Leslie Kirk - Miva Merchant Specialist

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Almost Time For The Miva Merchant Conference

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It’s almost that time again! I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at this year’s Miva Merchant Conference. An extra day has been added to this year’s conference to be able to cover even more info. This year’s hot topic looks to be SEO. Take a peek at the jam packed agenda, I’m sure you will find something that you will need to learn more about. Also take time to visit with the Sponsors. I need to bug the heck out of the QuickBooks people for Mac related questions.

I hope to hear lots of good things about social media – WordPress (I prefer to host the application on the same server as the domain name is at) and Twitter are my favorites. I read a great Twitter related article just yesterday – The 90-10 Rule for Successful Twitter Networking. There are many more out there, just Google around for them. Lot of folks are jumping onto Facebook – but I find a lot of the ads and “games” to be too distracting. You can not deny that both Facebook and MySpace have become THE online meeting places and information centers.

So once again, I’ll be the one wandering around with the camera trying to not make you look too silly. The Webs Your Way Miva Merchant Conference Photos are now part of eMediaSales.

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My wonderful, very supportive husband Jeff will be with me again this year. Please make him feel as welcome as you have always made me feel.

ps…it’s good to see that the WPG2 plugin is inserting pictures again. Notice one of the author’s names? Now to figure out the Lightbox issue…

Latest Version Updating

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If you are using WordPress version 2.7 and need to update to version 2.7.1, try using the automatic update. All you need to know is your FTP info. No more needing to download the update and FTPing back to your server. This feature appears to be working very smoothly.

Also added with the 2.7 version is the ability to upload Plugins via the admin. You don’t even have to unzip your files anymore, it’s all automatic.

Just two more reasons why I am a huge fan of WordPress.

Why Should I Have A Blog?

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I am constantly asked “Why should I have a blog?” I have found myself explaining the benefits of blogging to a number of small business owners while I was having my hair done. I try to explain it in an easy to understand term: Google! Google loves blogs because of the fresh content and the links it can find within a blog. Blogs are also a great way to provide supplemental information like tips, how-to’s, sale items and more.

Susan Petracco has posted a great article Weblogs for Ecommerce Sites at DoublePlus New Media Marketing which is jam packed full of great information. Susan and her husband Pete Petracco of NetBlazon, have been part of the Miva Merchant community since 1999.

My blog application of choice? WordPress. While I prefer to install the application on a client’s server, you can setup a blog directly at WordPress.com. Be forewarned, it you set up a blog at WordPress.com to play with and have links to your store, Google WILL find it.

Another thing to keep in mind, if you don’t like the “canned” look of the default theme that comes with WordPress, there are hundreds more to chose from. But even better, WordPress is flexible enough that it can be made to look just like your store. Can you tell where the store ends and the blog begins on this site? Ignatius Productions. Most sites like to use the word “blog” as a link, this site chose not to. I think Google like that word too.