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Getting Your Readers Interact More with Your Blog

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Community News plugin

Have you thought about setting up a community news plugin on your blog? it’s a way to interact more with those who submit links to their own articles to your blog!

Isn’t it wonderful to see your readers getting involved with your blog? This is often achieved through feedbacks.

By commenting on an article, your readers start some form of interaction, it’s a discussion that goes the distance through replies and more comments. I am saying this based on what I see here on Famous Bloggers.

I’m not an authority on these matters, for my blog seldom receives comments. But it doesn’t mean I cannot discuss it, or write a post about it. Instead of being frustrated or envious of other frequently commented blogs, I try to find ways to let my readers interact with me. This is where I thought of setting up a Community News Page on my blog.

The Joys of Having a Community Page in your Blog

I recently installed the community news plugin for WordPress to allow more options for my readers to interact with me. I wouldn’t say it’s a complete hit, but it’s fairly new, it has a couple of submissions, and it’s there for the very reason I put it there – another way for my readers to interact with me aside from the traditional comment system.

submit article form

It’s also a good marketing tool, for you as well for others who ventures into submitting their articles on the page. Though I cannot guarantee you an instant influx of traffic, it still can be a good source of information, if you’re like me who likes to visit other blogs to read without even having to go through the search engines. But for me, the best benefit you could get from it is the chance to meet other fellow bloggers without having to leave the comfort of your blog through the articles they submit.

Making the Blogging World A Better Place

In a world where competition is always at its height, a dose of camaraderie is always welcome. Getting the chance to interact with others through your blog is a nice way to start a friendship. Whether it occurs through comments, through your community page, or any other form, the important thing is that you’re being heard and getting your message across.

No man is an island, and it’s true whichever way you see it. Everybody feels the desire to be included. I do. The articles that I write on my blogs are simple ways to express what I feel and voice my opinions. I would be guilty of lying if I’d say that I don’t desire for my posts to be commented upon. I’m sure no blogger would want their blogs to remain hidden and uncommented. I wouldn’t and I have a strong feeling that you also wouldn’t want that to happen.

About

A blogger and a freelance graphics artist undergoing dialysis treatment who likes blogging, cooking, food, tinkering around with things, and doing research. He writes about his life in dialysis and his views on life and blogging.

Reader Interactions

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{ 48 Responses }

  1. Mark says:
    Very interesting plugin, Julius. I added it to my blog about SEO and SEM. It almost works like an RSS feed aggregator. I like it. I have never seen anything like that before. Thanks for the recommendation...:) Mark
  2. Bryan P. Hollis says:
    Julius, Nice post. I especially liked the fact that you were not ashamed to be open about the fact that your blog doesn't (yet!) receive the same results with repect to commenting and interacting that Famous Bloggers does. Well, you're not alone! We'll both just have to keep working at it and doing our best. Just be true to what you do and enjoy it in the meantime. Take care, Bryan
  3. Latief says:
    Another great recommendation here, I always want to make my blog as a community blog and hope this one can help :) Thank bro.
  4. Mani Viswanathan says:
    I like this idea..but will implement only after achieving certain milestones as fellow bloggers look for a blog with quality rankings maybe (PR3 or more)
  5. Dennis Edell says:
    OK I'm missing something as usual, lol. I see clearly how it benefits those that get their links displayed, how how does it benefit the blogger hosting them? You in this case...
    • Julius says:
      I'm having other topics to read without having to search the web. That's enough for me..
      • Dennis Edell says:
        Good enough, just curious. :)
      • Hieu Martin says:
        hi Julius. Try search the web. i alway do search when i need something
  6. Gee says:
    I think the golden rule (do unto others what you want others to do unto you) works in the blogosphere as well. I realized that ever since I started commenting on other blogs and interacting with other bloggers through their blogs, my blog posts became more "active" - more people are interacting with me and commenting in my blog posts.
  7. francesca says:
    Julius, 2 thumbs up for sharing this great plugin! I had no idea it existed, and I'm pretty sure we'll implement it on our blog in the near future: it's just too good an idea to pass it up :) thank you!
  8. Hieu Martin says:
    Community page plugin is a great tool that I have missed for my blog. Thanks for introduce with me this plugin
  9. Sachin says:
    I agreed fantastic Post. Community News is perfect way of building relationship with my blog readers. ;)
  10. Felicia says:
    Hi Julius, thanks for sharing the community news plugin, will definitely check it out. Also, I think your articles are interesting to read, will be reading your post “How I Manage Stress” next! Have a nice day!
  11. Murlu says:
    I love your approach Julius. It's true that many people think that it's competition between your blog and others but in the bigger picture, you're really not at all. Think about it, no matter how small a niche is, there's always room for others. If you work together you can command a larger market overall - there's always enough to go around.
  12. Luqman says:
    One of the best to make your blog and post to look fresh on Google face is by comment, as long as reader continue to comment on your blog, the more it look fresh on Google face. It is very important to allow comment on your blog.
  13. Laura Davis says:
    Very interesting idea! Does that community place allow for any spamming, because that could be one reason NOT to do it. But otherwise I definitely agree. It's best to get your online community involved and adding their own thoughts and discussion.
    • Julius says:
      Spam is controlled by Aksimet and you could tweak other settings like adding Captcha to suite your preference in security.
  14. Rahul says:
    I agreed Community news playing a leading role in making visitor more interactive with blog post. :)
  15. Ravi Ahuja says:
    Community News is great way of building relationship with readers and give them a reason to come back to your blog.
  16. Tinh says:
    Community page plugin is a great tool that I have missed, thanks for reminding me about it. Tinh
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Tinh! It's still not too late to try it out, if you think it would suite eBlogtip. :)
      • Tinh says:
        Thanks for your prompt reply @Julius. Actually, eblogtip has just been acquired and had new owner in July. I am now with azblogtips.com. I will give it a try now. Thanks
  17. Lennart Heleander says:
    Welcome Julius to Famusbloggers as a new writer, interesting new WP plugin, the comments is important.
  18. Andreas says:
    Controversy is an easy way of getting readers interact more with your blog. But don't overdo it and respond intelligently and politely to comments as negative reputation could backfire.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Do agree with you that sometimes you need to create debate for further in-depth discussion :-)
  19. Cindy says:
    community news looks like a great plugin and I love how it is layed out on the main page, where you can see all the post titles at once compared to the usual wordpress blog page.
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Cindy! You could try out the plugin if you want. Maybe it would suite your site as well. I'm just learning the how to's in blog design and trying to implement what I learn from researching the web. :) You're an artist yourself and I'm sure you know how enthusiastic we are when it comes to aesthetics. Plus, I believe the readability of your blog must always be top priority for the benefit of your readers.
  20. Julius says:
    First of all I would like to thank Hesham and Famous Bloggers for this opportunity to write for them. This is my first ever guest post and you couldn't imagine how happy I am seeing it published here on FB! :) I would also like to thank these wonderful people commenting and sharing their insights on the matter. This is what I love about blogging, the interaction and the chance to meet other bloggers and read their work. Thanks everybody! :)
  21. Marty says:
    I've been using this plugin on a few of my blogs for a long time. It's a great little plugin that allows people to promote their articles on your blog and I for one love it.
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Marty! It's nice to hear another blogger finding it useful on their site. Your readers wouldn't just be able to promote their articles, but could find useful information in it as well.
  22. Josiah says:
    Wow, neat looking plugin. I checked your site out and the plugin seems to work well. Definitely adding your blog to my "dofollow comment blogs" ;)
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Josiah! Check it out if it would suite you site. Thanks also for the DoFollow addition. :)
  23. Melinda says:
    I didn't know about that plugin either. I looks interesting, and I'm going to check it out. You have some great articles on your blog. I am sure it is only a matter of time that people will discover you..like I did on here. :)
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Melinda! I suggest you go for it and check it out yourself. You might find it useful on your site as well. Thanks also for the kind words for PC. I simply like to write and it's also one of the reasons why I tried guest posting for Famous Bloggers. :)
  24. The Bad Blogger says:
    Thanks for introducing the plugin, well... when I went to you site and saw the plugin at work... ideals start flooding my mind... I'm going to do some teating using the plugin and I bet this plugin is a great tool to let other blogger to be attracted although I'm still not sure if the plugin could have any sort of rating system in it... in any case, thanks for sharing this information.
    • Julius says:
      You're very much welcome and I'm glad I could be of help. All I can say is that go for it in terms of tinkering around with the plugin to suite your site. I myself is still thinking of ways to improve it and if a newbie like me could perform a decent enough incorporation, how much more could you? :)
  25. ashok says:
    That's a really cool idea, esp. for sites which are much more discussion oriented and where the community wants to share links all the time. There's actually a major blog or two running something similar to having "digg" or "reddit" on their blog itself. I'm probably not going to go this route. I want my writing to be the primary focus of the site, and while I want community to share things with each other and be active, I think there are a number of sites they can better achieve it. Thank you for the information!
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Ashok for shring your thoughts with us. It's true that the community news plugin isn't for every blogger out there, thought it's worth a try. But I respect your views and admire your desire to focus your writing on the site. It's all good!
  26. Paul says:
    Excellent idea Julius.. Might as well implement this on my site. Thank you very much!
    • Hesham says:
      Paul, I have added your name to the comment, plz don't use your keywords like the way you do!
      • Julius says:
        Thanks Paul and I suggest that you do! Thanks Hesham for the nice moderation. It only goes to show why I really love it here in FB - The strict but kind moderators. :)
  27. DazzlinDonna says:
    Julius, what exactly does it do? I'll go check it out because I'm interested in ways to expand upon the current commenting system, but one tip: Include a quick summary of what makes it worth checking out, to make sure the lazy readers actually get invested in the idea.
    • DazzlinDonna says:
      Ooooh, I'll answer this one myself, now that I've looked at it. It won't affect my search for ways to expand upon and deal with the current comment system, but it does create a new way to share links - it's almost like a replacement for the old blogroll and somewhat similar to CommentLuv. Visitors get to share their related posts to your sidebar (with your ability to moderate). Am I understanding that correctly, Julius? If so, that's pretty interesting indeed.
      • Hesham says:
        lol! I was about to take over and answer that question, glad you did ;) Yes, it's a great way to share links, and from the other side get backlinks plus traffic! I am submitting some articles to these kind of blogs that has a community site or what they call it "community news", you will find this more often on design related niche! No one (as I know) really provide this for blogging tips niche, but Julius do! so I am also interested to hear more information about the plugin and how exactly it works!
        • Julius says:
          Thanks to both of you for helping me answering the questions! :) It doesn't just provide me a way to interact with fellow bloggers, it also gives me information on other blogs to visit. It was actually included in the eQuator theme I recently used on Private Corner. I admit I wouldn't found out about it if it weren't for that theme. It caught my attention and paid the plugin site a visit for more ideas on further customization. And there it is. I found out that you could insert it on almost any wordpress theme by simply including some functions. It's hard for me at first since I'm no web expert, but I still got around implementing it on PC. If I could do it, then imagine what web experts could do with it in terms of modification? :)
  28. Tia says:
    Julius - I love this idea and the plugin is a great tool. In addition to business or personal blogs, I'm thinking that it could really work well on a local community site, like a neighborhood association or city blog. Very cool.
    • Julius says:
      Thanks Tia! I suggest you try it on your site. It would not only help in interaction but would also be a good source of information for you.