Want a WordPress site?

Want to declare your independence with a brand-new shiny WordPress site? You can launch it to the world by the fourth of July!

My wondertwin Amy Crook and I are all booked up for the rest of May, but we have two slots available in June and two in July for our Bonanza package (which includes custom header art and a cartoon by Amy, in addition to smooth tech sailing courtesy of yours truly).

Want to see the Bonanza package in action? Check out Amy’s original watercolor art for Maribeth Doerr of StorkNetFamily.com (those are some cute baby birds!). I installed WordPress and Maribeth’s choice of theme, added Amy’s art and custom color scheme, and Maribeth now has the freedom to add and edit content as she pleases.

I also have two slots in June and three in July for Bonus packages (which includes theme customization but not original art).

And if you want a no-frills install so you can get going quickly, you can get that for $99 with the Basic package (four slots available in June and four in July).

Complete details on all the packages are available on the WordPress Packages page.

Personal Office Hour: Tech help customized for you! (One week only)

Every Thursday, I do this thing called Open Office Hour (which I’ve taken to calling Office Happy Hour, because really, everything goes better when you’ve got a half-price drink in your hand — especially knotty tech problems).

People call me and I answer their tech questions, give them advice on online business, and chat about how things are going for them (and for me). I love it. I adore all the fabulous people who call me. Office Happy Hour started as an experiment, and I’ve been doing it for more than a year now. The experiment was a roaring success, right from the beginning.

So I’m going to keep doing Office Happy Hour. And I’m going to try a new experiment: Personal Office Hours. If you want a full hour of my focused attention, you can now make an appointment for your own personal office hour!

This is an experiment, so I’m trying it for a limited time. You can buy a Personal Office Hour until December 24. That doesn’t mean you have to make time for your hour this week — we can schedule our appointment for anytime in the next 60 days (I’ll round up and just say “until the end of February 2011″).

This is a great way to kick off your New Year with some friendly tech help!

Your own personal office hour

Here’s how it works:

  1. You purchase a unit of Basic Tech Help for $159 before December 24. (keep reading to find out how you can save $60 and get your office hour for only $99!)
  2. I’ll email you to set up a time during the next 60 days that’s convenient for both of us to talk by phone or Skype.
  3. You can use your hour however you like!
  4. You get an audio recording of our call and a followup email from me summarizing what we talked about.

How could you use your own office hour? Lots of ways. You can even give them as a gift!

For example, I can answer your questions, make recommendations for your online business, set up and configure website stuff for you, show you how to do something (like set up a product in E-Junkie, send a blog broadcast email in AWeber, or change your WordPress theme, just to name a few examples…I’m sure you can come up with your own tech questions that have been bugging you for-freaking-ever!).

I can even share my computer screen with you so I can walk you through steps visually.

Office Hour combo packs: Save big!

As part of the experiment, I’m offering a discounted rate of $99 for one Personal Office Hour (a $60 savings), when you buy in combination with any of these four services:

  1. WordPress Swimming Lessons + 1 Personal Office Hour: $198 (normally $258). Sign up here.
  2. WordPress Installation + 1 Personal Office Hour: $198 – $998 (depending on whether you choose the Basic, Bonus, or Bonanza package — normally $99-$899). Choose your package here.
  3. Love Your List + 1 Personal Office Hour: $216 or $246 (depending on whether you buy the Core or Premium version of this home-study workshop — normally $117 or $147). Buy your combo here.
  4. Peace of Mind Program for WordPress backups/upgrades + 1 Personal Office Hour: $188 (normally $248). Snag one of the remaining slots here.

Remember, this is an experiment, so Personal Office Hours will only be available for sale until December 24. However, you can use them anytime in the next 60 days.

My next WordPress Swimming Lessons class starts on January 24, so it falls neatly within this period. You could use your hour after the class is over, to ask questions or have me set up specific WordPress plugins for you.

And if you choose the Peace of Mind Program, your WordPress site will be backed up and upgraded through March 2011, and you can use your hour for anything you like before the end of February.

Also, any of my services can be bought as gifts, including these combo packs. Just let me know after you buy (you can reply to the thank-you email) and I’ll set up your gift recipient with some friendly tech help!

Updated version of “How to install a WordPress plugin”

I just updated my original How to install a wordpress plugin post with a couple of new screenshots for newer versions of WordPress.

Also, it’s now Part 1 of a series on WordPress plugins. I’m playing around with a blog-post-series plugin (my, we’re getting meta today — series on plugins, plugins for series…) to organize related posts, and it’s equal parts fun and frustrating. Such is the nature of tweaking.

Keep plugging away…and leave me a comment if you have a plugin question!

Go ask Johnny if you need a WordPress installation before January 11

So, now that I have three flavors of WordPress installation available, people get to choose just exactly what they need. And boy are they choosing! One of my clients even bought a surprise WordPress package as a birthday gift for a friend, which was such a sweet and thoughtful and supportive thing to do. Yay for friends!

All this goodwill means that for blog installs at least, I’ve hit my capacity. For now.

Reserve your slot now to start blogging in 2010

Everyone who’s already purchased a blog, don’t worry, you’re good (I’m finishing up your installs this week). If you haven’t bought yours yet, my next available slots for WordPress installation open up on January 11.

I’ll be reserving only two slots each week for these packages (any flavor). You’ll get a confirmation email from me when you buy, telling you when your blog will be installed. And I’ll keep the WordPress Installation page updated with my availability so you’ll have a pretty good idea of when your installation will be completed, even before you buy.

And if you can’t wait…

Here’s how to get WordPress for free until 1/1/10

If you want a WordPress installation before the end of 2009, you should totally go visit Johnny B. Truant, who is not only continuing to do blog installations in the midst of holiday prep, he’s so crazy that he’s setting up WordPress blogs for free until the end of the year. That’s not even an affiliate link, because, hello, I won’t earn any affiliate commissions for recommending a free service!

I’m serious, go sign up now, before he realizes he’s insane and runs off to Tahiti to escape the mobs of WordPress-wanters.
Wendy Cholbi