The free workshop, “How to Launch You.com – Build Your Personal Website,” was originally held April 8 in Dallas. Hosted by the Society of Business Editors and Writers and Southern Methodist University, the workshop offers practical tips for showcasing your work, marketing yourself and promoting your brand. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How to create a personal website using WordPress, including the use of the dashboard, themes, plug-ins and widgets What other software exists to create a personal website What are best practices in creating a personal website YOUR INSTRUCTOR Jeremy Caplan is the director of education for the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a Ford Fellow in Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Poynter Institute. In addition to contributing to Time Magazine on subjects ranging from business innovation to consumer technology, he writes for The Wall Street Journal’s Digits. SELF-GUIDED LESSON Take a look through the workshop session recordings and resources below. At your own pace, you can walk through the self-guided lesson on the key elements of personal branding, website development, blogging and social development. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org.

1. How to Launch YOU.com
SABEW Conference
Reynolds Center Workshop
Jeremy Caplan
April 8, 2011

2. Agenda
Options for Launching Your Site
Introducing Wordpress + Best Practices
Hands-on Site Building
Final Discussion and Critique

3. Brief Introductions
Who I Am
Who You Are

4. Part I:
Getting Yourself Online
From 5-minute free options to costly, year-long
projects, you can choose how deep to dive.

5. flavors.me

7. about.me

9. blogger.com

11. posterous.com

13. tumblr.com

15. weebly.com

17. wix.com

19. wordpress.org/
wordpress.com

21. apple.com/iweb

23. dreamweaver.com

25. squarespace.com

27. 99designs.com

29. sortfolio.com

31. Part II: WordPress

32. Introducing
WordPress

35. Blogger Dashboard
Vs. WordPress Dashboard

51. Part III:
You.com Best Practices
Making the Most of the WordPress World

52. Decide What You Need
List the key content you need on your site

53. Prepare Your Assets
Gather your materials

54. Your Site Should Include:
2-Paragraph Bio
High-Quality Photo
Links to Your Content
PDFs of Your Content
Videos or Podcasts You’ve Made or Appeared in
Links to Your Social Media Accounts/Blogs
Contact Information
Optional: Resume, Testimonials, Links to Colleagues

55. Get a Sense of What’s Possible
Find at least 10 portfolio sites you like & observe
the sites’ content and design choices.

56. Choose a Reliable Web Host
Bluehost, Dreamhost, GoDaddy, etc.

57. Theme Options
Free Themes
GraphPaperPress.com
WooThemes.com
Themeforest.com
bit.ly/wpthemeguide

58. Don’t Save Nickels
Choose a web host and a theme provider based
on your needs. Investing in your self presentation
is an important part of investing in your career.

59. Add Some Useful Widgets
Search
Twitter
Flickr
Recent Posts/Comments

60. Add Some Useful Plug-Ins
Audio Player
Lightbox 2
Backupify
Akismet
Issuu

61. Revise Regularly
Update and fix site issues at least monthly

62. Capitalize on the Community
WordPress.tv = Great explanatory videos
WordPress.org/support - FAQs & Basic Info