Internet marketing and blogging go almost hand-in-hand. Not only are blogs great for getting the word about your niche and your website out to the universe, but they help you to get search engine ranking, and blogging is fun and simple to do. But if you want a blog, now or in the future, you need to think about that before you acquire web hosting, as we discussed in an earlier "Getting Started with Internet Marketing" article. If you aren't techy enough to install a MySQL database (and if you're new, trust me, you probably can't do this), then you'll want to find cPanel web hosting with Fantastico. From there, getting a WordPress blog up and running is very simple to do.

Internet marketing people go for one of two types of blog, usually--WordPress or Movable Type. Of the two, WordPress is preferred because it's so search engine friendly and it's easily customizable. The newest version has sidebar widgets that you can move around and change very easily without having to mess with the code, like in earlier installations. There are also thousands of themes that you can download free and use. Plus, changing themes is extremely easy to do, just by clicking your mouse.

So, if you want a WordPress blog immediately or in the future, the easiest way to install one is via Fantastico which comes with cPanel hosting. This way, it's free and easy to install WordPress. If you opt for another hosting platform, and you're not doing the tech work yourself, you'll end up spending a few bucks to hire someone to do it for you, so it's really up to you. But if you do get the cPanel hosting, log into your control panel and scroll down to the bottom. You'll see a blue smiley face that says "Fantastico" or "Fantastico Deluxe." Click there.

Inside Fantastico, you'll see a long list of applications that you can install to your website, and if you're into Internet marketing, some of them can be very useful, like shopping carts, support desks, etc. But for now, just go to the "Blogs" section and click on WordPress. The next screen shows you some information to complete. So, do that and then, click "Install Word Press." You're all set!

Once your new blog is installed, it's time to make it yours. You can go to WordPress.org and find some cool themes to use or you can mess around with the widgets in your sidebar. Blogging is about having fun and getting your message out to the world. If it's an Internet marketing message be sure that your blog isn't too outrageous or nobody will take you seriously. That doesn't mean you can't be funny now and then, that you can use hot colors, or that you can't add video and audio and all the things that make blogs unique. Just remember you're there to drive traffic to your main website. There are some great ways to do that, but we'll discuss more about that in our next article...