How to Create a WordPress Blog

Blogging - everyone is doing it, but not everyone is doing it well. Before you take that plunge into blogging follow these 7 simple steps to learn how to create a WordPress blog and get your blogging started in the right direction.

1. Planning: not only do you need to know what your blogging topic will be - what it is you will be blogging about, but you need to do keyword research to find several long-tail keyword phrases relevant to your blog topic that you can use within blog posts to bring in organic search engine traffic, as well as one that would be good to use as a domain name.

Also, you need to plan what it is you want to do with your blog, do you plan to try and monetize your blog and earn money with it, or just blog for your own enjoyment.

2. Domain Name: using one of the keyword phrases from your research in step 1, register a domain name. I use http://GoDaddy.com or http://NameCheap.com

3. Domain Hosting: you also need a place to host your domain, this is where you will actually install your blog and all your site content is stored - it's called the web host. I use HostGator for their outstanding service. If you use this link http://BeginningBlogger.com/HostGator/you can get your first month for only .01 (yep - that's only a penny).

[*Follow their instructions in the email they will send you for changing the nameservers as the domain registrar, to get the domain name you registered to point to your new hosting servers.]

4. WordPress Install: HostGator makes this easy, use their Fantastico icon in the cpanel to install WordPress with a few mouse clicks. Easy!

5. WordPress Theme: After you have WordPress installed, click Appearance in the Administration Dashboard and click Add New Themes and there you can choose your search parameters and find and install new themes all from within your WordPress dashboard. Easy!

6. Plugins: plugins add functions and features to WordPress to extend what the cord WordPress system does 'out of the box'. My advice is to not add plugins unless you know exactly what it is the plugin does and you understand how to use it.

You can find and add plugins in your Administration Dashboard under Plugins > Add New > and then do a search either via the tag cloud or by keyword to find what you're looking for and can be installed right there, just like the themes. Easy!

Here's a few plugins I do recommend:(search for these by name to find & install)

Akismet: this plugin comes already installed with WordPress, you need to activate it and follow the instructions on getting the API Key necessary to make it work.

WordPress Automatic Upgrade: even though WordPress now comes with a built-in 'auto' upgrade system, it is not a complete upgrade, in that it does not backup your files and database for you, nor does it deactivate your plugins like you are supposed to before upgrading and then reactivate them once the upgrade is complete. However, the WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin does all these things for you and all from within your Administration Dashboard with only a few mouse clicks.

WordPress Database Backup: this plugin will backup your database, just as it says, but it will allow you to schedule regular backups (hourly, twice daily, daily, once weekly) and it will then be emailed to you. You can also do an immediate backup that can be saved to the server, emailed or downloaded to your computer. Your database is all of your site content: save often!

Sociable: adds icons to social bookmarking sites that you select in the settings for this plugin, then icons are added at the bottom of every post and page of your site so visitors and Stumble, Digg, Tweet, etc... your content.

Twitter Tools: this plugin will send a tweet to Twitter whenever you publish a new blog post, it can even put your Twitter updates in your sidebar - and much more!

7. Publish: now it's time to write! Remember, every blog post you write is an entryway to your site, so do keyword research for every post you write to find phrases that are appropriate for your content and that people are actually searching for - this will help you bring in 'organic' search engine traffic. Write your quality content blog post and then Publish it for it to show up on your blog.

A mere 7 simple steps on how to create a blog and you're blogging! If you need more detailed step-by-step help to learn how to create a WordPress blog, check out the Beginner to Blogger in 4 Weeks eCourse http://beginningblogger.com .