First, an important note: BACKUP YOUR SITE before you attempt this!

Here are the steps to take, to back up your Wordpress site:

1. Log in to your Wordpress Dashboard – enter “http://YOUR_BLOG’S_ADDRESS/wp-admin” in your address bar, and enter your username and password.
2. Click the “Manage” tab at the top of the page.
3. Click the “Export” option.
4. Make sure “All Authors” is selected in the “Options” section of the “Export” page.
5. Click the “Download Export File” button at the bottom of the page.
6. Name the exported file and save it to your computer.
7. Using an FTP (I recommend Cyberduck for Mac, or WS FTP for Windows) program, download ALL of the files from your web server, to your computer.
8. Make sure all everything you just downloaded is secure. Preferably, burn them to a DVD or CD and store them offsite. If this isn’t possible, an external hard drive works well too.
9. It might not be a bad idea to back up your MySQL database right now, but that is outside of the scope of this post, and I personally have never done that. If you follow the instructions here, you will have everything you need to restore your site in the event of a major meltdown.

For a great introductory lesson, try making a subtle change to your “functions.php” file. This will add some really great functionality to your blog, and it isn’t hard to do.

Edit some PHP

In my personal blog, www.GarrittHampton.com I talk about a change that I made to my “functions.php” file, to change the text that is displayed for “Protected” wordpress Posts. You can see the results here, http://hampton-family.com/Yvette/?p=161. This was a simple change, that has made a big difference for my site. It has made it much easier for readers to subscribe to my VIP Content, and that means MORE SUBSCRIBERS!

I encourage you to take the time to try this on your own site. I think you will be happy you did.
For Clear Instructions, CLICK HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the Wordpress Support Forums for more great ideas and expert help.

I was going for the longest title and subtitle in blogging history.

Since the first “dotcom boom”, a web page has been a necessity for any serious business. While this is especially true for online businesses, it is equally true for brick-and-mortar, and home-based businesses. It is not even acceptable for a business to not have a website, and in fact, I would propose that it is not even acceptable for a business to have a mediocre website. When our kids can put together a highly trafficked MySpace or Facebook page in their spare time, we just have no excuse as business owners not to devote a portion of our resources to putting together a GREAT website. Customers make immediate judgments about a business the second they land on it’s website. In many cases, these are subtle, subconscious judgments, but they impact the business/customer relationship powerfully.

Luckily, since the “dotcom boom” and “dotcom bust” things have gotten much easier. There are so many powerful tools available that enable every business owner to produce a really professional looking site, with only a moderate amount of work. These tools truly negate any excuse that these businesses might have, for not having a website. Additionally, with the advent of “Web 2.0″, the proliferation of social networking sites has spurred the creation and refinement of many of the most powerful of these tools.

Without a doubt, my favorite tool for web design is Wordpress. Wordpress, has definitely benefited from the improvements in technology, brought about by the social networking craze. On the surface, Wordpress is just blogging software, but at the core, Wordpress is a Content Management System (CMS).

What the heck is a CMS, and why should you care? The purpose of a Content Management System is to collect data, organize it, and present it over the internet. It allows massive amounts of data to be presented in an orderly, and easily searched and navigated manner. It combines a server-level database, like MySQL, with a browser-displayed front end (a web page). In short, it makes designing a data heavy website a breeze. By data, I mean words, links, numbers, pictures, video, audio, customer accounts, passwords, code, or any combination of these: basically, the meat of a website. For a good example of data, managed by a CMS, take a good look at this site. It is filled with words, pictures, video, links, and on the back end, administrator, editor, author, and subscriber account information. It is also, very typical. If you can imagine having a site like this, or already do, you need to know about CMS.

While Wordpress isn’t the only CMS tool out there – in fact, there are countless others – It is my favorite, and if you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I recommend it all the time. I first used Wordpress in 2005 when I had to do a ground-up redesign of a real estate website, for one of my consulting clients. I had been designing web pages for about 9 years, and up until then, mostly edited HTML by hand, in TextEdit, or Notepad. I used to design every page of a site, verify it in multiple browsers, fix any problems, then upload all of the files to the host, using Fetch, Cyberduck, WS FTP, or another FTP program. I had used a couple of WYSIWYG HTML editors, but found them to be more of a hindrance or crutch, than a real benefit. Keep in mind, I designed HUNDREDS of pages this way. I had built several, highly complex sites like this: everything from a personal sites, band sites, record company recording studio sites, to the site for our high-end stationery store. It was a very tedious process, but it yielded great results for the time.

When I started the site redesign, I felt like my designs were starting to look a little dated, and I knew I needed to find a faster way to work. I had heard about Wordpress on Leo Laporte’s radio show, and thought I would give it a try. I installed version 1.5 (I think) and never looked back. I was able to create a great looking site with tons of content (50+ pages, MLS search, home value tools, mapping, lead capture forms, and more), in a very short time. It was a “Eureka!” moment.

Since then, Wordpress has only improved. I am currently running version 2.6.3, and it is excellent. It is highly customizable, and gives very professional results without a lot of work. Plus, if you are willing and able to dig in and do some real under-the-hood work, Wordpress can yield amazing personalized results. Because of the excellent Wordpress support forums, with a little searching, you can usually find great ideas for making your blog work exactly like you want it to, and usually there are clear examples of code that you can use or adapt, to make the needed changes.

I don’t expect you to know how to administer a MySQL database, or even install Wordpress. The good news is, you don’t have to, and if you do, all the better! Most web hosting services offer guided installation of CMS systems, in fact, Go Daddy has a one-click Wordpress Setup that I have used many times. It makes setting up a Wordpress blog take just minutes.

Take the time to dive in to the world of CMS. You will find that managing your website becomes much easier, and your site will look and perform much better as a result.

Wordpress Resources:

You can download Wordpress for free at Wordpress.org

You can cut your teeth on Wordpress, with a free blog, at Wordpress.com

My personal blog at www.GarrittHampton.com has tons of Wordpress tips: everything from Installation, to Themes, to Plugins, to the truly geeky stuff like editing CSS and php.

Check out the Wordpress Support Forums for expert help.

Check out http://wordpress.org/extend/ for great Wordpress Themes, Plugins and ideas.

Here are some of the other Wordpress posts on this site: http://RenegadeMarketingStrategies.com/?s=wordpress. Notice that some of these posts are for subscribers only. To access all of the VIP content on this site, subscribe to our newsletter.

Out of high school, at the age of 17, I had no clear direction on where I wanted my life to go (who really does at that age, anyway?). After attending a few classes at the local community college I decided that the military sounded like a good idea, so I joined and served in the United States Air Force for four years where I was trained as an aircraft electrician.

During my time in the Air Force, I learned many things about business. The first was that ANYTHING is possible. We performed seemingly impossible tasks daily, and never said, “that’s not my job”, or “I don’t think I can do that”. If there was a job to be done, no matter how complicated or how short the timeline, we found a way to do it. I also learned that I didn’t want to work for anyone but myself. So, after my departure from the Air Force, I decided to merge my love of music, and my love of not working for idiots, and I built and operated a small recording studio in the Los Angeles area. Along with the recording studio, my business partner and I started an independent record label.

I quickly learned that succeeding in business was so much more than knowing how to record or engineer music. As I began to understand what it took to establish, build and succeed in business, I quickly became intrigued by the world of business. I had taken business courses in college, but actually building a successful business as an entrepreneur was quite different than what I learned in the textbooks. My desire for a successful career caused me to dive in to every learning opportunity I could find. I began to read every business and marketing book I could get my hands on, went to training seminars, surrounded myself with other successful, some VERY successful, business owners, and learned a lot simply through trial and error. As I learned more about business, it became my passion. I love good business and good marketing, and I love the process of building systems and implementing the incremental, evolutionary, and revolutionary improvements that make a business great.

After owning the studio for a little more than four years, I decided I needed to move in a different direction, so I sold the company and began to look at other business opportunities. In time, my wife and I purchased a high-end retail stationery store, Paper Mulberry, which had been around for about seven years. We moved the business to a new location, and began to build systems, and grow our customer base. Yvette and I found that it was important to have clearly identified, and differentiated roles, so Yvette dealt with the customer service side of the business, I handled the operations and marketing.

As we adapted to our roles, and grew as a team, we enjoyed great success in business. Paper Mulberry grew rapidly, and we added staff and expanded our product line. We also built a successful website and online store to enhance our brick-and-mortar business. It was during the first year of business, that I really fine tuned my marketing skills. I had read and learned many things about effective marketing, but I hadn’t had the money, or opportunity to really put those things into practice before. With our purchase of the business, I definitely had the opportunity, and the business was producing plenty of money to put in place a very effective marketing and advertising campaign. Through the use of coupons, and direct response, I was able to track the effectiveness of each new campaign, and constantly worked to improve the results. Over time, our advertising became like a“faucet” and when we wanted to turn up our business, we just turned up the “faucet”.

In 2005 Yvette and I were blessed with our first child. Because we both wanted Yvette to stay home as a full-time mom, and I really couldn’t see myself selling wedding invitations and birth announcements forever, we decided to sell the business. It was when we listed the business, that I truly realized the impact of our marketing and system building efforts. Like many business owners, we had concentrated on the day-to-day aspects of building the business, and had never really stepped outside of the business to truly evaluate the effects of our efforts. Our business broker was excited to inform us, that we had the highest earnings per square foot of any business he had ever worked with. Every square foot of our little retail store produced almost $13,000 per year, in sales. Also, he was relieved to find that all of the preparation that goes into listing a business for sale, was already done. We had an up-to-date business plan, an operations and management manual, comprehensive business systems, and complete (and honest) financial records. Most importantly, the business was profitable. It made his job much easier, and added value to the business.

With the sale of Paper Mulberry, I began my career as a business and marketing consultant, and almost immediately, fell into a long-term consulting position (and Marketing Director title) at a real estate company. During this period, I helped other businesses on a short term basis, but was mainly focused on growing that business. In addition to bringing about great changes in the business, this was a great period of growth for me. I was able to dive deeply into the specialized world of real estate marketing, and attend some excellent seminars and classes. I made it a point during this time to take advantage of every opportunity I could, and it paid off.

When I arrived at Realty Response, the business was in a period of gradual decline. Even though the real estate market was still booming (for a while), Realty Response was stagnating. No one was responsible for advertising, and there was no marketing plan. Worse, there was no real direction, or plan for improvement. Suffice to say, dramatic changes were needed, but luckily, management was willing to allow major changes, and big successes followed.

During the first few weeks that I was there, I focused on reorganizing staff, and developing a cohesive plan for improvement. I began to systematize the business and wrote several manuals including business operations manuals, training manuals, and developed client presentations. As the plan was being refined, we began to implement some basic changes, that led to big results. The first thing we did, was begin a well tracked, direct mail advertising campaign. This allowed us to test marketing messages and begin to develop target markets. We would, later, shift much of the advertising budget away from direct mail, but this was a very good venue to begin a tested advertising campaign, and get the company moving forward again.

Over the next 2 years, we were able to increased sales leads by more than 300% and bring the company to top 10% performance among 400+ local real estate companies. We maintained, month-to-month, lead growth of 16% by continuously monitoring and refining advertising campaigns to increase their effectiveness. We were able to increase per transaction commission rates by 40.8% by revising the company’s commission structure. We started a sister company to provide referrals to the parent company, which produced over $1.5 million in business in its first year, and we launched an award-winning website, and implemented the company’s first complete Internet marketing system consisting of over 20 unique branded and unbranded URLs. Eventually, we reduced total advertising expense 75% by shifting focus from direct mail advertising to direct response Internet classifieds, pay-per-click, and other print campaigns, while continuously increasing the effectiveness of the company’s advertising.

Unfortunately, and as a testament to the depth and extent of the real estate market downturn, all the improvements couldn’t save Realty Response. The company had to make major cutbacks and relocate in order to weather the storm, and that meant I had to move on. I quickly found myself in another long-term consulting position at a market leading motion control company, and have remained there until now. While I have continued to work short-term consulting jobs for other small businesses, I have been blessed to be able to have a few long-term clients, and have been able to focus on the success of those companies. I am enjoying my position with a this very successful company, and am relieved to be able to focus on business improvements, rather than having to bail water from a sinking ship.

It is a great blessing to be able to expand my consulting reach through Renegade Marketing Strategies, and help many more small businesses achieve success. It is my passion to see these businesses flourish, and I am always happy to help.

garritt@renegademarketingstrategies.com