Work It Wednesday ~ Today is smack dab in the middle of the week, the momentum from the first two days has slowed a bit as you traveled up hill through your task list… the best thing you can do today is to put your head down and keep your “steam” up!  Work that list of pesky tasks today and clear them off – use today to: return calls that need to happen, get filing done, follow up on outstanding quotes/proposals and emails – these kinds of items stack up quickly but they are also the ones that when you put your mind to it and focus you get them done the fastest!  Work it today and clear off a ton of to-do’s, build your momentum for tomorrow and minimize what is left for Finish It Friday….  don’t forget to plan your “reward” for Friday!

Let’s talk plugins!

When you get your WordPerss blog set up, either doing it yourself or having someone do it like FreeBlogFactory, you will still want to customize it out with a set of plugins.  By installing different plugins, you create your own “master piece”, your combination is your own creation! There are thousands out there to choose from and it can be overwhelming at times.  I have a list of a few I recommend you have on your site at least to begin with then take some time to look ask around, look around, and research for others you might like to use.

Here is a list of Plugins that can help your readers and your WordPress blog site function…

When evaluating plugins know what you would like a plugin to DO on your website.  Are there plugins that you are looking for to help YOU the back end user or are there plugins you are looking for to help your readers?  The best answer of course is a combination of both.  Plugins are there to make the function of your blog easier to ma mange and to make it easier for readers to interact on your site.

Plugins for readers, them:

You want to have several plugins that will help make it easier for your readers to share your information, keep your information and register to receive your information.

Sharing:

  • Sexy Bookmarks: this plugin allows your readers to share your post with others easily!  I have it here and it is located at the bottom of every post.  If you hoover over one of the icons it pops up and when you click on it, it allows the reader to push it to that social media outlet.  You do some customizing on the settings for this one – if it is on pages or posts or both, if it located at the bottom or not and what social media platforms you want represented here and what tag line you want to use. 
  • FBLike Button and TweetMe button: I use both of these plugins in addition to the sexy bookmarks plugin – it might seem redundant at the moment but you have to think of your readers.  Some readers are used to the buttons and some are used to sexy bookmarks.  I don’t want to loose any one who might share my information so I use both! (a lot of bloggers do) You also want to be sure you are making it super easy for them to share your posts!      
  • Yet Another Related Posts: This is one of my favorite plugins – it pulls other posts from your blog library and puts links at the bottom of the post that is being “read” to  entice your reader to read other blog posts.  This is managed by the data you fill into your blog posts as you write them.  This is one of those plugins that makes it easier for your readers to find more information focused around the current topic they are reading without having to search for it.
  • Contact Page Forms: The need for these plugins might have already been taken care of by your “blog theme” – like here on Wealth and Abundance Today, the contact page was part of the theme framework and I did not have to install this plugin – BUT on VA-a-GoGo I had to use a form page plugin.  A couple good ones to use are:  Contact Form 7 and cformsII – you can search in the “add plugins” page for them and install them directly into your blog.  (For instructions on this please see Tackle It Tuesday ~ Installing WordPress Plugins Made Easy!)
  • WP Touch: this is one of the mobile made easy plugins. WP Touch automatically formats your WordPress blog so it is viewable from iPhone, iPad touch, Android, Palm Pre, Samsung touch and Blackberry Storm/Torch mobile devices.  Important today because your readers are using their mobile devices more and more.
  • Subscriptions: Plugins that allow your readers to subscribe to your information is important – this allows you to deliver your posts directly to their inbox.  There are some tools you can use to set up – Feedburner (this is free through Google Accounts), Feedblitz (this has a fee) or you can use your newsletter/ezine program such as Aweber (Fee), GetRespone (fee), and MailChimp (free to start)  (other bulk email programs may offer this feature as well) – I have both choices here on my site – The newsletter registration form allows them to receive posts & newsletters delivered as well as the RSS icon which only delivers blog posts.plugins

This is just a short list of what plugins to have when you get started to help your readers stay connected and to share your information.  Don’t let plugins scare you or overwhelm you!  Plugins will take a little bit of time to set up but once you are used to the process of installing plugins it will continue to get faster!

Tomorrow we will review plugins that are more focused on YOU the back end user.  These plugins will help you manage your blog site, manage your statistics, manage your postings and even plugins that will help you increase your Search Engine Optimization!

A word of caution, even though there are so many plugins out there for you to use don’t go crazy.  You should also install one at a time then test it out before you move forward onto adding more. Remember you can easily install, activate and deactivate the ones you want to use.

If you have any questions on plugins feel free to send us a message through the contact page.  Feel free to print this post and keep the information to refer to later.