This is a guest post by Ari Herzog. Be sure to let him know what you think of it in the comments!
Blog comments are the lifeblood of bloggers. I delight every time I see a new comment, recognizing people are taking precious time out of their day to thank me for inspiring them. That’s what a blog comment is, essentially — a note of thanks.
If you’re that blogger who is nodding along and knows what I mean, let me ask you a question: Are you thanking your commenter in return?
I don’t mean adding a comment in response. That takes time, especially if you’re away from your computer. Are you, rather, thanking your commenter immediately after he or she submits the comment? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no. I’m going to hazard a guess that if I randomly click some of your names below and connect to your blogs and add random comments, that I will not see an immediate note of thanks.
If you’re still nodding, why not? When you go on a job interview, you thank the person who interviewed you, right? You send him or her an email, or even better, a handwritten note of thanks, right? Why not echo that immediacy on your blog when someone writes something?
Let me elaborate by pointing to you to this thank you page which is something you would see if, and only if, you add a comment on my blog about social media strategies. Browse the archive and find a post, add a comment, submit it, and PRESTO! you will see the thank you page. It never fails (unless something is wrong).
If you want to see something like that on your blog, and you also have a self-hosted WordPress blog, head over to the plugin directory and download Joost de Valk’s aptly-named Comment Redirect plugin. Transfer the file to your blog server, activate it from your WordPress dashboard, and select the page you want to be displayed. (You will need to create a page, not a post, in advance for this to be an option.)
It’s as simple as that, folks. The next time someone adds a comment on your blog, he or she will see a customized note of thanks — which I recommend you update whenever there is something new you want to say.
Any comments?
I would say that depends on the wording much more than whether it's automated or not. I think most of us at one time or another have received automated messages we accepted and enjoyed or found useful even though we knew they were automated.
wow, very cool!
I may have tweeted you about it — if you asked about it.
I agree, when the comment is reply by the blog admin, visitors will feel happy because it was like a receptionist
simple
Thanks for informing about this plugin.
I think that an automated response is not really that personal at all , but then again is no response better than an automated response ?
Thank You!
thanks
111111111
I am going to add this right now! I've been wondering about this as I've seen it on several blogs.
I installed the plugin, and created the page, but how do I get it on the comment redirect page and not on the site “live” ?
Oh that's simply brilliant. And your “thankyou” page is a fantastic way to encourage people to make more comments on other posts that you have written. Thanks for this … I'll mention it on my blog and send a tweet
wah , was a delight to read as much opinion on the comments , I'd like using the thank you page , but I would like to add a redirect attribute to it so my commenter would be back to the post he commented on.
It's a great plugin. I'll try it.
This is telly awesome article.Thanks for sharing with us..
Thanks for sharing this info with us. Nice post…
how to use these plugins? well seems to be easy but i don't….