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Customizing your sidebar to optimize your WordPress

Customizing your sidebar to optimize your WordPress

A blog’s sidebar is one of it’s key features; other than the header and your content, it’s one of the best and easiest places to add links, advertisements, or widgets to help your readers out. But what exactly should you put in it? How much is too much? Read on!
1. Don’t Overdo It!
Many new bloggers go overboard with the sidebar and stuff it with whatever they fancy: little games, maps, Google friend connect, chat boxes, you name it. Don’t do this! Of all the mistakes you can make with a sidebar, putting too much stuff in it is probably the worst. Adding too much stuff makes your blog look cluttered, ugly, and spammy, especially if you put up too many ads. You want to have a small, helpful, and reasonable sidebar, not one that’s overloaded with unnecessary stuff.
What to Do:

Make sure you aren’t adding anything to your sidebar that isn’t necessary, and make sure everything that is in the sidebar has a purpose.

2. Add An “Archives” Widget

One of the basic things to add to your sidebar is the “archives” widget. While many bloggers put this widget up, not many know it’s full potential. First off (and most obviously) the archives widget shows all the posts you published in a certain time period. (Usually in months.) You and your readers can thus easily navigate to your monthly posts. Also, if you have nofollow disabled in your sidebar, it’ll transfer link juice to all of your posts, effectively raising the pagerank of your blog.
What to Do:

Either add the built-in archives widget in wordpress, or try out one of these plugins: (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/collapsible-archive-widget/) (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/breukies-archives-widget/) (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/awsom-drop-down-archive/)
Customize the archives widget to not go back too far, but still cover several months.

3. A Big, Easy to Use, & Attractive RSS/Email Subscribe Form

Most people put a subscribe button somewhere in their blog, but not many do it right. One of the best places to put an RSS subscribe button is on the top of your sidebar. However, don’t just put up any RSS subscribe button, put in one that also has a easy way to receive posts via email. Make it look good, make it attractive, and don’t forget to make it easy to use. This will prevent readers from no subscribing simply because they can’t find a subscribe button.
What to Do:

Create an attractive and appropriate RSS/Email subscribe button, and add it to your sidebar, preferably near the top and in a dominant position. Make sure it has a form where the reader can enter their email to receive posts. You can do this by using a plugin (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscription-options/) or coding it yourself in HTML
Let your readers know what the button does by writing a post on what RSS is!

4. A “Top Commentators” Plugin

Using a “Top Commentators” plugin (I highly recommend this one: http://www.wordpress.org/extend/plugins/nofollow-free) Is one of the best things you can add to your sidebar. This plugin not only displays your most loyal commenters, but it displays a dofollow link to their homepage (if they have one.) This encourages comments on your blog, helps your loyal readers to come back to comment more, and helps out those who comment on your blog without you doing anything – It’s a win-win situation!
What to Do:

Install this plugin: (http://www.wordpress.org/extend/plugins/nofollow-free)
Tweak it to fit your needs.
Let your readers know that whenever the post a comment, they’re heading toward getting a link to their own blog on your sidebar.

5. A “Popular Posts” Widget

Displaying your best and most popular posts is one of the most effective ways to gain loyal readers. Sending readers directly to your best content is a sure way to show them what you’re capable of, and easily lets them know if they’re going to like your blog or not.
What to Do:

Display your best post by either linking directly to them, or by using plugins such as these: (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-popular-posts/) & (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpresscom-popular-posts/)

These five steps are only the beginning to what you can do with your sidebar. One of the most important aspects of changing your sidebar is that:

You don’t make changes too quickly without reason! Change is not necessarily a good thing in your blog; you want your readers to be able to identify and recognize the look of your blog. So make changes, by all means, but don’t change ridiculous amounts without any rest inbetween.
You ask what your readers want. Your blog is for your readers; find out what they want in your sidebar (as long as they have reasonable suggestions) and do it!

If you follow these two rules, your sidebar will soon be a solid, central part of your blog that’ll improve your readership and make it easier to use. Happy blogging!

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WordPress Plugins for multiplying your Success

WordPress Plugins for multiplying your Success

WordPress is simple but becomes powerful by its plugins. Plugins are useful for Search Engine Optimization, displaying ads, securing the blog, spreading the content etc.
In this tutorial, we will learn about some great plugins. We will also learn how to use them for multiplying our success and to get more with our favorite WordPress. 🙂
So, let’s begin.
PushPress
Are you familiar with PubSubHubBub? It is an extension of Atom/RSS. It is great because with PubSubHubBub, you can ‘Push‘ your content into Search Engines and to your readers (in their RSS or Feed Readers).
Suppose, you write something very useful about a trendy topic. A topic which is very hot and thousands of peoples are searching for it. Use Google Trends for finding what is hot now.
So, you write something and it indexed by Google in 5 minutes. Your readers get it within a minute in their feed readers.
Yeah! You read correctly. Indexing in Google just in 5 minutes.
Seems Impossible? Well, and then have a proof.

Think about the possibilities. To be indexed in search engines is a success in term of SEO but with PushPress (WordPress Plugin for PubSubHubBub) your will multiply it several time because of faster indexation.
Thank me Later
Another wonderful Plugin!  Using Thank me later, you can send an email to the first time commenters. Don’t ask me what you will send in the mail? It may contain information about simple thanks, subscriptions, Free Reports, Reasons to subscribe, best posts or anything.
If you use the plugin effectively, you will convert a First time commenter (Success) into your reader or clients. 🙂

Comment Redirect
A very new reader comments on your content. It is also a success because you just converted a simple reader into a higher engagement level commenter.
So, How to multiply this success? Well, have an Example.
Glen of Viperchill does it by redirecting first time commenters into a special page.
This page contains information about ViperChill Subscription. Thus, Glen gets more new subscribers.
You can also apply the same technique using Comment Redirect plugin. It is a plugin from WordPress Rockstar Joost de Valk.
How to use Comment Redirect Plugin?
1) Download and activate the Plugin.
2) Build a Special page. This page may contains information about Subscription, special reports, Freebie or a special Product.
3) Redirect first time Commenters to that page and get more profit.
GoCodes
Affiliate Marketing is the most popular way to monetize your blog. You often recommend your readers something very valuable thing and earn some bucks by it.
GoCodes is boon for the Affiliate Marketing. It simply helps to you structure an Affiliate URL into something like yourblog.com/go/affiliate. Profits?

Trust in the links
Link tracking.
More Clicks i.e. More success.

Fast and Secure Contact Form
A contact form is a Good way to allow your visitors to contact you. There are plenty of plugins available for WordPress by which you can also create contact form.
Whatever the reason (Sorry to say, but no Spamming) but whenever a person contacts you is a success. It possesses more importance when you are offering a service (Hire me, Get Consultation etc.) and your contact page is the only option by which an interested person can contact you.
Fast and Secure Contact form plugins does the great job here. It is very secure and you can also redirect a person to a special page (Just as you did in Comment Redirect Plugin case) after they use the form to contact you.

So, build a special page again, which should contains very useful information like replying time, your other contact information (in case of urgent need), something valuable content or a relevant product.
Useful, isn’t it?
So, these were the three most important plugins for multiplying your success. But wait, there are some more.
We will have their short introduction now.
1) WP Greet Box: The plugin automatically detects the incoming visitors (from where they are coming) and display the relevant thing to them. You can also use this plugin to greet your visitor and motivate them to do something.

2) Link With In: This plugin displays the images of related posts or contents just after your post. So, you can increase the Pages/visit ratio using this wonderful plugin.

3) Subscribe to Comments: Another plugin about comment section. By using this plugin, you can turn your blog something like forum.

Well, these are the plugins which helps you to get more with WordPress. It is also a strong reason behind my WordPress love. Similar type of functionality isn’t available in the other CMSs and as simple as in WordPress.
So, it was all about the great plugins. What you think? Do you also use these or similar plugins for getting more with WordPress? Please share your thoughts by dropping some lines here.

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5 Major Statistics Plugins for WordPress

5 Major Statistics Plugins for WordPress

Statistical plugins are very important for blog administrators and writers. The statistics help one to know about the visitors: how many are visiting the blog, which are the most popular post/pages and from where the traffic is coming and other such information. Mentioned in this post are five major WordPress statistical plugins which every blog admin/writer should know and preferably use.

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Pros and Cons of Magazine-style Theme

Pros and Cons of Magazine-style Theme

Nowadays, blogs are used primarily not for the owner’s daily experience and thoughts, but to make money in it. Yet, more bloggers who are making money online through their blogs go for magazine-style WordPress theme. This post gives an overview on magazine-style theme, along with detailed explanation about it’s pros and cons.

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