Subscribe to Comments: Opinion Needed : Site News
August 1st 2007 · Posted by Bobby Griffin · Comments
So, I’ve installed the WordPress plugin for readers to easily subscribe to comments via email, and it’s working great! I’d recommend it to anyone with WordPress who wants to encourage readers to return regularly and spark further comment section discussion.
My problem is this: do I check or uncheck the subscribe button box by default? Checking it makes it really easy for people to subscribe without putting an unnecessary step between them and comments by email. On the other hand, if it is checked by default, someone might get sick of unchecking it every time and be discouraged from leaving future comments.
What do you guys think? I started off with it checked, but have since changed my mind and now it’s unchecked. I just can’t decide!!
August 1st, 2007 at 11:37 am
I think you should just leave it unchecked and let people decide for themselves if they want to subscribe to the comments by email.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:50 am
I was going to say leave it blank and let the commenter decide, but I guess it’s been said already
.
August 1st, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Unchecked by default. Most people will not notice it is checked and then will get annoyed when they receive the comments via email.
August 1st, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking…avoid the annoyance factor…thanks!
August 1st, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I’d also recommend Owen’s comment responder so that when YOU respond to a comment, your visitor knows you’ve acknowledged him/her. It works perfectly with threaded comments, too.
http://www.u-g-h.com/index.php/wordpress-plugins/wordpress-plugin-comment-email-responder/
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I installed that plugin! Seems to be working great so far (assuming you receive this email, haha)
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I got the email! It’s working. I think that’s my favorite plugin yet.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:10 pm
I definitely agree that we should leave well enough alone there. If people want to subscribe, they know where to go for it and if not, they can always ask. I hate spam and I think it would turn me off as well, like Colleen had said.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:29 pm
i think from the perspective that you wanna make money off this site (which im guessing is true because of google links on the side) - to leave it checked. as long as in the email it makes it easy to unsubscribe, just leave it checked to subscribe them. honestly, i wouldve never come back here if i didnt see the email showing that you responded to my comment in another post.
sometimes it takes a few impressions for someone to think ‘hey i wonder whats on that website now…’. obviously the person had something to say to you - thats a big step already since most blogs have a low comment/reads ratio (or thats the way it seems what i’ve seen)
when you reply to them, you want them to come back and see it, so they can reply to you..and then maybe theyll wanna see what you say again after that…its how you can get some repeat visitors
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:26 am
Leave it off by default, there is nothing worse then getting emails from blogs you commented on without you realizing that the box was checked by default. I don’t even like email alerts about comments, I would much rather subscribe to that posts Comments RSS feed.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I agree with the majority here. Leave it unchecked by default. Sometimes when I see a box like that, I leave it unchecked. Sometimes I check it. It depends on how interested I am in the topic under discussion. Even if I don’t check the box, I may still come back to take a look - but I wouldn’t want my inbox clogging up with a lot of emails I didn’t ask for.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
i dont think its ‘that’ bad to get an email from a site you visited even if you didnt expect it. but anyhow, maybe its possible to make the website only send daily updates in emails (so at the end of the day, one email will be sent with all the comments for the day) that way people wont feel like youre clogging their email boxes
August 7th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
[…] One thing you have to decide about, is whether to leave the box checked, or un-checked. I believe it should be un-checked, letting the commenter opt-in, rather than having them receive un-wanted emails without realising what it is. Some other people wonder what the best route is, such as SEO expert, Rob, and Bobby at Bestest Blog. […]