A simple call to action at the end of your comment field.
Sometimes the most simple additions to your blog are the absolute best – no need to get overly complicated, right?
For example, I’ve been running a small call to action at the end of the comment box here (see image above or check out any post) on TentBlogger to help remind people that the should Subscribe via RSS or even the Newsletter if they feel like it!
What I’ve discovered is that through adding this simple reminder I’ve been able to get more subscribers to my blog, especially since anyone who has already committed to spending the time to comment has already shown interest in the content and the community!
Subscribe!
These qualified commenters are a shoe-in to subscribe – and they do! And that’s what this WordPress Plugin does: It simply adds a single line at the bottom of your comment field go give them one more shot at subscribing to your blog!
Done and done! It automatically links to your /feed so that your audience has access to your RSS feed instantly. You can, of course, add some additional lines after the base install if you’re game enough to jump into the code a bit! Add any other links as you wish!
And, don’t forget that a perfect companion WordPress Plugin would be my FeedBurner RSS Redirect so that it automatically redirects to your FeedBurner feed instead! Use them both to achieve maximum awesomeness!
Please don’t forget to check out all the other great WordPress goodies as well!
Boss!
Added it to my newest offering.
Thanks man
wah wah!
Sweet! Great plugin. Would like to see the “Get A Gravatar” button that Churchm.ag has as well!
haha.
i think we just coded that in
I figured.
could it be a tutorial in the forum?
ok…. fine. i’m thinking about releasing a new plugin to help you.
John, you are the bomb!!! thx for this!
sure thing jon!
Awesome!! I had that on my list of additions to make… Now I don’t have to work it out myself. Thanks John.
sure thing rich!
Great little plugin. I love simple but effective ideas. Have you thought about adding the option for the email newsletter to this plugin?
ah. not really because not everyone has one.
but everyone has a feed!
I was really hoping it would include an email newsletter subscription based on the red box graphic. But it’s great to have an RSS subscribe reminder (and the redirect).
This plugin is Pimp Daddy. That is all..
Hi!
Awesome resource! Came across this plugin once before, but lost track of it somehow. Thanks for the reminder!
sandee… you came across this plugin before? we just released it…!
using my delorean, i released the plugin into the past, too.
awesome. i thought so.
You know what would be cool?
You already have a checkbox where people can subscribe to the comment stream via Email. What if you just added another checkbox for those who wanted to subscribe to the blog right there via Email? And then you could add another for the newsletter if you wanted. You could also add your subscribe via RSS button on top of all that.
May be too aggressive for some, but I bet it would really help subscriber numbers.
it’s a good idea.. and a few people do that. i don’t want to pressure anyone though!
Done! Thanks so much John. Also added the RSS redirect. I guess I had forgotten about that one.
;0 sweet!
Thanks! Just added it. What would be the code for adding a link to a newsletter or email sign-up like you have?
I was going to ask the same question.
Around line 40 in the plugin (just above the closing paragraph tag, you’d add an anchor and the URL to your newsletter.
Something like this:
$str_reminder .= ‘Subscribe to my newsletter‘;
eh, the browser is rendering that as an actual link. it should read:
[a href="http://yournewsletter.com"]Subscribe to my newsletter[/a]
But the ‘[‘ should be replace with ”.
Take a look in the code – you’ll see it
.
Tom: For the coding challenged, can you be more specific? I’ve found the spot at line 40 and input this:
$str_reminder .= Subscribe to my newsletter;
But I’m getting a fatal error that is deleting the plugin.
thanks!!
Kathy
Oh crud. I see the browser is changing what I pasted. I think my confusion is which of the [ needs to be changed to ". I would think that you want a < before ahref: and after the url, right? don't you want at the end too? Not [/a]
If you type it out with extra spaces would the browser leave it alone so that we can see the full code?
yes, that is correct.
Got it finally! It’s up and working. already had a new subscriber through the newsletter link. Great plugin John.
congrats! perfect!
Thanks! I’m OK with HTML, but have a tendency to break anything else.
all good! let me know if you have any issues!
Awesome, will add this. Thanks John!
sure thing dewitt!
Does it only work with WP native comments?
Yeah – it applies the option at the end of the WordPress native commenting form.
I am brand new at this and appreciate all the help…thanks!!
sure thing romey! do you have a gravatar? http://tentblogger.com/gravatar/
I’m having trouble with this… for some reason it’s not working. I’ve installed and activated the redirection to my feedburner address… but its not working and going to a page that says its broken/ doesn’t exist. What am I doing wrong?
i don’t see the plugin installed?
That’s because I deactivated it. I’ll activate it again so you can see what’s happening.
Oh brother… can that! I just activated it again and guess what?! This time it decided to work just fine!!! Hahaha
… you’re a pro!
Hi, John:
I see the message on your blog right below the last comment, but I have an issue with the “look” of it. On your site, it sits too close to the “Subscribe To This Comment Via Email” message.
Is there any way to make it appear lower on the page? I have attached a screen-shot of what I see on my end.
http://prntscr.com/23av1
Let me know.
Cheers,
Missy
If you go to your Plugins section and click ‘Edit’ on this plugin and then open “tentblogger-rss-reminder/css/style.css”. Once the editor for that is open just type in “padding: 10px” in between the {}. That should be good. You can see it in action on my site: http://dustinstout.com
thanks man!
missy,
having trouble seeing what’s wrong here?
I tried to reply earlier, but I guess it didn’t go through…
If you just add a “padding: 10px” in the .CSS file it will solve the problem.
got caught in spam. that was weird!
John, sorry to hijack this topic but I’ve got a question for you.
How do you get feedburner to send out multiple emails in a day like you do?
i believe it sends only one per day, correct? per the settings?
Yeah, you’re right.
I was confused by the custom subject line you use and was just assuming it sent out twice on certain days.
ah. that’s because if the newsletter has more than one update it changes the title…! you can customize this here:
http://tentblogger.com/feedburner/
pretty neat, right?
Dude, you’re filling up my instapaper account!
sorry…?
it seems usefull to me but before this i have to check with other options….like welcome plugin…
sure thing! let me know!
Looks great, but does this work w/ the Disqus comment plugin?
currently no, it only works with native wordpress comments.
Just downloaded it John, but one quick question….what plugin do you use for the “Subscribe To This Comment Stream Via Email?”
easy! http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe-to-comments/
Looks utterly great…the comment system…i use it in my blog too..
Hi John,
I just used this plugin on both my WP sites and I’m really pleased with it. I even – for the first time ever – did some changes to the code to add font color and a smiley face.
Thanks a great plugin!
Question: I’ve been searching and searching for a plugin that will make a simple text box like the one you’ve got between your posts and the comment area (where you say “Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing!” and you give the subscriber options, next to your cute Tentblogger icon).
I haven’t found anything that’s both easy to use and looks good. Did you use a plugin to create that box . . . or did you do some code magic?
Thanks! ~ Milli
i changed up the theme that i use out of the box.
John (or anybody else),
I cannot figure out where I have to adjust the code to edit the reminder according to my liking. I’ve seen you mention: Update style.css in the plugin’s CSS directory to customize the look.
But I don’t really get that. Could you explain that a little bit more in lay man terms?
Thanks for the plugin and hopefully for the help!
ah, you might need some beginning help with CSS, right?
Hi John,
Yes, I’m a bit lost with what that even is/where to find it.
google “CSS Basics” and you should get a bunch!
then try WordPress’s codex.
Hey John, I love the simple things in life, but this simple plugin seems to be bamboozling me
I installed and activated both the RSS reminder and the redirection, and whilst the reminder works fabulously, the redirection gizmo isn’t working… Do I need to redirect posts and comments for it to work (I have no idea where to redirect my comment feed to?). Also, I can’t figure out how to change the text of the reminder? Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks!
ah, it’s a lot more simple than that… you may need a more robust plugin. this just does the main feed.
Updated comment: didn’t get any verification link by email so tried another email address!
Hey John, I love the simple things in life, but this simple plugin seems to be bamboozling me
I installed and activated both the RSS reminder and the redirection, and whilst the reminder works fabulously, the redirection gizmo isn’t working… Do I need to redirect posts and comments for it to work (I have no idea where to redirect my comment feed to?). Also, I can’t figure out how to change the text of the reminder? Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks!
Um, blonde moment. Redirection working sorry! *blush* now all I need to know is how to edit the text! Thank you John
I’m adding this today. Already added the Tentblogger RSS Redirect. Thanks!