In a lot of Blogussion articles, there is a lot of talk about how you can interact with your community through the comment system. On several occasions, the emphasis on being successful is all about developing a community.
There isn’t a better way of doing so, than get your visitors/guest involved with your content and also on a wider scale; your blog. In the post here I have stated how a blogger is affected by comments on his/her blog.
In this post I’ll be listing in 6 greats plug-ins which could help increase the comment-activity on your “tenderly dormant” blog. You’ve probably seen a list like this before on other blogs, but it’s important to know these plugins and what they can do for your community to really bring out the best.
1. CommentLuv
Adding the CommentLuv WordPress plug-in to your blog is a great way to show your readers that you value them and the comments they leave on your blog posts. With this plug-in, the most recent blog post of the commentators listed at the end of each comment that a user fills in their blog URL in the “Websites” input box.
You can read more on the benefits of using CommentLuv to promote your blog in a past article “5 quick and clever ways to publicize a blog post by commenting on other blogs”
An example of CommentLuv in action. Screenshot grabbed from ThouShallBlog.com
2. Show Top Commentators
Most people are inherently competitive and like recognition. This plug-in is helpful increasing comments in by far the best way. As the top commentator, they will gain a link on every page of the blog hence gaining him back links and traffic as well.
The same post linked to above can help you on how to use this plugin to promote your blog. The same concepts can be applied to your users as well. (#3) 5 quick and clever ways to publicize a blog post by commenting on other blogs
3. Subscribe to Comments
The Subscribe to Comments WordPress plug-in is a must have for any blogger looking to increase comments on his or her blog. With this plug-in, your blog readers can subscribe to receive email alerts when new comments are left on posts they’re interested in. It’s a great way to draw people back into a conversation that they’ve already expressed interest in.
There is also a cool section in your WP admin panel where you can track how many subscriptions you have, and who is subscribed specifically.
4. Do Follow
The Do Follow Plug-in for WordPress removes the NoFollow tag from all comments left on your blog, thereby rewarding commentator’s by ensuring links left within their comments count in Google searches.
5. WordPress Thread Comment
The WordPress Thread Comment plug-in enhances the functionality of commenting on WordPress blogs by enabling people to comment on any existing comment within a thread of comments and view those comments as a threaded or nested conversation. Some users report having to modify the email messages and other wording that is programmed into the plug-in to clean up grammar, etc., but the functionality is great, particularly for blogs that receive a lot of comments.
6. Comment Relish WordPress Plug-in
Comment Relish is a WordPress plug-in developed to send a pre-set e-mail message to users who comment on your website, that haven’t previously commented before. The message dispatched to the user is pre-define by the plug-ins preferences, or you can post your custom message. It’s a great way to get a little more personal with your community since you send them an email thanking them for posting a comment on your blog.
I hope you have found something new in this list. Thanks for reading!
31 Discussions
I find that the dofollow and top commentator plugins are best for trying to get people to comment.
The fact that you get a backlink from the commentator plugin if you comment a lot and the added dofollow backlinks makes it worthwhile.
Nice post and cool suggestions.
WPThemeKid – Daniel’s last blog post..Create Cool 3D Text!
You’re right, and often people aren’t aware that a blog is DoFollow. I think bloggers should include a little notice somewhere on their blog that they are Dofollow (better put that on my to do list).
Nice post!
Could you please add the links to the plugins
This post wasn’t complete, and for some reason was published. It’s been edited and fixed, so there are links to the download page. Sorry about that!
I too forgot to add links :s
I am the silliest guest poster around
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
Haha, no worries. Your posts here get a pretty good response anyways.
I use all of these plugins on one blog or another and have to agree with the list. The only thing that I would really add in would be WP-Gravatar for anyone who doesn’t know how to manually enter the code into their layouts. What can you say, people like to stand out.
Stuart Conover’s last blog post..PediaPress – Allowing You To Print Wikipedia Articles As Books
I never knew there was a plugin for Gravatars. That’s a good suggestion though, not everyone knows how to code for WordPress.
Usually , most free themes today come with wp-gravatar integrated
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
That is true on most of the themes being released now. However not everyone who will be installing themes will pick one that was created since Automattic purchased Gravatar so is something to keep in mind for people still running on older themes or who prefer an old theme style over a newer one.
Stuart Conover’s last blog post..PediaPress – Allowing You To Print Wikipedia Articles As Books
I love the DoFollow and Top Commentator plugins, but I didn’t know about Comment Relish. What a great idea, thanks!
Cindy’s last blog post..Surefire Cure for the Theme Tweaker
I used to use Comment Relish on a past blog. No idea why we don’t have it here!
Comment Relish is a good idea to keep your readers active.
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
Deffinitely some of the best plug-ins around! I too didn’t know about Comment Relish, thanks for sharing!
Your Welcome
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
Good post, I will make sure to add these to my site.
I use most of the plugins on my blog. I haven’t tried comment luv but it looks interesting. Wordpress thread also looks like a must have thanks for the great list.
You Welcome
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
@:Ali: Good share ! I already use commentluv and dofollow. I have seen sezwho builds a good community and will try out others on my blog.
Top commentators is a good one but I really don’t know if I want to give away precious sidebar space for that :p
Jeet’s last blog post..Free Directory List
Well, it is totally upto you. I have seen pr blogs build up comments in form of top commentors
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
recently installed the commentluv plugin .. waiting for results..
I wish you the best of luck
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
I currently use all but comment relish, formaly known for a loooooong time as “comment rubbish”, mainly because of the massive abuse right from the jump.
Please people, do not have it all about the advertisement. And do not…..D O N O T set it to dispatch after every single comment someone makes…first comment is fine.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Google Closes Adsense Account – Google Gets Sued – Google LOSES!
hmm,, thanks for the info. I have set it up in a way that after every comment the commenter receive an email. This is a good reminder to them from my point of view
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
I’ll have to agree with Dennis on “Comment Relish”. It’s a fairly annoying plugin and probably discourages more visitors than brings them in. You would be better off going for opt-in emails like Feedburner or Aweber, especially if you’re wanting to build a base of return readers to sell things to eventually.
The only problem I have with CommentLuv, Top Commentator and Dofollow is that it does make the chore of moderation tougher. You really need to define the rules for commenting, as in, can you use a keyword name or not, and know what to look for in automated spam comments.
Frank Carr’s last blog post..Earn Online Cash With WordPress: Info Magazine Themes
Yeah, using a comment policy can definitely reduce spam
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..What Is Blogger’s Block
OMG i cant believe this i have been blogging for long time now and didnt really know about these plugins, how dumb i can be.. Gonna install them right now
You really should
Ali Hussain’s last blog post..Deal With Blogger’s Block
Great article. Nice blog. Keep it coming. Mike
Nice list. I didn’t know about Comment Relish. I think I will use it on my blogs also
Sava’s last blog post..Entertain yourself and make money at the same time
I am writing a report on this subject and your article is very helpful and educational. Thank you.
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