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9 Essential WordPress Plugins for Bloggers

Guys, gals and friends.  This blog post is longggg overdue. I’ve been using WordPress to build all kinds of websites and blogs since around 2009.  

As an online marketer I figured it was time to put together a blog post covering a list of the essential plugins that I use to run my blog.  

I cover these plugins and their uses a lot more in depth from a “tech perspective” in Blog Like a CHAMP

These are plugins that any digital marketer can use to take a normal ho-hum blog into a digital marketing machine in a matter of minutes.

Running a Website or Blog in the Digital Marketing Age

I remember my first attempt at building a website.  It was rough.  The site was a “plain jane” website with no bells or whistles that I managed to put together using Dreamweaver, HTML and an FTP client.

I’m sure some of you folks that have been building sites for a while remember the ole Dreamweaver days!  

I can tell you this, that website was NOT built for online marketing at all….

Fast forward to 2009, I discovered one of the best blogging and site building platforms there are on the market today called WordPress.   I remember first hearing about WordPress via a Youtube video that one of my favorite blogger’s Lisa Irby of 2CreateaWebsite.com put together.

Yall, I hate to admit it, but I seriously stalked this Lisa’s Youtube channels and website to learn as much as I possibly could about the platform.  

I Fell Head Over Heels in Love with WordPress

After I learned how to use WordPress, I fell in love with it mainly because:

• WordPress is very easy to install and setup.  Instead of spending hours trying to create HTML based websites, with WordPress I was able to get a blog or website up and running in less than 10 minutes. (Click here to view my tutorial to start your WordPress blog)

• There are a lot of WordPress Themes and templates available to help you dress up your website or blog the way you want to.

• There are a lot of different plugins that you can install on your WordPress site for marketing purposes.  Simple things like making your content “shareable” or backing up your website or blog are easy peasy via the use of a WordPress plugin.

Turn Your WordPress Blog or Website into a Digital Marketing Machine with These Plugins

Marketing has changed.  We are in the age of digital marketing where people are turning to the internet to find information about products, services and businesses.

If you want to run your WordPress blog or website like a digital marketing champ, here are 10 plugins to use.  I have also included information on what these plugins are used for: 

#1:  Thrive Content Builder

What is this plugin used for? If you want to add different marketing funnels to your site, get more mileage out of your content or build different landing pages with ease, then Thrive Content Builder is a premium plugin that I highly recommend.

 

I love the fact that you only have to pay a one-time fee to use the plugin and…that are are more than 100+ landing pages that you can add to your site and customize them the way you want. Check this blog post to see Thrive Content Builder in action.

#2:  YOAST SEO Plugin

What is this plugin used for? To optimize your content for the search engines

Yoast is arguably one of the most popular search engine optimization plugins there are on the market today.  

If you want to optimize your blog posts for Google, Yahoo and other search engines, then YOAST SEO is a plugin that I would recommend that you use.  

I cover search engine optimization for beginners using Yoast in this blog post.  Be sure to check it when you can. 

#3:  The Simple Social Plugin

What is this plugin used for? To integrate social media accounts into your website or blog

 

One of the easiest ways to build up your social media following and market your social media accounts on your website or blog is to add social buttons to it.

As a digital marketer, it is ubeerr important that you give your visitors a chance to connect with you on your social media networks.  The Simple Social Icons plugin will definitely do the trick. 

#4:  Thrive Leads

What is this plugin used for? List building and increasing email opt-ins (like a PRO)

Thrive Leads has easily become one of my favorite list building plugins.  I love using this tool because there are tons of different pop-up subscription boxes and optin forms that you can use to invite visitors to opt in to your email list.  

And… we all know how important email list building is these days right.  Another reason I love this plugin so much is because it’s affordable.   You pay a one-time fee to buy it and that’s it.  There are no monthly subscription based payments needed.  

#5:  Sumo.Me (Share App)

What is this plugin used for?  To encourage your visitors to share content from your website or blog to social media

It still amazes me to this day when I visit a site, read content that I love and want to share but there are no sharing buttons anywhere.

Please yall, don’t overlook social sharing buttons. Give your visitors every opportunity to share your content.  Make it super easy for them with the Sumo Me sharing app. 

#6:  Google Analytics

What is this plugin for? To track visitor behavior

Okay you market on Instagram, you market on Pinterest and maybe even Twitter.  But do you know which of these platforms are giving you the biggest return on your investment?

Do you really know where your visitors are coming front and what they are looking for on your website?  If you don’t then you should install Google Analytics right away to start tracking this information.

This plugin will help you determine exactly where your visitors are coming from and how they are interacting with your site.

#7:  Click to Tweet

What is this plugin used for? To create tweetable content within your blog posts

I didn’t realize how powerful the Click To Tweet plugin was until I started seeing some of my tweetables show up in my Twitter stream.  Yep peeps, this little plugin is powerful. 

#8.  MailMunch.co

What is this plugin used for? For list building and growth (Free)

Like Thrive Leads, Mailmunch is an additional list building plugin that you can use to build your list on a budget. You can use Mailmunch to add opt-in boxes, pop up subscription boxes and lead boxes to your site with ease.

#9:  Revive Old Posts (Free or Premium)

What is this plugin used for?  To share old content from your site to social media networks.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see with folks running blogs is that they don’t market their older content.

Well, Revive Old Post helps you do this with ease. You just pretty much set it up and forget it.  The plugin will pretty much market all of the content that you publish to your blog to your social media networks on autopilot. 

 

The Wrap Up

I hope that you enjoyed this post and would love to know what are some of your favorite digital marketing plugins? Please share them in the comments section below.

Cheers yall!