I have to admit, researching and playing with Wordpress plugins is definitely one of the most FUN aspects of blogging! When you first install Wordpress.org, it comes as a blank slate… And so you are responsible for adding all of the different plugins, which add various features and functionalities to your blog.
There are thousands of plugins out there online today… Some will be add great value to your blog and some will just be unnecessary. It’s quite a bit of work and pretty time consuming to go through all of the countless plugins out there on the web and decipher which ones are relevant and which ones aren’t. So, if you’re a social media entrepreneur and you’re building a business for yourself online, I’ve put together my personal top 10 list of favorite plugins to help you optimize your blog in the best possible way!
To install a plugin, you just log into your WP dashboard, click on ‘Plugins’ in the left sidebar, and then click ‘Add New’. From here, you can do a search for each of the plugins listed below. When you find it, click on ‘Install’ on the right side of the screen, and then follow the prompts to install and activate your plugin… And voila! It’s as simple as that!
Ok, so here are my top 10 favorite Wordpress plugins… (In no particular order really):
1. Tweetmeme ~ This is the Twitter icon you see on this post both at the beginning and the end. It helps visitors ‘Re-tweet’ (share your post on Twitter) your content and it also tracks it nicely, so you have great social proof on your blog!
2. What Would Seth Godin Do ~ This is a plugin that actually cookies visitors and tracks who’s new and who’s returning. You can then craft welcome messages accordingly… See the welcome message at the beginning of this post for an example.
3. Viper’s Video Quicktags ~ This plugin will help you easily embed videos onto your blog from Youtube, Google, Vimeo, Viddler, and other top video sharing communities.
4. Sociable ~ This is one of many possible content sharing plugins that you can add to your blog posts to encourage readers to syndicate (or share) your content on other social networking and bookmarking sites. Other popular ones: ShareThis and I Love Social Bookmarking.
5. Tiny MCE Advanced ~ This plugin gives you ‘Microsoft Word-like’ functions when writing your posts… Very helpful when it comes to paragraph spacing, font size, and other various typing features.
6. Comment Re-Direct ~ You can direct first time commenters to a page of your choice thanking them for their support and feedback… Great for relationship building!
7. Commentluv ~ This is the plugin you see on my post here that showcases commenters latest blog posts with a little heart icon. It helps drive traffic back to your commenters’ sites and encourages more people to want to comment on your blog!
8. WP Related Posts ~ This is a plugin that lists related posts down below each blog post… Very helpful in encouraging multiple post reading!
9. WP Super Cache ~ The more plugins you install, the slower your blog load time will get… So this plugin will help speed up the load time of your blog.
10. Pretty Link ~ This is a plugin I found recently thanks to one of my amazing Blog Mastery students, Kary Rogney. It will help you drive traffic to your tribe members’ blogs. Your tribe is a group of people who are your peers and whom you have built a strategic partnership with. You promote them, they promote you… Everybody wins! (To learn more about the Pretty Link plugin, check out Kary Rogney’s video tutorial here: http://karyrogney.com/feature-your-tribe-on-your-wordpress-blog)
Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment down below with your thoughts or questions! And also, you can use the Tweetmeme plugin right now by clicking on the Re-tweet icon down below here… Thank you! I totally appreciate it!
Yours in Knowledge,
P.S. Do you have any favorite plugins that weren’t mentioned here? PLEASE DO share them below with the community!
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hey Katie!
Thank you for sharing these valuable plugins! I have to say your blog is one of the easiest to navigate and SHARE with other social media outlets because of the fabulous plugins you have. Sometimes I’ll come across a great blog post but the blog designer doesn’t have Share This or Sociable and it makes sharing their post such a hassle!
Any serious blogger really needs to install plugins that will enhance the viewer’s experience on your blog. It’s all about your viewers!
Thanks again!
Amanda
Amanda´s last blog ..SuperQuick Tip Of The Week – You, Inc.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Definitely agree with you there, every blogger needs to make it as easy as possible in letter other syndicate your content!
Alex Lim´s last blog ..The Perfect Internet Network Marketing System
October 5th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Wow.. Thanks Katie for sharing us your favourite WP Plugin. As soon as i build my WP blog, i will be back to this page for sure.
Daniel Likin
October 5th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Hi Katie, thanks for the info…I have a big problem Ive deleted my plugin panel and now i cant get it back….what the hell am i gonna do!! get back to me please
thank you
Louise Evans
louise evans´s last blog ..Using Louise’s power affirmations Combined With EFT For an Online Business
October 6th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Katie!
Thank you very much for all that you do. So simple, yet heartfelt in your actions. This list of plugins is very helpful to cut through the many, many plugins existing.
Health and Happiness!
Eric Carter´s last blog ..Absolving Fear
October 6th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Hey Katie,
Thank you for the Twitter Tip, my followers almost doubled from last night.
December 17th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Wow I haven’t seen much success with it, I wonder why…
Gil Pizano´s last blog ..How to Lose Weight Without Excercise
October 12th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I use TinyMCE advanced. Makes editing any post a lot easier. When I don’t care to edit in HTML view that is.
If you need to add tinyMCE capabilities to your profile biography check out my plugins:
More Wordpress plugins.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I love the Tweetmeme plugin! Such an incredible tool. Not just for people to share content I create, but it makes it so easy for me to share other people’s content as well, like yours!!!
Dennis´s last blog ..The Importance of Having a Blog
October 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Hey Katie,
Great stuff girl! Blog looks fab – but more importantly, great content
Been catching up on the blog webinars after-the-fact in the back office.
Terry Carter´s last blog ..Social Media Revolution Is In Full Swing
October 17th, 2009 at 6:39 am
You did not mention sexy bookmarks on your list. I am considering this Plugin to add on my blog. You’re using it and it really looks neat.
Martin´s last blog ..How To Be More Successful
October 20th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Hey Martin, I actually started using sexy bookmarks after this was published… I love it! It’s definitely recommended
November 8th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Love this and all of your tips, Katie! Thanks!
Lindsay Fields´s last blog ..What to Expect at Your First Hot Yoga Class
November 18th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Hi Katie
Very informative. Thank you.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I am relatively new to blogging and have yet to take advantage of the “social media”, but this list will definitely help me when I’m ready to give it a shot!
Thanks.
Darvin @ Discount Yoga Mat´s last blog ..Do Follow Blog, Comment Luv Keyword Luv
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Thanks! This is a great list, and now I know what I’ll be doing until the wee hours of the morning.
Andria´s last blog ..Christmas Card Pic FAIL
December 4th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thank You katie, there is always something new for me to learn from you.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Great Collection, I like the “Smart SEO Link” plugin, this interlinks yur post automatic related to keywords, but you can add a list of keywords and URLs, and this plug in automatically links these words to your insert URLs if they appear in a post.
Benjamin´s last blog ..Dirty CPA Marketing, make money with CPA Affiliate Marketing!
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:01 am
Hi Katie,
Could you please tell me what plugin you use in your sidebar to feature Popular Posts, Comments and Tags?
Thank you,
Christina
December 26th, 2009 at 9:13 am
This is a great list of plugins. I think the two I’m most excited about are “What Would Seth Godin Do” and “Tiny MCE Advanced”. I have always wanted to give my commenters the ability to truly edit their posts, like a Word document.
“What Would Seth Godin Do” sounds really cool, but I’m not clear on what it does? You say look at the top of the post for an example, but is it the little box in the top right corner that you are referring to?
Boardwalk @ Recycling Christmas Cards´s last blog ..Christmas Card Crafts
January 1st, 2010 at 5:20 am
I liked your video on Social Marketing by creating a blog. Please keep sending me other lessons.
Thanks
Ajay Thosar
January 20th, 2010 at 1:55 am
Mahalo (thank you) once again Katie for giving your readers such great content. You are really assisting us in our education and we very much appreciate your sharing!
Love & Aloha,
Kellie :0)
Kellie Hosaka´s last blog ..YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE TODAY BY CHANGING YOUR INNER GAME