(Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes)
I’m writing this on April 1 2010, AKA April Fools Day, and as Jade Craven admits, I also have to admit, I’m terrible at April Fools pranks. As it turns out, I wasn’t able to get this one out the door on time, but here it is two days late, your Saturday Morning Surfing.
I’m taking my advice and offering up a little CommentLuv commentary.
CommentLuv continues to amaze me.
First, some general remarks on using CommentLuv to leverage articles in the RSS feed.
- Register your blog with comluv.com. Then you can choose up to 10 titles from your RSS feed when you comment.
- Choose the most appropriate title for the situation when you comment. This is where my breadth strategy pays off: I can comment on a fairly wide range on blogs, and usually have something interesting in my feed. I have screenshot examples below.
- Promote guest authors on your blog and other blogs.
- Show people with your best work. Try to have something really high quality or at least sticky in your feed.
- Titles sell. Great titles sell great.
- On your own blog, if you have nested comments, consider cutting off CL at a certain level. I usually stop using it after the second nesting. One person I know doesn’t seem to use it for herself on her blog (which I think is a mistake, but it’s none of my business).
Those are more or less the basics. If you need a little more help, go read James Richmond’s article about configuring CommentLuv plugin.
Now let’s look at something a little more advanced.
I’ve been using the technique I’m about to show you for quite a while. I haven’t seen anyone write much about it, and I’ve only written about privately in the past. It’s best shown with screen shots. I call these “CommentLuv Captures” because (obviously) each is a screen capture, but more than that, CommentLuv adds to the meaning of the discussion.
The notion is to match a headline in your CommentLuv feed with the context of the article you’re discussing.
1. Take the next step
Martha is a brand new blogger, and new to Website In A Weekend. I hope she comes back to read lots more, because there is lots more here for her. She will definitely get herself smartened up.
Martha drops in to Website In A Weekend
2. Great minds think alike
Gabe and I are WordPress are total WordPress fans; we both love writing about bits of technology, how they work, how we use them, and why you need to use them too.
Here’s an example of synchronicity at work.
Gabe and I channeling the Blogistan hive mind.
3. That wasn’t such a great idea, after all
A few days ago, I spent an evening pouring my heart into what I thought was a totally cool all-in-one picture map of how to adjust the CSS for creating menu items in Thesis theme.
Well, not so much. Readers had a different opinion… I’m cool with that.
Whenever I think I'm smart, I get reminded I'm just obtuse. Probably a good thing.
4. How to getterdone
DiTesco really knows his stuff, and you should visit him regularly. He’s always got great articles, and only writes what he knows from experience.
The getting it done is in the getting it done.
5. Show your story here
Yep. Number 5 is your CommentLuv screenshot.
Let’s have a screen shot from you!
Or share your cool technique. There’s more that I didn’t discuss, let’s hear it.
Cool screen shots ;) Is that that darn Jing again?!
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..1 Minute Motivator: Finding your friends in the rubbish dump =-.
=)
Sorry, yeah, I know that was a rubbish comment. But I’m very visual. So how are you adding the arrows and comments etc. or is that a trade secret? Shhhhh ;)
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..1 Minute Motivator: People are your greatest resource =-.
Jing.
Hey Eleanor it’s Jing once you capture the image from your screen, which doesn’t have to be a webpage it can be anything on your screen, it gives you the option to add arrows and text etc. Cool bit of kit
.-= TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Are You A Headless Blogger? =-.
I looked through a bunch of mine and couldn’t find any cool ones like yours :) So I will just share some experiences I have had. I have signed up at comluv so I can post my last 10. I notice that some of my blog posts will get tons of traffic with comluv and some don’t. It all comes down t the titles.
So comluv has really got me writing better titles. The main reason is that if I make a comment and some one sees, “Building a Minisite” vs. “$1,000 a Month From a Minisite” the second will obviously get a lot more clicks.
By the way, now I have one I could take a screen shot of :)
.-= Patrick Toerner @Young Entrepreneur´s last blog ..$1,000 a Month From a Minisite =-.
Patrick, if you take the screenshot, I’ll post it as #5 above, and link back to your site.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..How to WPTouch Your Way to a Mobile Friendly WordPress Blog =-.
“One person I know doesn’t seem to use it for herself on her blog (which I think is a mistake, but it’s none of my business). ”
Hmm… May have to alter that then. Keep forgetting that I can change what article it points at so I’ve been ignoring it. Duly noted *salute*
Anyway, that was fun to read =) Interesting to see how the comments relate to your articles! Can’t wait to see what happens with mine when I get some 3D people posting.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Starcraft 2: Coming Soon =-.
I don’t do it either, Heather. :) I thought it was a bit pretentious of me to do so at first, then I noticed many others do [like Dave here]. Now it’s more because I forget. For some reason it is not automatically checked off for me and by the time I realize it, I’ve already hit submit.
Dave – as far as the 10 last posts thing, I have 2 sites ties together and it pulls the last 5 from one and the last 10 from the other. The strange thing though is it only pulls 5 from my main site and the main site set up in comment luv. It’s my secondary site that gets 10. I guess I should email Andy about this one of these days. Either way, something else to add to your ‘what comment luv does’ section.
.-= Anne Bender´s last blog ..April 1st – Mark Your Calendar =-.
Oh cool, it’s not just me then. :) Guess we should give it a go the other way and see what happens.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Starcraft 2: Coming Soon =-.
Maybe it’s not either of you.
Maybe it’s both!
I never name names.
Yep, and by doing so you’ve made both of us prick up our ears. Clever.
I think neither, personally. :) But it does serve as a reminder all the same.
Hey that’s cool…. had no idea about the arrow or how to get it there if its not showing up!!!! That’s why I like to hang out here, I learn things in itty bitty pieces and they are soooooo useful!
.-= Valentina´s last blog ..Blog Income Quarter One Review =-.
Thanks for the mention dude, comment luv is a really good bit of kit that can be used in a lot of different ways, top work dude!
.-= TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Are You A Headless Blogger? =-.
Ooooh, I love that I am part of this article. Thanks for including me!
At this point, it’s safe to say you have my name on here more often than I have it on my own sites!
.-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Really, you need to care about your topic! =-.
Gabe, you were one of the first people who came by and regularly commented on Website In A Weekend. Anna Vera was another. This encouragement, accidental or not, is something I’m profoundly grateful for.
And I don’t play tit-for-tat. I promote what I believe serves my readers, first and foremost.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Writing About Money on Easter Sunday? Yes! And here’s why… =-.
There I got it. Maybe I was just too busy the other day; I missed this post. Anyway, the first time I used this technique as far as I could remember was when I commented on one of Carlos’ articles.
.-= Bert Padilla´s last blog ..Cebu Tech Blogger first Software Give Away Contest =-.
Commentluv? What’s that? :)
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Commentluv, more than links, comments, traffic, and why you should use it =-.
Precisely.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..How To Publish The **** Out Of Your Blog Post =-.
If it you haven’t a good blog to publish the **** out of, maybe some idea may spring to mind in places. ;)
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Make money online from one of these 95 niches =-.
Game changer to be sure.
I’ll ping you early summer about setting up one or more of your recommended systems. No time right now.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Blogging Alliance – Which way are you reaching: up, down or across? =-.
:)
Someone say..summer?! woot. nearly here, we are have some great weather here mate, sunsets are stunning…
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Happy Easter to you all! =-.
I love the commentluv plugin and it shows us tons of useful abilities. This plugin has great benefits in developing a beautiful blog and its optimization. In my opinion, it should be a must-have tool for bloggers these days because of its benefits :)