Earning Money Online

As you may have noticed, it took some time before I upgraded to version 2.9.2 of WordPress. There was a very good reason why I hesitated in moving away from version 2.8.6 of WordPress, and today I am going to tell you a bit about the major change since version 2.9 was introduced.

Version 2.9 of WordPress requires mySQL version 4.1 to function correctly. In my case this blog had a database running under mySQL version 4.0.1, so the previous upgrade to WordPress 2.9 FAILED.

You read that correctly. For the first time in years, I was faced with one of the nost annoying things for any blogger: considering whether to CHANGE blog-software, or find the solution.

I had tested the phpAdmin system my webhost provided, and thought I could have copied the tables directly to another mySQL database running on a newer version of mySQL. That was mission impossible. I could do anything on each server, but couldn’t move any data across servers.

By now, my annoyance was almost FULL, COMPLETE, and I was truly p*ssed. Pardon my french.

I stepped back for a few days, and thought things through, and suddenly the way to solve this was found.

Write down settings for new server, download a backup of articles, comments, pages etc. using the Export function in WordPress.
Download new version of WordPress. Enter new settings. Install WordPress, and THEN importing all articles, comments and pages again into the “new” version of the blog software.

Testing, and only minor details to change as a result of using a very special theme. But the main points were kept without any need to make any major adjustments afterwards.

Now, the only thing left is personalizing some of the details, but actually I am quite happy with the results — especially considering that the process took under half an hour once I got started.

But for beginners: be mindful to use a version of mySQL that is AHEAD of version 4.1. Don’t settle for minimum versions once you want to compare webhosts. It could cost you quite a lot to get your webhost to do the migration for you using THEIR advanced possibilities directly on their servers. And ruining years worth of writing could be equally humiliating, so don’t settle with anything less than mySQL version 5, if you want my honest advice.

But still, my favourite software is WordPress for blogging. I don’t anticipate that will ever change, and thought I would share this with you so you could pass by the 2.9 install also.

This article will deal with how to write clearly so you can achieve your goals. Whether it be coming across in an article database or creating a sales letter with impact. There are important key elements you need to come across loud and clear with your audience.

1. Have a clear grasp of your mission
2. Use illustrations
3. Write clearly — Avoid difficult words
4. Advertise on social media forums to get exposure

Have a clear grasp of your mission
When you want to write something you need to consider what you are trying to accomplish first. Are you trying to sell something? Sell an idea? Give a new perspective on some trendy topic?

Get your topic clearly defined, and write what you want to say. Get your words on the keyboard, and edit what you want to say afterwards. Get as close to spoken language as you can. Minimize the amount of confusion so your message can be brought across in the best possible way.

Don’t worry about your writing style, but be more conscious of getting your message through to your audience.

Wite clearly — avoid difficult words
When you begin using difficult words you will find lots of people lose an interest in your message. They will move on, and possibly never come back since you might have given people a very negative impression.

When you have your primary focus on your message it needs to be shared as plainly as you possibly can. It will make it much easier to understand your message right away.

Advertise on social media forums to get exposure
It’s useless to have a great message if it isn’t shared with others, so make sure you advertise what you have written on social media. Whether on Twitter or on Facebook (or even both). Perhaps you even want to announce your article to your list, if you have one…

Those four keys should help you to write more clealy. Try this, and get the attention of your audience from day one.

When I say the word “perfection”, it wakes up certain thoughts in your mind. I could illustrate this in pictures. These four photos below are some ways some people visualize perfection:

Now, how do you perceive perfection? Is it when you have written a good e-book that sells? Is it when you have written some new articles that get good reviews? What is your definition of perfection?

My best definition of perfection is:

Appreciating what you have achieved, yet always looking for ways to improve both your own understanding and the way you bring it forward to others.

You could say that by having that definition perfection is unattainable, and you would be almost right. What I consider a good e-book might not be what you like best. You might prefer a slight difference in focus because of your own niches – and that doesn’t change the quality of the e-book, but it sure changes the perception of the e-book.

Therefore we all know that giving any number of stars as a definition of value/quality is highly personal. The quality of the article is the same regardless of how many (or few) stars it gets. At least it was good enough to pass editorial guidelines when it was released. The quality of your videos may also be excellent, but if you miss certain elements of including a Powerpoint illustration or changing your voice or some third thing, people might find your video boring. If you had released the same information as a podcast (pure sound), it might have been a success.

So, as you can see, the perception of perfection is very different from person to person, and that’s why you need to adapt your message to the media you choose. For blogs, short and concise articles allow people to digest your information while following their busy schedules whereas a longer video might be exported to an iPod for later review.

Keep that in mind when you’re wondering why long videos don’t sell on your sales pages. You will want your message to come across in the best format possible. That is the key to strivinhg for perfection.