Being a WordPress user for quite a while, I’ve come across some really cool and not so cool plugins available out there. However, even though I like to sometimes go all out when using plugins, I like to keep things minimal and like the great man himself, Chris Pearson

doesn’t recommend any plugins. The best scenario he would like to experience is that you don’t use any plugins as then fewer things can break but he admits its “utopia”. Link to full video.

I have also learnt from Pearson that your site performs a lot better without plugins. However, there are only 6 essential plugins I use on JonnyRowntree.com. In order they are;

Akismet

An anti-spam plugin built by those who are behind WordPress, Automattic. It allows WordPress site owners to pay a small fee for a key that can then be entered into your WordPress install and in return will protect your comments from being filled up with spammy links and inappropriate websites.

Google XML Sitemaps

If you’ve watched the interview I linked to earlier in this post, you will know Chris recommended this. It is a simple plugin that complies a map of your site which then can be sent to Google through Google Webmasters and other search engines. It helps search engines index your site.

Sharebar

See that bar floating down the left side of your screen with buttons to share this article on Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus? That is Sharebar. I found it on Lisa’s 2CreateaWebsite blog and it works a treat. Feel free to try it out!

W3 Total Cache

I talked about this plugin in an earlier post about WordPress site performance. You can find that article here where I detail this plugin and its functionality in full.

WP-Optimise

This was a recommended plugin I found on a guest blog post on ProBlogger. It allows you simply optimise your WordPress databases, which can be one of the reasons your blog is tremendously slow.

WPSmush.it

WPSmush.it optimises all of the images found on JonnyRowntree.com. It helps speed up the blog slightly as they are in a smaller capacity which takes the users computer less time to load each individual image and overall the entire page.

Comment Discussion

What are your favourite, most used or essential plugins on your blog? How has it make your blog better?

[Photo: Jason Fox.]

I’ve never been a fan of using subtitles on my sites but I found a perfect solution to market what your blog is about by using – a sometimes inspirational – quote. I took this idea from Greg Rickaby and added it to my own site. During this time, I have added 2 quotes that have increased the clicks to the section of my site it highlights.

In this tutorial, I will show you how you can add your own inspirational quote to Thesis.

1. Buy Thesis.

Buy, download and install it on your blog. Simple.

2. Find your quote of choice.

Whether it be

I have a dream – Martin Luther King

or something that interests you, get it and keep it.

3. Open the Thesis section within your WordPress Admin panel.

Make sure you are in the Design Options section and find the Feature Box dropdown. Now choose where you want to place it and and whether it will be site wide or just on your home page.

4. Add the PHP and Style

Add the code below. The PHP is on the top and should be copied into your custom_functions.php file and the CSS which is underneath should be copied into your custom.css file. You will need to change the styling options to suit your site, of course!

// Featured Box Quote
function featured_quote() {
?>
<div id="featured-quote" class="format_text">
     <p>Insert your Code Here - Don't forget the Author</p>
</div>
<?php
}
add_action('thesis_hook_feature_box', 'featured_quote');

/* Featured Quote */
#feature_box {background:transparent; border:0;}

#featured-quote p {
text-align:center;
}

Enjoy sharing your quote

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. I will be starting to write more for the Thesis framework through time. Since I have been quotes for my quote format, I’ll be writing that one next!

By no means am I going to brag about website traffic nor do I focus on website traffic tips on a regular basis. However, these past few days have been immense for my blog and my business. In addition, they have been so easy to setup that I can just leave them on automation.

1. Comment on Blogs That Interest You

I’ve always been a fan of commenting on blogs and sharing my opinion. It allows others to converse with you and share their opinions about a specific post or item within that post. It does have one great advantage – it is also a very good way of marketing yourself.

If you write a good chunk of information relating to the post in question, its highly likely for someone who is looking through the cmments to leave a comment or for the author of the initial post to go;

Hey, this guy/girl knows what they are talking about. Lets connect with them or give them a plug.

Therefore, they are most likely going to reply to your comment. This allows you to build a relationship between yourself and a complete stranger which you can use to guide them to your website and essentially become a new customer to your business. Through one simple comment, you have made a new friend, customer and someone who will come back to read your blog again and again.

This happened to me recently. I’m a huge fan of ProBlogger so I’m likely to comment there every day or so. I posted a comment on a guest post, which in turn inspired me to write about the plugins I use. Through my comment, I made 2 successful sales. One was meeting a fellow blogger, Ben who I now talk to on a regular basis. The other sale was to a relation of Bamidele Onibalusi (@youngprepro) another blogger I’m a fan of. His brother was interested in my work and wanted to talk to me about writing some content for him, which could have generated some money for myself. All this was through a constructive comment that took less than 3 minutes to write.

2. Buy Thesis

Seriously. I don’t know where I would be without this framework. Not only has it provided a concrete basis for my blog and my business, it has given me the tools I need to market my business by way of a really easy to use forum to talk to masterminds behind Thesis as well as normal everyday users who have found little nooks in between each line of code that can be the difference between starting your business and selling what you have to offer to your visitors.

Since buying Thesis in 2010, I have made twice as much as it is to buy Thesis through advertisement campaigns on my website and its affiliate programme which only recently paid over $1 million to its affiliates. Incredible.

DIYthemes has now paid out over $1 million in affiliate commissions since July of 2008. Just wow. #thesiswp

— pearsonified (@pearsonified) January 28, 2012

Through Thesis, I have made my business bigger than it was when I started it in 2009 and I feel as through I have accomplished something great just by spending few dollars. Its a decision that will change your online life.

Comment Discussion

Have you got any tips on how to make your blog boom? If you are just starting out blogging, what advice could you give to someone who is on the cusp of starting a blog?

[Photo: Pixel Addict]

This post was released exclusively to my newsletter subscribers before appearing here. To get exclusive content, sign up to my free newsletter

Ever since finding Willie Jackson and his work on website optimisation, I’ve been OCD about how fast my website loads. Sad I know. However, I have learnt that it helps 3 major things;

• Increase in New Visitors – An increase of new and returning visitors come to JonnyRowntree.com. This is either because I produce good content or my blog is 91% faster than other blogs out there according to Pingdom Tools (February 2012)
• Decreases Bounce Rate – I’ve discovered that my bounce rate was cut in half as most of my visitors weren’t clicking away from my site before it had finished loading.
• Looks better to Search Engines – According to Google Webmaster Tools, I am listed within the top 10 results for most of the startup interviews I’ve written, which is great news not only for myself but the interviewee as well.

Before writing this post, I posted a gig on Fiverr and helped a few clients optimise their WordPress blogs for $5 over the 3 days I was working with them. However, I never shared what I did to their site like I am going to detail here today.

1. W3 Total Cache

No matter if you’re using a Shared, VPS or Dedicated hosting plan, WordPress takes its time to load even with a basic theme. However, if you’re using an advanced theme, like Thesis, it will take even longer therefore thee is a high chance of your bounce rate increasing.

In order to prevent this, you can install a few plugin called W3 Total Cache. Given there is a few out there, I prefer and find better results using this as everything is explained to you in plain English also if anything happens to go wrong, you can always deactivate an option and return to how it was before.

Another feature which I find beneficial part of W3 Total Cache is the CDN functionality. As I am a Rackspace Files customer, I utilise a CDN or Content Delivery Network which I will take about later. This feature helps me load my images, theme and any other content I find takes my server some time to process onto the network and allows me to distribute it to a wide variety of servers, which are closest to my readers so the site takes less time to load.

2. WP Smush.IT

Another free plugin I use on my site is WP Smush.IT. What WP Smush.IT allows me to do outside of W3 Total Cache is to optimise my images so they are smaller but don’t lose their quality. When you upload an image onto your post, it will be crunched down to its smallest file size so that when your readers load your post, it will take less time for it to load and you won’t be using as much bandwidth as you normally would.

3. Use a CDN

Willie, who I mentioned earlier, advised me that to complement the W3 Total Cache install I should use a CDN or Content Delivery Network. A CDN simply takes the images and any other content from your blog and hosts it across its world coverage of servers. This depends from company to company. I know Rackspace has servers in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This helps my content load faster from the server that is closest to any of my readers. Smart and very cheap at only a couple of pence or dollars (depending on what currency you speak) per GB.

At the time, the best option was Amazon’s S3 and CloudFront service. I was happy with Amazon’s service and their user interface was simple but sometimes hard to find certain things, which I had to consult their help guide when stuck.

I have since switched to Rackspace’s Cloud Files (which I’m an affiliate of but that doesn’t change my option) and have experienced how good a service they provide me with. Once I signed up, an advisor from Rackspace called to verify my account and helped set my first CDN up. All in all, it took around 2 minutes before inputting the information she gave me in an email into the CDN section of W3 Total Cache.

To find out more tips about speeding up your blog, please subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. I will be issuing my free e-b00k within the next couple of months!

If you have any more tips which have worked for you, leave them in the comments below and I may add them to my book and give you a reference.

[Photo: Gerald]

Last night I was talking with Andrew Brackin, a good friend of mine and co-founder of GetDealy after I tweeted this;

Just noticed I have 4 months & 2 holidays left until I leave school and live to do what I want to do! Time flies when you think about it

— Jonny Rowntree (@JonnyRowntree) February 9, 2012

Now, I know 4 months isn’t a lot of time so I expect it to go quickly but Andrew got me thinking about what I’m looking to do for a career. I’ve always wanted to live down the dream of being a professional blogger full time but I’ve had all kinds of offers and ideas from different companies in the Media and Publishing industry. I’ve also had a few apprenticeship offers for a position as an IT Technician for a business as well as a website designer on the table since I’m in my final year of further education.

Although Andrew has been a friend of mine for a while, he stated 9 important words to me which a reader of this blog could thrive from;

live down the dream of being a professional blogger

In that instance, I’ve decided to compile a list of why potential authors and bloggers should create a blog and use New Media.

1. Use a New Media Platform

You should always use New Media to leverage your potential audience. Whether it be guest posting on other blogs, using Social Media in a dramatic way to share your opinions about a news item or current debate or just creating your own blog. By no means am I saying old media, such as newspapers and magazine is really old media but everyone is delving deeper into their phones, tablets and computers to notice a tattered old newspaper on the seat in front of them whilst on a bus.

2. Show off Your Writing Style

Not until you’ve applied and got the job from your new employer is he or she going to see your writing style. This gives the chance for them to see how you work and get articles out there into the world. You could have a really unique planning and research strategy but that doesn’t take its place when publishing something that could make or break a news story.

3. Create a Really Snazzy About & Contact Page

When your employer has finished reading your post, they will want to learn more about you and anything you have been featured in before. Long enough for them to get the key facts but don’t roll into a biography and don’t make it a two-liner. They never work so you may as well not have wrote anything. Keep it around 500 – 700 words.

As for the contact page, first make sure that the form is easy to use and navigate. Second is to make sure it sends to an email address you actually still have and use. I use always Wufoo for my email forms as they look the part and I can not only view them on my iPhone, I can see them in my GMail inbox and within my Wufoo account. Common sense really!

If you’re looking for a couple of examples, check out my own about & contact pages as well as Alex from KolaKube.

4. Set all your Social Networks to Public

This will show your employer that you carry the conversation across to your profiles and converse with who you can reply to. They will then be able to follow you and feature your links when you start posting articles as part of your new full time job.

When you do make all your social networks to public, make sure you delete any inappropriate photos from that party you went to last weekend. That is almost as bad as sending in a coffee stained CV.

5. Bide Your Time

Especially in a high pressure environment where every business is squeezing their budget to make sure their money goes the extra mile, you will need to wait until you are called to apply or join a team. However, you can politely ask how your application is processed as well as any updates along the way. Although this may make you look desperate, it will show your employer that you are concerned about your career and really want something you desire.

I hope these tips will help you along getting a job with a publisher or media outlet. There are jobs for all of us out there, just keep practising my last point.

Comment Discussion

Are you looking to get into the blogging or media world? What challenges are you finding and how are you trying to overcome them?

[Photo: Mexicanwave (top) & andyi (mobile devices)]

When I first started blogging I can remember counting how many categories I had. I think the closest round number of those categories was 10. I was putting all of my fingers into every pie trying to entertain different audiences and with no success, I dug my blog and my business into complete and utter failure.

I had completely forgot that I was a one man band – and still am – trying to ride the unicycle, juggle and make balloon animals, all of which I can’t do and probably won’t ever do. Transforming said objects into blog categories the unicycle would represent the blogging category, juggling balls would represent my desire for technology how it is constantly changing and making balloon animals represents that I need to keep my content bouncy and entertaining making sure it doesn’t drag on like a long speech.

With all that said, I needed a plan. One cunning enough to combine audiences into different categories and keep them entertained whilst engaged on my blog. I decided to scrap the news factor under technology as I wasn’t such an outlet who could keep up with the major insituations. I also stopped writing my design tutorials because not only were they gathering dust but they were useless for my future plans as a blogger.

Now I’m rewriting this plan to be as strict but as flexible as ever.

How?

Segmenting my categories again focusing on what I like to read and share with my readers. Keeping it flowing and engaging all in the same circle. The plan that I’ve been working on is to scrap all of my startup interviews and technology pieces. This allows me to focus on life tips and blogging tutorials, both of which are featured in my newsletter.

At the end of the day, my lesson to you is this;

Keep your categories dense and focus on what you love to write about

[Photo: mrjorgen]

Before the New Year, I used to wake up around 8:30 in the morning just in time for school. I was always half asleep still and it took me the entire 30 minutes I was in a class to wake up and become awake to the world. Its certainly not healthy and for those around you, its not a pleasant sight.

Since then I have been monitoring my sleep patterns and making sure I don’t wake up in a groggy state every morning. Here’s how I did it.

1. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier

This statement would usually be said by your nagging mother, father or relative but its certainly true. I used to go to bed at 1 in the morning but was never fully asleep until 1:30am. Now, I go to bed at 12:15, a full 45 minutes before hand. I usually take my iPhone to bed to either catch up on any news I’ve missed using Flipboard or finish up some last minute conversations on Twitter.

I finally put my phone away at 12:30am, ensuring myself that I have a full 30 minutes to get to sleep before I break into my sleep time. I can only handle around 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, which is bad but that’s how I roll. When I awake, I follow a rule I’ve found useful for a while.

2. Wake up 15 to 30 minutes earlier than usual

Waking up at least 15 minutes before your alarm clock rings brings you 3 things;

• You feel more alert during the day for consuming enough sleep.
• You will go to bed around the same time you started out, if not earlier which is better in the long run.
• You have plenty of time to have breakfast and get dressed.

Devir of The Geek’s Companion wrote a post about this and he makes a good point. He states that if you do the hard part of waking up in bed, your eyes and the rest of your body will be awake by the time you’ve left to go and get breakfast. I do the same routine I do before I go to bed. 15 minutes looking at the news on Flipboard. The longer you do this the better.

You’re not looking at the screen because you have to check email. You’re looking at the screen to wake up. So, if you’d like, don’t check email. Do something else. Write. Read. Whatever. – Link to full article.

3. Have breakfast

If you usually skip breakfast like I used to by waking up and heading straight out the door to work or school, stop now. By waking up those few extra minutes before allows you to have enough time to making a quick drink and a bite to eat – whether that be toast, cereal or any breakfast favourite you would love to try. It will also help you in the long run by skipping that snack to have mid-morning before lunch and will make you feel better about yourself and save you a few coins in the wallet.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. If you have any other tips or would like to tell us about your own experience, do leave it in the comments below. Goodnight!

[Photo: dannyelbrazil]

You might think I am exaggerating when I say “I yawn every time someone mentions the word University to me” but in all honesty, I’m not.  At the end of my secondary school life, I decided that I wasn’t ready for the full time working world yet and chose to take my career plan to Sixth Form, or High School or College for those outside of the UK and studied Information Technology, Business Studies and Media Studies all for 2 years. During these 2 years, life was very busy. I had to take everyday as it was and everyday of the 5 day school week, the word “University” was mentioned to me practically in every subject I took. You can probably tell I got to the point where I yawned and became bored of the 10 letter long word.

In July last year, I was taken on 2 University visits – one to Edinburgh and one to Northumbria, located in the heart of my home town, Newcastle. The Edinburgh visit taught me a lot of things. I taught me that there was life and opportunities outside of Newcastle & the North East as well as how tough yet rewarding student life is as an adult. However, if you’re like me and a bit wary when it comes to money – especially in the thousands, you know University is a big gamble.

“Starting my Life in Debt”

Until recently, I thought “Oh great, I’ll be going to University next year and will start my life in debt”. I took the time out of my study time to talk to various people, namely some advisers from Connexions North East. Through these talks, I found that I have a few options I could take. As I want to work in the Technology industry, I could apply for a full time job or go to college and study a sub-topic within IT. I could also put the two together in something that is called an Apprenticeship. 

An Apprenticeship allows me to work, usually paid but some are unpaid, in a local business listed under my selected category. Towards the end of my Apprenticeship, the business can decide to offer me a job doing the same things I’ve been doing during my stay there or I can leave and find another job, with the extra NVQ qualifications I’ve picked up from the Apprenticeship, which is pretty good and allows you to not worry about living situations as you’re working for your own living.

If you are at the point now where you are coming to the end of your College or Sixth Form course(s) and have decided you don’t want to travel or go to University, you may see that an Apprenticeship for you is the right decision. I asked you via Twitter what you’re looking to do after Sixth Form and College. 35% are heading off to college, 21% are either heading into full time employment or are going to be unemployed, 14% are going to an internship or an apprenticeship whilst the remaining 7% are undecided of what they are going to proceed in after their college years.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do in life!

[Photo: scubasteveo]

During the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Leydon, Lewis King and Andrew Brackin about a new type meetup taking place next month. Tomorrow’s Web primarily focuses on bringing those interested in technology (Geeks and Techies) as well as those who are interested in building anything online.

The Meetup will take place in London’s GH Space on February 4th starting at around 1pm. Leydon, King and Brackin want to create a space for those who don’t want to go to long and expensive conferences that are out of proportion and don’t focus on a particular subject area in Technology where ideas can be exchanged and shared whilst professionals are there to share their experiences and infuse the attendees inspiration.

When I asked about what age groups will be allowed into the Meetup, Chris responded;

We’re not discriminating on age, but we’re looking for young professionals, those skirting around their 20s; I guess a similar age to me. Everyone wants to make the perfect conference or meetup for them.

I also asked about the past conferences and meetups he had attended and Chris decided along with Andrew and Lewis to start Tomorrows Web

shortly after attending yet another patronising conference for ‘young people’. We’re growing tired of the label ‘teen’ and tech conferences shrouded in business bullsh*t, we wanted to go back to basics.

You can probably tell from the couple of questions I asked Chris, Tomorrows Web Meetup, taking place on February 4th 2012 at London’s GH Space is going to be great if one of your new years resolutions is to explore more big cities, attend more conferences, meet new people or try building your own startup or web company.

You can buy your tickets to the Meetup on Eventbrite, priced at only £5 (~$8). Sadly I won’t be there in person but if all goes well, I’ll be there in the future.

Erik Nelson (left) and Danny Loschiavo (right) of Lead Magnit

Welcome Danny. Could you introduce yourself and tell us about Lead Magnit and your position within the company?

Hey Jonny. I’m Danny Loschiavo, co-founder of LeadMagnit. We help real estate agents generate tons of leads and connect with home buyers. 


Why did you start Lead Magnit?



Because there is a disconnect. Realtors have a very tough time connecting with home buyers online. 90% of home buyers are searching for homes online, and yet 80% of Realtors say they aren’t satisfied with the web leads they receive. This is because there are so many things to think about as an agent, from a marketing perspective. Having a social media presence, building backlinks, posting on craigslist, networking – it becomes overwhelming. 

We picked out the different lead generation strategies that work well, and packaged them into an automated software. 

Also, the current solutions that are out there are way too expensive for the average Realtor to afford, and are plagued by crappy customer service and bad leads.

What are 5 of Lead Magnit’s Unique Selling Points (USP’s)?

1. Rapid Craigslist Poster. This allows agents to post hundreds of posts on Craigslist per day, without worrying about ghosting, and generating TONS of leads almost instantly.



2. No contracts or hidden fees.



3. Cutting-edge marketing training. 



4. Our real-time tracking and messaging. You can talk with home buyers as they visit your site, and view what they search for, which properties they view and which of your Craigslist ads converts the best. 



5. SEO tools allow you to rank for local keywords and drive even more traffic to your site.



Lead Magnit helps real estate agencies optimise how they are found in search engine listings, also known as SEO. How does it do this?

We actually have in-house team members who write quality content and build backlinks all day. Once a user chooses their preferred keywords, we’re off to the races!

How does Lead Magnit stay afloat and profitable?

Two ways. By providing the best possible service and most value we can to our customers, and by using the software ourself to refer out leads to agents for referral fees. 


What else does Lead Magnit offer and how are you looking to expand in the future?

As of right now we are only available in Arizona, but we already have plans in place to expand to a handful of other markets in the next few months. I can’t talk much about the features in development, but I can tell you that we will soon be able to screen every single lead that each user generates over the phone, to ensure that the agents don’t waste any time with bad leads. 

Thanks Jonny!