WordPress 4.9 Is Here!
Automattic have just released WordPress 4.9, and you should update your WordPress code immediately.
Below this article, there's a link to what the new release covers.
It's vital that you update your WordPress code when a new release comes out. Automattic recommend that you back up your site before updating.
With this release, they have updated versions of the free WordPress themes that you also need to update.
And I have already seen a slew of plugins that now need to be updated.
The Maintenance Burden
All of this adds up to a lot of maintenance you need to carry out every time WordPress is udpated. If you don't update your code when it's released, you're opening the door to hackers.
My clients' WordPress sites have already been updated. If you too would like hassle-free updating of your WordPress code, themes and plugins, check out my WP Maintenance Service here:
http://alunloves.it/wp-maintenance
Here's What WordPress 4.9 Consists Of
WordPress Security – Implementing The WordFence Plugin
Here's a quick post about WordPress security. Not all steps you take to enhance your WordPress security are going to cost a lot. This one is free, and I use this same plugin, WordFence, on all my sites and my clients' sites.
If you've not used WordFence before, here's where to find the plugin, how to install it and how to configure it.
It's straightforward - just follow the steps in this video below. Of course, implementing a free security plugin should not give you the impression that's all you need to do. But it is a great start.
If you'd like more protection - for example, to keep your WordPress code, themes and all your plugins updated, go here for more information:
http://alunloves.it/wp-maintenance
How To Create Killer PowerPoint Videos
How to Have Professional-Looking Graphics Without Paying a Graphics Artist a Fortune
When they realise they need professional-looking graphics, most online entrepreneurs run around like chickens with their heads cut off. But seriously, what should you do?
Do you pay a graphics artist a fortune, with no guarantee of the quality of the result? Do you first pay for (ouch!), then struggle to learn Photoshop? Ever tried that?
Unless you grasp the critical information in these three website graphics questions I'm about to share with you, your troubles are only just beginning.
Question No.1: Do You Want Your Products And Services Look More Professional?
Who doesn't, right? Silly question.
Whether it's a digital 3D pack shot, a book cover for Kindle or a promotional banner, a graphical image illustrates the professionalism of your products and services in a way that text can't. You can immediately get an idea of what you're buying. Truly people do judge books - and other products - by their covers.
If you've been selling online for a while, you probably have several products and services. Are they all represented by decent graphics? Do they represent what your products and services are about?
What's most important about this question is that there's so little to go on when your prospects weigh up whether to buy your offerings. When they can look at a 3D pack shot it gives reassurance that the product is tangible - it exists - it has form. It can be one of the deciding factors in whether a prospect buys your offering.
And when a prospect sees your offer, don't you want it to look better than your competitors?
Question No.2: Do You Need Graphics For Your Website?
Let's look at another aspect. Is your website full of text content but light on graphics? Could a bit of visual appeal make your blog articles appear more attractive? Would you benefit from graphics that promote your products or services?
For most people the answer to all these questions is "Yes, of course!"
Then the question is what do you do about it? Stock images can either be expensive or you can spend literally hours searching through the free stock image sites.
As a online entrepreneur, you probably want your products and services to stand out. You don't want obviously home-made graphics that cheapen your offerings. But where do you get them from?
Well, you could chance your arm with Fiverr. But mostly gigs there are not $5 any more. And for anyone good, the lead time is significant. And although if you shop carefully, you could get what you want, it's still a bit of a lottery.
Then there's engaging a proper graphics artist directly. Do you have the budget for that?
Thirdly, there is always Photoshop. I don't know whether you've tried learning even the basics with Photoshop? I have, and it's a nightmare. Complex and frustrating. And add to that you now need to pay for a subscription to use it - so you're paying out every month!
There must be a better way, mustn't there?
Question No.3: Do You Want To Make Money With Graphics?
Never considered that, huh? But if you had a process that would allow you to create banner graphics - like the one at the top of this article - why wouldn't you? If it was quick and easy, cheap and professional?
Can you really have all this?
Yes, quite simply.
Look, it's all done with templates. Templates are the key to productivity. You follow the professionally-designed template, and you get a known, great-looking result. Guaranteed. And you get it quickly, and as you're editing an existing template, the learning curve is so short.
So you can do all your own graphics easily. And also sell your graphics services to your clients.
Does this sound good? If so, what's the next step?
Want a Kick-Start?
If you're a online entrepreneur who needs a kick-start with website graphics, then you may find this article got you off to a great start. I hope the three questions I covered will help you get closer to your website graphics goals and help you get professional-looking graphics.
So if you're a online entrepreneur who wants to have professional-looking graphics, check out this more information about Graphic Dashboard at http://alunloves.it/graphicdashboard . Or click on the professional graphic below.
How To Have a More Engaging Blog
Does Your Blog Look Tired?
Have a look at it now. Does it have out of date articles? When was the last time you added a blog post? Oh dear ...
Think about it from your prospects' perspective. Why should they visit an out of date blog? Is there really no compelling reason for people to visit your blog any more?
I know you've probably been meaning to change that. But somehow it never seems to get done ...
Why Not Change That Today!
I can change all that for you. I can create a blog you can be proud of, complete with fresh new articles.
I will create seven bespoke articles for you - and all I need is an hour of your time to interview you.
Then I Will:
1. Create the seven blog articles.
2. Post them all to your blog for you.
3. SEO the articles.
4. Add a related image to each.
5. Add social media buttons to the end of the post.
6. Add a custom graphic to the end of each article, pointing to your sales page.
Why Not Do It Yourself?
Of course you could create these articles yourself. Absolutely you could.
But what would that take?
Seven hours of your time (at least) if you choose to create seven articles yourself.
Assuming you have the time and motivation, now ask yourself these questions:
- And what should you write about?
- How do you make your services more compelling?
- What do people want to know, precisely?
- How do you structure an blog post?
- Have you really got that time?
Then there's the posting of the posts, the SEO, sourcing images, building links to social media, building links to your sales page ...
Is it a wonder most blogs are horrendously out of date?
Allow me to take care of it all.
Worried You Might Be Hacked?
Worried About Attacks From Hackers?
Do you know if your WordPress website has hidden vulnerabilities?
The fact is that attacks by hackers are on the increase. Just last week we saw a massive denial of service attack.
Your website could be next. But how do you know whether you're secure or not?
Let me give you peace of mind.
I will scan your website for known intrusions. If you not infected by malware and your website is not spamming anyone, I'll let you know that you're clean. It will be a weight off your shoulders.
If you your website is compromised - don't panic - I have the means to clean up the infection and to protect you better in the future.
Just fill in your contact details below and I'll be in touch.
Please enter your contact details and a short message below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Announcing: FREE Online Training – Sell Your Products & Services Online
Need To Sell Your Products & Services Online?
Do you too need to sell your products or services online?
Got frustrated with the technology?
Or perhaps the costs were exorbitant?
Whether you're a trainer, therapist, coach or consultant, you know you need to have a presence online. And you probably also realise that your services should be online for your clients to purchase.
But how do you do this? How do you take money - and do it securely? Don't you have to spend a fortune on a copywriter? And what about sales page formatting?
Finally a Solution!
Join me, Alun Richards, for a FREE online training where you will discover:
- How to sell your offerings online
- How to take money via your website
- How to do it all within 24 hours!
Click Here Now!
On Thursday 15th September, I will be presenting my online training to help you get your services saleable online.
Join me for this content-rich training.
Reserve your FREE place here:
Blogging For Profit Online Training Video
Blogging For Profit Online Training
Do you have a WordPress website? Got a blog? Do you use it to enhance your expert status? How about to sell your products and services?
Sadly, so many blogs are unloved. Updated so infrequently that no-one visits them any more. Many see the effort involved in creating content is just too much.
That’s sad, as I believe that your unique experiences give you a position that many people just don’t have. People will gladly read and listen to your insights. You just have to give them your unique content.
Discover how on my brand new online training. Click the video to see what it's all about and click here for the FREE online training.
Training Description
This free online training covers:
1. Blogging fundamentals
2. The need for content
3. How to create content – fast
4. How to leverage your content
Reserve Your Place Here
Click on the link to reserve your place on this online training:
Blogging For Profit – Overcome The Barriers To Content Creation
Do you know the three biggest barriers that block most WordPress website owners from blogging for profit?
If you're a WordPress website owner you probably want to bypass barriers to successful blogging for profit. You almost certainly want to push on to create the quality content your customers need quickly and easily. And you absolutely want your content found by the search engines, don’t you? Then read this article immediately …
Barrier No.1: Not Getting Into The Habit Of Creating Content Regularly
Why Is It A Barrier?
This is a barrier because if you don’t get into the habit of creating content regularly, you’ll never do it at all. It just gets harder and harder with time. You'll see how long it is since you updated your blog and get depressed. You'll find something more constructive to do, like dusting the skirting boards.
What Is The Problem Here?
When you get out of the practice of creating content regularly, the quality of the content you produce falls off rapidly. And the time it takes to create your content just gets unmanageably long.
How Do You Bypass / Get Around It?
The first step is to pick a content creation strategy you can work with. That may be writing the content yourself. It may be outsourcing it, or using PLR. It may be dictating your content and getting the recording transcribed. It may be a combination of these.
The important thing is to decide on a strategy and stick to it.
How Do You Bypass It If You've Already Been Blocked By It?
If you've already got out of the habit of creating content regularly, then here’s some good news.
It doesn’t take a great effort to get back into the habit. Just start. And when you start creating content, it will get a momentum all of its own. It becomes natural, a part of your life, just something you do.
Then you'll start to get compliments about your content. And that will spur you on. And you'll gain followers, and goodness, that might even lead to more business ...
Barrier No.2: Not Finding The Time Needed To Create Content
Why Is It A Barrier?
Many people see just finding the time as the biggest barrier to creating content. And honestly, these days we’re all busy, aren’t we? There's work, the family, those friends you haven't seen for ages. Who has the time?
What Is The Problem Here?
Believing that you don’t have the time to create content is enough to stop you in your tracks. But it’s only a belief, not reality.
How Do You Bypass / Get Around It?
First of all, realise that everyone gets the same allocation of time every day. Even if you’ve wasted time yesterday, you get the same amount again today. So it’s really only perception that it’s hard to find the time to create content. You have all the time you need.
It’s priorities you may need to work on. So ask yourself:
- Why must I create content?
- What will it do for me?
- Is it important?
- How can I make time for it?
How Do You Bypass It If You've Already Been Blocked By It?
The best time is to work with how you prefer to work. Are you a lark or a night-owl? Do you do your best work early, when it’s quiet, or at the tail end of the day? If you work with your body's preferences, you'll find you're able to work well, and the content you create is likely to be of high quality.
The important thing is to find a regular slot in your day where you can work on your content. And stick to it.
Barrier No.3: Not Pairing Up Your Content With Calls To Action For Your Services
Why Is It A Barrier?
I’m going to assume that you’re not creating content just for altruistic purposes. You’re creating content either to sell directly, or to use to promote your existing products or services. So it’s important to match up the content you use for promotion with a call to action for your offerings.
What Is The Problem Here?
Content that has a disconnect with an offer you're making will cause your readers to put their mental brakes on. They'll just switch off. Instead of a smooth path to a sale, you'll get people not taking up your call to action. So you need to engineer your content so that it corresponds with your calls to action.
How Do You Bypass / Get Around It?
The easiest way to ensure a good match of content with call to action is to start with the end in mind. Consider what your offering (your product or service) is, and what the key benefits to your customers are. From this, create a compelling and clear call to action.
Once you’re clear on that, start to create your content that will naturally lead to your call to action. If you plan your content in this way, aimed squarely at your call to action, your article will flow naturally into your offer.
This approach has the advantages of there not being a disconnect between your content and the pitch for your services. It all just flows.
Blogging For Profit - Taking This Further
Now you know and understand the top three barriers that WordPress website owners face when attempting to blog for profit. And understanding them will help you overcome these common barriers.
To take this further I'd like to invite you to cut to the front of the line and find the blogging for profit success you desire. I’d like to invite you to join me at my free "Blogging For Profit Online Training".
This training is for WordPress website owners who want to create the quality content your customers need quickly and easily. And enable you to break through the – all too common – barriers to creating quality content.
Just click on the graphic to reserve your online training place:
Blog Owner’s Step By Step Guide To Content Marketing Success
Do you want success in content marketing? Or do you just want to know the 3 steps every blog owner needs for more traffic, visibility, leads and sales?
If you're a blog owner who wants the proven steps to more traffic, visibility, leads and sales but don't know how to start then you need to read this immediately to take your blog posting to the next level.
Step No. 1: Establish What Your Market Really Wants
What is the step?
The first step is to determine exactly what your market wants. Not even what they need. What they want.
Why is it important?
This step is vital because if you're slogging your guts out writing material that your market is not interested in, they never visit your site! Or if they do, it will only be once.
Top Tool Tip
Here's a top tip to help you better establish what your market really wants. You need to know what your market is actively searching for. Think about roads for a second. People on a road are heading for a destination. You need to be aware of that destination.
And, crucially, you see more traffic if you're on a motorway rather than on a country road. So you want to get in front of lots of traffic going in the direction you want.
But how do you determine what their destination is?
Here's where my tip - actually two tips come in. Most people recommend the Google Keyword Tool. And I use it, it's free, and it's great. But some people can find it a bit intimidating.
For those people, I recommend a really simple to use tool called FreshKey. This is cheap and will run on Mac and PC. It examines Google (and Amazon and eBay and other sites if you're interested) and returns the most searched for keyword phrases.
If you type in, say, 'content marketing', it will list the most commonly searched phrases, in rank order, that contain the keyword 'content marketing'.
Now you've done your keyword research, you're ready to use it - and that's where my next tip comes in ...
Step No. 2: Create Compelling Content Titles
What is the step?
Have a look at the keyword phrases you got from FreshKey. Pick one of the top ranked ones, and create an article title out of it.
Why is it important?
This step is important because it starts to associate your content with something your market is desperately searching for. And as any marketer will tell you, the title - or headline - must capture people's attention, or they will not read your article.
Top tip for compelling titles
Here's a cool tip on how to create more compelling content titles. Do a Google search for the most successful marketing headlines - several sites list them. Now incorporate your keyword phrase into the title you like best.
For example, a classic marketing headline is 'They laughed when I sat down at the piano, but when I started to play .." You could use this with your keyword 'content marketing' as follows: 'They laughed when I sat down at the computer keyboard to do content marketing, but when I showed them the cheques .."
Step No. 3: Create a Profitable Call to Action
What is the step?
This step is to create a call to action at the end of your content. It's simple.
Why is it important?
So many people create their content then throw away the advantage they had as they don't ask for what they want. You must have a call to action at the end of your content. You must tell people explicitly what action you want them to take next, step by step.
What's the tip for this step?
Write out what you want your content readers to do. Make it concise and make it compelling. Read it back to ensure it's clear. Remove anything that's extraneous. You want a simple command to perform your desired action. And let them know the benefit they'll gain.
Your Next Steps To Content Marketing Success
Now that you've got the steps for Content Marketing success down, I'd like to invite you to take the next steps with free access to my Online Training 'Content On Steroids'.
Look, you're a blog owner who wants to create all the content you want, aren't you? This might be articles, blog posts, videos, presentations - you name it. And you don't want to worry about not knowing where to start. Then my Online Training "Content On Steroids" will help you to banish writer's block forever. The software generates unlimited ideas for killer content you can create in a flash... AND Make your blog come alive with your unique blog posts!
Allow me to show you how, step by step, on my FREE online training.
Click Here For More: http://alunloves.it/content
