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´s recent blog post ..Renew Your Mindset With Faith
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Val, thanks for the comment! How does that work for you not moderating even for someone’s first comment? Do you see quite a bit of spam making it to your comment thread that you have to delete later or are you using some sort of captcha/etc? You’re got a really active blog so I’m curious how that’s working.
One thing I like about the comment redirect is that its yet another spot we can use to encourage an opt-in/subscriber. That can potentially help improve retention. The page can also be used to point them to some of our “best of the best” posts that may help keep them on our site longer.
Thanks for stopping in and cant wait to hear back from you!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
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´s recent blog post ..Go With the Flow
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Off the top of my head, the usual plugins that would do that include:
Wp Thread Comment
Comment Reply Notification
Comment Email Notification
Comment Relish
Thank You Later
There’s more than that of course but that’s the most common ones. If you make a list of your active plugins and drop me a message I’ll look through them for you
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: kikolani
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Article Marketing Promotion with Blog Commenting
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I’m going to have to pester Val till she gets back over here and answers for what magic she’s doing! We all want a part of THAT neat trick!
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Kimberly,
I wish I knew the magic touch! You know I’m technically challenged by most of these things!
Hee Hee!
Val Wilcox´s recent blog post ..Go With the Flow
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´s recent blog post ..Go With the Flow
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I have SI captcha in place because I was exceeding 100 pieces of spam a day. Now mind you most were going to akismet but not all… however everything in akismet must be checked for false positives and 100/day takes a while. Also with the problem that @growmap just turned up in Akismet, Im not sure what we’re going to end up doing about that: http://www.growmap.com/akismet-deleting-comments/
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: oriridraco
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Salad For Breakfast
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Oooh that’s a neat looking plugin. Jquery is really nice dynamic stuff. I wonder if it plays with with the Ajax Edit Comments I also like to run. At the moment though I’ve had that plugin disabled (and lots of others) for the same reason I’m wondering whether this one is high system resources. I wonder what it does to page speed and resources. It sounds really neat though! The only downside I can see to that is that by default its hiding the replies and that is hiding proof that I reply to my comments. I want someone to see that before they comment so they think to come back and get the reply. What are you thoughts on that?
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Thanks Kim this is a great post its was so helpful to understanding of what was happening on my blog
You ROCK !!
Kaye Flack´s recent blog post ..Tools
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Yay! I’m glad you liked it Kaye! It’s a pretty straight forward list of plugins but if you have any questions about them be sure you give me a shout! Happy to help!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Wait A Week Before Installing WordPress Core and Plugin Updates
Twitter: marykw
says:
Kim… What an extremely HELPFUL post!!! I so appreciate you conveniently providing links to all these ‘comment encouraging’ plugins. THANK YOU!
~Mary K
Mary K Weinhagen´s recent blog post ..8 Skills Every Teen Needs
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Glad it helped! Getting foundation plugins like these in place can really be more instrumental in success than getting fancy bells and whistles! You’re very welcome!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Facebook – How To Post More Than 420 Characters On Wall Posts
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´s recent blog post ..Shall We Dance
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Top Commentator is another great one but has to be used right so I left it out in favor of some stronger ones. There’s a lot of older blogs that their top commentators have 20+ posts, and new visitors will not even bother to play the Top Commentator game since they know its nearly impossible to get on the list. Much better to make the post count refresh every couple months and give everyone a chance to play
If you have any trouble with either of those give me a shout girl!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..WordPress Plugin Review – TwitterLink Comments
Twitter: lindagrace8
says:
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
Linda G. Cox´s recent blog post ..New Compound for Multiple Sclerosis – Prokarin
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Linda, thanks for the feedback! Commentluv is so much fun isn’t it? There’s lots of flexibility in things we can do with it and it lets us build networking while also increasing SEO. Got to love those win/win situations!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..How NOT To Lose Control Of Your Facebook Fan Page-
Twitter: momtohanna
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Who Are You Talking To Do You Know
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Jackie, that’s a great idea and it works so well. A strong call to action – be it to comment or syndicate or tweet – helps get commenters into action! That is an awesome reminder! What are your favorite ways to phrase these?
Thanks Jackie!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..…And An Awesome Time Was Had By All- Thank You For Attending the Free WordPress – Social Media Q-A-
Great tips, Kim! I still feel like I’m reading a foreign language when it comes to blogging. But, I’m getting quite an education thanks to folks like you! I love your straight-forward, helpful approach!
Nichole Darden´s recent blog post ..Nichole…the Next Oprah
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Nichole! I know it can be intimidating through to sort out the jargon and the jumble and make heads or tales of everything! Some days its enough to give a girl a headache! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..WordPress Plugin Review – TwitterLink Comments
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!
Twitter: tonisuggests
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Winter Warmth
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Toni, thanks for the reply hun! I’m glad you found this list helpful. I’ve always liked lists like this because they let me work though them and pick and chose what I need. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the ten thousand plugins in the the wordpress repository and be left scratching our heads! If you need help with any of these be sure to give me a shout!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Wait A Week Before Installing WordPress Core and Plugin Updates
Twitter: blondishnet
says:
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´s recent blog post ..With Popular Blogging Comes Spamming-
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Nile, you know already that I think your right! The problem being that that answer doesn’t work for the average person that doesn’t know how to play in the code. Heck, I can occasionally glance at code and that’s not something I could do.
These plugins, like most, are mostly for the non-coder. Perhaps you could write a tutorial teaching the average blogger how to take any free theme they’ve fallen in love with and add that code snippet. Tutorials on how to replace common plugins with full-functioniong code snippets would rock!
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
Twitter: kyliedoak
says:
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´s recent blog post ..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!
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Nile has a great pair of blogs over at blondish.net and wpaddict.net you should check her out. Blondish is where I did my first guest post! I’m going to try to track her down and see if we cant get her to do this!!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: blondishnet
says:
Will put something together.
Nile´s recent blog post ..Facebook- Google… Who Else is Competing in the Game of Monopoly
Twitter: lambdakennels1
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Free Tuition to ComLuv-Famous Blogger Contest College
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Stephanie, I think you’ll like the comment redirect. It works on most blogs with no hiccup. Generally a nice stable plugin. You just make a page (generally we name them “Thanks for commenting”) and hide it from displaying (either a theme setting, a custom menu or “exclude pages” plugin). Then you point that plugin to the the page you just made. Let me know if you have any questions about it!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
Twitter: lambdakennels1
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Free Tuition to ComLuv/Famous Blogger Contest College
Twitter: Krista_Abbott
says:
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´s recent blog post ..How To Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey girl! Thanks for your ongoing support in helping me keep my own blog thriving! I know things have been hectic lately and I haven’t had nearly as much of a chance to connect as I’d like but we need to some time darnit! LOL Hope things are going well for you!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: vsproul
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Gulf Oil Spill – My Fourth of July Observations
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Virginia thank you so much! I’m glad you found the post helpful and if you have any questions about getting those set up just give me a shout gal! I’m here to help!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Is Your Blog On The Slow Road To Suicide
Twitter: kyliedoak
says:
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´s recent blog post ..A Blast From The Past
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Kylie have I mentioned I love your replies?! Seriously girl its a great thing to meet someone as verbose as I am! I love it!
Do you really feel a generic reply is better than no reply? I always feel torn over that. Generic can almost be an insult where as no reply can at least potentially be taken as “much too busy”. I’ve been working harder to get all of my blog’s posts replied to but am still failing at it!
I also try to get back to my commenters blogs but again, I’ve bitten off more than I can chew time wise. I need a cloning service for a body double, know any good ones??
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Is Your Blog On The Slow Road To Suicide
Twitter: kyliedoak
says:
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´s recent blog post ..A Blast From The Past
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I can find plugins to do a great many things, but sadly I’ve still not tracked down a good cloning plugin! When I do I’ll certainly let you know… or my body double will!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: kyliedoak
says:
hehe – thanks
Kylie Doak´s recent blog post ..A Blast From The Past
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.
Twitter: AskKim
says:
There’s a lot of outsourceable things that are far less likely to be identifiable as such than blog comments. Anything that is personally identifiable needs to remain high touch from the expected person. Things that are easier to outsource include thank you DMs, basic reply DMs, FB/Twitter re-shares of other people’s content, website back-end work, formatting/editing of posts and videos, etc. I don’t really have a problem with VAs doing comments as long as its in either the business name or the VAs name “dash” business name. However when its in a personal name that isn’t the VAs thats when I think ethics start to bug most of us!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
Twitter: steveshoemaker
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Socially Optimize Your Internet MLM Business
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey now, dont you go picking on my plugin addiction mister! lmao!!! Don’t make me get out the nerf bat! Seriously though no one should ever have the addiction I have – its terribly bad on the database and why I’ve had so much trouble this last 2 weeks. My blog has been proof of why thats a BAD idea. These are a nice foundation set though and on the list of ones I recommend to my students. Thanks for all your support, friendship and even the ribbing! LOL
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..How NOT To Lose Control Of Your Facebook Fan Page-
Twitter: torontodentist1
says:
Helpful post Kim. I’m going to add that Top Commentators Widget.
Point number 4 on thanking people – there’s a plugin called Comment Relish that sends an email to any first-time commentators. I forgot I had it and went to back to reactivate it.
Thanks Kim!
Dr. Joe´s recent blog post ..Personal Drama – Drama Queen Part I
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Dr. Joe, thanks for the comment and feedback.
Comment Relish is one I didn’t manage to get working but I have a similar one. The problem with that whole class of plugins is you have to explain integrating a “comment policy” where the commenter can see it and acknowledge it – or you violate the CAN SPAM laws with those plugins.
I’ve got a rather long post on the one I use (Comment Reply Notification) with a big section on that. I probably should move that section into a post by itself for easier reference. As much as I like that type of plugin – because of the work that has to go into making them compliant – they don’t make my “recommended for everyone list”.
I just didn’t feel that the contest community would be in the mood for a diatribe on spam law compliance LOL! I’m glad to hear the comment relish plugin is working for you though. I wish I could get it working on my main blog to test it. I don’t think it likes one of my other plugins.
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Facebook – How To Post More Than 420 Characters On Wall Posts
Twitter: torontodentist1
says:
You’re right. I never thought of that. I better go deactivate that now. Some people are understandably very touchy about their email.
Dr. Joe´s recent blog post ..Dentists are Tooth Carpenters- Dental Hygienists are Gum Gardeners
Twitter: AskKim
says:
There is a plugin called something like “comment policy” or such that adds a “must be checked” check box before a commenter can use the submit button. This would be one way of creating compliance.
Since I use the Keywordluv plugin, which lets me create some custom text under the comment box, I include a statement that if you reply you will likely receive an email from me. Yeah, I’m sure that deters a few, but my comment numbers really did not hiccup too badly when I put it in place. Since “Comment Reply Notification” lets me (chose too) only send an email when an admin (me) replies – many have thanked me that they do not have to subscribe to my busy threads just to hear if I reply to them. There are always tradeoffs, we just have to watch the law and at least try to understand it in spirit.
Have a wonderful day,
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: hollyfulfordjef
says:
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
Holly´s recent blog post ..It’s not the Fat in Your Diet Part 7
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Woot! Holly glad to see you made it over here! You can always ask me about jargon and what confuses you! I know it can be heady stuff!! As you work on those plugins let me know if you get stuck anywhere or have any questions!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
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´s recent blog post ..Success Stories- Danielle Zack
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Oooh I love that and you are so spot on! Commenting definitely thrives when we are being our real, genuine authentic selves! This is why Jodie and I’s WordPress/Social Media class is called (How To) Profit Being You – because its when we leave the facade behind and show ourselves that the connections deepen! That’s such powerful advice, thank you for the reminder.
The comment redirect is a nice simple little plugin, it just requires you to make a hidden page to point them to. You can do all sorts of things on that page including a thank you video, suggestions of other top posts (links), a encouragement to opt in, and even a very low dollar product further down on the page. Lots of flexibility and its one more great way to connect!
Love ya girl!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
очень фантастический!
Translation – Very Fantastic! These are the basic building blocks of sharing the juice. As Kylie also pointed out there is also the aspect of interaction and solicitation of feedback that generates a following.
I have also seen people who abuse the comment luv with senseless or useless comments just to provide a link back to them. I wish that the setting in the discussion section of the dashboard would let you set the number of previously approved comments to more than just one.
I’ve also seen plugins, the name(s) escape me right now, that will put a checkbox next to the comment form that will also automatically put that individual in your auto-responder. If they are already there, have supplied the information on their own volition, took the time to comment, don’t you think they would also check that box?
Now if we could only combine comment luv with dofollow built in? Hey, I’ll look into that!
очень фантастический Ким
Chris Kilber´s recent blog post ..Don’t Let the Procrastination Theif Rob You
Twitter: agoodsaid
says:
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
Andrea Goodsaid´s recent blog post ..I Have a New Baby – It’s Not Human
Twitter: AskKim
says:
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).
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Chris thanks for the awesome comment, love the ummm… Russian? I’m working on my hustle so I guess you could say I’m ‘rushin! LOL!!
I replied under this reply to Andrea with more about the Subscription Magnet plugin I use and love. It launches soon and I’ve been beta testing.
Regarding DoFollow integration, there is some work being done on that with “Commentluv Gold” Its looking really sexy! http://comluv.com/news/comluv-gold-comment-plugin/ I hope to know more on it soon as well, waiting to hear back from Andy.
Thank you kindly sir!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: kikolani
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Strengthen Your Article Marketing With CommentLuv Links
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Kristi!
I connected with you not too very long ago on twitter courtesy of a recommendation from @gupshupblog and @sonlinebiz but hadn’t had a chance to truly connect. Since it’s much easier to chat here, I just want to say welcome and thank you
Thanks for the link to the Codex. Nile was also explaining that using the theme modification would substantially reduce the server load that this (and other) plugins can cause. I’m trying to talk her into writing a blog post on the topic! I do a little coding but not much, the under-pinning of WordPress are still not my strong suite just yet. Thanks for the suggestion that I look into this!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Kristi, I hope you don’t mind the second reply but I just noticed that you managed to get your entry article link into commentluv. I haven’t been able to figure out how to do that. Are you using a fully seperate comluv account or some other magic?
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: breebees
says:
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!
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Bree, thanks for your support and comment, I really appreciate it! I tried my best to make them open in a new link, but it was the first time I’d used the contest’s post submitter which was kinda different than our usual dashboard. Some days thing’s just dont work as planned! You ever had one of those days? LOL If you have any questions or get stumped on those plugins give me a shoutout and I’m glad to help!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
Twitter: washouse
says:
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: AskKim
says:
Nelson I agree that you’re theme is a lot of fun. Working around it isn’t such a bad idea for now, and as you’re traffic increases you can look at getting someone like Nile to correct the theme itself for you and make it more full-featured. That way you can keep the “look” and get the bells and whistles! Let me know if you heed a hand with any of those plugins or have questions, I know plugins can make for headaches!
Thank you for your support!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Is Your Blog On The Slow Road To Suicide
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´s recent blog post ..Raccoon eyes- Gratitude and goddess-ness Revisited
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I totally hear you about the plugin meets built in feature conflict issue! I guess as a WordPress support person, I probably see more of those causes/solutions than most and so I try to mention them.
Of course that’s minor compared the the blog I worked on a few days ago that had 3 facebook share plugins, two twitter share plugins AND digg digg, and wondered why thing’s were not loading! Whoops!
It would be real silly of me to give anyone a hard time for feeling confuse when I spent time wanting to pull my OWN hair out due to some of this! There is some commenters in this thread that can run circles around me! I just take what I figure out and try to explain it and pass it along!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Wait A Week Before Installing WordPress Core and Plugin Updates
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
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I love the way you built on my analogy! Yes yes yes! The cobwebs have GOT to go! (well unless its Halloween LOL!) The only spiders I want on my blog belong to the search engines!
Bloggers seem to get confused and adopt the “Build it and they will come” mentality, then wonder why it doesn’t work! Not only do we have to create traffic – but we have to make it easy for that traffic to leave some evidence they were ever there. Social proof is a powerful powerful thing!
I’m blessed to have friends like you to help me keep the bats out of the belfry!
Kimberly
PS: Give me a shout if you get stuck with any of those plugins!
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: profitbeingyou
says:
You definitely have a thriving metropolis because you share so much valuable information!
Quick question – did you do that diagram at the top?
Jodie´s recent blog post ..Guaranteed Direct Marketing Response Used In Jonathan Budd’s MLM Launch Formula
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I did not make the diagram at the top although I wish I could claim it! One of the creative folks at either ComLuv or FamousBloggers cleaned up the formatting of all the submitted posts and found me an image. How cool is that? I owe someone a thank you!
Seriously, this is the most fun I’ve had in months! I am having a blast with this! I am so incredibly blessed!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
Twitter: goingveggie
says:
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
Veggie Val´s recent blog post ..A Veggie Pâté- A Loaf of Bread – and Thou
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Val! Thanks so much for your support its certainly my pleasure to get to hang out with great friends like you!
I have to say when it comes to testing out all the half-working beta stuff its you guys and gals as my blog community that I kinda feel sorry for! I giggle because everyone that crosses my blog becomes my personal guinea pig! Most people though are happy to let me break my own blog before I recommend something that might break theirs! It’s not a bad tradeoff really
Thanks for your support!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: justinglover
says:
Hey Kim!
This is a great post, and due to all the comments, you OBVIOUSLY know what the heck you are talking about here.
I always enjoy reading your stuff!
Take care,
Justin
Justin Glover´s recent blog post ..Article The Importance Of Driving Traffic
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Justin! Thanks so much for your kind words and feedback! I am absolutely having a BLAST with this! The community support has just been impressive! I really appreciate all of your help getting the word out, thank you so much!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Twitter – How To Get Off Inappropriate Twitter Lists of Others
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
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Woot! Yay! Glad to hear one of my favorite ninja traffic tricks is working out for you! There are some really fantastic people just waiting to be met out here! It’s hard to fathom blogging as “door to door sales” but in some ways it is – we have to get out and meet other people at their door! Thank you so much for all your love and support girlfriend!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Is Your Blog On The Slow Road To Suicide
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: AskKim
says:
Cherie I’m glad you enjoyed the post! If you have any questions on getting these or any of my other recommendations set up just let me know! Sophistication isnt required for success!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..WordPress Plugin Review – TwitterLink Comments
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: AskKim
says:
Nicole, I have a reply above to Dr. Joe about this issue. I have a plugin review on my blog about Comment Reply Notification and he’s using Comment Relish which is sorta different. I need to finish up moving the part of the post about legalities into a seperate post so its easier to share. I’ll get that up on my blog shortly or you can check out my comment reply notification review post which currently has it in the second half. Thank you for your comments and support!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: ChrisMcCargar
says:
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.
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Chris, thanks so much for the comment and feedback! You know me well enough to know that the hardest part of this post for me was not writing a novel on each plugin!
Glad to hear you got the strike-through confusion sorted out, that was an interesting challenge!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: suejprice
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Business Mindset
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Sue it’s been an absolute pleasure to get to know you and work with you! I am grateful as well! Give me a shoutout if you need help with any of those plugins! You’ve done really well with your blog and I appreciate the feedback.
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
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
Kathy Jodrey´s recent blog post ..Your 90 Day Plan to Freedom – Summer Scenery Series Video 2
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Kathy!
The Commentluv is by default going to get the nofollow tag that WordPress adds to all WordPress comment links. By itself commentluv (or keywordluv) is no follow. Top Commentator defaults to nofollow but it at least has a setting box built-in that you can make it do-follow.
In order to get this entire collection to dofollow (and that would include the name/url link of the commenter) you need a DoFollow plugin of some sort.
I had Lucy’s Linky Luv (which goes Dofollow after 3 comments, but I found that it wasnt affecting the commentluv link AND it wasnt protecting me from the increase spam volume that comes with being dofollow.) I got rid of it, replaced it with DoFollow and added SI Captcha (to go with Akismet, which has its own problem currently), and have had a beautiful reduction in spam.
This whole confusion is one of the reasons I’m excited about the work being done on the upcoming (premium) commentluv gold plugin. Cant wait to get a chance to beta test that baby!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: kelliehosaka
says:
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´s recent blog post ..If You Could Rewind or Fast Forward Your Life- Would You
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Thanks for all your love and support girl! You are special to me! If you get stuck with any of those, give me a shout!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
Twitter: kelliehosaka
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Do You Know That Paying It Forward Is Your Formula To Freedom
Twitter: tattertots06
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Friday Flip-off -8211 2nd Week of July
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Yay! Glad it helped! If you cant get it working you know where to find me! LOL Give me a shout back if you need any thing or drop back in here and hang out with me! Thanks chica!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..5 Powerful Tactics To Get More Comments- Guest Post -amp FBCL Contest Entry-
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.
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Thanks for dropping in, reading and leaving your thoughts. Yeah that thanks for commenting page can be really powerful leverage. There’s all sorts of things we can do with it and we essentially have a captive audience! LOL
Kimbelry
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Is Your Blog On The Slow Road To Suicide
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´s recent blog post ..Three Tips to Help You Do Anything With A Great Attitude
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Kara!
Was great to connect with you on skype the other day. Did you get Top Commentator sorted out fully? Glad I was able to help! If you need help with the others be sure to give me a shout!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: Michaele_H
says:
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´s recent blog post ..How To Brand Your Blog With A Favicon
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Hey Michaele!
I need to do some work on my DoFollow posts, they’re kinda jumbly and I don’t think they’re getting the “why its important” point across. Maybe I can do something about that.
Sadly a lot of people are still intimidated by my advice. They think that because they’re not techy they cant use it and so they don’t even bother to try. It’s really sad to watch.
Thanks for the comment and love girlfriend!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Why Commentluv’s Circle of Luv Is One Of My Ninja Traffic Secrets-
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!
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Yamuna you mentioned having a ton of spam comming through even though you have it moderated. By coming through do you mean going to the spam folder or ending up actively posted on the blog? You should have an anti-spam plugin running, such as Akismet, and it functions to send the possibly spammy posts to the spam folder. Some people think if they see lots of things in the spam folder that akismet isn’t working and that’s actually the opposite. What is a problem is when spam ends up making it around a spam-blocker and posted as an approved comment. If you’re dealing with that and have akismet running please give me a shout and I’ll help you sort that out!
Kimberly
Kimberly´s recent blog post ..Rapportive – The World’s Gone Social- Isn’t It Time Your Email Did
Twitter: daniellezack
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Do You Want to Win the Race
Twitter: AskKim
says:
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´s recent blog post ..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
says:
Thanks so much for your support Bill, I really appreciate it!
Kimberly
Kimberly´s recent blog post ..Digg v4 Alpha Brings Two Cool New Features
Twitter: jasonarmbruster
says:
Tip, tricks, hints … more tips. Kimberly… you always take your posts to new heights. Thanx for these tidbits. Ill see if I can work some of them into my blog.
Jason Armbruster´s recent blog post ..Staying Sticky with your Blog Followers
Twitter: AskKim
says:
With friends and community like this it would be hard NOT to give and give and give! I am absolutely in LOVE with the people I’m surrounded by and it makes it worth the work! I believe that expression goes something like… Find something you love doing, and you’ll never work another day in your life… I’ve got mine!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..5 Powerful Tactics To Get More Comments- Guest Post -amp FBCL Contest Entry-
Twitter: RobinLynnBrooks
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Listen for that Real Connection in Relationship Building
Twitter: AskKim
says:
I’m really blessed you guys continue to subject yourself to such experimentation!
I’m a bit like a mad scientist when it comes to puzzling this stuff out! Its a lot of fun and I appreciate all your support Robin!
Kimberly
Kimberly´s recent blog post ..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!
Twitter: faithbarnard
says:
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
Faith Barnard´s recent blog post ..Mike Klingler’s Marketing Funnel Mastery Course- the Missing Link in Your Online Marketing
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´s recent blog post ..Word of Mouth Supergenius
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Thanks so much for your support and comment Wes, I really appreciate it.
Make it a great one!
Kimberly
Kimberly´s recent blog post ..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´s recent blog post ..Are They Looking at Me Its All About What Your Prospects Want
Twitter: AskKim
says:
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´s recent blog post ..An Introduction to Google Adwords and Adsense
Twitter: clinical10
says:
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
says:
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
Kimberly´s recent blog post ..31DBBB – Day 8 – Interlink Your Old Blog Posts
Twitter: KeepUpWeb
says:
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´s recent blog post ..Afraid to Move Your Website but Know You Should
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Sounds like you’re definitely in good shape! Glad to hear you installed the Top Commentator widget! Playing the top commentator game on other people’se blogs is something I like to do. It gets a quality backlink for me, and comments for them. Win/win is pure gold!
When/If you switch to using excerpts, you may see a minor hiccup in click through rates. This will be because you have some readers visitin who are already not coming into the article to comment and they will be forced to chose whether they want to click to read it. However, once they’ve read it they no longer have to make the same decision about whether they will click to comment. Now, with a solid call to action, your comment numbers can more easily go up.
Once you’re readers get used to the new layout, its all skyward bound!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..Thesis 18 Coming Soon To A Blog Near You-
Twitter: janhill123
says:
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!
Twitter: AskKim
says:
Exactly – stay away from Discus and that forced login nonsense is my advice. I’m definitely not the only person that boycott’s blogs I have to log into. Sire’s poll shows almost 44% have skipped commenting when they have to log in. Fortunately you dont need those things anymore with all the stuff built into wordpress and able to be hand picked from plugins. It’s good stuff! Thanks for the comment hun!
Kimberly
kimjcastleberry´s recent blog post ..WordPress Plugin Review – TwitterLink Comments