with a very helpful tool found at: http://www.yvoschaap.com/wpthemegen/

The first few themes I set up with theme generator, but as I came to want more advanced features I found starting from a base theme that I liked worked better for me.

My advice: go with simplicity. White as milk is one good theme. Another is called cleanpress. Fool around with colors and graphics. Mine is based on one called 1024px. When you see the screen shot (top left), it’s amazing how different they are. Color makes a big difference. Most of my graphic changes are in the header. Mostly colors were changed in the body.

I learned through trial and error. But I have a background in computers and was raised by a systems analyst. I’m not afraid of code. You shouldn’t be either, but you should save copies of theme files before you edit them. There’s no “Undo” button on wordpress and I can’t tell you how many times I made one change, then another, then another, and then the third one screws everything up and I don’t know where the mistake is. Save your files frequently so you don’t have to start from scratch.

I am putting together my website using a WordPress theme, but I don’t want to. I’d prefer to build my website myself. I was going to take some online courses from my local community college, but wasn’t sure what was the quickest way to get the site up and running, protect it from hackers and maintain it securely — all as quickly as possible.

Everyone is using WordPress for a reason. Why don’t you want to use WordPress? Learning to use WordPress is not hard, but learning to code it is challenging…but worth it since you can put it on your blogging resume. Security is not a big deal. WordPress is very secure on its own and you seem to have a reputable host. Just be sure you use a difficult password. I use a free program called Password Generator to make separate passwords for every site I use. I then save these on an excel spreadsheet on my hard drive. Back up your files regularly (see your host for instructions) in case a break in does occur. Then you can just revert to the saved files and little damage is done. WordPress does all the security work for you. Break-ins are rare and easily fixed if you protect yourself with backups.

You should be able to use WordPress right out of the box for your first website. I don’t know how strong your DIY factor is. Mine is through the roof! The fastest thing is probably to dive right in and give it a shot. When you have questions, you Google for the answers and spend time scrolling through forums till you find the answer. That’s how I got my education. It took about a year, on a part-time basis.

Learning to build your own website from scratch could take many years.

Can you give me some really good pointers? Also, Hostgator is my host server, is there a better one that you know of?

Don’t pay for something you can do yourself. Try to spend as little money as possible on your blog in the beginning. Use free marketing tools (you’re already on your way with the social media stuff). Use Google Adsense, plus in-text advertising like infolinks. Once money starts coming in, you can use it to promote your blog. Expect about two years before things take off. Try to post every day. Interact with users and thank God for visitors.

Hostgator seems like a reputable server although I have no experience with them. I have read some good things about them. I use Bluehost and have few complaints. It took a while to learn my way around, but it works for me.

Also, what forums would you suggest to participate in as far as writers and promoting your work … other than yours, of course! I have several social network accounts — twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc. and that would be helpful as far as which ones you see the greatest response, but are there other forums you feel are even more impactful?

This is a complicated topic. If you are trying to promote your blog and run it like KillFive, you need to visit other blogs with a high Page Rank that talk about similar topics. Respond to stories that inspire you and get a link back to your site that way. Always add something to the conversation. “Great post, thanks!” gets you nowhere.

If you are trying to promote your work, that’s something else altogether. Although I have not tried it, I wouldlike to try using LinkedIn as a platform to begin discussions about publishing that would interest website owners. The thing is, your writing skill helps, but your promotion skills are what set you apart and get you work.

Ever notice how TV ads grab your attention by any means possible? It may be a funny sound, a cute picture or a loud noise. It doesn’t matter how the ad gets your attention, so long as your focus is on the TV when the message is being played. Use this principle in promoting yourself. Write about topics that grab the interest of publishers who may need a writer’s services. When they are paying attention, you can pitch your services.

I found the best promotion is in my actual communications in chasing specific jobs, rather than in general promotions. I set up my web profile site (www.jessicabosari.com) to pitch my message. My cover letter opens the door and grabs attention. Whether I’m pitching a Guru job or Craigslist Ad, I always speak directly to the job posting. I have sort of a set of discussion points that speak to the things publishers would want in a writer. If they discuss wanting a dependable writer, I explain how I will give that to them. If they need quick turn around, I mention my 48-hour turnaround. They see I cared enough to actually read the job description, click through to my site and then see the same things reiterated there, plus other benefits of hiring me. They read my work samples, see that it is good quality and give me the job. Of course this is not true for every job I apply for, but it’s how it works on the ones I get.

My profile site matches my Guru profile matches my Linked-in profile and everything else.  I include a professional photos so people can see who they are hiring. Sending a uniform message across several platforms establishes a sense of trust and makes someone more likely to take a chance on you.

I guess what I’m really trying to say here is that the way you run and manage your blog will depend entirely on your goals. Are you selling something? Are you selling yourself (profile site)? Are you looking to be a publisher (KillFive’s model)? It is vital that you understand your goals before you plan any steps for the future. You need to know what you want before you can go out and get it.

KillFive works for me because it fulfills a need that no one else was offering. I wanted a job board where I could go and get just good jobs for free. No spending hours sifting through robot-generated lists. Just legitimate jobs that pay a reasonable wage. I figured that if I wanted such a list, someone else must want it too. So I reinvented KillFive (it used to detail my exploits with article marketing and passive income). I devoted it to all the things I learned from the first generation of KillFive, thinking I wish I’d known this stuff when I started. I wanted to provide a trustworthy source for people looking to find a way to work from home. Writing and blogging is just what worked for me and that’s how KillFive came to be what it is.