Optimize Your Blog: A WordPress Theme and Plugin Wish List

WordPress bloggers often get asked the question: What plugins do you use? Two of my blogging buddies asked me that question recently and compiled the responses from dozens of other top bloggers into their own blog posts. 

Ian Cleary from Razor Social

Ian was the first blogger who asked me to share a list of my favorite plugins. You can find his post here Best WordPress Plugins: 54 Professionals Share Amazing Plugins To Inspire You. This is the first group blog post that I contributed to in 2014. A partial list of a few of the other contributing bloggers featured include:

• Jay Bear
• Rebekah Radice
• Dino Dogan
• Ann Smarty

Devesh Sharma from WpKube

Devesh's post is called Best WordPress Plugins: 40 Experts Share Their Favorite WordPress Plugins. Devesh pulled together a completely different cast of characters for his group post. I find it interesting that this group mentioned some completely different plugins from those mentioned in Ian's post. Here are some of the key people that contributed to Devesh's post.

• Ana Hoffman
• Adrienne Smith
• Dino Dogan
• Nile Flores
• Ivana Zuber
• Kristie Hines
• Neil Patel
• Syed Balkhi
• Ian Cleary

Here are the top 5 plugins that I mentioned on Devesh's post:

"This question comes at a really good time because I switched themes recently which caused me to take an even closer look at the plugins I use on Basic Blog Tips. Before I give you my five favs, I want to start off by saying how important it is to have a great theme with basic features built-in. 

This will make a huge difference in performance and greatly reduce the number of plugins you need to install. 

My current theme is Genesis and I use a child theme from Appendipity called Showcase. So right out the gate I don’t need to install any social sharing or following plugins because they are integrated within Showcase. With all that said, it’s still challenging to pick 5 plugins but I’ll give it a shot. 

1. Anti-spam – is the newest one I’m testing to cut down on the time I spend moderating comments. I almost don’t want to give that little secret away because somehow whenever a plugin like this gets popular, the spammers figure out a way to work around it. But it’s so good I have to share it with you guys. 

2. AuthorSure – is a plugin that takes all the fuss out of setting up Google Authorship, which is essential for any blog with multiple authors and for bloggers who don’t want to mess around with code. It adds a nice looking author bio box and a lot of other options as well. 

3. Pretty-link Pro – is another must have for anyone doing affiliate marketing. It makes your links easier to remember and it’s also great for YouTubers and Podcasters who want to share links on their shows. 

4. WP-Optimize – is a great one to have around. If you haven’t used this one before, the first time you run it, you will most certainly notice that your blog loads faster. 

5. P3 Plugin Performance Profiler – will come in handy when you see that your blog is loading slowly. This one will tell you which plugin is causing the issue and give you a complete rundown of the time it takes for each one to load. When you see the load times, I know it will be hard but just un-install the one with the longest load time and you’ll be thankful you did!"

My WordPress Theme And Plugin Wish List!

Layout, Sidebars and Comment Form 

Responsive

Navigation (including bread crumbs)

Social Networking (Sharing and follow buttons and social proof)

List building/Contact form

Speed/Security

Backups

Basic SEO/Tracking

Monetization (Affiliates, eCommerce, Digital product delivery)

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT APPENDIPITY THEMES

Get inspired! Head over to iTunes or Stitcher and leave this podcast a rating or review. Click the logos below to get started. 

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How To Start Winning The Social Media Game

Download this episode

Start Winning with Social Media

With the glut of social media networks available for us to choose from, how can we decide where to focus our efforts? 

Take two or three networks at a time so that you don't get overwhelmed. That way you can monitor your progress to see where your traffic is coming from. Let me help you start to narrow down or hone in on which social network you're going to get started with. 

First, here is a list of the 5 major networks you need to consider:

• Twitter
• Google+
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest

Next, use the process of elimination to remove two or three based on your own personal likes and dislikes - or perhaps you're pretty sure your niche will or won't do well on.

For example, my daughter Nikki has a fashion blog called Chic Renegade, so in her case, she doesn't try to force her content to fit over on LinkedIn where most of her blog posts aren't appropriate for the demographic of users. However, Nikki also has a Marketing business where she does custom WordPress set-ups and event promotion and curation. This one is called Lidyr Creative Marketing Agency. This type of site is a perfect fit for LinkedIn. 

Should You Start With Google+ or Facebook?  

Here's my recommendation - if you don't have an established network on Facebook already, at this time, I would not suggest you get started with Facebook. The exception to this is if you are ready or able to invest in hiring a professional Facebook strategist to manage your promotion, don't go it alone. Keep up with your family and friends as you have done in the past but there is just too much noise over there and the only way to make an impact with your content is through strategically placed advertising. 

I would focus on Google+ instead. Find a good, spam free, community on Google+ and plant your flag over there. You are going to get more bang for your buck and more visibility in search on Google + than can can on Facebook at the moment.

Recommended Reading:
Google Plus vs Facebook: Choosing Your Target Audience

What about Pinterest?

Pinterest is not just for women! Check out the Manly Pinterest Tips Show hosted by Jeff Sieh and featuring:

• Wade Harman (Wade interviewed me in a previous episode of this podcast)
• Mike Allton
• Les Dossey
• Stephan Hovnanian

So don't limit yourself as far as Pinterest is concerned. You might be surprised to learn that Pinterest is now branding itself as a search engine in it's own right. And speaking of search, you'll also find that Pinterest boards and profiles rank high in Google search. 

I use the example of my podcasting board on Pinterest. If you search Google for "Podcasting on Pinterest", the board is currently in the top spot - and it has been for weeks. :)

I also share how I made some great connections working at my day job in niche industries like Additive Manufacturing (aka 3D printing), Transportation, and Medical Devices just to name a few. 

Rules of Engagement

Regardless of which social networks you decide to master, be sure to have profiles established on each one of the sites I listed above. If you want to take things a bit further, use a site like Know.em to claim your profile names across multiple networks. That way when someone searches for your name, you'll dominate the search results.

You might think this tip goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway - don't be a spammer! Don't just share your own content. Share more of other people's content and you'll find as time goes by, that other people end up reciprocating and sharing your content as well. 

Here are five communities you can join to find great content to share and the other members will give you a head start with winning the social media game:

• Triberr (watch my tutorial here and here)
• Viral Content Buzz
• Blog Engage affiliate link
• Social Buzz Club affiliate link
• BizSugar

Next episode, we'll take a closer look at a few of these and explore additional tools and resources like TailWindApp and Pinwoot, to help you save time and cross the finish line a lot sooner. 

iTunes Reviews

There are a few reviews of the podcast in iTunes and I'd love to share them with you. 

Hopefully you will be inspired to leave a rating or review for this podcast over in iTunes or Stitcher. Click the logos below to get started. 

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Introducing the Content CREAM Machine

What Is The C.R.E.A.M. Machine?

C is for Create

Create the kind of content that attracts a loyal following and moves you closer to your online goals. Your starting point is my Blogging Tips 101: The Basic Blogging Tips That Will Take Your Blog to the Next Level and 12 Steps You Must Take To Quickly Become a Successful Blogger.

R is for Re-Purpose

Re-purpose your content for distribution across a variety of platforms so that if one traffic source turns sour the others will take up the slack.
Harness the power of video marketing on YouTube and use audio podcasts to breathe life into your content and connect more deeply with your audience. 

E is for Engage

Engage with other bloggers by joining communities. As time goes on, you’ll be able to hone in on your brand advocates and reward them as you build your own tribe of dedicated  fans and followers. Spend the time it takes to get to know who your message resonates with and find out how you can help them.

A is for Amplify

Amplify your message on social media using the tools and tactics that I’ve shared with you on my blog. Seek out influencers and connect with them so they will discover and re-share your content on social platforms. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor and you'll watch your content being re-shared virally on social platforms like you've never seen before. 

M is for Monitor

Monitor  your progress and identify your core content. Discover what resonates with your audience and what doesn't. Use Analytics and Webmaster tools to help uncover those hidden gems and shine the spotlight on your blog's premium content. Easily evaluate each strategy you implement with a system for testing and tracking to help you clearly identify the winners and losers every step of the way.

Start using the C.R.E.A.M. machine to create the best content ever. 

C.R.E.A.M. your content and you’ll convert casual readers into subscribers and eventually customers. Transform your blog into a profitable online business that earns while you sleep.

Get in touch if you have questions!

TRANSCRIPT:

This transcription was prepared by Rev.com

I want to share a story with you. I know that sometimes when you're in the midst of blogging and coming up with content ideas and trying to really polish up your content, that sometimes you get discouraged because like I said, it can be a little challenging. But I spoke to someone today via email and this person said to me, “I’m a blind computer user,” and I thought “Wow!” I know that there’s lots of folks who are visually impaired that are still on the Internet. In fact, one of my best friends is visually impaired and she doesn’t really get on the Internet that much but she got a smart phone recently and so she’s exploring. I think that sometimes we make so many excuses for things that we can’t do, and here this young man who contacted me, he’s blind. 

Guess what he also wanted to share with me? His YouTube video. Yes, he has a YouTube channel and it’s pretty darn good too. A lot of times you don’t realize that there are ways to overcome your stumbling blocks. There’s always someone who’s a little bit further behind the eight-ball than you are. On other times you just need to reach out to someone and like when I spoke to this young man and I told him that I have a friend who’s visually impaired as well, and the topic that he was asking me about, it just so happens that I know someone else who’s very knowledgeable. She has a lot of expertise in that topic, and that person is a university professor, and she happens to be deaf. 

So whenever you start to get down and you feel like no, you can’t do it or the world is against you and things just aren’t going your way, just keep pushing on. Just keep pushing on and I just introduced you to the C.R.E.A.M. Machine. One of the reasons why I introduced that to everyone is I’ve been hearing a lot of conversation about the difference between strategy and tactics. Well, I think there’s some validity in making that distinction but in the end, not really. They’re all stuff we have to do. Some people say, okay, what is your strategy? Your strategy is more like the bigger picture. 

Do you have a strategy of what you want to achieve online with your blog or with this social platform or that social platform? What’s your strategy? Then you use all those tips and tactics to hopefully help you fulfill the goals that you wanted to reach with your strategy. Like I said, and to me, this is my opinion. There’s all stuff that’s on the to-do list. May be you could put some stuff up higher and some stuff lower. I mean the strategy … having a strategy is great but if you don’t have the tips, the tools, and the tactics to get that strategy done, it doesn’t matter. It’s almost like strategy, having a strategy is better and I realized that a lot of people don’t have a strategy, which is the reason why I started off with my Blogging 101, and if you go back to the very first episode of this podcast, you’ll get the first of the series of Blogging 101. 

It talks about what is your goal. What’s your mission statement? What is it that you want to achieve with your blog? Because I do believe that as bloggers we can change the world. We can. We’re the modern day journalists. They call podcasting and web TV and all that stuff, they call it new media. That’s why they have the New Media Expo. It’s not really new. I guess it’s new when you think about old media, which was writing books by hand, I guess that was what? The 1500s to 1800s? I can’t remember my history. I used to know all that stuff. I can’t keep all those facts in my head anymore. Gutenberg, you know. My background is in printing. You guys know. My day job, I went to school for all of that stuff, but I don’t remember it anymore. Anyhow. 

I guess when you compare what we’re doing today, because we’re online and it’s digital and all that, that makes it seem new. But it ain’t really new, but it makes people feel better. The same way to me with strategies and tactics. It makes people feel like they are thinking on a higher plane or a higher level, and if that works for you, go for it. I probably need to take that medicine myself. What is it that I want to achieve? But see, I’m kind of already past that. You know what? Because what I want to do is help people. I want to able to connect with people. My tag line from my first blog was “I’m here to learn, to teach, and to connect.” That’s my strategy, that’s my goal. So I’m already doing my thing. Are you doing yours? You might need help. You may have questions. You might be unsure. That’s okay, and guess what? 

Sometimes you have a strategy, and then you change it. That’s cool, too. Sometimes you start using a tactic or a tip, and you find out “Hey, that tip ain’t working for me!” That’s why we’re in the C.R.E.A.M. Machine, because whenever … the reason I put together the C.R.E.A.M. Machine is so that you always have something to go back to. It’s more than a checklist. Whenever you're doing something and if you're not really sure you should be going down that path, go back to the C.R.E.A.M. Machine and see where it fits. It’s almost like a timeline. It’s almost like a set of folders, and if something doesn’t fit into one of those folders, then maybe you need to give it a second thought. Well that’s what I have for you today, guys. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you find the C.R.E.A.M. Machine interesting, because now that makes you part of the C.R.E.A.M. Team. 

I’m glad you’re joining me on this ride. I really appreciate you guys for tuning in to the show today, and I will definitely talk to you soon, and I do mean soon, like the real word soon. Okay. Those of you who listen to the podcast, you know exactly what I mean. This is Ileane from the Ms. Ileane Speaks podcast, signing off. 

Peace.
Stay subscribed to this podcast in iTunes or Stitcher.

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Rocking Your Blog and Social Media with Visual Marketing

This is a special episode where I sit down for a chat in a Google + HOA with my friend and fellow blogger Wade Harman. 

The topic for the HOA is The Psychology of Images in Social Media - Visual Marketing and we talk in detail about using images in your posts on Google+ and other social media platforms as well as your blog.

Let me Introduce You to Wade Harman

Wade is one of the frequent guest authors featured on my primary blog Basic Blog Tips. Here is Wade's bio:

Hi, my name is Wade Harman. I'm a full time blogger at the Social Media Marketing blog, with a degree in Psychology. I show you how to spark an emotional reaction, get people's attention, and encourage them to take action! Let me help you drive targeted traffic through social media strategies that I have researched and use myself! Let me coach you and see how my strategies in social media can help YOU drive targeted traffic!

Wade is growing his social presence on platforms like Google+ by networking and providing valuable content that gets attention and makes him stand out among the crowd. His latest guest post on the blog currently has over 200 +1 on Google and Wade is no stranger to getting those kinds of results. 

You will here us talking about an image that got a lot of engagement and the post from Google + is embedded below.

During the HOA event, we responded to quite a few questions that came in from some other "plussers" like

• Les Dossey
• Andy Nathan (Andy is also a guest author on Basic Blog Tips)
• Jeff Sieh
• Jimmie Lanley

One of the questions that come up is about creating a Call To Action on a Google+ post. Wade shared one strategy he uses which is to add a "Pin it for later" link next to a link to the image on Pinterest. I think this is a good strategy to test to see if it resonates with your audience. I recently recorded a video about TailwindApp, and it's a fantastic tool you can use to see what kind of results you get by adding "Pin it" as your call to action. If you want to go into more details about using Pinterest, in a future episode, please let me know in the comments below.

Another tool that Wade and I both use for our visual marketing campaigns is PicMonkey.

PicMonkey makes it very easy for you to customize images by adding text, borders, overlays, backgrounds and themes that will really make your images pop! I use PicMonkey to customize just about every image that I post on my blog.

Here are a few additional resources mentioned:

Light Shot Extension for Chrome
Canva (currently in beta)
Pixlr extension for Chrome
Video Blocks

Use SpeakPipe To Keep The Conversation Going With Your Audience

SpeakPipe is an online service that allows podcasters to get voice mail feedback from their audience. It's a handy online tool that works in one of two ways. 

1. You can add a snippet of code to your website or blog which will display a widget
2. You can send listeners to your custom SpeakPipe homepage

In this episode of the podcast I play a question that was left for me using SpeakPipe.
The question came in from Ron Hitson and he wants to know how I would send traffic to a squeeze page without using my blog.

Many professional podcasters are using SpeakPipe to connect with their audience by allowing them an easy way to leave a voice mail using their built-in computer mic or smartphone.  When I listen to podcasts I enjoy hearing the playback of questions left by by podcast listeners like myself.

Podcasters Who Are Using SpeakPipe

Here are a just a few examples of podcasters who are using SpeakPipe to turn listener feedback into content for their shows:

• James Schramko dedicated six episodes of his Super Fast Business Podcast (so far) to Listener Comments. 
• Daniel J. Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast features the SpeakPipe widget prominently on his contact page along with his phone number and additional points of contact. 
• Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting gets tons of feedback through SpeakPipe that he often plays on his show. Here's a great example of a message left by your's truly.

SpeakPipe Plans and Pricing

VIEW THE SPEAKPIPE PRESENTATION

SpeakPipe Keeps The Conversation Going from Ileane Smith

Promoting Squeeze Pages

To respond to Ron's question about Squeeze pages I talked about how there are many marketers using YouTube videos to promote their offerings.

I gave three examples of marketers who are using YouTube videos to effectively drive traffic to their landing pages.

• Amy Porterfield
• James Wedmore
• Clay Collins from LeadPages

LeadPages is the number one solution for creating landing pages and squeeze pages. I'm using LeadPages to grow my email list and the folks from LeadPages have a long list of options for you to choose from. Another thing I love about them is that they are masters when it comes to split-testing conversions. They test colors, images, copy - you name it - if there is any aspect of an offer that they can test, they will do it and share the results with all of their customers.

PS: Don't forget to leave a rating and review for the show over in iTunes! 

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Hot Tips for Using Facebook and Tracking Your Social Proof

Facebook Marketing Can be a Complicated Beast!

There are so many aspects to running a successful Facebook Page that at times it can be overwhelming. On top of that, Facebook often makes changes to the platform and even after you get it all figured out, they go and change it again! But because of the massive amount of people who are constantly checking in with their friends and family and following their interests on the platform, it simply can not be ignored. 

Believe it or not, you can score a win on Facebook and in this episode I offer some advice to help you get started. Start by keeping your goals in mind and you can use some subtle techniques to drive traffic off of Facebook and back to your blog.

Link Your Profile To Your Page

This is one super simple strategy and I'm willing to bet 80% or more, of Facebook Page owners miss out on this one.

Create a link from your profile to your Page. All you need to do is add your page as your employer and that will generate the link. If you tried to do this already and it didn't create the link, you might need to change your page to a "company or business". You can watch this YouTube video and you'll see exactly how to set it up.

Add Your Facebook Page Link on Your Profile

Ditch The Fake Like Button!

Facebook changed the layout of our pages over a year ago to a format that is referred to as the Timeline. At the top, there is a huge cover image and under that image, over on the right-hand side you'll see four Facebook apps. One of those shows a preview of the latest photos that you posted or that someone has tagged your page in. That is the only app that will always show on your page and you can't remove it. But the good thing about it is that it's constantly being updated with all the awesome pictures that your posting on your wall. 

There is another app, that can be moved down, but by default it appears to be a Like button. This app shows the number of people who have liked your page, but it's a little misleading. You might think that when someone clicks that button they are liking your page also, but actually they aren't. They are taken to a completely different page that shows some of your Facebook analytics - which you might not even want people to see! 

THE "FAKE" LIKE BUTTON

I just grabbed this screenshot from the Panera Bread Facebook page and although they have millions of Likes, you might not be so lucky! So don't let people get distracted by all those charts and stats about your page. Use that little pull down menu on the right (where I have the arrow pointing to) and change that app! This is taking up valuable real estate on your Facebook page and you want to have something like an lead generation form from LeadPages or a YouTube channel app there instead.  

Hey you can even embed your blog in a Facebook app, like a did with this blog. If you click the "Podcast" app on the Basic Blog Tips Facebook page, you'll see this blog and how you can listen to the podcast right inside of Facebook. I used Thunder Penny, and you can get the instructions for installing Thunder Penny right here. 

Tracking Your Social Proof

Since the ultimate goal of your activity on Facebook is building your authority and sending traffic to your blog the question remains, how can you track the fruits of your efforts? 

One way you can find the amount of traffic coming to your blog from Facebook is in your Google Analytics reports. Here is a video tutorial that shows you how to set up Goals so you can see how much traffic is coming from Facebook and the other social networks

Track Social Media Conversions in Google Analytics by Ileane Smith

Klout Moments

Another way to get insights to the effectiveness of your Facebook activity is by checking your Klout profile and looking at Klout Moments.

I added my Facebook page to the Klout account connected to my Basic Blog Tips and right away I can see that recent activity I posted had engagement with 17 of my fans.

Klout Moments

Facebook Power Editor and More!

The Power Editor lets you upload your email list so that you can target your subscribers with ads, and take things to the next level by creating "look a like" audiences, based on specific interests and recent purchases people have made! That's a really intense strategy and I'll tell you more about it once I've had to chance to get some real practice using the Power Editor.

Resources mentioned

If you think you're ready for some advanced training now, than be sure to check out this interview with Amy Porterfield and Jon Loomer on Jon's Social Media Pubcast:

Secrets, Strategies and Sales with Amy Porterfield

Next you should check out Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro by Joey Kissimmee. I wrote about this on my other blog in this post which also includes a video so you can see it in action:

Introducing Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro

Last but certainly not least, I have to mention two absolute icons in the world of Facebook and all things related to social media Mari Smith and Mike Stelzner. Mari has just a fantastic email that goes out every week called The Social Scoop, and Mike heads up the staff over at Social Media Examiner and here's a link to his latest interview with Mari.

New Facebook Features: What Marketers Need To Know

Additional Resources and Tracking Tools:

• Wisemetrics - "Enterprise-class Facebook Analytics made easier and free"
• Cyfe - Watch my video review of Cyfe for tracking Facebook and YouTube
• Post Planner - Get proven, engaging status ideas with the click of a button
• Like Button Generator - Choose from a variety of Like Buttons to install on your blog

If you have any questions for me about this episode, please leave them in the comments section. Also, please share some of your favorite tips for Facebook Marketing success!

PS: Don't forget to leave a rating and review for the show over in iTunes! 

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The Positives and the Perils of Monitoring Your Brand on the Internet

The Importance of Monitoring Your Brand

As we continue along on our journey to building a successful blog, we've learned a lot along the way. In past episodes we talked about things like developing our content strategy, tracking the source of our traffic, connecting with influencers, building an email list, promoting our content through social media and we even discussed how to use images and post titles to be more memorable and make a deeper connection with our readers. 

Now you're at the point in your blog's growth were you need to be mindful and pay attention to what others are saying about you. You need to know who and when people are linking to your content. Find out who your fans and supporters are. On the other hand, it's important to know when and if something negative is being said about you so that you can react and respond quickly.  

What Tracking Tools Can I Use

Whenever people talk about brand monitoring they will always recommend using Google Alerts. It's easy to sign up for Google Alerts, just enter your email address, and your name or keywords that you want to monitor and you'll start getting email notifications when Google detects the link or the mention. The problem with this is that Google Alerts aren't as accurate as they used to be. There is a ton of stuff getting past the radar and you'll find out when you sign up for this next service I'm going to recommend. 

TalkWalker Alerts

I'm getting a whole lot more notifications from TalkWalker Alerts these days than I get from Google Alerts. Here are a few examples:

+Ana Hoffman from Traffic Generation Cafe linked to my blog in a post about on page SEO.

+Daniel Tan issued a News Release about SEOPressor and mentioned my popular tutorial on the topic

Fellow named blogger Karmarka mentioned me in a comment on +Lisa Irby's blog!

Then there is also a down side to monitoring your brand. By that I'm referring to the time when you find something that doesn't exactly make you smile - like people scraping your content! This one is coming directly from my RSS feed. I can tell because it starts off with "New on Basic Blog Tips:" which is the phrase I added to FeedBurner...

Be sure to sign up for TalkWalker Alerts in addition to Google Alerts.

Google Analytics Trackbacks

Go to your Google Analytics reports (read this if you need help setting up Google Analytics) and under Traffic > Social > Trackbacks, take a look at these reports. Here's a screenshot from mine where I found two pleasant surprises from +Sharon Hurley Hall and +Timo Kiander 

Click to enlarge image

What other tools are you using to keep track of people mentioning your brand and your keywords? Let me know in the comments. 

Please stop by iTunes and give the podcast a review and rating or subscribe on Stitcher and I'll speak to you soon! 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Shout out to +Justin Germino from DragonBlogger
• CommentLuv
• Crazy Egg Blog
• Pick the Brain Blog
• Basic Blog Tips on Scoop.it or YouTube Tips and Tutorials
• Podcaster's Daily on Paper.li

Bonus video Monitoring @ Mentions in HootSuite, Twitter and NutShellMail