Subscribe to comments is a must-have feature

Posted on January 26, 2009 by pat

Every Web site that allows users to write comments should also have a mechanism to allow users to subscribe to comments.

Subscribing to comment is a way of notifying a user when new comments are left, typically via e-mail. This simple feature is a great way to foster deeper conversations and increase page views. It’s a must-have feature for any Web site.

Remember the other day when I asked if your proprietary CMS was better than open source? WordPress has an easy-to-install plugin that allows users to subscribe to comments. Does your CMS?

You allow comments because you want to build a community. This simple feature will greatly enhance your ability to create a community. Get your Web developers on this ASAP, and if your CMS can’t handle it, get one that can — for free.

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  • http://www.patrickyen.com/films/ Patrick Yen

    I agree, I wonder if there is a similar feature for the blogger or pixelpost platforms?

    Gonna have to look into that, putting it on my to-do list now.

  • http://sellingprint.blogspot.com Michael J

    Exactly!

    The flow of conversations is one operational definition of community. One indicator is how many replies. The other, more important indicator ,is how many are direct replies that are “on point.” Lots of @x @y is one way to measure a good conversation. Some blogs have the ability to do threaded conversations. In that case the number and length of the threads is a pretty good measure of “community.”

    I use an RSS feed that allows me to see the comments in my favorite conversations. Before the day starts, I looked at the Conversations folder. Scan the “headlines”. Click to read the full text. Click to go to the site if I think I have something to add. Read the conversation to remind myself of the context. Say what I have to say. And move on.

    It’s like meeting a neighbor on the way to buy milk and bread.

  • http://commercialappeal.com Kerry Crawford

    I hadn’t thought of this – I’m adding it to my to-do list now. Do you have any good examples of news sites that have done this?

    Thanks!

  • http://www.riverscrap.com Martin (riverScrap.com)

    I couldn’t agree more – TypePad doesn’t seem to give visitors to my site the option of receiving response notifications. And nor does it provide an easy way of integrating Haloscan instead. Very frustrating!

  • http://sellingprint.blogspot.com MichaelJ

    Since I enjoy commenting on conversations that other people start. I’ve found the RSS feed indispensable and pretty much does the job. So for me the lack of email notification is not that much of a problem.

    But for the occasional commenter or someone just getting starting to get involved, the lack of email notification is not only frustrating for the blogger, but a “don’t use it” flaw, if the aim is to start a conversation that evolves in close to real time.

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