Right now I am listening to the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, speak at the Novell campus in Provo, Utah (You can see the stream video here: ustream.tv). He has just modelled wordpress 2.7 and we are in for a treat when it launches. I have been hesitant to upgrade after the 2.6 fiasco, but I am really looking forward to 2.7! I will post more of my notes and pictures from WordCamp Utah shortly.

UPDATED NOTES
Why WordPress Updates So Often
Matt began his presentation asking if we were tired of constantly updating our wordpress blogs. The reason why Automattic (Matt’s company) is continually upgrading wordpress is to stay abreast with all the issues that they are faced with. One thing Matt learned from the update of 2.1 to 2.3 was that when he waited too long to launch (he waited a year and half) that he faced a strong user back lash.

Jared is a  Nutrition & Exercise Consultant, over the last few weeks he has been consulting me on my overall health. Sitting behind a computer most of my days makes it imparative for me to get a hold of my exercise and diet, particularly since my wife demands that I make it to our 50th anniversary. If I am going to live until 80 I am going to have to do more than typing as exercise.

Jared shared with me that his company has an affiliate program that he wants to take advantage of. However, before he jumped into any web marketing strategies he wanted a price tag to share with his wife. When I started internet marketing I wish I had thought to ask this question. So, below is a breakdown of the costs Jared would incur going forward with his company’s affiliate marketing plan.

Domain Name – $10/year. You have two paths you can walk with affiliate marketing. You can either focus on promoting your affiliate link with or without a website. It is possible to be successful without a website, but affiliate marketing is a lot easier when you can control your web eco-system. To begin your website you need to have domain name. However, don’t make the mistake of buying a domain from Network Solutions or Register.com. These registars have always overcharged for domains.  Be sure to not pay more than $10 a year for your website name. Personally, I use Godaddy to buy a good dot com, but there are many registars that offer inexpensive domains. Note: when deciding on a good domain be sure to try to incorporate your keyword phrase you are trying to rank on. That way if someone links to your website you won’t have to worry about whether they linked to your site with the right anchored text.