Click on the image to download a PDF version. Print it out and post it on your wall.

Then head into 2010 knowing that you are a month ahead of the rest of the world… and that you don’t have to be perfect!

Happy New Year!

Need a little more help?

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Other entries:

• 31: Why WordPress?
• #3: 10 Free Basic PlugIns You Should Add

After reading last week’s WW, you’ve decided that having your own WordPress on your own domain is exactly what your marketing efforts need. So how do you get started setting it up?

I’m going to walk you, step-by-step, through the process of doing it yourself. It’s not difficult to do, but it is a little complicated. Note: If you are not a techno-nerd and just want it Done! Now! then the easy way is listed at the end of this post.

If you’d rather do it yourself, read on and I will teach you how.

First Things First

First of all, you will need a domain name. If you don’t already have one, think about the most appropriate name for your blog and website. For a business owner, that would of course be your business name or something closely related. For an artist’s website, your own name would be appropriate.

Domain names are like real estate. Five years ago they were cheap and plentiful, and it was easy to buy the one you wanted without worrying if someone else got there ahead of you. They’re still cheap, but the speculators have moved in and bought up a lot of good ones already, so you might have to be a bit creative when finding one that’s available.

You can check the availability of the domain name you’d like to buy at Domain Tools.

Enter the domain name you want — we’ll use JaneSmith.com as an example — press Search, and you’ll see a screen that looks like this:

The filled-in globes to the right of the name show that the .com, .net and other forms of the name are already taken. Bummer. But below that is a list of suggested similar names that are available. Scan through the list and brainstorm some alternatives. JaneSmithArtworks.com? JaneSmithQuilts.com? Type them into the box at the top of the page and see what’s available.

Buy Your Domain Name

Once you’ve made a choice of domain name, you need to buy it. Domain Tools can help you search for an available name, but they won’t register the name for you. Where should you go to do this?

Technical note: You don’t actually “buy” the name. You lease the right to use it from ICANN, who is in charge of assigning all domain names everywhere. This is why there is a yearly fee associated with your domain name.

First, a “don’t.” Many webhosting companies will include a “Free!” domain name when you host with them. Unless you know and trust the company, however, it’s always best to buy your own domain name. Some of them register the domain in their own names so that you don’t actually own it. If you decide to leave their webhosting because of problems, you will lose your domain name and all the exposure that you’ve worked so hard to build.

Now… where should you buy your domain name?

The least expensive registrar that I know of, at about $10 per year, is GoDaddy.com. They are good people and I personally have more than 100 names registered there. However, their website is extremely busy and confusing and (snob warning) it’s a little trashy with lots of pics of scantily-clad GoDaddy Girls all over it. You’ll also be subjected to really hard upsell for more services as you check out.

For clean and simple and no hard sell, I’d suggest dotEarth.com or enomcentral.com. Cost for a domain name here is $25 – $30 per year.

On to Web Hosting

Now you need some sort of hosting plan, which is like renting a space if you are planning to open a store. You’ll be fine with the smallest shared hosting plan, which is generally quite inexpensive. Plans can be found for around $5 a month and may be less expensive if you pay in advance for a year. Most webhosts have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you pay and then find out you can’t work with them, you can cancel and get a full refund.

I would suggest looking for a Linux plan with cPanel and Fantastico (more on that later). Several companies offer Windows hosting and some people think that because they have a Windows computer they need this, but that’s not the case. Windows or Linux is the system that the remote computer, the webhost, uses to run itself and has nothing to do with what’s on your computer.

Recommended webhosts:

–> (this is me) 2FishWeb.com

Hostgator.com

KnownHost.com

ASmallOrange.com

All offer Linux/cPanel plans, guaranteed uptime, and great customer service. You won’t go wrong with any of them. Note: These are not affiliate links, except my own site. If you choose one of the others, I get no commission. These are recommendations based on personal experience of hosts I would use myself.

Set up your web plan

As you purchase your hosting plan, you will see the option to use an existing domain name or to register a new one. Since you have a domain name already, choose that option and enter your newly-acquired domain name.

Once your purchase is complete, you’ll receive a welcome email from your webhost with your username, password, and other information including the nameserver data. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Save this email — you’ll need it from time to time during the life of your website.

Change your DNS pointers

Now go back to the place where you bought your domain name. Sign in to your account and look for a link marked “Set DNS” or “Change Nameservers.” Click on that. There will be at least two boxes with cryptic names in there like “NS267.GRANDPRIX.HOSTGATOR.COM” and “NS268.GRANDPRIX.HOSTGATOR.COM.” (The NS numbers will always be sequential.)

Open your email from your hosting company and look for the nameservers they gave you. Erase the ones that are in the boxes and enter the new ones. Click OK.

Now sit back and wait for a couple of hours (possibly up to 24 hours, but usually much less). This process is like filing a change of address with the post office — it takes a little while for everybody to get the news that you’ve moved.

After that couple of hours or so, open your browser and type in your domain name. If you see a web page, even if it is blank or has a list of files on it, then your change of address has occurred and you can install WordPress.

Install WordPress

This is the easy part. I promise!

Remember when I suggested that you look for a hosting plan with Linux, cPanel, and Fantastico? Here’s why.

Sign in to your cPanel.

In your browser, type in http://YourDomainName.com/cpanel . A box asking for your username and password will pop up. Find those on the email from your webhost that I told you to save, enter them, and Submit.

You’ll see a scary screen with lots of options. Don’t worry about them right now. Just scroll down and find the Fantastico Deluxe icon — it’s usually near the bottom. Look for the blue smiley face.

On the next screen, click on Wordpress in the lefthand column.

You’ll see some information about WordPress on the next screen. Click on New Installation.

Page 1 of 3: You’ll see some information already filled in on this next screen. Important things here:

– Install in directory: blog
– Admin access data: Choose your username here. It’s case sensitive, so if you enter it as “Laura” you can’t sign in as “laura.” Do NOT use “admin” as your username. This is a security risk.
– Password: This is the password you will use to sign into your blog dashboard.
– Admin nickname: Choose how you want your name to be displayed. This does not have to be the same as the username.
– Email address and site name: self-explanatory.
– Description: You can leave it blank for now.

Click install.

Page 2 of 3: Check to make sure that everything is correct, and click Finish Installation.

Page 3 of 3: You’re done. There is an option on this page to email the installation details to yourself. This is a good idea, so do that and save that email as well.

WordPress is installed!

Next week: Recommended plugins

ps… I promised I’d tell you the Easy Way to do all this:

Or check back next week for the next steps. I promise you won’t hurt my feelings.

So how to start Month Zero?

Well, first of all… do you have goals set for next year? They don’t have to be big goals like “restore world peace” or “stamp out hunger.” They do need to be measurable, though. You can’t say something vague like “I’ll make more quilts next year.”

Nope. Make it concrete. “I made XX quilts this year. Next year I will make YY.”

Or “I will enter one exhibition/quilt show this year.”

Or “I will take a class from (teacher I’ve always secretly admired).”

That’s the first step. Write down those specific goals — one, or several, or a whole bunch. If there are a whole bunch, try to prioritize them. “I really want to do this thing, but I am absolutely going to do that one if I have to hijack a Wells Fargo truck to pay for it.”

(Just kidding about the Wells Fargo truck. Law enforcement officials would frown upon it and they wouldn’t allow needles or other sharp objects in your cell. Difficult to make quilts that way.)

(Besides, I think Wells Fargo changed its name last year. It would have to be a Loomis truck.)

Write your goals. Make them measurable. Share them here if you like, and we’ll form a Monday Morning Kick in the Pants Society to help keep each other on track with the goals. Or pin them up on your wall and keep track of them yourself. But I promise you, having a group to gently and lovingly kick you in the pants — and cheer like crazy when you reach a goal — is a Good Thing in terms of getting things done.

It’s just like Weight Watchers, only without the weigh-in. Or you know, that whole keeping-track-of-food thing.

Next time: You’ve got your goals, but how do you get there from here?

I’m getting a head start on next year. Instead of winding down the old one and fretting over holidays interfering with the end-of-year stuff, I’ve decided to look at this as Month Zero of 2010. A whole month for planning! When everyone wakes up hung over on January 1 and starts blearily thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, I’ll have spent 31 days thinking, planning, getting priorities in place for a successful and happy 2010.

Who will join me in Month Zero of 2010?

And I learned how to make my own slides from digital images, so I acquired a new skill from the experience.

I got an email this morning from Zappo’s .

——–
Dear C L Newbill,

One year ago, you ordered the following product from Zappos.com:

Saucony Grid Instep 3 – White/White – 10/W

We wanted to let you know that right now, your size is still available
from Zappos.com. You can order the same product again by visiting:

(link and some other let-us-know-how-we-can-help stuff omitted)

———

This reminded me, in the friendliest possible way, that I am still wearing year-old walking shoes despite knowing that I’m supposed to change them out every six months. Did it encourage me to go to the Zappos web site and buy another pair? You bet it did! And it didn’t put my hackles up, which is a minor miracle all by itself.

So how can we turn this idea to our advantage in marketing our own work?

I have a request from Artisans International for more work, and this morning I found out about a local opportunity for women artists. The Central Alabama Women’s Business Center is hosting a seminar called “The Business of Art: Creating Success” on August 11, with a networking opportunity to show and sell work afterward. You bet I signed up!

So… time to make some small pieces and mount on mat board, like those Sonji did last month for her art fair. Mine, of course, will not resemble those of the superfantastic Sonji, other than that they will be small, but that’s okay. I resemble the superfantastic Sonji in very few other respects.

Oh — Fibonacci Fandango is done, binding and sleeve and pretty little purple crystals in the center of the flower. Final picture soon. But for now, back to the studio with me.

Thanks!

Department of Good News: The invitation to the reception for Quilts of Today arrived in my mailbox this morning.

And there’s Orange Guy! Basking in his fifteen minutes of fame.

I showed the card to Sabrina at the post office, and the first thing she noticed was that my name had top billing. Funny — first thing *I* noticed was that it was misspelled…

You know the really cool thing about this show, though? There are seven artists represented, and four of us are members of Art2Mail. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch. :)