The more places (within reason) that your video is, the more viewers who will get to see your video and learn more from you.  Being able to add your video not only to your blog can allow additional viewers that chance.  Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, and other social media sites are great places to debut your new video blogging skills.

You can now get my videos to use on your website at RockstarGuideBooks.com/videos

Also you can get my articles to use on your website by visiting RockstarGuideBooks.com/article

Live ♥ Laugh ♥ Love

MJ Schrader

Tomorrow: 5 ways to create videos

Friday:  Freebie Friday

Today’s post is a bit of humor.  Based on Jeff Foxworthy’s, “You might just be a redneck, if…”  this is going to be “You might need to quit your job…”

You might need to quit your job if wake up hating your job and it is your day off.

You might need to quit your job if you think blind monkeys can do your job with an arm tied behind their backs.

You might need to quit your job if you resent everything related to work down to the coffee.

You might need to quit your job if your boss is yelling at you, and rather than listening you wonder “what would she’d do if I stood up and walked out without saying a word?”

You might need to quit your job if you have time to socialize with your co-workers and you would rather chew your leg off.

You might need to quit your job if no one cares about your privacy, bosses and co-workers tell you what you need to do, or what you did wrong if you at your desk or on the toilet.

You might need to quit your job if you think living under a bridge might be better than going to work.

You might need to quit your job if these jokes feel like they are right on target.

So what can I do if it is time to quit. Well the four posts before this one are about passion. First you need to know Why Passion Helps Your Online Business Success.  Then you need to Find Your Passion and Online Success and then you will want to Turn Your Passion Into Business.

And in case you are curious how it works for someone else you can read My Passion Revealed

It resulted in me researching and writing.  Writing is my number one passion.  Researching is a sideline of a couple of my passions.

Another one I have, because I seem to be gifted in it, is studying online tools and presenting their use in a simple and easy format for others to learn from and use.   It makes me happy to hear from you when you say… “Wow!  Thank you I know how to use …”   Because helping others has long been something that makes me come alive.

So writing, researching, helping and encouraging others and online tools.  Those are my passions toward business.  I also love silly English Cocker Spaniels but that’s just a personal issue…

But my websites… all of them… are based on combinations of these elements.  Rockstar Guide Books is designed to help, encourage and motivate you while teaching you online tools.  This requires that I write and research.  Happy Camper.

365 Online Tips is 365 days of encouraging and motivational tips to help people succeed.  This requires writing, researching various methods to encourage others and the fabulous daily quotes.  There are some absolutely fabulous ones that Kelly and I have come across.  While there are some favorites, the one I want to share is sweet and hopefully will make you smile!

Bunny slippers remind me of who I am. You can’t get a swelled head if you wear bunny slippers. You can’t lose your sense of perspective and start acting like a star or a rich lady if you keep on wearing bunny slippers. Besides, bunny slippers give me confidence because they’re so jaunty. They make a statement; they say, ‘Nothing the world does to me can ever get me so far down that I can’t be silly and frivolous.’ If I died and found myself in Hell, I could endure the place if I had bunny slippers. ~ Dean Koontz

Now if you are thinking the quote is sort of random, then you should have a conversation with me.  My brain is rather overflowing with information, and sometimes random things spill over. 

Many people have asked me about writing sales letters in WordPress. They want to know if sidebars and headers and menus are acceptable. This is a mixed situation.

Advantages

If they decide that product you are advertising is not for them but they like your style then being able to look at other products or information is great. This keeps them on your website longer and allows them to pick and choose what they want. If they are not certain your product is for them, they can click the sidebar or other menus to learn more about you and any other products you may have.

Disadvantages

Many people advocate that an advertising copy should have only two options. Option one buy this product or option two hit the back button. By having the menu links and sidebar your potential customers or clients can get distracted. After the distraction they may forget or no longer be motivated in buying your product. Also what may be a cool graphic on your blog is not appropriate on your sales letter. The twitter stream in your sidebar may not be something you want on your sales letter.

Solutions.

There are many solutions which will be discussed tomorrow.  Although one solution I strongly suggest is WP Landing Pages which can be used for landing pages, sales pages and more.

Limits

You are limited to the themes  they have installed.   You are also limited to the plugins they offer.  This limit is a lot smaller than your options should you upload them yourself.  They have restrictions that can severely limit or completely eliminate revenue opportunities.  Some sites will not allow you to sell products or even collect donations.  There are blog formats that may share advertising profits but they control the advertising.  Most control the advertising and the profits.

Who owns the content?

Terms of service at the blog host can change, what may be acceptable posts today on their site may not be tomorrow. Should you be in violation of their terms they may terminate your blog with little to no notice and all the content you worked to create could be gone. There hae been cases where the blog host makes claim on the content you created.

A rose by any other name… does not smell as sweet

This is probably the largest disadvantage of free blogs. While you can buy a domain name and have it point to your blog, it costs money to change that free blog to using your domain name. Otherwise you must settle for having blogspot.com or wordpress.com attached to you blog name.  Potential clients and customers are not going to see a blog with another name attached as professional.

So unless you just want a personal blog, then get web hosting and get a blog!  And as always I do recommend WordPress for ease of use.

~ MJ Schrader

Many People Have cPanel

Another distinct advantage is that many sites use it. While that may not seem to matter that means you have more people who use it, so should you have a problem you can ask people you know have websites. In addition you can easily do a search for something specific on your favorite search engine.

Easy to Add Programs

Most cPanel hosts offer either Fantastico or Simple Scripts which enables you the user to add certain applications to your domain name quickly and easily. Common applications people add are WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and others. They often offer forum applications, photo galleries even Wiki software. These programs also allow for easy updating.

Other advantages of cPanel

As a control panel, cPanel is like a dashboard. It offers most of the functions on the front page for easy reference and use. You can easily create and set up email accounts related to your domain name.

Many people like that the file manager is so easy to find. This allows you to easily access all the files with the host. What this means is that you can easily upload free digital gifts to share with your readers, you can also easily add plugins and other sub-programs into the programs you are using.

While there are other programs out there, it is very nice to use a program that is easy to use and fairly straight forward. In addition cPanel offers your website additional security. With these benefits you can clearly see why cPanel is an advantage.

~ MJ Schrader

If you are watching #Blog30 by Dr Jeanette Cates, you are likely either a blogger or a want to be blogger. Jeanette recommended that all the bloggers use self-hosted WordPress. If you want a blog or even a website, this is the way to go. WordPress is an impressive application for personal use.

NO PROGRAMMING!

When the Internet first became popular, websites requires extensive use of HTML and other programming knowledge. Many beginners would take a look at the long lengths of code and quickly turn away deciding this was not for them. Things have changed a lot.

Many people now use WordPress because programming knowledge is not required. There are people who have no programming education yet they use this program daily. The most “programming” is in the installation. You can easily add, subtract pages. You can change text and more.

Is it just for bloggers?

To say WordPress is versatile is an understatement. People have used it as a blog format for years. Yet people are starting to move their websites to this easy to use program. Others are finding that for Content Management Systems, this is the new way to go.

Sites that have forums have already found it is now a good format to use. With recent developments of powerful new membership plugins, even Membership sites are starting to switch. Both forums and membership sites have found the easy of use is great for both the owners and the visitors.

What are Plugins?

Speaking of Plugins, these handy micro programs can be uploaded and added to your WordPress site to create even more diversity and adapt it even further. There are plugins that help your website do even more, or bring in more visitors. Add plugins into your sidebar and your visitors can see an event calendar, archive list, connect with your other readers and follow recent comments.

Is it easy to use?

Perhaps this should have been the first thing mentioned, but you already realized that by all the above advantages. WordPress has taken away the fear and hesitancy felt by many, and turned it into joy. This simple blog format has changed the way websites around the world are run with its low learning curve.  If you are still hesitating about getting WordPress ask other Blog Challenge Members.  And I offer a book, a course and an installation service should you need it.

~ MJ Schrader

Does your website have a flash or movie intro?

Flash or Movies may not load on different browsers. Some people are still on dial up. Even if that seems dark ages to you, think about dial up, think about people who are in remote areas who do not have fast internet. Your flash movie will keep them from going to your site.

Is your website an eye sore?

This is a surprisingly common mistake. I visited a site that was bright green with hot pink and yellow swirls on it. Unless that site was giving away money, I was not about to stay.

Did you forget to sell to your readers?

Most every website involves selling something. That something may be a product or service, but it involves selling. Even a personal website involves selling yourself, so let the readers know how you can make them laugh, cry or otherwise bring emotion.

Are you talking features or benefits?

On your pages you want to talk about benefits. Stir emotion in your readers, get them involved. The soft light from this lamp will make you look younger. Getting laser hair removal will mean smooth sexy legs all summer. These are benefits that keep your visitors on your business website.

Did you write for online reading?

Most websites have short paragraphs. Lists and highlighted text are common. There are spaces between paragraphs. What you will notice is that most of the writing can be scanned. Reading long paragraphs online is hard on the eyes.

How can you avoid these mistakes?

The common website mistakes are problems with not thinking about how other people see your website. While you may have a certain vision for your site and think everyone wants what you want, think about others. Ask people you know for honest opinions on your website. Ask them to use different browsers. When you stay focused on the reader your site will grow.

Write for your readers…

No matter what you are writing, unless it is for your amusement only, you need to think about your readers. They are following you because of your topic. Now it may be that your point of view has become the stuff of legends and it brings in readers as well.  For most writers it is your subject matter, your niche is your “market.”

What is your niche?

That blog niche is what your readers care about most. This is probably what brought them to your blog, be your niche be about taking the high road, hypnosis, online tools or pole dancing. Your readers expect most posts to about that niche. Did you notice the “most” bit? Your readers are your most important goal. Your readers do not expect a robot. You have a personal life, you have more than one interest.

More interests?

Well, I don’t know about you, but as much as I enjoy WordPress, I love my English Cocker Spaniel more. Perhaps you enjoy a particular dog breed, or just animals. Maybe you have a rose garden, or you paint, or you cook. Having a whole blog about it would destroy your interest but it is something you want to share. Then mention it on occasion.

Should I include personal stuff?

How about an example?  Here on the left is a picture at a social gathering.  You can see Joe Vitale drinking some home brewed beer that I made.  Home brew is an interest of mine.  Being able to talk with Joe Vitale, Wendi Friesen, an world renowned hypnotist has given me confidence.  This was after a seminar that helped establish my reputation as the WordPress Rockstar. It’s a cross niche, cross interest, cross topic that helps add material to my blog and let you know… yup I am real.  (or at least last I checked)

Make it real!

Making a reference to your life gives your blog a personal feel. (If you have children, many blog writers use code names for their children rather than real names.) You may have children, a spouse or significant other, pets… these help bring your life into focus and may help you focus on your niche.   It helps your readers know a bit about who you are.  Writing only business without any personal reflection will alienate you from readers rather than bring them in.

When you write a post about your life weave in the blog focus, lessons learned related to the focus, humor, or combine all of the above. This involves the reader and keeps the blog focus.  Social media is the current king because we are sharing more and your posts should as well.

~ MJ Schrader

PS.  What is your niche?  What is your unique angle?

PPS. And with that thought I now I have a post for tomorrow!  TOMORROW: What is your USP?

The Sixty One; also known as T61, is a free online radio station.  Most of the artists are undiscovered or not yet popular; yet this does not mean there is any lack of talent.  Rather this means you get to know artists before they become mainstream.  This is a very friendly site allowing both artists and listeners to communicate with each other, and new artists to get input fairly quickly on new songs.

♥

JOIN

You can join quickly by clicking TheSixtyOne.com/MJSchrader at the top of the screen you will see Login/Join.  If you want to get a taste of it before hand just listen to my radio station or click popular.  From there you can choose music based on your mood.  You can search for artist in the top right, but many of these are undiscovered.  You can also join the hangout at  TheSixtyTwo.ning.com

♥

FINDING MUSIC

Just click Popular, and choose Hot for what everyone is enjoying.  The range in music is diverse,  Alternative, Jazz, Reggae, Rock, Dance and many more classifications are available.  You  can narrow your choices that way.  You can choose music based on your mood, happy, sad, love, even crazy or trippy.  They also have covers and remixes.

If you like a song, you can click the artist name for more songs by them, or click the song name, and when you get to that song’s page click similar.

After you enjoy, you give a heart or hearts to songs you enjoy.  The more hearts the song gets the more people will see it.  This is what makes a song “hot” or moves it up in rank.  Completing quests helps you earn more rep and more hearts, which helps you give more “heart love” to your favorite artists.

Make friends with people who have similar musical tastes and when they heart a song they enjoy, you can see that on your “Just for You” page.  This gives you some new songs.  Your friends may even comment to recommend a song on your page.

♥

SOME BASIC INFO

In the video below I wasn’t able to cover everything.  Just because covering the basics takes quite a bit of time.  But T61 is a fun place to play and learn things slowly.  Don’t worry about knowing all about this site immediately. Some of the codes used are of course * T61 * for The Sixty One.

RB which means Radio Bump when someone bumps (listens to) your radio,  they add a number which is the number beside listens (under your bio) plus 1.  That means you are the next person to listen to their radio and then you add the song title and artist… i.e.  RB#252  Artist Name – Song Title.  

FB is actually First Blood, when you are the person to discover, the first one to give a heart to a song, you will hear “First Blood.”

FEATURE is something you can select on a song to put it on your home page.  TAG a song with codes so you can find it again, there are some tags already programmed, but you can use what ever you want to use.  TIP by visiting an artist’s page you may see tip underneath the picture, you tip credits.   CREDITS click settings on your mini dashboard (by hovering over your name) credits is one of the files, currently you can get 1000 credits for 12.50. You need this to purchase songs or albums or to tip artists.

Again the video below and this page were designed just to give you some basics.  Of course, this is coming from a T61 fan not an artist, and yes I play this radio station all day while I am working.   You can also visit the611.rockbandgenius.com which is covers the 411 on T61.  It actually has several pages of information for artists and listeners.  If you are a musical artist, I also recommend What-artists-should-know-about-thesixtyone Join the hangout at  TheSixtyTwo.ning.com

Beneath the video is a special thank you to some favorite artists.

♥

♥

Shout out to T61 friends, Eric Farewell (who got me addicted), Rafael, Drikitcha, Shankc of Nutella with HONEY stars (not Golden), Calista and many more.  Even if they are crazy. Please don’t tell them.

♥

Special Thank You to:

Lydia Ashton, Tim Allen, Mark Zou, Mozzaratti and many more musical artists.  You fill my working days with beautiful music that makes work easier, happier and so much more.