A common comment that we receive at MomWebs.com is this “Why I would want to pay for hosting when I can get a free blog?”

We normally answer that question with a question of our own “What is the difference between renting and owning your home?”

Whether you’re blogging for fun or profit – or both, you’ll be pouring time and love into your creation. Do you want to own your blog and everything on it? Or would you rather just rent it and let someone else control how it’s treated, how long it stays online, and what kinds of limitations are placed upon you?

Me? I want to own my blog. I want to have 100% rights to my creation – whether it’s a personal blog with pictures of my puppies or whether it’s a blog that I’ve set up to make money.

Can you imagine owning a house and having someone come by and say “Ma’am… you can’t paint your bathroom that color. And, we can’t allow you to have a Tupperware party, either. Oh, and by the way, we’ll be moving your home in the next 24 hours and all of your addresses will need to be changed.”

You’d be thinking “No WAY!”

While that’s a long list of “What if’s” – all of those things can happen when you are using a free service. I certainly would not recommend that anyone build a business on a free blog.

Now, I’m sure you’re thinking that’s all well and good, but how the heck does it work? And, that’s where a good web host like MomWebs.com comes in to save the day. Not only do they offer email support, but you can pick up the phone and leave a message day or night and they’ll call you back.

Just go to MomWebs and look for the link that says “Blog Installation”. They’ll set up your blog for you and you’ll be set to go with a blog that you own today, tomorrow, and in 10 years for your kids to look at.

All you need is an idea and the desire to blog for fun or profit or both. We wish you the best – with whatever you decide.

Nicole Dean & Kelly McCausey love helping moms to earn money online without struggling and making mistakes like they did. Both women have been mentoring potential online business owners in the work at home mom community for many years. MomWebs.com was created to help work at home moms to overcome the technical hurdles that may be preventing them from sharing themselves with the online world. Check out the free training at MomWebs.com

All links in this post are affiliate links (Why tell?)

Recently someone asked me how to set up a navigation menu like the one here at the Business Opportunity Connection. My response was very short – it’s just part of my blog theme.

I’ve been using WordPress and various themes for just about 5 years (The 5th anniversary of this blog is coming up in a couple of weeks!) and am pretty comfortable with changing themes and customizing them to my liking. But if you are new to blogging or aren’t comfortable taking the plunge to change and customize your theme, Traci Knoppe has some great tips for you in her article below.

The WordPress (WP) Theme – How to Find, Install and Customize
By Traci Knoppe

So you have your WordPress (WP) blog installed, but the default WP theme definitely does not reflect your business message, nor convey your personality. Good thing WordPress makes installing a new theme quick and easy.

How to Find the Perfect WP Theme

Web Search: You can actually find WordPress themes quickly by either doing a web search. To help narrow down your search results, use specific elements you want in your theme; for example: “red 2 column wordpress theme”.

WordPress Admin Theme Search: with the newest version of WordPress, you can now search for, and install, wp themes all from within your administration dashboard! This handy admin dashboard search feature only searches the themes directory at the WordPress web site; however, you are given ability to search by keyword phrase or even select listed search parameters, such as color, how many columns you prefer and/or even if you want a theme with an easily customizeable header.

How to Install a WP Theme

Whether you find and download the zip file for your new WordPress theme via a web browser search engine find, or you find your new theme in the admin dashboard, installation is super easy. Follow these simple installation steps:

From a saved zip file

1. Log into your WP admin dashboard and in the left navigaton column, go to Appearance > Add New Themes
2. At the top of the page, below where it says Install Themes, click the Upload link
3. Cick the Browse button to find the zip file on your computer for the theme you wish to install
4. Click Install Now
5. After installation is complete, you will see a message asking if you want to Activate the theme. If you want to apply this theme to your blog, click Activate.
6. That’s it!

From a WP admin dashboard search

1. If you have found your theme using the search feature from within your admin dashboard (Appearance > Add New Theme), then below the preview listing for each theme name, you’ll see the Install Theme link right next to the Preview link.
2. Click the Install Theme link.
3. In the window that pops up, click the Install Now button
4. You will then get a successful installation message with a link to click to Activate the theme for your site, if you want to activate this theme, click Activate
5. That’s it!

Free WordPress Themes – Premium or Custom WordPress Themes: Which is Better?

There is a never ending supply of free wp themes available. That’s great news for your budget; but if you do not have the image editing software and/or the ability to at least customize a free theme, you run the risk of your site looking exactly like many others on the web using the same free theme.

Free WordPress Themes

My advice is to customize any free wp theme you intend to use. Change the header graphic, as well as any icons or graphics used within the theme, to reflect your business image or message. Use the search guidelines I mentioned above to get the core layout of the theme as you want it (i.e. 2 columns or 3 columns) because changing colors and a few graphics is much easier than changing the entire layout of a theme.

Premium WordPress Themes

A premium WP theme is one that you pay for; however, it still needs a bit of tweaking to make it uniquely yours. Since many folks will be going for and using the free themes, buying a pre-made theme is the next step up to not having your site look like every other one on the web. You can find premium themes on template sites, or by doing a web search. They aren’t hard to find, but there are far fewer choices of premium themes.

Custom WordPress Themes

This is an option that requires hiring a wp theme designer. Yes, this is going to cost you money to have done; but your returns in the long run may be better, as you can truly get a theme designed exactly as you want that will uniquely brand you and your company. Before you hire a WordPress theme designer, make sure you see samples of their work. Any experienced professional web designer will have a portfolio of their work. Another key thing to screen new web designers for is their ability to communicate; more specifically to listen to your needs and then comprehend what your needs are and translate that into a blog theme design that meets those needs. Communication skills are essential and the designer should be able to translate your non-tech requests into appropriate and applicable tech needs for your blog theme.

Once you have chosen your blog’s theme, it’s easier to select a theme for your blog, whether a free theme, premium or custom. Keep your branding mind and go from there.

If you find that you need more help with WordPress issues, feel free to join my free newsletter at http://GenesisBlogging.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Traci_Knoppe
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-WordPress-(WP)-Theme—How-to-Find,-Install-and-Customize&id=2903419

Whether you write just for your own sites or are branching out as content writer for others, these five tips will help you improve your skills and increase your value online.

1. Read other people’s content. Not only will you get ideas for what to write about, but you may pick up some pointers on style and format.
2. Stay current. Accepted writing practices change, especially online writing practices. You may want a copy of the AP Stylebook, a resource used by reporters and other writers as a guide to spelling, grammar, abbreviations, and more.
3. Keep learning. Set yourself up to be an expert.
4. Choose a niche. If you are going to be an expert, you need to have a field. It is hard to concentrate on three or four different areas. Choose one and establish yourself there before moving on to another area.
5. Find a writing style. Or find your voice. Are you laid back, witty or serious? Every writer has a voice – explore and develop yours.

The best writers are those who never stop learning. There’s always room for improvement.

While the actual process of blogging is simple, getting the traffic and the revenue from your blog that you desire can be more difficult. Here are five ways to improve your blogging skills.

1. Keep up with the times. No one wants to read last month’s news. A blogger has to know what is going on in the world yesterday, today and tomorrow. Some important issues stay in the headlines for months but your audience will want fresh updates on those topics. Knowing what is going on around you and what will interest others will make your blog content worth reading.

2. Change your content often. There is nothing worse than losing traffic you’ve worked hard to attract because you don’t update your posts. You might not post every day but you can be sure that your readership will drop off it you only post once a month. Readers like fresh content and they will go where they can get it. If you have trouble producing enough of your own material, consider hiring a writer, ask others to guest post on your blog, use PLR content, and even sprinkle in some free content.

3. Network with others. Get your content out there. Register with search engines and join social bookmarking sites like Technorati and Digg so people can see what you are doing. Share your blog address with friends on your profile page on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

4. Pay attention to your readership. When people comment they would like for you to answer them back. Some ask questions and some just want to let you know that they agree or disagree with what you’ve said. Take the time to talk to them. After all, they took the time to visit and post a comment. Their comments can drive the direction your blog takes in the future if you want to keep them as readers and increase your traffic.

5. Keep your ads to a minimum. Ads are a way for bloggers to make money with their sites. That’s all well and good and a few ads are great and will attract attention. If you post too many, however, visitors might be turned off. You want your content to be the main attraction.

Creating interesting content and keeping readers coming back takes time and effort. Use these five tips to enhance the value of your blog and your effort will pay off.

You may have realized this long before I did. Blog themes aren’t just about layout and design. Now even many free themes come with some cool functionality and features. And if you’re willing to spend a little you can find some amazing features included in some really nice designs.

I guess the whole concept of themes including functional features sort of snuck up on me. In the nearly five years that I’ve been blogging I’ve changed themes several times to change the look of the Business Opportunity Connection. This new theme is the first time I’ve gone looking for some functions I wanted, including the featured section at the top and the tabbed section in the sidebar that contains “Popular,” “Comments,” etc. I’m sure with a little know-how or research those elements can be added to almost any theme, but it’s great to find them bundled together and ready to go.

I modified the theme a bit to make it more my style and move some things around. For continuity I kept the same header graphic and some of the same colors. The big difference is the magazine style home page, which may take a little while to get used to.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think. How often do you change the look of your blog? Is it more about design or more about functionality for you?

Here’s a great opportunity to learn how to become a profitable blogger. Moms Talk Network is offering an awesome blogging education with their blog internships. A new session starts soon and at the end of the 10-week program, interns will be very well-prepared to run their own profitable blogs using WordPress.

If you can make a firm commitment to the program and the very reasonable time requirement, and you can learn from constructive criticism, this is an unmatched opportunity to gain the skills necessary to run a successful blog. Interns don’t have to lay out any cash for their education, but are expected to contribute blog content.

I wholeheartedly recommend the program which is run by Kelly McCausey, an inspirational coach and highly successful home business owner and blogger.

Learn more about the Blogging Internship at Moms Talk Network.

Kelly’s talking about whether a blogger’s physical weight plays a role in her popularity. It got me to thinking, are there other factors that contribute to a blogger’s success, but really shouldn’t?

What about age? Older bloggers could be considered more experienced and “wiser,” but a younger blogger might be more thought of as more savvy and more fun.

How about general attractiveness? Ethnicity? Gender?

There was a time when the Internet was much more anonymous. Many people worked and socialized online under screen names and never posted pictures of themselves. Now, especially with social networking being so popular, people realize that building relationships is a better way to market online and we’re making ourselves know by name and picture.

Does putting a picture out there to be more personable end up backfiring for some?

To Kelly, it appears that it’s the slender, beautiful mom bloggers that are attending live events. Or at least that’s who is in the pictures from the events. Self-confidence is probably a contributing factor and those of us who aren’t so skinny may stay home because of it. Or are we there and just good at avoiding having our picture taken?

As I said in response to Kelly’s blog post. I think it’s no different in the blogging world than it is in society in general. Thin, good looking bloggers are likely to be more popular because for the most part we all many of us still hold on to stereotypes about overweight and unattractive people.

What do you think?

Blogging is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to market your direct sales business on the Internet. A blog personalizes your business, helps increase your search engine rankings, helps you build relationships with customer and prospects, and enhances your credibility in your business field.

One of the best parts about using a blog to promote your direct sales business is that it’s very easy to get started, even in you have no website design or coding experience.

Our new blogging business guide explains everything you need in order to get started and you can be set up and posting to your blog in a matter of minutes.

Click the link to grab your copy today!
Blogging for Direct Sales Business Success

Thank you for making the time to read iRepNetwork’s blog, Business Opportunity Connection.

As a token of our appreciation please download and enjoy Blogging for Business Made Easy, an 11-page business guide to starting your own blog. (Just right click the link and select “save as” from the drop-down menu. You will need a PDF reader to view the guide; a free one is available here.)

And please come back and leave a comment to let me know whether or not you find the guide useful. And if you use the guide to get started blogging, be sure to link to your new blog and I’ll stop by.

As you may know, I’ve been following the 31-day challenge to Be a Better Blogger over at ClickNewz.com. Admittedly, I fell behind and hadn’t done much with it since Day 17, Brainstorm 20 Blog Post Ideas Today. But check out the end of this post…. it includes the Day 18 task, Show Your Readers Some Appreciation, and I’ve been playing catch up for the past few days.

Some of the latest tasks were easy. Day 19 and 20 are things I’ve always done so I just marked those complete, and I had already customized our blog design. Others took some doing… and day 27 will take some time by definition (spend 2 hours writing a post). I’m holding off on day 24, Advertise On StumbleUpon until I spend those 2 hours on a post so I can use that post for the ad. Other than that I’m still working on making new blog friends and just waiting to hear back from the guest blogger article I pitched as well as the guest blogger I invited to write something.

Even though I haven’t completed every BABB step, I have at least read and learned from each daily post. And the idea really was to start developing new habits that will make us better bloggers from now on, not just for the month. I think I’ve done that. I’ve learned a lot and hope that you’ve noticed some improvements to the Business Opportunity Connection.

Reader Appreciation
Thank you for taking the time to read the Business Opportunity Connection. I’m sure your life is very full and it can be hard to find the time. I hope we have provided useful information or a bit of entertainment for you.

As a token of my appreciation, and in the spirit of developing better [blogging] habits, please download a complimentary copy of The Guide to Good Habits.

And please leave a comment below if only to say “hi” and introduce yourself. I’d like to get to know more about you.

Of course your feedback about BABB, “The Good Habits Guide,” and our blog in general are always welcome and appreciated!