"This post may contain affiliate links and I'll earn a small commission if you shop through them. This is how we help to make money so we can continue to bring you amazing content"
If you want to start a blog and you’re new here – check out part 1 to set up your blog. Once you set up you’re blog, you’re ready to start adding plugins and setting up social media.
Step 1 – Install Plugins
Plugins make the entire blogging process so much easier. I’ve got quite a few plugins so I’ll break them down by category. When you start a blog, plugins are essential to help the site run smooth.
Plugins that make your website function and run smooth
*Akismet Anti-Spam – this plugin filters spam comments. You can accept and ignore comments too. This has been a huge help on my website.
*Google Analytics – one of my most used plugins! This plugin gives you visitor reports. This helps track where your traffic comes from.
*Jetpack by WordPress – another most used plugin! This little plugin is amazing! It tells me not only which posts get the most traffic, but it also lets me know when my site is down!
*P3 Plugin Performance Profiler – checks and makes sure any plugins aren’t slowing down your website.
*PHP Compatibility Checker – makes sure your PHP version is compatible with your plugins.
*Sumo Me – helps for blog growth and helps track clicks.
*Yoast SEO – another most used plugin!
Plugins to Enhance Posts
*Duplicate Posts – Sometimes when I do step-by-step tutorials (like my quilting tutorial), I need to duplicate previous posts to save my links. this plugin gives that ability without making me start from scratch.
*Easy Watermark – instead of placing www.honeysucklefootprints.com on every picture, this plugin does it for me.
*Insert Post Ads – Inserts ads after paragraphs to help monetize (we’ll go over this later). This is also the plugin I use to put a disclaimer at the top of my posts. According to recent regulations, if you’re an affiliate who is receiving compensation from a brand, you will have to have this disclaimer (like at at the top of this post and on my disclaimer page).
*Post Thumbnail Editor – This plugin does just that. It manages your post thumbnails.
*Regenerate Thumbnails Advanced – This plugin helps when changing between themes, it automatically regenerates your thumbnail pictures.
Plugins for Social Media & Social Interaction
*CommentLuv – places a link of the commenters last blog post. This plugin encourages fellow bloggers to comment on your posts by helping you at the same time! If you comment on another bloggers post, it will link back to your page creating more traffic for you!
*Contact Form 7 – exactly as the name suggests, this is a contact form. I get potential affiliates through this little form. It’s worth it!
*Hello Bar – this little plugin adds a cute social media bar at the top of your blog. This plugin is very versatile!
*Hello Dolly – this isn’t a pertinent plugin, but it’s an uplifting one. Every time you log into WordPress, this plugin will show a lyric from Hello Dolly.
*Mailchimp – This is the email service I use, for free, to send out emails when I schedule posts for the week.
*Pinterest Pin It – Puts a little button on pins so readers can easily pin your blog picture.
*Send Images to RSS – Makes the RSS feed look more like your website.
*Simple Share Buttons Adder – This adds share buttons to your social media brands throughout your website.
I know that is A LOT of plugins and the list can seem overwhelming, but it’s not that bad really. Each plugin makes my life a little easier. And if you want to start a blog, I think it will make yours too.
Some of these plugins start working automatically with not much intervention from you; however, some need to be set up. Like Hello Bar, and the social media apps, with those you’ll need to put in your links and set them up.
Step 2 – Set up Social Media
The most traffic I get by far is from Pinterest. I believe this widely due to the social media plugins above, and because I have Tailwind (link is below).
There are so many social media sites that you can expand your blog on, and groups within Facebook and on Pinterest that you can network with other bloggers (if you’re hoping to make this a full time feat, I would network as much as possible). I would at least set up a Facebook page and Pinterest account for your blog. Others have widely used Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn as social platforms, but I never intend on making this my full-time income so I stick to Facebook and Pinterest.
Networking with other bloggers I think is crucial, especially at first and if you plan on making it big with your blog. A couple groups I started with on Facebook were Inspired Bloggers Network and Network of Christian Women Bloggers. I asked so many questions and was able to figure out so much by networking with others!
On Pinterest I am apart of several blogger groups as to which I can add my blog pins to the board. A few of them are Lifestyle Bloggers Group, Top Blogs – Pinterest Virtual Board, and Best Bloggers to Follow. What I try to do is every time I pin a post to one of these boards, I also re-pin a pin from the board I’m posting to. It’s like you help me, I help you kinda thing.
One way I boost my posts are through Tailwind (banner below). It’s about $10/month, but I make that $ back by the exposure I get from using the service. You can sign up for a free trial and try it out, but I would do this when you have enough content on your blog. It’s definitely worth it and you can use this service for Instagram too! It’s a scheduling service and schedules pins to pin to boards without you having to physically do it.
In the next series we’ll go over the difference in categories, pages, and posts as well as go over more in depth posts.
Great info here! Google Search Console is also a really effective way to track blog post metrics, site traffic, 404 errors, and much more.
This is a great article. Thank you for this valuable article.