CommentLuv – Reward Commenters On Your Blog With Blog Links
The blog is an interesting medium, don’t you think? I still remember the days of the static web. Back then websites were a one way communication. If you wanted to know something, you probably ran a search and found a website. That website hopefully would contain the information you needed. That was about it. The information was there for you to read. There was no conversation. There was no reply. You just read.
These days, now that we have “Web 2.0″, everything’s different. The Internet is more than just a one way communication. Even mainstream websites have places where you can participate in the conversation. The blog is a big player in the conversation going on online. In a way, the goal of a blog is to create community and conversation.
There is a Wordpress comments plugin that aims to help encourage the community bloggers want. CommentLuv was created to reward commentors by giving them voice and promotion while adding much needed conversation to the blog. Let me explain.
What if I told you it was possible to add a link to the commenter’s latest blog post right at the end of each comment? Cool, huh? That means that if you visit my blog and comment on one of my posts, you’ll have the option to have a link to one of YOUR latest posts right there, in the comment section of MY blog!
The Wordpress comments plugin takes the website address someone enters in the URL field and looks for a feed. If a feed is found, it then offers to allow a link to one of the latest posts to be placed right after the comment.
As you can see, when Brett commented on my post about the Ow.Ly URL shortening service, he was rewarded with a link to his post on Google Wave.
This is cool because it’s a win-win situation. The blogger gets conversation going on his blog and the commenter gets some publicity! Let’s see just how easy it is to add such a plugin to a blog (for screenshots on installing a Wordpress plugin, see the article on the FAQ Builder for Wordpress).
- Click “Add new” in the plugins menu in the backend of your Wordpress blog.
- Search for “commentluv” in the field provided.
The correct plugin should show up on the top of the list. It’s the one by Andy Bailey.
- Click install. Easy enough, right?
Now you can go the CommentLuv settings page and tweak things the way you want.
CommentLuv also offers the option to register on their website. This brings out some more features you may be interested in such as having a full profile set up and seeing comment stats.
I’ve been wondering if there is a way to find other blogs that also utilize the CommentLuv plugin and today I happened upon a solution. There’s a CommentLuv search engine you can use to search for other blogs in your niche who also use CommentLuv. This way you can comment on other blogs while leaving links to your latest posts! Head over to CommentLuv.com and give it a shot.
So there you have it. You CAN encourage your readers to interact and create a community. In my limited experience this really works and those people who DO regularly comment on my blog appreciate the links.
Check it out today but remember to get the most use out of the plugin by installing it now, registering your profile on ComLuv.com AND using the CommentLuv search engine.
How do you encourage community and interaction on your blog? We’d love to hear your tips!
(By) Tim blogs about tech tips tricks and news on his blog: timmyjohnboy.com
I use commentLuv in my other site(blog). I think it did increase my readership a bit. I also created a blog in the comluv site although I have yet to provide some content to it when I have the time.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I haven’t gotten too much into creating a ComLuv blog yet. It seems like a good example of Wordpress MU put to use.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I’m feeling the love.
(Comments wont nest below this level)Yeah, it’s love that keeps you warm on a cold winter’s night!
I’ve been using CommentLuv and KeywordLuv on most of my blogs for a long time. I still have to hand-moderate everything because there are so many unconscionable spammers out there. But I believe that, if people are providing valuable additional content or commentary to my sites, it’s worth a link back their way.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I see a lot of websites that use this plugin. It works well, but it adds a lot of spam comments that you have to weed through.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I haven’t personally ran into this yet, but it is a concern. I like what Chuck said and in the end the benefits outweigh the spam, IMO.
I’ve been using commentluv to obtain links to increase traffic to my pages and yes, it really helps. Never thought that installing it to my pages will also add value to them.. thanks, Tim. Great info here..
Btw, Imarenveten.. there are many e-books selling “secrets” of online money-making. Whether they are “real or not” really depends on what you DO with the info/knowledge you learn from them. You must not have the kind of thinking that these e-books will teach you how to get rich. To really earn money online and become successful at it requires time & effort.. just my 2 cents.
(Comments wont nest below this level)Hey, ok, I get it, I guess – but does this really work?
(Comments wont nest below this level)Yes it’s definitely work. With commentLuv you will make your visitor comment more. And also you can use commentLuv to spread you blog while blog walking.
I just stumbled upon it, seems worth checking out. Commenting on like minded blogs should generate some traffic.
(Comments wont nest below this level)Wow, just discovered CommentLuv – will be interesting to see the changes. Thank you for letting me know.
(Comments wont nest below this level)Keywordluv is a great thing. It allows people to connect other people to their blogs and web sites. Unfortunately, as with anything else in life, keywordluv and commentluv can also be abused but that doesn’t mean these features have no useful and truthful purpose.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I suppose it could allow for some spam, but those who honestly contribute should be rewarded however small.
Still not sure it works, but for those willing to honestly post me back about what they’re opinion is … is information that is valuable to me.
For those of you who do come by – appreciate your feedback.
(Comments wont nest below this level)The first few paragraphs about the old school web made me laugh. Remember the days of “Don’t Forget To Sign the Guestbook!”? I guess things have improved drastically since then
(Comments wont nest below this level)I’m new to the whole process, but appreciate honest opinions and feedback on my site.
(Comments wont nest below this level)I’ve been using KeywordLuv and CommentLuv + DoFollow on a few of my blogs. No doubt they increase traffic a bit. Not sure about sales. Moderating hasn’t been too bad so far. Interesting to read your comment about static pages vs web2.0. Hadn’t really thought of it like that before. I’ve been building static pages for 12 years! Just starting to appreciate blogging and using WordPress etc. Enjoyed your blog.
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