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?
