Most of the online marketing training that I have been exposed to makes a point of mentioning the importance of backups at least once. The main backup that is mentioned is the database backup, and yes, this is important. With the availability of the WordPress Database plugin, which is free to use, and a free Gmail account, you have the ability to send a copy of your database to yourself on a daily basis. Once setup, this is virtually a hands free and cost free process, so there is no excuse for not having your database for your WordPress blog backed up.

Another needed backup that is frequently mentioned is that of backing up the files on your actual website. More than one online business has faced irretrievable loss when a hosting provider has gone out of business or suffered a major server side glitch and all files have been lost. Does this take time? Of course it does. But it is nothing compared to the time you would spend trying to recreate your website or blog from thin air. So, if you are not already familiar with using your ftp, it is time to learn how to work with it and take a full copy of the files that make up your website.

So now we have covered the database and files, what about the settings? If you manage your website yourself as many of us do, you have invested a significant amount of time in how your site has been setup. Would you be able to easily recreate those settings? Or would you have to once again go through the process of investigating what each means before implementing? Do you know what is all listed under links? Have you made reciprocal link deals with any other sites? This information will not necessarily be available on a restore. It should, but what if it is not? Do you have another means of recovering this information?

As I mentioned above, the release of WordPress 3.0 prompted an overhaul for this blog. This happened for two reasons:

1) The theme I was currently using did not migrate well. And…

2) I had too many blogs with too many different themes, which effectively doubled the work load.

So, I decided to use the Magazine Basic theme as the default for all of my blogs.

To do this effectively, I set up a testing site, (with search engines blocked), under my default blog and installed WordPress 3. I also took this opportunity to setup clean databases and name them in a manner that reflected which blog they referred to. So, importing the database was not an option here. Fortunately, there is a plugin called WordPress Importer that allows you to export all of your posts and pages and re-import them to a new installation. I had to do some tweaking with the Categories and Tags, but overall, this was a definite plus as my intention was to wipe out the original blog once the test one was setup to my satisfaction.

It was at this point that I realized just how much was missing. All of the links had to be manually redone, as well as the basic settings, user accounts, specialty settings, plugin setups, analytics settings, menus, and of course any redirection links that had existed in the original blog.

Now most of you will be able to re-establish your website without having to do all of this , simply because you do have a valid database backup on hand and a copy of your website files. If you are not techy enough to restore it yourself it should be relatively easy to find someone to help you with it. However, if for any reason your database backups are unusable, having a listing of your website settings and an export of your posts and pages will help you to get back up and running.

A further unseen benefit occurred for me just a few days ago. Having setup the testing site for one of my blogs, I had thought to remove it at a later date when I was comfortable with the new setup. Of course, there never did seem to be the time to do this, and in this case, that was a very good thing.

You see, I added a new plugin to this other blog and upon activation, my customized home page disappeared. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I realized I still had my test site running and was able to use it as a reference while troubleshooting the effects of this new plugin, which did not disappear when the plugin was deactivated.

After a bit of time and a great deal of head scratching, I found that a new redirection had been implemented when the plugin was activated and so everytime I tried to go to the home page, it redirected me to the page associated with the plugin. Once this redirection was removed, I confirmed that my customized home page was the one set in the Settings areas and all was back where it needed to be.

This is just one small example of how having a testing environment available saved the day. And I admit, had I used the testing environment to test the addition of this plugin instead of my main blog, a lot of grief could have been avoided. I have learned my lesson with the above experiences and I hope that what I have learned will benefit others in the future.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

Occasionally I am contacted by some individual who has found out the hard way, through their pocket book, that something they have invested in is not nearly as profitable as it first appeared. I am not going to name any names here because that is not the point of this post. Rather, I would like to make three points.

Point 1: If you can not afford to lose it, don’t invest it. It can take several attempts to find training in the area of Internet Marketing that works for you. And, just like the brick and mortar businesses you see out on the street, no business is guaranteed success. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another as they are individuals with different knowledge, personalities and skills.

I, for example, do really well in the geeky side of marketing. Putting up a website and playing with new ways to do things make my day. On the other hand, when it comes to the feel good side of things, I still have a lot to learn because I think and speak in a technical manner.

This, or something similar may be the issue for many who get into the field of Internet Marketing and this means either you learn the skills you are missing or you need to be prepared to outsource that part of your business to someone who does have those skills.

Point2: Be sure to read the fine print. And, take a copy of those special offers that sound so enticing. There is nothing stopping you from taking a print screen of the web page and saving it to a picture file. That is what your print screen key on your keyboard is for and every Windows computer I have every worked on has the Paint program in accessories where the print screen can be pasted. This gives you something to reference if things don’t seem to be going according to what you thought you agreed to. While you are at it, make sure you read and copy any terms of agreement that pop up along the way.

Point3: Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

A while back I invested in a website installation. I agreed to purchase a domain name and hosting for a year. When the year was up, I decided to move the website to my main hosting provider only to find that the installer of the website had encrypted some of the files in such a way that they would not function on another hosting provider. When I requested that the encryption be removed, my request was denied. So, either I allow myself to be held hostage to their hosting provider, or I walk away and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Now, had their hosting been WordPress friendly, I might have considered continuing with this hosting, even though it meant additional hosting costs. As it turned out, the hosting was not WordPress friendly, so the choice was made to let the site go. I did, however, manage to move the domain to my own domain registrar, so there is the opportunity to rebuild.

While I can understand the wish for a marketer to hold onto clients, these types of tactics leave a bad taste. How many of you think that I will agree to do business with that marketer again, even if the deal presented is the next best thing to sliced bread?

How you conduct your business relationships with your clients will eventually precede you. And, while it is true that you can not always please everyone, sometimes it is better to lose a little in order to gain or retain a client.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

In this video, Dr. Brown breaks down her journey to discover the role that shame plays in our lives. What is shame all about and what is the difference between those of us that are held back by shame and those of us that have moved beyond the restrictions that shame places on lives.

Dr. Brown makes connections between shame and many issues that people find in their lives, connections that I personally would never have made. For some of you, watching this video may be the best 20 minutes you spend this year. For others, it may provide one of those ah ha moments. Most that watch this video will never think of shame in the same way again.

Sit back, get comfortable and enjoy.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

There are some things in life you don’t gamble on. Even if your website is not generating money, you need to have your website legal documents in place to help protect you against unnecessary legal problems that can leave a BIG hole in your bank account. It isn’t a matter of whether or not you can afford to put these documents in place. It is a matter of not being able to afford the consequences if someone comes after you and they are not in place.

Since the FTC regulations have taken effect, it has been “game on” for those that seek to find people who do not have their website legal documents in place. Tracking you down seems to have become the new “in thing” to do.

Now if you are into tactics that don’t bear scrutiny in the light of day, even posting your Internet terms of use policy and Internet privacy policy will not protect you, as the defendants in this FTC settlement found out.

But, if you are doing all in your power to work above board and within the confines of the many regulations out there, does it not also make sense to protect yourself in every way possible?

Don’t take chances.

Internet Lawyer Mike Young offers the Website Legal Forms Generator Gold software as a way for website owners to reduce their risk and put their website legal documents in place. Check it out today.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

I read a great blog post today by Perry Marshall entitled, “Smashing Through The Black Wall Of Fear.” Perry Marshal writes some great posts that use real life experiences to show how we all can grow and become stronger in our lives as Internet marketers. Visit Perry Marshall’s Blog for this and other great posts.

But back to our topic of today.

Perry’s post described the challenge a young, inner city boy faced when he attended a camp with Perry and participated in a ropes course located 25 feet off of the ground. He describes the intense fear that paralyzed the young lad and how it stopped him from moving forward to complete the challenge of the course. Perry Marshall goes on to describe how one of the counselors at the camp came up with a way to help him with overcoming the fear of risk presented by the ropes course.

What this counselor did was show her charge exactly what would happen if he did fall off. You see, it isn’t always just the challenge itself that causes fear, but the unknown of what will happen if the worst possible scenario occurs. As you can well imagine, this young lad was most likely thinking of how unwelcome the impact of falling 25 feet would be. The counselor proved to him that with the safety gear he was wearing, he would come to no harm should the worst happen and he fell off.

And isn’t it exactly like that for the rest of us. We cling to what we know because we know what to expect. When we are presented with a new risk, it is the fear of the unknown that holds us back.

One way to overcome the fear of risk is to educate ourselves on what the worst case scenario might be should we fail. Just like this child, once we know the possible outcomes, we are able to make a decision on whether or not to proceed based on reality rather than our fear of risk taking.

Many of us have to overcome the fear of failure. While this is not something that will generally result in physical pain like a fall would, it does leave us open to emotional pain. We are afraid of what others might say or think of us if we do not succeed. And yet, if we never step out and take a risk, we will never achieve our dreams.

When you find yourself paralyzed by the fear of risk taking, analyze the consequences of failure. What is the worst thing that could happen? Are there steps you are able to take to minimize that risk? Once this is clear to you it is time to decide if you are willing to take that risk and overcome the fear of failure.

I know this is easier said than done. There may be others who you need to take into consideration when accepting risk as they would be effected as well. Taking the time to fully analyze the possible consequences is the responsible way of dealing with risk. This knowledge assists us in overcoming the fear of risk and allows us to make a meaningful decision in regards to the challenges we face in our lives.

I encourage you to visit Perry Marshall’s Blog for this and other great posts.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

A domain name provides an online identity for your business and therefore is something that you want to put a lot of thought into. First and foremost, the question must be asked, do you already have a traditional brick and mortar business. If this is the case, then you will be looking for a domain name that matches the name of that business. More and more traditional businesses’ are looking at available domain names prior to registering a business name to ensure that these two names will match up.

If you do not have a traditional brick and mortar business, and have no plans to develop one, you have a wider range of options available when deciding on which domain name to register. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Which Niche Are You Targeting?

Picking a domain name such as funnyguy.net will be of no use to you if you are selling dog training information. On the other hand, it might be a great domain name for a comedy or joke website. It is recommended that the domain name that you choose is related in some way to the business that it will represent. Or, if you are willing to spend a lot of time developing a brand name, you might choose something totally unique.

A good example of a unique, branded domain name would be the GoDaddy.com domain. The phrase ‘GoDaddy’ would not normally bring to mind thoughts about domain name registration. However, GoDaddy has spent a lot of time building up the GoDaddy brand and it is now a well recognized name for someone who is looking for a domain registrar.

Normally though, you will be better off to choose a domain name that tells people what your business is about and to do this, you will be looking for a keyword rich domain name.

What Keywords Are You Targeting?

Every niche has an assortment of keywords that are used by folks who are searching the Internet for products in that niche. Unfortunately, many of the short tail keyworded domain names that are one to two words in length are unavailable for domain name registration, particularly those with the .com extension. Other possible domain extensions that you might consider are the .biz, .us, .ca, .net and .info extensions. There are, of course, other top level domain extensions available that may be even better suited for your business. As an example, dogtrainingsupplies.com may not be available. But, if you are located in Canada, dogtrainingsupplies.ca or in the United States, dogtrainingsupplies.us may be available.

It is recommended that wherever possible you stick with a .com domain extension as this extension is given a higher level of authority in the eyes of the consumer. This means that you will need to carefully research which keywords are most relevant to your business and that you will most likely be looking for a keyword phrase that is more than two words in length. Even with three or four word keyword phrases, it is not uncommon to find that these domain names are already registered. You may want to consider adding a dash between the words, such as dog-training-supplies.us. However, keep in mind that adding a dash makes it harder for people to spell and there is the possibility that someone might just type it in without the dash and end up on your competitor’s website.

Should You Use A Misspelled Keyword Phrase?

Using a misspelled keyword or keyword phrase can work against you unless, once again, you are willing to put in the time and effort to brand that term. Before considering the use of a misspelling, research the number of times that misspelled word or phrase is being used in the search engines. If the misspelling receives a lot of searches monthly, it may be a viable choice for you to register as a domain name.

How To Determine If A Domain Name Is Available

A complaint that is often seen from folks that are researching the availability of domain names is this. They input several possible domain names with a domain registration service and then take a few days to consider the names that they have found. When they return to the service to register the domain name of their choice, that name is no longer available. Because of this type of scenario, many registrars have come under suspicion of snapping up domains that have been searched so they can resell the name at a higher price. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea. I really do not think that this would be a business practice that a reputable domain name registrar would take part in.

If this is a concern of yours, there is a way for you to check if there is even the possibility of a particular name being available without using a registrar for your research. Simply type the name of the domain that you are interested in into a web browser. If the name is not currently being used, you will receive a notice that the server or website can not be found. This does not guarantee that the name you are after is available, however, your chances of being able to register a great domain name for your business will be significantly higher.

Register Your Domain Name

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com

The use of plugins such as the WordPress Automatic Upgrade plugin and the WordPress Database Backup plugin makes the upgrade of WordPress a fairly quick and easy process. It is the ease of this process, which sometimes enables WordPress users to relax and forget that no matter how great the tools are that they are using, disaster can happen when least expected. Many online marketers have found over time that a backup of their website files is critical to the continuation of their business. While I personally have not had an upgrade go bad or had a web hosting service suffer a catastrophic event, there are enough stories out there where others have had these experiences.

If you have a business, and you depend on that business for income, it is worth protecting and taking the time to setup a disaster recovery plan for it. What would you do if the hosting service you work with suffered a catastrophic event and your website files were lost? Would you be able to recover your website? What about running an upgrade, in this case a WordPress upgrade and your site fails to come back up once it is done? Would you be able to reconstruct your site?

Occasionally an upgrade problem could be related to a plugin that did not care for the upgrade, but there have been situations where an entire site has been taken down. Upgrades are generally released for a reason. In the case of the 2.8.6 release, a vulnerability that could be exploited by registered users is fixed. Therefore, it is a good idea to upgrade in a timely manner when upgrades are released. It also pays to protect the site in advance before doing the upgrade.

Backing up a website is a relatively simple process. Create a folder on your hard drive and use your FTP program to download your website files. Don’t forget to include the date of the backup in the folder name. Once they are downloaded, they can be burnt to disk or copied to another location.

Another good plan is to take regular backups of your database files. If you are using the WordPress Database Backup plugin, there is an option under Dashboard – Tools – Backup to schedule regular backups of your database and email the results to your email account. If you have a GMail account with its ability to store unlimited files, simply email the backups there and you will always have a backup to fall back on.

Upgrades are not the only time you should be backing up your website. As part of your disaster recovery plan, schedule regular backups of your website files, particularly if you will be making significant changes to the site.

Update December 02, 2009:
Before you say this could never happen to you, realize it does happen, even to well established sites. Tonight I visited backflip.com. Their site has been down since October 13th. Here is what is posted currently on their site.

[ October 13, 2009 - 7:00pm PDT ]

A power outage at our hosting facility took out all of our servers for several hours starting around 7:00am PDT. Once the power came back on we began to bring the servers up remotely. Unfortunately, the database server is refusing to start up. Surely it’s nothing terminal but will require human intervention and there is no one available to head over to the colo facility at the moment. Please check our twitter microblog on the left for the latest updates.

# thank you for your continued patience – believe it or not recovery efforts are still continuing. we will have more info later this week. 1 day ago
# effort to recover the database continues 15 days ago
# update : restore from backups failed. remaining chance at recovery is to fix the existing database. work continues. 23 days ago

I haven’t had a lot of time to post lately because the company, where I work as a server tech, is in the process of moving to a new facility. This has required months of preparation to simply ensure that all systems could be safely moved and that a plan was in place to recover in case of an accident or the system failing to start up in the new location. Backups have played a key role in this project, as they do in the company’s overall disaster recovery plan.

As you can see from the experience of Backflip, disaster can strike at anytime, to anyone. I wish them every success in their recovery process.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com