As you may know, WordPress is a powerful blogging, site building, and content management system. Because it's free and open source, there are literally thousands of ways to tweak, modify, and enhance it. Some of the best ways to build in additional functionality to the core WP installation is through the use of "plugins."

What are plugins and more importantly, which ones are best?

Plugins are files that you upload to your webhost that give your WP installation more functionality. For example, if you want to add a contact form to your WP site, you simply install a plugin called Contact Form 7.

If you don't like the default post editor in WP, go get Dean's FCKEditor.

The beauty of plugins is that they offer so much in terms of added functionality, features, or utility without your having to know any code. Plus, they're easy to find – just go to the WordPress Plugin Directory where you can literally find thousands of WordPress plugins.

You can also install plugins directly from within your WP control panel, too. Just go to Plugins –> Add New

That's the nuts and bolts of WP plugins. Now, for the exciting part. What are some good plugins for WordPress? And why?

Here's my list of Essential WordPress plugins, in no particular order:

1. Akismet. The de facto comment SPAM killer. There are others, but this is the standard by which all the others are judged. Part of #6.
2. All in One SEO Pack. This plugin will help you get your SEO in order. Part of #6.
3. cbnet Ping Optimizer. By default, when you publish a post or page on WP, WP "pings" (or notifies) various services, telling them that you've added content. This is good for indexing and SEO purposes. However, WP also sends pings if you make an edit. This is NOT good. I, for example, may make a dozen edits to a post before I move on. WP will have sent 12 pings which could get my site banished from one or more of the pinging services. THIS IS BAD. This plugin eliminates pinging after edits. Part of #6.
4. Dofollow. All my sites are "do follow." This means that any time someone makes a comment on my site, they get a link back to their site that is NOT do not follow, which is the default WP behavior. This is a better backlink for the commenter. I want to encourage comments, even if the commenter only makes a comment to get the "do follow" backlink. I can always trash or SPAM the comment if I don't like it.
5. Easy AdSense. This one makes inserting Google AdSense ads within your posts effortless. You set up your code once and forget about it.
6. Free Traffic Getting SEO. This is a "meta" plugin, in that it incorporates several plugins into one and then sets them up for you so that you derive maximum search engine optimization. You cannot install this one from within WP – you have to upload it to your server.
    Highly Recommended.
   
7. GoCodes. This one is a lifesaver! You can use this plugin to convert an ugly affiliate link into something a little prettier, with tracking. This saves a lot of time and a lot of commissions!
8. Google Analyticator. Inserts the Google tracking code that helps you keep tabs on traffic, keywords, users, etc. Essential!
9. Google XML Sitemaps. Every time you create a page, this plugin re-creates your sitemap and notifies the top 4 search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask). Part of #6.
10. Twitter Widget Pro. I've tried a lot of twitter plugins and this one does what I want – it puts a widget in my sidebar that shows my latest tweets. It does NOT post your blog to twitter. I use HootSuite for that (not a WP plugin).
11. WordPress Backup. This one backs up your themes, uploads, and plugins. Very important. Stores on server and can email you the files.
12. WordPress Database Backup. Even more important than #11. Backs up your WP database, which contains all of your posts and pages. Can store on server or email you the file. Part of #6.
13. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. Appends related posts from within your own site to the bottom of posts. Great for internal linking optimization.

This is certainly not all of the plugins I use, nor is it a complete listing of every WP plugin you ought to be using. One of the key features of WP's architecture is that multiple plugins can work together, seamlessly, to accomplish a lot of mundane tasks.

However, I will say that once in a while you will run across a plugin that simply doens't work with your existing set of plugins. You'll know it when your site no longer loads. Simply deactivate the offending plugin and find an alternative. Once in a great while, you won't even be able to deactivate a plugin; rather, you will have to use your FTP client to delete its contents from the plugin folder. Ugly, but necessary on occasion.

I hope this list helps you out. These plugins certainly help me a great deal and I use them on every site I create.

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Tip #2 — Understand That People Are More Likely To Buy From Those They Trust

You’ve probably noticed that it can be difficult to get new customers to buy from you. Some people simply will not buy from those they’ve never heard of and don’t have a relationship with.  You will usually have to "presell" to them before they will make a purchase. This is especially true since identity theft and fraud have become more prevalent.

The good news is that people will join your list because they view it as a lower risk than making a purchase. All they need to do is hand over their e-mail address and they are "in." This gives you the opportunity to gain their trust and build a relationship that can lead to repeat sales down the road.

Want to learn more about list building? Check out List and Traffic.

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I'm going to give you — literally — 101 tips on building a responsive email marketing list.

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How does that sound?

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Tip #1 — Build Your Own Business While there is a lot to be said for getting to the top of the search engines and advertising to promote your business, there’s nothing like having your own list.

A list is something that you control at all times.

You control:

• Its size
• Your relationship with members
• How much money you make

By having a list, you are building your business on solid ground.

That's not to say that search engine traffic isn't wonderful and you should quit advertising. However, developing a list of leads or customers can be worth much more to you in the long run when combined with both of those methods of traffic.

If you need a killer email list manager, look no further than Aweber. It's economical, reliable, and easy to use!

A Is For Affiliate

Affiliates are an important part of the Internet marketing world.  If you don’t already know by now, they not only help drive traffic if you have your own products, but becoming an affiliate can be one of the easiest ways to get started making money by promoting other people’s products.

What is it?

An affiliate is an individual who sends traffic to a product creator’s website. They are given a special website URL, called an affiliate link, which tracks how much traffic they send to the product website. They receive a commission for each sale that is made for their affiliate link.

There are many types of affiliate programs available. As an affiliate you can find programs for physical products, digital information products and even for services and membership sites. Affiliate programs are listed in affiliate networks like Clickbank, Commission Junction and Paydotcom, among many others.

What are three keys to being a successful affiliate?

Affiliate marketing is one of the most profitable ways to make money online. You don’t have to worry about creating a product, paying for graphics, developing a sales letter or following up with buyers. You’re only in charge of driving traffic. Here are three keys to being a successful affiliate.

1. Product.

Choosing the right product to promote as an affiliate is your first key step.  You have a wide range of products to choose from as an affiliate, but that doesn’t mean that all of them will make you money. Before you put your time and energy into creating a marketing campaign for affiliate program, you should do some niche research. Is the niche popular?  Is there a lot of competition in the niche or will you be able to establish yourself pretty quickly? How does the sales page for the product look? Would you buy from the site? Carefully evaluating the niche and the product will help you find a product that will actually sell.

2. Prospects.

Building YOUR own list of potential customers is an often overlooked part of affiliate marketing.  Yet it is of paramount significance. Product creators will build lists from the people who buy from their sales letter. As an affiliate, you should be building a list as well. Before you direct your visitor to the sales page for the product, you should offer them something free in exchange for opting into your list. You can create a short report on the niche and give it away on a squeeze page before forwarding the visitor on to the sales page. By building a list, you can create a long term relationship with the visitor and offer them additional value and product offers.

3. Promotion.

Setting up your own blog is one of the best ways to promote affiliate programs due to the variety of ways you can use a blog. Smart affiliates know that their long term income comes from sales of multiple products in the same niche. One of the best ways to sell multiple products is to start a niche blog. Your blog can link to several different affiliate products so you have many opportunities to make money.

Can you give me an example?

After doing some research, you discover that solar energy is a hot (pardon the pun) topic. You start a blog on do it yourself solar energy. On the blog, you can write articles related to solar energy and link to the several solar energy products available on Clickbank. You can also give away a 5 Tips to Smart Solar Energy report on your blog to build your list.