This is not the typical top 10 WordPress Plugins post. Some of these plugins you may have never heard of but they all offer some value to your website.
Before I jump into the more obsure plugins lets highlight one of the top podcasting plugins.
This is a plugin that every podcaster that uses WordPress should have.
PowerPress
The number one WordPress Plugin for Podcasters is Blubrry’s Power Press. This plugin is highly recommended if you are podcaster using WordPress for your website and if your hosting your own Podcast RSS Feed from your site.
The PowerPress Plugin is a super powerful plugin that gives you total control of your Podcast RSS Feed. There are many ways to manage multiple RSS Feeds from your WordPress site and their are a number of advantages to doing so.
I won’t go over all the features in this post but I wanted to point out that if you aren’t already using this plugin then I’d get it right away. You’ll be glad you did.
Ok, lets jump into the less often talked about plugins:
The RunClick Webinars Plugin
If you are doing Google Hangouts on Air as part of your podcasting strategy then you may want to take a look at this plugin
RunClick Webinars (formerly known as The Hangouts Plugin) allows you to take your Hangout on Air and basically embed it into your WordPress page. You can already embed a live hangout without a plugin but RunClick Webinars allows you to put the Hangout behind an opt in form so that only those that sign up for your Webinar can access it from your website. This allows you to direct your audience to your own page instead of sending them to Google + or Youtube to watch the webinar or show.
The RunClick Webinar Plugin is a little difficult to set up and get the hang of it but it works well once you have it set up. They do have some additional themes that modify the page look and feel that are sold as an add on.
If you don’t want to spend a monthly fee for services like Webinar Jam and Stealth Webinars than this may be a less expensive alternative. RunClick Webinars doesn’t have as many features as the other services but it does the job.
Prosociate
If you are selling products or have the ability offer amazon.com products as an affiliate, then Prosociate is going to make it easier to do so.
The best part is Prosociate adds your amazon affiliate products to your WordPress site by linking with Woo Commerce. The products appear on your site and not as a frame or embedded link. When the user adds products to your shopping cart and checks out it takes them straight into an amazon check out cart and gives you a 90 day cookie instead of a 24 hour cookie.
All that means is that even if the user doesn’t buy for a couple months, you will still get credit for the affiliate commission if they buy later.
Plus you get the SEO benefit of having the product information on your site. On Podcast Hero I have this plugin installed and the product pages are drawing in quite a bit of search engine traffic.
Pulse Hover
Capture peoples attention with a unique way of displaying your social icons. This plugin helps you to overcome ICON Blindness by overlaying social media links on top of images with a selection of eye catching effects.
Highlighter (FREE)
From Appsumo.me, This is a great plugin that helps with the sharability of your site by allowing users to Tweet about your content by highlighting the text they want to Tweet. Simple as that.
Social Review Engine.
If you are doing reviews of products, services, or anything else then you could use WP Social’s Social Review Engine. This plugin is a great tool for easily incorporating well done reviews into your site. It also allows you to encourage readers to give their own reviews of the products or services.
Facebook Influencer
Another cool plugin that allows you to create Facebook posts that will populate opt in boxes on the facebook timeline. This is an interesting way to break through the noise and get noticed and build your list quicker.
Click to Tweet.
Much like the appsumo app, this on allows you to tweet a phrase in your blog with http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/12/23/facebook-scores-nfl-video-clips-wtih-ads-from-verizon/he click of a button. Very cool and increases the sharability of your content dramatically.
Dynamic Widgets.
Increase the customization of your sidebar by having different sidebars for different pages, categories or even IP addresses.
Social Deals Engine.
If you are selling anything on your site and want to offer deals in that look similar to Groupon and other deal sites then the Social Deals Engine for WordPress is for you. You can check out an example of what it looks like at Great White Social.
Bonus Plugin:
Opt In Skin.
A great plugin which helps you set up Opt-In forms throughout your website. Very easy to setup and use this plugin. Opt In Skin is definitely a good way to help build your email list.
What WordPress Plugins do you recommend?
