Latest posts by Kimberly (see all)
- 5 Powerful Tactics To Get More Comments! - July 10, 2010
Doing so means you get exposure to thousands and thousands of other CommentLuv users and your posts get sent out to the massive subscriber list.
Google loves this site and indexes it multiple times per day and posts always get lots of comments so you can be sure of some excellent exposure.
See the Write For Us page for more details
btw.. you can get this author box here
Sometimes, a blog can feel a bit like a creepy old ghost town. No action happening except the occasional tumbleweed blowing through town. Cue up the spine tingling music and the sense of dread and suddenly you’re reminded of what it’s like when you’re blog isn’t generating any action.
There are a ton of posts about the necessity of creating interactions – with other bloggers on their blogs – and then also with your commenters on your own blog. There are equally as many talking about how to get visitors from social media.
But how can you encourage those visitors to stop and leave a comment??
Below are 5 simple solutions to encourage your visitors to leave comments and tell the tumbleweeds adiós!
1. Use Post Excerpts On Your Homepage
Whether your theme already includes this or you grab the handy Homepage Excerpts plugin for WordPress to easily add the functionality, excerpts prevent visitors from doing the old cut and run! Now they will open the full post to read more and then find less hassle involved in leaving a comment. No more asking them to kick a tumbleweed (click a link) just to do you a favor (leave a comment)!
2. Enable Comment Threading
Comments are considered “threaded” when replies “nest” under the comment they belong to. It improves readability, flow and makes the comment system more inviting. WordPress used to require clunky full comment system replacements to add this but now premium themes can either enable the built in feature under Settings -> Discussion or older themes can grab the WP Comment Thread plugin. This allows you and your readers to easily dialog and get to know each other.
3. Enable Subscribe To Comments
If you can keep a reader coming back, you increase their time on site and odds of leaving a comment. Make it super simple for your visitors to subscribe to all the replies of a particular post with the simple to use Subscribe To Comment plugin for WordPress.
4. Thank First Time Commentators
If you’ve ever been a new commenter on a blog you know how unnerving it can be to leave a comment and see it go to moderation – or worst – say submitted but appear to vanish. Now there is a plugin called Comment Redirect that can easily identify a person that has not commented before and redirect them to a page of your choice. Set this page up to welcome them, thank them, encourage them to opt in and suggest other things they might enjoy. A win/win for you both!
5. Share the Link Juice
This “dream stack” will prove to visitors that you truly DO care about them and want to thank them for participating and commenting. Commentluv, Keywordluv, DoFollow & Top Commentators Widget all fit together to remove the no follow attribute, improve the back link quality and give more and better backlinks. There is no better way to say “thanks for helping me grow my blog” than saying “here’s something to help you grow yours”. These four greatly benefit the SEO work your visitors are likely doing and can help build a lot of traffic. The community surrounding Commentluv is a open but tight-knit family that actively supports each other and can be a great source of free traffic and relationships.
Ghost Town or Thriving Metropolis?
This powerful combination of tactics and plugins will help you increase the number of your visitors that not only stop by but settle in and help you turn your ghost town into a home town!
Combining off and on-site relationship building with these tactics help us keep the “social” in social media and prove ourselves worthy of being the major of a thriving metropolis.
Now it’s your turn! What is you’re favorite tactics to increase comment rates? Which plugins do you love to love – or love to hate? What has worked successfully for you on your blog? Are there certain plugins that you find reduce your likelihood to comment?
If you found this post interesting or useful I hope you’ll syndicate it, bookmark it and share it with all your friends and fans! Share your thoughts below in the comment field, I cant wait to compare notes!
Kimberly,
Thanks to following your expertise in your posts, I utilize all of these plugins you mentioned except Comment Redirect. I don’t moderate my comments so they see them there as soon as they submit.
Thanks for always sharing the best tools to build return visits from readers.
Val
Val Wilcox recently posted..Renew Your Mindset With Faith
I’d be curious how you can get away with not moderating as well. I have mine set to auto approve after a comment has been previously approved by the same person, and people even take advantage of that option by making one great comment then following it up by shorter, less valuable ones all over the site. You’re a lucky duck if you can get away with no moderation now a days.
Kristi recently posted..Article Marketing Promotion with Blog Commenting
Kristi,
The akismet seems to capture all the spam. Once in awhile someone will get clever with a comment & it stays on, but when I check their website & find the site is a sales page – delete! It’s been working out quite well. I honestly didn’t realize others had this many problems.
Luck of the draw? Not sure but I certainly am not going to rock the boat!
Val
Val Wilcox recently posted..Go With the Flow
Kimberly,
I wish I knew the magic touch! You know I’m technically challenged by most of these things!
Hee Hee!
Val Wilcox recently posted..Go With the Flow
I got your message.
As I explained below, I’m not sure why aksmet seems to be doing such a bang up job! All I know is I’m happy with the results.
Sorry, no big secret formula to share. You know I would if I knew the why.
I do have a question for you about auto reply. My site is sending emails to commenters, which I didn’t think I had set up. I have one commenter who is not happy, yet I cannot figure out what’s doing it! Very frustrating to say the least.
Val
Val Wilcox recently posted..Go With the Flow
Excellent suggestions! I’m doing all but the first currently because initially I got feedback that many (some?) readers -don’t- like excerpts, or having to click through to read the full post. They’d actually just leave instead of click! What are your thoughts on that? What is your experience with it? I’m curious!
Also, I LOVE threaded comments and agree 100% it’s needed on a good blog. However, my favorite plugin for that is Spectacu.la Threaded Comments
(http://spectacu.la/spectacula-threaded-comments/).-It has a clean out of the box look and actually collapses the threads automatically so you only see the original Comments. It then has a prompt underneath asking if you’d like to see the replies. (And then shows them to you, without a page refresh.) It’s a bit easier to skim comments that way, instead of having to scroll through pages (if you are that lucky) of comments! (Something I hate doing, especially if I want to find discussions and skip the “awesome post!” comments.)
I have a fun time using that one with Comment Rating, DoFollow, CommentLuv, etc.
oriridraco recently posted..Salad For Breakfast
Kimberly,
Comment Redirect is a plugin I need to get, along with Top Commentators widget. I really enjoy CommentLuv. It is such an easy way to connect with others with just one click of the mouse.
Thanks for another lesson on increasing our blog traffic:)
Darlene Davis recently posted..Shall We Dance
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lindagrace8
Kimberly,
I’ve never writen a post of you where I haven’t learned something! I love it when people read my posts and comment on them! My favorite plugin is commentluv, I love to see what everyone else is writing about and I can click on it to go right to the post!
~Linda
Twitter: momtohanna
My favorite way is to ask a question at the end of my post. Ask people to respond, act, leave a comment. I notice a huge difference in the number of comments on posts where I don’t ask them to take action.
Jackie Lee recently posted..Who Are You Talking To Do You Know
Hi Kimberly,
This is great having each plugin required for for a specific purpose that compliment each other, to achieve a similar desired outcome, all listed together.
From this list I currently only have ‘commentluv, dofollow and top commentators widget’ running on my site, so I’m about to get busy and install the rest.
Thanks for sharing.
In Health & Harmony
Toni
Toni King recently posted..Winter Warmth
Just put together a home.php and instead of the_content function, put the_excerpt. No need for a plugin. I know I sound like a broken record Kim, but this is a database usage type plugin… code it in instead of injecting more diskspace taking code.
Nile recently posted..With Popular Blogging Comes Spamming-
Twitter: kyliedoak
I agree with you, Kimberly that a tutorial teaching how to alter free themes by replacing common plugins with fully functioning code snippets would be wonderful! There are so many gorgeous free themes, yet many of them aren’t as “up to speed” functionality wise as many of the others.
~ Kylie ~
Kylie Doak recently posted..A Blast From The Past
I agree with Kylie and Kim. I’m fascinated by code but don’t know where to begin to understand it or use it. Nile, if you could do a tutorial, or a series of tutorials starting with the basics and moving us thru, I’d be tuning in. Go “Girl, we’re waiting!
Will put something together.
Twitter: lambdakennels1
Kim,
This was a well written, informative post. I have all of the plugins you mentioned but comment redirect. I will have to look in to that and see if it will work on my blog. Good luck in the contest.
stephaniesuesansmith recently posted..Free Tuition to ComLuv-Famous Blogger Contest College
Twitter: lambdakennels1
Well, it seems to be working. I made the page, put in the plugin, and no one has complained. I am still getting first time comments, so I think I did it right. Good information, thanks.
stephaniesuesansmith recently posted..Free Tuition to ComLuv/Famous Blogger Contest College
Kimberly,
Great tips you share here on how to make a blog a thriving community rather than a creepy ghost town. I appreciate all the value and insight you continually provide to the blogging community. Thanks!
Krista
Krista Abbott recently posted..How To Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns
Hi Kim,
The only plugin I have from your list is commentluv and I intend to add the rest.
I have spent so much time getting my blog set up that I’m just now starting to add content. Information like you have provided here is so helpful and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.
Thank you,
Virginia
Virginia Sproul recently posted..Gulf Oil Spill – My Fourth of July Observations
Twitter: kyliedoak
Hi Kimberly
I expect nothing less than an educational and helpful post from you … and of course you didn’t disappoint!
The only plugin that I’m not currently using from your list above is Comment Redirect, although I have it installed but not activated.
Okay, first and foremost … well written, interesting, educational, inspirational, entertaining, helpful – ie: value packed – content that benefits your readers in some way is a great place to start.
It doesn’t matter how many plugins you have or questions you ask of your readers, if your content is difficult to understand, either because it’s poorly written (full of spelling, grammatical or typographical errors) or it just plain doesn’t make sense, then people aren’t going to want to leave comments (other than perhaps some not very nice ones, and nobody wants those!).
You don’t have to be a great writer, however, if you can clearly convey what you’re saying through speech, then you can easily translate that to paper. Reading over what you’ve written/typed to ensure it makes sense and flows correctly, is a great way to proofread your work.
Assuming that you DO provide great content, one of my favourite ways of encouraging comments is the same as Jackie Lee mentioned … inviting a response from the reader by asking questions, eg: inviting them to share their experiences (related to the post), or asking their opinion, feedback etc.
I have no doubt that having CommentLuv installed on my blog helps too!
Although I haven’t done this before, another idea would be to have a competition for the most helpful answer, or the funniest true story or something along those lines. Other readers could vote on the entries and you could offer a free consultation or whatever you deem applicable for the winner (anyone with a bit of imagination could think of something worthwhile).
I would also make sure that the comment area is set up so that person commenting does not need to log in – those ones just annoy me.
I do agree with you that having post excerpts on the page is a great idea, although if a blog site only has one post so far, I think that showing the full post looks better (that’s just my opinion though).
I noticed that oriridraco (above) has received feedback that some of her readers don’t like having to click through to read the full post. I can’t see why this would bother anyone (but each to their own!).
I much prefer to be able to glance through a few posts to see whether I’m likely to be interested in reading further, rather than having to scroll for what often seems like forever to get down to the next post. Again, this is simply my opinion.
I ALWAYS reply to comments. I know how much I enjoy reading the replies that I receive for my comments, so I gather that others do too.
The other side of that is that I feel that if the person has taken the time to leave me a comment, then the least I can do is reply to them. Not leaving a comment is like walking away from someone without answering them.
In saying that though, I do realise that there are only so many hours in the day and that the more comments someone gets, the longer it takes to reply and it’s impossible to do everything.
Even a simple “Thank you, such and such. Your comment is appreciated” is better than not leaving a reply at all (and if you’re that pressed for time, a few “generic” responses that you can simply copy and paste would save you some time too).
Again, just my opinion, but I feel that it would make people feel that their comments (and time) are more appreciated.
If you show people that you are willing to engage in conversation with them and that you value their input, they are more likely to come back, ultimately to developing better relationships with each other. After all, isn’t that what having an interactive blog is all about (in a nutshell)?
Just supposing that someone reads a post but they don’t want to leave a comment, or they’re not sure what to write so therefore don’t leave a comment, if you have a Related Posts plugin/widget or Link Within plugin (I’m not using this yet because I’m shopping around for images!), they may just find another post that looks interesting enough for them to read that they might leave a comment on. No doubt there are other plugins etc of this nature, but these are the two that came to mind without me having to look anything up.
The longer people are on your site, one would hope the more likely they are to find something that interests them enough to read and comment on.
Here’s another idea: invite questions on what their biggest challenge is with a particular area in your niche.
Okay, I’ll stop now!
BEST OF LUCK with the competition, Kimberly!
~ Kylie ~
Kylie Doak recently posted..A Blast From The Past
Twitter: kyliedoak
lol – thanks, Kim … I think!
“Generic” sounds terrible, but I couldn’t think of anything else at the time (it was well and truly past my bedtime last night when I left that comment and I’d had a very tiring day!).
I’m not a major fan of “generic” replies, however, there are some occasions when I find it difficult to know what to reply with (even for someone as verbose as me – hehe).
I’m also torn over using them, however, I still feel that acknowledging the person for taking the time to comment is better than not saying anything at all.
I understand what you mean though about “insult” compared to “much too busy” and it obviously comes down to each of us doing what we feel is right for us.
We are definitely alike in many ways, including the fact that I regularly say, “I wish cloning was legal – it would be very handy!”
Thanks for the reply, Kim … I appreciate it!
~ Kylie ~
Kylie Doak recently posted..A Blast From The Past
Twitter: kyliedoak
hehe – thanks
Kylie Doak recently posted..A Blast From The Past
Twitter: jacquelinegates
Nobody could clone you, Kim. You’re unique!
And that’s the whole problem with outsourcing things like blog comments etc ~ and I know some VAs do that ~ if you’re unique, people will know when it’s not you doing the replies.
We’ll just have to resort to adding more hours to the day … or never sleeping, whichever is easier.
Kim great advice once again I see a couple of plug ins I need to get. I can never match the 5000 you currently use but you have given me enough sound tips to get by. I really like the fact I have such a smart and generous person as a friend. Will chat with you soon.
Steve Shoemaker
steveshoemaker recently posted..Socially Optimize Your Internet MLM Business
Twitter: hollyfulfordjef
Hey Kim Thanks for the info. I too find some jargon for the blogging like a foreign language! I have a couple that you have mentioned here and I will go thru the list and see which I can add to make the connection with my readers more meaningful I like the Comment luv one best cause then i can check out other blog posts quickly and easily. Thanks so much.
Holly
Twitter: teresaivory
Top notch as usual, Kim!
I’ve been redirected when commenting on someone’s blog before but didn’t know how to make it happen on mine – so a huge thanks to you for providing the info! And I need to check out Keywordluv – I’m not familiar with that one.
I noticed that the posts I receive the most comments on are what people call “transparent.” It seems to strike a chord with readers when I reveal a part of myself that is not expected (and not perfect!) It brings out what I would call a nurturing wisdom in commentators that all of my readers can benefit from.
Teresa Ivory recently posted..Success Stories- Danielle Zack
Excellent tips on getting more comments! One thing I will add about the first one – if you’re someone that doesn’t like having a lot of plugins, you can also modify your theme’s template (depending on which one you use) to use the excerpt instead of the full post on the homepage. (See the WordPress Codex for more). Great plugin for those who are not comfortable with PHP though!
Kristi recently posted..Strengthen Your Article Marketing With CommentLuv Links
Thank you for the informative information. I came in from twitter (@MacKidNWClumbus) & am leaving with making a few changes to my blog. (The only think I’d recommend in your post is to have your links open in a new window.) Thank you for the write up!
Information overload. Bookmarking so I can come back and reread some really cool stuff. I did pick up on one point about a tutorial on improving a free themes. I love my “Desk Mess” free theme, but it has its’ limitations. Many things discussed here won’t work. But I’m not changing. So I’ll stay tuned for those gems Kim you also come up with.
Twitter: jacquelinegates
For me, the greatest benefit of this post is not only knowing which plugins are best, but the fact that you also take the time to mention when they are Included in your WP theme and therefore don’t need to be installed.
All too often I’ve read about a new fancy-schmancy plug-in and had something crash because it clashes with something already within my theme.
My favorite thing about CommentLuv (and it’s thanks to you that I even have it!) is the ability to click on the commenter’s last post and go straight there.
And I have to agree with Chris that a check box that adds a commenter to your autoresponder would be really cool!
Thanks for the ongoing education, Kim, and especially for not making us feel like morons for not being able to ‘speak the language’!
Bliss and blessings,
the goddess known as Jacqui
Jacqueline Gates recently posted..Raccoon eyes- Gratitude and goddess-ness Revisited
Kim, I love the analogy of the ghost town blog! Thanks for this valuable post reminding us that it is OUR responsibility to make it easy for readers to leave their comments. I appreciate the instantly useable information and I am adding a couple plug-ins as soon as I finish making this comment! This post is a real call to action for us as bloggers to sweep out the ghost town cobwebs and light the lanterns of our websites so guests can see clearly the value of our posts.
Val Haderlie
You definitely have a thriving metropolis because you share so much valuable information!
Quick question – did you do that diagram at the top?
Nice article Kim!
Chris – anything you could point us to in the direction of adding commenters to an email list would be super cool …
I recently signed up on an IM blog in what I thought was a feedburner field, but then I got added to a regular email list at the same time … pretty slick.
Andrea
Twitter: AskKim
I think there’s a chance that Chris is referencing the plugin I run on my blog which does that and ten times more. I’ve been beta testing it a few weeks and its really really sexy. I’m an affiliate for it but I wont leave my link here since that’s probably against the rules. The plugin is Subscriber Magnet and it’s due to launch in just a week or two officially. There are other similar things but nothing as comprehensive as this plugin. I’m definitely in love (it doubled my opt in numbers with all of its tricks combined).
Kim! Great comments on commenting. I will be using them all and, I must say, I know you do more than “talk the talk” about blogging. You “walk the walk” and make use of all the wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) new things the WordPress community throws out to us. Grateful are the members of your tribe!
Best,
Val
Twitter: donna_tribe
Kim, I really don’t know how you do it all. This is so Fabulous. I took your advice on comment luv and there are more and more people streaming in. That was 2 days ago.
Now this….Girl you have me rock’n. Thank you so much, I know you will be blessed for all that you do Kimberly. You are a true mentor and have a heart of gold. Always digging information and making it simple for us.
How many times must I say I am so greatfull to you? A million. I love you girl
Donna
As always, Kim, I learn so much from you. Thanks for the great suggestions – I don’t yet use most of these plugins. I love the way you explain things simply so even the unsophisticated bloggers, like me, can understand. Keep up the great work educating the uninformed, Kim.
Twitter: nrushin
This is really great information. I am glad I stopped by. I need to add a few of these to my blog. Just added commentluv the other day. I was wondering what the best way to reply to someone is. When you reply directly under the comment it does not go to their e-mail. I don’t think people see my responses when I reply to their comments. Can’t be sure of that though. How do I get my responses to go to someone’s e-mail address? I see some people have automatic responders set up somehow, but to me that is impersonal.
Twitter: ChrisMcCargar
Hey Kimberly,
You’ve always got such good tips and usually full of valuable information that improves the presentation, appearance, functionality or content.
These 5 tips are sure to get more comments for anyone that follows your outline.
Another great post! Very helpful… thanks Kimberly.
Hi Kimberly
I have learned so much from reading your posts over the last months. I have followed your previous advice but realize I still need a couple of plug ins.
I am very grateful to have found you and to learn from you.
Thanks again
Sue
Sue Price recently posted..Business Mindset
Hey Kimberly,
This is an awesome summary…thanks so much for the info! I’ve often wondered about the comment thread feature but haven’t taken the time to learn how to add it to my blog. So this is a great help. I have added it and plan to do a much better job of keeping a dialog going with my commentators.
I’m wondering about the no follow attribute. Do you have to have all 4 of the plugins you listed activated to turn on the no follow feature, or is it automatically turned on if you just have Comment Luv installed and activated?
Appreciate your dedication to helping us be the best bloggers we can be
~ Kathy J
Aloha Kimberly,
Awesome tips as usual! Thank you for always giving us your best! You are so great in everything you do. I will take a look at all of your tips and implement the ones I don’t currently have.
Much love & gratitude,
Kellie
Kellie Hosaka recently posted..If You Could Rewind or Fast Forward Your Life- Would You
Awe, that’s so sweet Kim! You are so special too! Thank you for all you do and for teaching us all such incredible things!
And yes, I will definitely be giving you a “shout out”!
Love ya,
Kellie
Kellie Hosaka recently posted..Do You Know That Paying It Forward Is Your Formula To Freedom
Kim, this is really helpful! I have most of the plugins you mentioned above except for the Comment Redirect. Will give that one a try today
Thanks for sharing!
Maureen recently posted..Friday Flip-off -8211 2nd Week of July
Twitter: louisesteiner
Great information as always Kimberly. I realise I still need a couple of plugins on my site so will get to work and I’ve put a call to action into my Comment Redirect, something I hadn’t thought of before.
I have learned so much from you….thank you for continuing to share such valuable information.
Hey Kim,
This is great information and I’ve already gone and added a few of these plugins from what I’ve read here.
What you’ve shared is certain to help many enhance their blogs in order to get more comments. Thanks for sharing!
~Kara
Kara Grabenhorst recently posted..Three Tips to Help You Do Anything With A Great Attitude
Twitter: Michaele_H
Hey Kim,
This is an absolutely awesome summary of ‘must have’ plugins for building community.
I was just reading another one of your posts on making your blog ‘do follow’. Now that I’ve read this post, I definitely need to check out the do follow plugin you recommended!
It’s not much fun putting all that effort into starting a blog only to have it appear like a ghost town as you say. So many people would find things turning around quickly if they followed even half of your advice above.
Thanks for the endless incredible value you give to the blogging community
Michaelé Harrington recently posted..How To Brand Your Blog With A Favicon
That’s great tips Kimberly. I am currently only using the Commentluv technique so all the others will help me greatly. I found on my other blog I had a ton of spam coming through although i did have it moderated, BUT if I hadn’t I would have had a messy blog that is for sure. I guess the best advice I could give on commenting is to spend a few hours per week on other peoples blogs reading and commenting on posts. You will learn a lot and at the same time mutually benefit from the commenting. I have just got started with my new blog and have had hurdles with time available but I’ll get there! Great post and good luck with everything!
Awesome straight forward stuff Kimberly!
If we want to build a community and a relationship with our readers, it’s very important to encourage them to comment. These are all great plugins! I use all of them except for the last three you mentioned. I need to get those up and running.
Thanks Kimberly!
Danielle
Danielle Zack recently posted..Do You Want to Win the Race
Twitter: AskKim
Definitely get the last three up and running they’re important! The dream stack is a great way to give back to our community that really helps everyone out! Once you get your site set up for them, let me know and I’ll get you listed on my page that lists who has set them up (meaning whos giving the best link love!) Cant wait to add you there!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Digg Digg
Kim,
Great stuff here, of course I would expect nothing less from you. You ALWAYS deliver top quality tips to your readers. I really appreciatebthe hard work you do for all of us out here.
Thank you and keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Bill
Twitter: AskKim
Thanks so much for your support Bill, I really appreciate it!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
What you share here in your summary Kim encourage a hub of activity in that your blog is an important spot to encourage community building relationships and in engaging readers. The proof is in the comments above
And share the link juice! I love it!
I am sure it is a good thing, as we enter your blog and become your personal guinea pigs… You take serious action working out the kinks and then you share a ton of advice we all might benefit from. Well worth it.
Much appreciated time and time again,
Robin
Robin Lynn Brooks recently posted..Listen for that Real Connection in Relationship Building
Twitter: AskKim
I’m really blessed you guys continue to subject yourself to such experimentation!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hi Kim,
You really know your stuff and give valuable info to the blog community! Thanks for all the great tips on making sure there is lots of great interaction and a thriving metropolis on our sites!
Kim,
I can see why you are such a successful blogger. This post was powerful for me. I am using some of these plugins however the series of plugins under the category of “Link Juice” was my favorite.
Outside of posting excellent and helpful content consistently within your niche working with your suggested plugin stack for creating more back links is brilliant.
Thank you for offering such valuable content that we can all take home to the bank.
I am a fairly new blogger however tapping into the community of bloggers has accelerated my growth as a blogger and you can’t beat the networking.
I look forward to following your posts and applying the wisdom to my own blogging journey.
Faith
Kim –
Your posts are ALWAYS informative my friend!
Thank you for sharing not only this contest – but everything you find that makes the process of Blogging and Social Media better!
Have a DYNAMITE day!
Wes
Wes Wyatt recently posted..Word of Mouth Supergenius
Twitter: AskKim
Thanks so much for your support and comment Wes, I really appreciate it.
Make it a great one!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hi Kim,
Good overview of some great WordPress plugins. We have used all of these plugins at some point in blogs and still use some today, others we have found replacements that do a better job for us.
One way we found to get an increased comment rate for us, was being featured on a Jimmy Kimmel episode and this was completely by accident. Check it out for yourself => http://TheCoolestCouple.com/92i
Good luck in your ComLuv contest our COOL friend Kim Castleberry.
Thanks,
~ Pat & Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
Pat & Lorna Shanks recently posted..Are They Looking at Me Its All About What Your Prospects Want
Twitter: AskKim
I love what you guys did with the whole Jimmy Kimmel fisaco! That was an absolute riot and an incredible use of social media! Its very similar to guest blogging, you got his attention and as such acquired t he attention of part of his audience. Great fun and well played!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..An Introduction to Google Adwords and Adsense
Kimberly, can you comment further on your 1st tip? I like that idea. I am new to blogging and just need to better understand the tip. Thanks
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Clincal, welcome to blogging! The first tip is about finding a theme that only displays about the first 200 words of each post on the home page. That is called an excerpt. If your theme doesnt do that (and instead shows the whole post but not comments), then this plugin will give you that effect. Hope that helps!
Kimberly
Twitter: jacquelinegates
Hey, Nichole
So glad you’re here! Kimberly is my go-to goddess for all things blogging, and she has that knack of making highly techie stuff sound like real English!
You’re in the right place, gf!
I have been blogging for 4-months now and still have not utilized excerpts on my blog. Now that I see you have it listed as #1 on your list of powerful tactics, I regret not having prioritized it. I will definitely do that asap. Your #5 tip, sharing the link juice prompted me to install the Top-Commentators-Widget. Other than that, I guess I’m in pretty good shape. Thanks for the excellent post!
keepupweb recently posted..Afraid to Move Your Website but Know You Should
Hey Kim – great post as usual! I always learn great tips to tweak my blog through your informative posts. This one is great -I actually added the comment thread at your suggestion and love it. I am going to have to add the enable subscribe to comments-great way to keep the conversation going! I don’t like to have to log in when leaving a comment – I think you have to do that with Discus? Thanks Kim – you are awesome!
I have Commentluv, Lucia’s Linky Love & Top Commentators Widget in my blog and love them! Time to get the Subscribe To Comment plugin and what plugin would you recommend to notify the comment author thru email when you reply?
Excellent tips, as usual, Kim. Thanks for sharing!
Young And Fabulous recently posted..My Hot Mom Of The Week- Tyesha Brown
Kimberly,
You have a value packed post here, you never seize to amaze me with your generosity in the knowledge and information you continue to share.
There’s a few tops tips here that I didn’t know about, or I just totally forgot lol.
Good Luck with the Competition Honey, if anyone deserves to win its you.
Beth
Beth Hewitt recently posted..Thank you- but NO thank you
Kim, this post is full of great ideas for me. However, I use Blogger rather than WordPress. Is there a “subscribe to comment” plugin for Blogger? (I’m a low-tech type; can you tell by my question?!)
Twitter: donna_tribe
You always give the greatest tips. Whatever will I do without you Kim?
Twitter: AskKim
Awww thanks sweetie. Hopefully you wont have to go without me! I plan on living for evah! LOL
Kimberly
Donna, I so agree! Kim is the most knowledgeable person on SM that I know.
Hope you are doing well.
Sandy
Sandy & Al Abrams recently posted..Can The Porta-Potty Cleaner Read The Label On The Vitamins You Took This Morning Part 2
Twitter: AskKim
You two girls make me blush! Although Donna would probably argue I could use some blush I’d rather not! LOL! Love ya girls!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Turning your ghost town into a home town ~ love it! Great post here, Kim. You always deliver such valuable insights and strategies to streamline our social media strategy.
I’m not yet using Keywordluv or DoFollow, so will have to go add those. I definitely want to be sharing the love, and always appreciate you helping me figure out ways to do that!
Twitter: donna_tribe
I love that saying “turning a ghost town to your hometown” Beth, I’m putting that on a post it and sticking it on my computer.
Regards,
Donna
Twitter: AskKim
That’s definitely the idea I was trying to get across. Its the ghost town effect that disappoint so many when they start blogging and have no access to traffic sources. Isn’t it sad how many sites you can run across that just seem to be spinning their wheels?
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Defensio Anti-Spam and TypePad Anti-Spam
Kim, once again you have given me a lot of great information for my website!
I think your articles are must-reads for new (and seasoned) writers!
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Hey Kim,
You hit a homerun with this one!
Excellent blog post full of some great tips.
Comment Luv is a no brainer and the redirect is
something that I may consider using in the future.
Thanks again Kim.
Cheers – Steve
Kim, I often enjoy your blog. I need to start commenting more as I always appreciate your knowledge and humor.
Thanks so much.
Great advice. Interacting with other people’s blogs seems to be very worthwhile endeavor. Now if I only had more time….
Cheryl James recently posted..What are you reading
Hi Ladies!
The time dilemma seems to be universal. The old expression is, “I have more time than money.” Hmmmmm…….I don’t know about that one, because I am pretty short on time.
I hear that outsourcing is the key. In fact I am going to contact my friend, Garrett Miller , the “Outsourcer” and find out what he’s got up his sleeve. If I could unload some of the really time consuming work, it would help to get me blogging more!
Lookie there! You always get me thinking!
Mentor Mama
Twitter: AskKim
Yay! Thinking is good thing and so is outsourcing when its done by dependable people. If its technical stuff send it my way and if its general stuff thats not necessary to be personallized definitely find a VA to outsource to! I’d take a bow at getting you thinking, but I’d probably trip over my feet! LOL
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: sonlinebiz
A teeny weeny problem with the Comment Redirect plug-in is that the thanks for your comments page doesn’t open in a new tab or window. For some reason I just dislike using the back button when surfing the web.
Commentluv, Keywordluv, DoFollow & Top Commentators Widget. Nice. I’ve got them all
Udegbunam Chukwudi recently posted..Top 16 Essential Plug-ins For Every WordPress Blog
Hi Kim,
Every blogger loves link luv and that’s why comLuv turned out to be a great plugin.
Apart from the points you told, I would also recommend the feature email notification when a commentator gets a reply. Some themes lack this feature. Now, you may wonder why am stressing on this point. Because my blog don’t have that feature and am trying to figure out a way to resolve it
Jakes recently posted..Are you in Terminal Love
Twitter: AskKim
If your talking about how my site sends you an email when I reply to your comments, search my site for “Comment Reply Notification”. Read the comments though as it has a minor bug I work around. I’m taking donations to get it fixed. Love that plugin. Read the post though because plugins like that can be a violation of the law. That’s why they’re not built into most themes, people would not allow it. Hope that helps!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- CommentLuv
Hi Kimberly!
What a fabulous post! These are the kinds of posts that make you the blogging Queen! I love to write articles, but definitely need help in this arena!
Thank you!
Mentor Mama
Twitter: AskKim
Hey hun! You know what the nice thing about plugins like these are? They’re – for the most part – “set it and forget it”. You spend a little time getting them in place and then they require very little babysitting. They let us get back to talking about the fun stuff!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Top 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins
That is great to know Kim! One of my next projects is to go through your site, post by post and implement your info! I need to get on this one sooner rather than later!
Mentor Mama
Twitter: jacquelinegates
Mentor Mama Nancy, you can’t go wrong with Kim’s posts. She only shows you the good stuff AND somehow gets total technophobes (like me) to be able to actually feel like you know what you’re doing!
My best tip – open her blog in one window and your dashboard in another. Play the video, pause, go to your site and do as you’re told, back to the video, repeat.
Works like a charm!
Twitter: AskKim
Thats a great tip, especially use of that pause button! Without that sucker how-to videos just fly right by too fast! I know I get great mileage out of training videos and hope mine are helplful!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hello Goddess Jacqueline,
You are so right! I never realized how mant things must be done to a blog and I do think that it is important for me to understand them. I think that I need to go to Kim’s blog everyday, carve out 30 minutes and implement one strategy per day!
I’ll def use the 2 window suggestion.
Mentor Mama
Twitter: AskKim
The one nice thing about this stack is that they are mostly “set it and forget it”. Done once and other than updates tend to just keep on chuggin! The only thing you might change from time to time is your Thanks for Commenting page but that’s not often. I’m a big fan of stuff I only have to do once! I hate monotonous repetition stuff!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: lambdakennels1
I love the ghost town analogy. Very creative. I have all the things you mentioned except the top commentor plugin. I worry that posting that will turn the comments into a contest, not something to build community. Have you had problems with that?
stephaniesuesansmith recently posted..Free Tuition to ComLuv-Famous Blogger Contest College
Twitter: AskKim
Stephanie, I think that’s a really powerful question.
What I’ve found is that it really triggers little more abuse than being dofollow does. You will occasionally find me having “friendly rivalries” with fellow bloggers on Top Commentator, but its in the name of “good sport”. Sport and interaction among your readers DOES actually build community. There’s no harm with a little fun and games.
What is a problem though is when someone comes in and leaves a quick comment on every single post on your blog – that’s not a “good comment” – just for the link backs. That happens regardless though.
People just getting started with Top Commentator tend to let it run and not make it reset. However then you get someone who has, say, 40 comments and no one else can easily make it on the list. This bums out new visitors. I found that happened at about the 3 month mark for me.
Now, I set my TC widget to refresh (start counting again) every 3 months. 90 days. That gives regulars a fair chance to play, and new guys a fair chance to get the link. A dofollow TC link can mean a lot to a little blog, if it’s from a ranking blog, even if its only for 3 months. That can be enough to help google start to see the little blog. I have given some thought to finding a way to run TWO copies of TC, one that refreshes and one that doesnt, to reward established commenters, but also to reward the newer commenters. I will probably do that once commentluv gold goes live with its own copy of TC.
Kimberly recently posted..Top 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins
Twitter: lambdakennels1
I suppose that makes sense. What made you set it for 90 days instead of 30 or 60? Did you go through some process of testing which worked best or did you make an educated guess? I would probably start with 30 days, but wondered it you tried that and it wasn’t long enough?
Stephanie Suesan Smith recently posted..ComLuv/FamousBloggers Contest Benefits Garden Bloggers
Twitter: AskKim
I spent some time discussing it with some friends who happend to also be regulars on my blog.
Top Commentator isn’t fun so much for the name recognition as it is the SEO back link that generates traffic. If you put a couple hours in doing comments on my blog, and got this link, and it went away 30 days later, you’d probably feel frustrated at the lost effort.
That’s definitely what I heard from the community. Its also the reason I think I will run 2 copies of the widget in the future.
If you’re going to do a couple hours of work for this link, and then lose it, then suddenly its clear that those couple hours would be better spent getting a high quality forum backlink or doing some link building on various sites than continuing to spend time on the same site. This is about seo and link building.
90 days was pretty much the minimum we agreed worked. I tried 60 for a while and I saw some annoyance at that. I’d personally rather use 60 but I’m not greedy, I wont snub the nose of my loyal readers if that link is really what they want for me, ya know? It’s so hard to have rewards for our regulars that keep them feeling appreciated, that the risk of snubbing them is just too high for me to go below 90.
This is one of those plugins where at the end of the day it doesnt come down to “what do I want”, it comes down to “what do they want”.
Kimberly
PS: I should note that I know some VERY high traffic blogs that have theirs refreshing at 30 days, but even though I break the 100k alexa mark, my traffic is pidly numbers compared to theirs. In 30 days they have so many comments its difficult for the new guy to get a foothold – AND – their PR on their blog is 4+ and thus worth a lot more than mine is to the visitor.
Kimberly recently posted..Top 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins
Congratulations on the number of comments this entry already has. I wanted to offer some great information on the benefits and how to use KeywordLuv and point out my post about CommentLuv (appropriately featured in CommentLuv in this comment).
Both provide comprehensive explanations of the enormous benefits of being part of our DoFollow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community.
Do drop by and add your information in the comments of those posts and I will add you to the lists I maintain of friendly blogs to frequent.
GrowMap recently posted..How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs
Thanks for the tips Kim. I love how you always provide such useful and practical information in your posts. Do you know if any of these options are available for wordpress.com blogs?
Twitter: AskKim
I had to do a little digging. I believe that the subscribe to comments feature is already included in wordpress.com (it really should be part of wordpress core, in my oppinion).
Commentluv should be available to you if not directly then through the use of Intense Debate. Usually I dont recommend ID due to the annoyance of logins but if its what it takes to get access to commentluv then I’d say do it.
Homepage Excerpts isnt available but there should be themes available to you that take advantage of this as a standard homepage display. Just look at the themes and pick one that doesnt display the whole post by default.
Comment threading should be availble as its part of the core now, although it is possible that a few of the themes don’t support it. Usuallly Automattic filters out non compliant themes though so that one should be easy. Even if its not, if you have to use intense debate, then that will get you comment threading.
Comment Redirect, Keywordluv, Top Commentator are probably not available to you. There should be a manual way to edit the theme to make the site DoFollow but I can not for the life of me find a link to confirm that. It’s really all these additional tools and flexibility and owning our property that is why so many of us use wordpress.org and self-host.
Hope that helps!
Kimberly recently posted..Top 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins
Kim, you are so-o knowledgeable and gracious. I’m going crazy bookmarking all your great ideas for when I’ll need them (blog? what blog?) lol.
I aspire to just a smidgin of your guru-ness.
I agree with Linda. Where do you find the time for all of this?
Thanks thanks thanks!!
Jose H. Caraballo recently posted..Do You Have Too Much on Your Plate Or Your Mind
ah-hhaha, Jose — Your blog post title made me look! I think both my mind and my plate are too small!!
(otherwise you would get an active link instead of an under construction sign on my blog address ;-/)
So I went to your post and just loved your thinking. You really nailed it!
Thanks so much!!
Linda
Twitter: AskKim
Linda do you need a hand getting your blog set up? Give me a shout hun, I’m here to help!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Akismet Anti-Spam
Twitter: AskKim
LOL It’s this dual force of being something I really enjoy combined with external environment forces that say “results must happen now”. It keeps a fire under my butt! LOL
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Akismet Anti-Spam
Twitter: AskKim
Linda its my pleasure to help. It just happens to be something I’m pretty good at. If I can be of assistance helping you get that blog up and going give me a shout hun. Thanks so much for the stopping by, sharing and commenting!
Kimberly
Twitter: jacquelinegates
Don’t we all, Linda?!
Wow, Kim ~ These are really fantastic suggestions. As always, your ideas are fresh, original and “outside the box” enough to provide amazing content for us all, regardless of experience level. Thanks so much!
Cheers,
Rosina
Rosina Wilson recently posted..The 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition 30th Anniversary!
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Hun, thanks for stopping in and commenting! You rock!
I’ve been trying to catch you on skype the last few days but it seems your porch light may be on even though you’re not around. I don’t know whether you’ve gotten my message or not! Skypes a little wierd like that!
Hope things are going great!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Top 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins
I have actually neglected to add many of these features to my blog. Thank you for the great reminder and for including the plugins inside this post. I am going to work on these tonight!
As always Kim, great content, great info and great help.
Thanks for continuing to give back (or pay it forward) whichever fits best.
Jose H. Caraballo recently posted..Do You Have Too Much on Your Plate Or Your Mind
Twitter: AskKim
I doubt you’ve done much outright neglecting, I know you’ve been busy with the new classes and whatnot! How’s that going? It’s great to see you back in the blog world, I’ve missed seeing you regularly!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Akismet Anti-Spam
Great post Kim! Powerful tips and suggestions to keep in mind and apply.
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Joanne, its great to see you here! Glad that Glen connected us! Thanks so much for the comment and tweets, really appreciate it chica!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Defensio Anti-Spam and TypePad Anti-Spam
Hey Kim, you gave really useful and working tips here. We can increase comment interaction by asking readers to participate in discussion or asking about their views at the end of post, just like you did. Nice post
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Twitter: AskKim
Awww, thanks hun! I definitely agree a strong call to action really helps! Just asking readers to comment is rarely enough and as you suggested asking them questions or fueling their creative ideas can really help. That’s a powerful tip for sure!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Defensio Anti-Spam and TypePad Anti-Spam
Hi Kim I’m learning lots from you and will apply this when I’m blogging in future. Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the writing contest. Emily x
Twitter: AskKim
Erin thanks so much for the comment hun, I really appreciate it! You’re a gem and good luck when you start blogging!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: natlking
Hey Kim
Great value packed post, thanks so much for all the info you share, It is truly appreciated!
There were a couple of plugins in your list that I don’t have so i’ll be sure to check them out.
luv your work!
cheers
Twitter: AskKim
I think you’ll like them – its a real solid performing stack! If you have any issues with any of them be sure to let me know! They’re pretty straight forward but comment redirect probably puzzles some people since it really should have a hidden page. Take care gf!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
WOW Kim! I’m not amazed that you are kicking it, but I am amazed by how much time and energy you continue to put in. I love your persistence and dedication in creating content.
I so appreciate you my friend. Will do what I can to spread the word.
Twitter: AskKim
Kellie, Thanks so much for all your ongoing support girlfriend. I know we havent connected heart to heart in forever, but I really appreciate you. I hope you’re hanging in there and the family stuff is settling down. We’ve both been going through some craziness thats for sure. Look forward to getting to chat with you again soon!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..WordPress Plugin Review- Akismet Anti-Spam
Twitter: beverlymonical
If I ever need help I know to come to your site for the answers.You help me every time.Your free tips are great!Thanks for another great post.
Twitter: AskKim
Aww Beverly, thanks for your support hun. I really appreciate it. You’ve been moving and shaking like a rockstar yourself. I know we haven’t really had a chance to connect, but hopefully soon!
Kimberly
Hi Beverly,
Isn’t she amazing? I really appreciate all the help Kim has given me! She came to ME to tell me that I had a problem and then she helped me fix it! Wonderful!
Mentor Mama
Twitter: AskKim
Hey! I’m just taking care of my people! You’d have done the same for me! Communities look out for one another!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hey Kim,
I’m already doing 1, 2, and 3, plus Commentluv. I think you have convinced me to use #4 and the “link juice dream stack” as well.
Thanks for consistently giving us information to improve our websites!
knsfinancial recently posted..In the Military Here are Some Things You Should Know
Twitter: AskKim
Oh yeah, bring on #4 and be sure to let me know as soon as you have all the pieces set up and I’ll add you to the list of sites I have on my blog (a free link) that are set up. That page gets a lot of SEO traffic and click throughs so should be a little free traffic for you that way to boot!
Kimberly
Ok, that sounds great! I will have the rest of the “dream stack” installed in the next 10 minutes.
Do you have an example of how I can take advantage of the comment redirect plugin? For instance, do I just send them to the home page, or should I create a landing page? What should I include on the landing page? Do you use this on http://just-ask-kim.com? I have left many comments on your site, and I don’t remember if you used this on my first comment or not.
Thanks!
Khaleef recently posted..Man Finds Contentment in 89 SqFt House
Twitter: AskKim
Sad to say but I don’t currently have my “Thank You For Commenting” page set up well again after I lost it previously. You an find it at: http://just-ask-kim.com/thanks-for-commenting/ You want to create it as a “page” on your blog and then hide it from view. If your on thesis this means you don’t include it in your navigation, if you’re not then this means you need the “Exclude pages” plugin. (Or if your theme is new enough to use the new wordpress 3.0 menus you could just not include it there) . Now truth be told that page needs some SERIOUS work. It should not only thank them, but also link to some p opular posts they’re likely to enjoy (my best stuff) and also encourage them to opt into my mailing list. Be sure to include some suggested reading though, so they dont leave!
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: donna_tribe
You are so awesome Kim. I can never keep up with the information you give us all. After reading your comment luv explanations, I am not taking mine for granted anymore. Thanks Kim!
Twitter: AskKim
Was that the how-to set up or the traffic video? Yeah its a real force to be reconed with that sits right under our noses and is terribly easy to ignore when it could be a working for us!
I cant wait till commentluv gold gets here, going to be a premium plugin that combines all four of the dream team stack into a single plugin and takes a lot of the confusion of that stack out! Anything that makes life simpler (and will also reduce spammers) is a friend of mine!
Kimberly
Twitter: AskKim
Gavin you have certainly earned your stripes the hard way out here! The industry has come a long ways in a short time but when youre waiting on it to catch up it can seem like a L-O-N-G time!
No need to apologize at all, I should do the same for being so caught up in everything at the moment that I haven’t had a chance to get back to your blog and check out some of the things you’ve linked me!
Thanks for all your support and hope things are going well for you!
Kimberly
Kim, this has so much meat that I will be chewing for days!
Beth, my ghost town is going to be a home town with all this great stuff.
Thank you so much Kim
Sandy
Sandy & Al Abrams recently posted..Can The Porta-Potty Cleaner Read The Label On The Vitamins You Took This Morning Part 2
Twitter: AskKim
Yeah Beths reply is classic! That’s definitely the mental imagery I was aiming for! You girls make me smile!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hi miss Kimberly
I’m not a writer but I do spin some words of “come on in” once and a while. My job as the sales manager of an SEO company is to find any reasonable way I can to invite interest in our service. I create ways for others to make extra money from our service from off of their website. I tweet. I search the net and physically e-mail our partnering offers and our service fees to those that fit the bill. And I comment from time – to – time on blogs. I’m not technical for I don’t know where that would fit in to blogging or selling. I will say it’s clear that you know your stuff. Thanks for your sharing and helping spirit.
Success to you and thanks for following on twitter.
JohnRobbins
Twitter: AskKim
Hey John, thanks for for stopping in and commenting! I really appreciate your support! Spinning the “come on in” can be just the invite someone needs to drop in and grab a cuppa and make themselves at home! It sounds like your doing an awesome job getting out here, getting to know people and helping others make the most of your services!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Kim-
Keep up all the great work with providing so much information!
Emmie
Twitter: AskKim
Thanks Emmie! I really appreciate the feedback!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Hi Kimberly,
I have to tell you that I have been coming back to this article to absorb all of the great info. Each time I read it, it is like peeling an onion: There is a new layer to discover. . . A new insight.
My favorite idea here is “the dream stack”. it is such a stellar example of getting by giving. You are a true giver, so I’m not surprised that this would be one of your tips!
Thanks for a super and succinct post!
Mentor Mama
Twitter: AskKim
I really need to spend some additional time blogging about the dream stack because its one of those things that have been instrumental from a decision making standpoint to my success gaining traffic. People just happen to like knowing that a comment on your blog is worth 10x SEO value to them compared to a non equipt blog!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: tospost
I would try to implement the Top Commentators Widget soon enough!
Mani Viswanathan recently posted..SEO – Avoid Tag clouds to prevent Keyword Stuffing says Matt Cutts
Hey Kimberly,
You are so generous, not only with your thoughtful post which will yield so much for so many, but also with your comments back. Especially over the past week or so, your presence as a role model for bloggers has loomed beneficently!
So have you enjoyed your competition? Are you glad that you did it?
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Linda!
Careful girl or you’re going to make me blush! If I’m a role model for anything I hope its for the constant need to keep learning, implimenting, applying and staying in when the going gets crazy!
Hesham recently asked me to write up a synopsis of my thoughts on the contest and here’s what I sent him!
Participating in the ComLuv & FamousBlogger blogging challenge has been an absolute riot! It’s had this whole roller coaster of emotions… from wondering if I would do okay participating… to fear of getting my butt kicked… to excitement at the idea of leveraging my community to action… puzzlement at what to write about… anticipation after submitting it and waiting “forever†for it to be posted… overwhelm, exhaustion and amazement at the community support the two days after it launched… fatigue at keeping up with hundreds of comments… gratitude for everyone that went above and beyond to help me out… concern over how to keep up with it amid personal challenges… and now rekindled excitement as we come down to the wire and I gear up for one final push to make it into the spotlight! It’s been a journey that I’m so incredibly glad I didn’t let pass by! Its been a lot of work but balanced out by gratitude, new friendships, renewed sense of community and new readers on my own blog. I’ve made some awesome friends and readers and can’t wait to see if we do this again next year! Bring it on!
Thanks sweetie!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
I am always coming across and learning about so many of these various plugins to optimize your blog and it can be downright confusing. There are millions to choose from. It helps to know there are those who seriously test the various combinations and have a real desire to provide sound advise when they do.
Always learning,
~Robin
Robin Lynn Brooks recently posted..Listen for that Real Connection in Relationship Building
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Robin! Thanks for stopping in and for your comment! Really appreciate it!
You’re right there are millions! It’s rather nuts how much flexibility and choices we have. Sometimes “a lot” may be equal to “way too bloody much!” hehe Hopefully between this and my Top 10 list its a little less overwhelming to get the basics covered.
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
wow, this is GREAT Kim,
my personal blog (linked here) is getting more commenting finally, after years, and i need to upgrade the blog to accomdate this.
i’ll try these wordpress plugins…but always paranoid they’ll mess up my blog!
Twitter: AskKim
I saw your post and really thought about all the comments I’ve seen in this contest on comments… you should have participated! The traffic boost has been nice and its been a wild ride of a learning experience. Fun (sometimes in a masochistic sorta way), wildly educational, and valuable all about sum this up. Loved your post!
Kimberly
Kimberly recently posted..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: AskKim
Hey Edward! Thanks for all you do for the community! You’re an outstanding example of taking a leadership opportunity by the reins and running with it. You’re working with some great people on some great projects! Keep on rockin!
Kimberly
Kim being more of a Jock by nature than a Geek I appreciate this blog, all other blogs and tweets. Massive value! thank you thank you discovering you is very helpful in my learning curve yeehaaa
Kim — awesome post. I use a most of the plugins you mentioned, but one I don’t is the nested one. I have been debating about that for a while. I’ve seen site that do this well and others that don’t (mostly those that don’t do it well). Will definitely check it out. Who knows maybe this weekend there will be a change
Thank you so much Kim you came up a fruitful tips. This is so useful to encourage readers to speak up what’s on their minds.
I just started to comment on other people’s blogs. Thanks for your article. I found it helpful and introduced me to some new widgets that I had never been exposed to and could use on my site. I especially liked your idea of thanking first time guests. I know I’ve been thanked when I post to a site and it always surprises me and encourages me to come back again to the site.
On a lot of my blogs I always make it a habit to end with a question so that my readers have at least a vague idea of what to talk about in the comments besides simply saying “nice post.” It sparks discussion a bit and seems to work well for me. Would recommend it to other bloggers as well.
Ryan recently posted..How Much Media Can I Fit in a 1 Terabyte External Hard Drive
I only found comment luv after my blog was marked as a spam site after I engaged in a few over enthusiastic commenting sessions.
Comment luv made my life much easier as it lets me comment on peoples blogs whilst gaining a small token of appreciation for the comment.
Thanks
Ross recently posted..Asics Gel Kayano 17 Review
Twitter: MushroomPalace
Commentlov is one of the best plugins I have ever seen. Thanks a lot for the great article!
mushroompalace recently posted..Can I come out to play yet nope nearly!
Twitter: MushroomPalace
Although it took me some time to find everything out. But I think everything is how it should be now.
mushroompalace recently posted..Can I come out to play yet nope nearly!
Twitter: Tech2Crack
Nice Guide..
I definitely Follow your guide..
Thanks
Ankit Saini recently posted..How To Edit Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Twitter: YoungFinances
These are some really great ideas to get more comments. I also read an article about not completing the post and allowing commenters to add suggestions. Which I see you’ve done. Now to see if I get a comment redirect… lol
LaTisha recently posted..How to Do Your Taxes on the Cheap
Fantastic post, i really need help more on this tactics. These are the kinds of posts that make you the blogging Queen!
Twitter: DamonDay
Kimberly,
I appreciate the post. I have been trying to figure out the best way to feature some of my top posts on my home page for a few weeks. So far I haven’t been able to get things to look nice. My latest attempt is a title list in a footer widget, but I don’t like that either. I am going to try the post excerpt plugin and see how that looks.
Also do you know what the plugin you use for putting your little bio at the top of the article? What a great way to welcome new readers, so they know who they are listening to.
I am going to try that comment redirect plugin as well, I always try to comment in response to commenters, but my commenting system doesn’t auto subscribe readers when they comment I I know most don’t check the box.
Damon recently posted..Legal Helpers Debt Resolution Sued in 30 Page Complaint Filed by Illinois AG
Some really great tips for getting comments. I am new to comment luv and I already notice a huge improvement in my websites performance.
Edward Culligan recently posted..National Debt Clock
Hi there Kim! Thanks for always trying to help fellow bloggers to make their site more competitive and to assist us in making our site more comment friendly so to increase more traffic. I appreciate your suggestion to thank first time commenters on our sites. I will try to do it as often as I can. Thank you for being a blessing to others.
Pat recently posted..Free Address Labels
Hi Kimberly,
I often wondered what to do when someone posted a comment on my Blog for the first time. The comment always went into moderation. So while the commenter saw their comment go up on my Blog they also saw a message saying that the comment was in a moderation queue.
On reading your post, I learned about the – 4. Thank First Time Commentators.
Amazing now I have the ability to engage the commenter and perhaps enter in to a dialog with them, which is so much nicer for them than just reading a message that their comment is in a moderation queue.
I’ve downloaded the Plugin and I shall set it up on my Blog.
Thanks so much for sharing. I’ve definitely benefited by reading your Blog post.
Twitter: chantel_mario
Kimberly, I totally agree with you, especially with the fact that we should thank the first time commentators. They surely do feel a sense of appreciation and will definitely be encouraged to comment more.
Mario recently posted..The Coolest Blog Commenting Plugin For WordPress!
Twitter: EnviroEquipmnt
Thankfully, we can use your tactics to get more comments as ours is a WordPress blog but pity those who use other platforms such as BlogSpot (like we used to).
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