Categories
BlahBlahBabble Creative Geek

My Comments Just Got SOCIAL! Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp Review

Review of the Social Plugin for WordPress From MailChimp

For years, one of my biggest pet peeves was that if I wrote a post here but you commented on Facebook or Twitter about it, those comments were just … LOST. They didn’t all get archived here. It has made me CRAZY.

Somehow, Mike did not know this. So he didn’t tell me when he discovered the Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp. I had to find out about it from his blog, as I was migrating the content over to Spoon & Knife, our new food blog.

I may have screamed a lot yesterday when I discovered this plugin. It was sort of the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for me. Ohhhh, maybe that is why Mike didn’t tell me about it? He was holding out for Valentine’s Day so he wouldn’t have to buy me something bigger? I bet that is it. He is such a sweet, thoughtful guy like that! (I gave him a blog all set up at Spoon & Knife for Valentine’s Day, so it is a pretty good trade off!)

Back to the Social Plugin for WordPress! NOW … when you write a comment on my post, you can chose to log in with WordPress, Twitter, or Facebook. If you use the Twitter or Facebook option, you can also post the comment there. Now here is the COOL PART!!! If you comment on this post when I push it to Twitter & Facebook after it is published? Those comments are pulled back in here on my blog! That is what I’ve been waiting for!

I never wanted to use the Facebook plugin – it looks cluttered to me to have both Facebook + regular WordPress comment options on your blog. Which one do I use? You want me to write in the Facebook one (publicity for you, smart move), but what if I don’t have Facebook? Or what if you retweet my post?

Finally, after wishing for it for 6+ years, everything is gathered in one place! I don’t know if you know how GIDDY this makes me!!! (I’m only sad it doesn’t retroactively get comments made on old posts – but we can’t have it all, right?)

NOTE: It does take a little while for the comments on Twitter & Facebook to get scooped up and put on the blog, but they do come over. Just not immediately.

Install the Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp and try it out. Write a post, “broadcast” it easily to Twitter & Facebook, and then track and archive the conversation happening about it everywhere. I am absolutely in love with it, and have it on all of my blogs now! (Thanks for the gift, Mike! It is PERFECT!)

Categories
Geek Love

Closing Comments on Old Posts?

Goodness. I’m getting a TON of spam comments on old posts. WordPress is catching them and holding them in pending status, but that means I have to go through them and mark them all as spam. Akismet is catching even more of them, just not all.

I need a good plugin that will close comments on old posts. I have 11+ years of archives here, I’m not up to doing it manually.

Anyone know of a good plugin to use for it? One that they love more than all the rest? Help?

Categories
Geek Love

Ninja-like Skills for SEO…

Kick SEO *ss - Ninja SEO School! I’ve been keeping a secret from you. Nothing bad. Or illegal. No, nothing like that. I’ve been holding out on one of the most awesome SEO* resources out there. Seriously, Naomi is amazing.

I first discovered Naomi & her Ninja SEO School at the beginning of the year. I wavered on picking up a copy. Google is already my minion, so I didn’t think I needed it at first. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really should check it out. After all, I go through people’s blogs top to bottom to help them with their SEO, so I should actually read everything I possibly can on the subject. Then I saw Naomi’s name popping up all over the place, and I finally gave in and bought it.

I haven’t regretted that choice for a single moment. If you could stand to have your SEO whipped into shape, and you don’t have the money to get a private consultation (great gobs of money if you don’t want to do a workshop for thousands of dollars), it is worth every penny you spend on it. Need more justification? It is currently $39. That is like 8 visits to Starbucks. Fancy coffee or more eyes on your site turning into more business for you? Yeah, that is what I thought — go ahead and click here. (If you’re really scared, it has a 100% guarantee from Naomi, so you’re pretty much golden.)

Between Ninja SEO School and using Scribe to make SEO copywriting simple, my traffic has been higher than ever before. SEO for the win! (Psst… when I was done with the SEO School, I picked up the Click here to view more details as well. It is just as awesome! Worth checking out. After you finish SEO school, that is.

Categories
Getting Down to Business

WordPress + Scribe SEO Plugin…

Copyblogger is one of my favorite sites to read, full of so much good information about building a better blog. So when Brian started talking about a WordPress plugin to help improve your blog’s SEO, I was really curious and couldn’t wait for it to come out! Scribe makes copywriting for SEO so simple and easy! Check out the Copyblogger post about Scribe for more details!

I’m using it along with the All In One SEO Pack Plugin, so when I finish writing a post I add a Title, Description, and Keywords there, this is something the SEO Experts in Salt Lake City Utah advised me. Then I choose “Analyze” on the Scribe Plugin, and it reviews what I wrote and makes suggestions of things I can do to help my SEO for my post.

No more trying to write an exact match domain by Silver Dollar SEO Madison post stuffed with keywords. Just write naturally. Then take a minute or two with Scribe to help make your SEO rock! It will show you what the search engines will think you’re writing about, and suggest changes based on what text people use when they search for things online – helping people find you!

All of this comes with a very, very small price. I can tell you that since putting this into place on my wedding photography blog, my inquiries *and* bookings have increased, so it has definitely paid for itself! Matter of fact, I’m considering paying for a full year in advance! Definitely worth every penny!

Scribe will come in 3 plan levels at 3 different monthly price points:

  • Advanced: 300 evaluations a month (around 100 pages or posts) for $97
  • Publisher: 120 evaluations a month (around 40 pages or posts) for $47
  • Starter: 30 evaluations a month (around 10 pages or posts) for $27
  • But until February 26, 2010, at 6:00 pm Central, you get the Advanced plan for the Starter priceonly $27 per month (and you keep that price for as long as you stick with Scribe).

    You can’t beat that. It is one of the best deals around, and as more and more people research & plan their weddings online, you want to be up there at the top!