The Many Faces of WordPress

A deep thought for today – the history of WordPress in a nutshell:

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on millions of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

Indeed, for some, the advent of this powerful web platform was life changing. This video by Glenda Watson Hyatt describes how using WordPress has given her a voice and brought new employment opportunities:

And now it’s no secret that WordPress has become the most popular web platform among entrepreneurs and small businesses today. On the WordPress site, you can even see a whole Showcase featuring the many websites that have been built using WordPress functionality. In the past, WordPress may have been seen as a platform for delivering blogs, but with new technology and lots of innovative plugins, WordPress can also serve as a platform for systems like Content Management, Social Networking and Ecommerce.

Even some high-profile Internet Entrepreneurs, including Ryan Deiss have been powering their latest online product launches with WordPress. They have been using this platform to build their list, share content, and socialize with their audience. This week we saw a perfect example when popular Information Marketer Ryan Deiss launched a brand new product at Facebook Evolution using the WordPress template, Optimize Press.

Here at VAClassroom we’ve been watching these trends, and we know this is a niche that could prove very profitable for the Virtual Assistant and online business community, so we’ve created a new “Product Launches Powered by WordPress” Clinic that will provide a compelling case as to why businesses should seriously consider WordPress as their preferred choice for product launches. On December 8th, we are offering an exciting opportunity for Virtual Assistants to enhance their WordPress skills and specifically discover the templates, plugins and tactics for being able to launch any type of product using WordPress. This live 3-hour clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8th from 12pm – 3pm (PST). Here is a quick overview of a few of the topics we will be covering in this informative session:

•    Selecting the BEST WordPress templates and themes to create squeeze pages and product sales pages.

•    Integrating Powerhouse Plugins for a complete product launch, including sales pages, testimonials, product countdowns and content sharing.

•    Creating compelling videos for your WordPress squeeze / sales page process.

•    Building a powerful WordPress mini-site to strategically use during the pre-launch process.

•    Integrating the right Social Media Plugins to socialize your product launch campaign.

•    Setting up eye-catching optin forms and integrating autoresponder software.

•    Adding common CSS snippets to enhance your Squeeze/Sales Page templates.

•    Keyword Research and SEO tips for getting your WordPress sites found on Google.

•    And so much more!!

If you are looking to expand your services and opportunities in 2011, this clinic will certainly help you to carve out a nice WordPress niche for your business! If you have any questions about this program, please submit your comments below. Check out the new WordPress Clinic Here.

VideoUtilityPoster – A Cool Web 2.0 tool For Driving Traffic To Your Blog

I came across an ultra cool web application that is ideal for all you bloggers out there. Now, I don’t know about you, but there are times in a blogger’s life when the creative juices aren’t flowing and you are stumped with fresh ideas for your blog. While this might only last for a moment, why not take the opportunity to add some other people’s relevant content to your blog that will interest your readers and ignite your Search Listings.

Well, the VideoUtilityPoster does just that! This downloadable software integrates with whatever blogging platform you are using (Ie. WordPress) and allows you to quickly search for relevant videos that you might want to incorporate into your blog or website. VideoUtilityPoster features an easy “Drag and Drop” system, where you drag the video script into your blog post. This tool also allows you to automatically add keyword-rich descriptions (if you like) to further boost the SEO potency for your post.

As you may know Google and other SEs love fresh video content, combined with keyword rich content – this makes equates to a winning formula for your SEO efforts.

So, consider adding some great relevant video content the next time you experience a “writer’s block”! The cost for this tool is $67, but they do offer a 30 day money back guarantee, so it might be worth adding to your blogging arsenal! Also, this might be a value-added tool to use for your client’s blogs in helping them come up with new and relevant content ideas.

Again, you can also just simply search for content ideas in YouTube, and copy and paste the embed link into your post. However,  VideoUtilityPoster basically simplifies and saves you time in researching and integrating video content into your blog. Check it out!