Ask the WordPress expert at June 30 WordCount Last Wednesday

What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

How can I insert pictures into my WordPress blog posts?

How do I know what the best WordPress theme is for the blog I want to start?

Freelance writer, website designer and all-around tech guru Ron S. Doyle will be on hand to answer those and other pressing WordPress questions at the first WordCount Last Wednesday live chat tomorrow, June 30.

The one-hour chat takes place on Twitter at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time.  To follow along, use the hashtag #wclw.

What’s WordCount Last Wednesday?

The chat is the first in a series of monthly live chats sponsored by WordCount. The chats come on the heels of the very successful live chat wrap party I hosted at the end of the 2010 WordCount Blogathon. Writers surveyed during the blogathon said they’d love to attend Twitter chats on a regular basis – so WordCount Last Wednesdays was born.

Each hour-long chat will focus on subjects freelancers said they wanted to know more about, including tech tools for writers, writing basics and tips for running a freelance business.

Ron Doyle, tomorrow’s guest speaker, understands WordPress better than just about anybody I know. He’ll share tips and tricks gathered in the course of designing websites and blogs for numerous freelance writers and other small businesses over the course of the past year.

How to follow along

Although it’s possible to use the standard Twitter interface for a live chat, you might find it easier to follow along with an add-on application such as TweetGrid, TweetChat or HootSuite. This tutorial that explains how to set them up.

If you’re afraid of offending your Twitter followers by tweeting too much during a chat, you can suggest they use an app called TwitterSnooze to temporarily turn off your tweets. In case you haven’t ever done this before, when the chat starts, tweet a message that reads something like this: “I’ll be in a live chat for the next hour; if you don’t want to follow, turn off my tweets with TwitterSnooze.com.”

The format of tomorrow’s live chat is as follows:

• 8:30 – The chat begins. As you log on, introduce yourself with your name, city, type of writing you do, and if appropriate, type of WordPress blog you have (hosted or self-hosted).
• 8:35 to 8:40 – I’ll ask Ron a couple questions to get things rolling, but feel free to chime in with related questions and comments.
• 9 a.m. – We’ll open things up to questions from the audience.
• 9:30 a.m. – The chat ends.

Coming attractions

I’m thrilled to announce the line up for the next four WordCount Last Wednesday live chats. They are:

• July 28 – Using Twitter in your freelance writing business, with CarriBugbee, award-winning tweeter (@PeggyOlson), social media marketing strategist, speaker, PR/advertising pro and leader of @SocialMediaPDX
• August 25 – Using an e-newsletter to promote your business, with Susan Weiner, writer-editor, chartered financial analyst (CFA), blogger and author of a long-running monthly e-newsletter on investment and wealth management.
• September 29 – Facebook fan pages for fun and profit, with Tricia Lawrence, writer, blogger, social media strategist and instructor of an upcoming Writer’s Digest University class on social media strategy for authors.
• October 27 – Creating and marketing your self-published ebook, with Susan Johnson, writer, blogger at The Urban Muse and author of the new ebook, The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets.

If you’ve got a suggestion for a subject you’d like to see covered, send it my way.

If you’re an expert in a particular aspect of freelance writing, running a freelance business or tech tools for writers and are interested in participating as a guest speaker, contact me.