There are so many cool plugins specially designed for WordPress which i think is the best content management system for us bloggers. I won’t be covering all the plugins that i use here, will save it for my next post. Most of the plugins should be quite familiar to you. I want to touch on one cool plugin that bloggers should have if you love comments. The plugin is Reply Me. Thanks to Tristan who introduced me this. How i missed this for so long. Most of you will find it familiar, the question is have you installed it?
The purpose is fairly simple but of great importance. For those of you who have not heard of this plugin, please take a look at the screenshot below.
If you give a comment in a post, you will receive a notification email if there is a reply directly to your comment. Above example is a comment i give in The Sales Lion blog and the reply i received once Marcus the author posted a reply.
Why do i think it is a plugin you must have in your blog?
First of all this is a plugin design for commenting. Before i go any further, lets take a look on these two post written by my friends Patricia Millman and Tristan Higbee. Coincidentally they both written a post stating the reason why you need to comment/what stop you from commenting.
Are You Lurking Behind The Lavender Bush
How to Comment on LOTS of Blogs Fast
Blog commenting for long is the most popular choice for attracting traffic. I don’t want to touch on the ethic of giving comments as most of us should know we should add value to the post when we give comments. Honestly i think the mentality has to be changed. Commenting solely for the backlinks and having the idea to hijack other blogger’s traffic need to be cast aside. This mentality surely doesn’t work anymore
I tend to see commenting as a way of networking, fostering relationship with other bloggers. You are actually forming an inner circle within your blogging community.
Michele Welch had written a very good post explaining why you need that:
Are You Creating Your Inner Circle
Besides that, Macus Sheridan recently told us the importance of networking:
Why You Should Stop Writing and Start Networking This Second
Commenting is not the only way for networking but since this plugin is for comments, i will just touch on that.
So many bloggers are writing post about the reason of networking. It is as important as having good content in your blog, in fact far more important. Blog commenting is certainly one good way to establish your network with other bloggers.
As a blogger, you can’t be communicating with one or two blogger. It depends on your network. Some bloggers may have 10,20 while others may be interacting with 50 or even 100.
To give comments in such a huge number of blogs can pose problem. Tristan has pointed out bloggers wanted comments. By the way who doesn’t. Unless you are Leo Babauta and Everett Bouge who turn off comments, we wouldn’t like to see our posts publish without any response.
Your visitors’ time is precious. They probably visited many blogs and leave many comments behind. You can’t expect them to return back every now and then to check whether you have responded to their comment. Commenting is a two way interaction and most people who left a comment behind hopes the author gives a reply. This is where ReplyMe plugin comes in and do the job.
Benefits:
- It saves your friend’s time and trouble
One BIG reason and that is enough. Bloggers should focus on their readers and visitors. You are making it convenient for them to focus on other important task. Most of the time i give comments in those blogs that i network with. I always appreciate the fact i was notified once i got a reply for my comment, i don’t have to keep on checking unless there is a new post shown in my Google reader.
If you read blogs and you are a blogger at the same time, i think you can resonate why this is a plugin you must install in your blog.
Have you installed the plugin yet? Here is the link again.
Share and Enjoy
I appreciate your kindness if you can share this post making use of the share buttons below or at the side. Alternatively, any retweeting of the post is helpful to my blog growth. Thank you very much for doing so. I look forward to see you soon. Cheers.
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That is a cool plugin Lye thanks for telling us the name of it – I’ve been wondering since I got those reply emails. Very cool.
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Robert,
Glad to tell you about this plugin. I knew it from Tristan.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Hey Lye,
Thanks so much for the mention!
Hmmm…so I’m a bit confused with this plugin. I thought in WP you already get notified for comments??? For example, when you response to my comments, I get an email notifying me.
Will have to read up on this more.
Thanks again and great stuff as usual!
Michele Welch recently posted..That’s A Wrap- January 21- 2011
I believe there is a plug-in you can download to subscribe to comments. But then you will be updated every time there is a response to the post you commented on.
This can get pretty annoying…because I have gotten update e-mails from months old posts.
This particular plug-in requires no subscription by the commenter, and will only update you when there is a DIRECT reply to your comment.
It’s very convenient.
Eugene recently posted..If Your Blog Was a Beer…What Kind Would It Be
OH… I see. I’ve seen this on sites and never given it much thought. Awesome!
Thanks for the clarification Eugene.
Michele Welch recently posted..That’s A Wrap- January 21- 2011
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Michele,
You deserved the mention. That’s a great post. Eugene had said it. I think the plugin you are talking is “Subscribe to Comments”
Thanks for dropping by and showing your support.
@Eugene
Thanks for the explanation. Much appreciated.
Lye
Hi Lye
Firstly thanks for mentioning my post and my blog. Much appreciated.
There are two sides to every story and this is no exception. I have noticed more people using this plugin and I like that I get a reply to my comments in my inbox.
However, a lot of blogs have subscribe to comments on their posts and so you can also get your response from ticking the box.
Some bloggers don’t do this cos they only want to see reply to their own comment. I would ask the question why? Do we only comment to get a comment back or do we want to be engaged in that particular community? We can all only answer for ourselves.
I do not tick subscribe to every blog I comment on, but I do like to stay engaged for those posts that are interacting and within the community I am active in. Just my 2 cents
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..A Gardener’s Guide to Growing a Business
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Pat,
I understand what you are talking about. It’s true that we want to engage in that particular community and not only waiting for the reply to our own comments.
We will face one problem if we subscribe to comments. For example your post has an average of 100 comments. People will find their inbox filling with unread message if every response is being emailed.
It’s still best to visit the site if we want to read comments from others.
Thanks for sharing your views.
Lye
I get that but I check my emails twice a day. And all my comments don’t come in a day. I have new posts only once a week so it is a few each time I check.
It does depend how many blogs you comment on too. I don’t usually visit more than about 20 in a day and as half are in the morning and half late at night, responses are staggered too.
Also, as I said in my comment, I don’t actually tick all comments for every post I read. Only the ones where I want to follow the conversation.
However, each of us needs to do what works for our own schedule and for some as you point out it will fill their inbox. I have never found that to be the case as often they will come in a stream. So one email and maybe five comments threaded so not a separate email for each comment.
At the moment I commented on a blog this morning and that post I know will get heaps of comments over the next week. Why? The blogger is an effective marketer and answers every comment. But I want to hear the replies as many of his visitors are also successful marketers too. He and others who regularly visit actually will add to their comments to help me out. I have read that in their replies, so I definitely don’t want to miss their gems.
Interesting topic Lye and even more interesting to hear what others do and how they view reading comments on other people’s blogs. Love that you have discussed and got your own views and what works for you
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..A Gardener’s Guide to Growing a Business
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Pat,
Guess you are right. Each of us has our own ways to take note of comments. For me i still prefer to visit the site for comments given by others.
No matter which route we take, i agree with you we should not only care for reply to our own comment in order to engage with the other people in the community. There is no dispute here.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Appreciate your support.
Lye
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patricia Millman and Michele Welch, Findmyblogway. Findmyblogway said: One Cool Plugin You Must Install If You Love Comments and Networking http://tinyurl.com/6ap2ys8 [...]
Thanks for the mention, Lye! (Just added a link to this post on my Mentions page and in my sidebar) And I’m glad you like the plugin so much. I’m a huge fan of it, too!
I can’t take all the credit for it, though. Keith from BizHax.com is the one who told me about it, and he heard about it from someone else.
Tristan recently posted..The Easiest and Most Powerful Way to Reach Your Blogging Goals
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Tristan,
You are welcome, that was a wake up call for people who don’t comment.
Thats the good thing about the blogging community, introducing great stuff to each other.
Thanks for dropping by.
Lye
This really is a great plug-in. I came across it Tristan’s blog as well and will definitely be implementing it on my site soon.
Eugene recently posted..If Your Blog Was a Beer…What Kind Would It Be
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Eugene,
Nice to meet you. I think this is a really great plugin which provide convenience to our readers.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Thanks for sharing the article and the great plugin, I’m thinking of using it on one of my blogs, yay !
Latief recently posted..Frontline Top Spot For Dogs And Cats Review
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Latief,
Great to hear that. Hope it helps.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Awesome Lye.You have hit this one out of the park. Thanks for sharing.
Michael
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Michael,
Thanks for dropping by brother. Hope to see you around more.
Lye
Awesome post Lye, replyme is a cool pluggin and a must have for every bloggers. Commenting on other blogs is a great way to get traffic, but try and do it wisely. Thanks for sharing.
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Samuel,
Indeed it’s very useful for us bloggers. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Thanks Lye for the heads up. That does seem like a great plugin. I have started using Subscribe to Comments Reloaded and it works in a similar way. There is a bit of setting up to do so if ReplyMe has a simpler interface then it might be a good one for new bloggers.
Michael
Michael Pedzotti recently posted..How many visitors do you need to make a decent online income
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Michael,
Nice to meet you. Subscribe to Comments is a pretty good plugin but i prefer ReplyMe as people may not click the Subscribe to Comments box.
Thanks for visiting and commenting. Hope to see you around.
Lye
Lye, the one I use is Subscribe to Comments Reloaded which has an option on the setting page to turn the checkbox by default. The difference is, I guess, that a visitor can click the checkbox and deselect it. I see that ReplyMe will automatically send an email with no option for the reader to prevent it. Does it come with antispam/single click unsubscribe link in the email. Michael.
Michael Pedzotti recently posted..How many rivets in a Boeing 747
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Michael,
It doesn’t come with any antispam or unsubscribe link. The mail will be sent once the comment got a reply.
Lye
Yeah! replyme is very useful plugin and very important too. It actually helps in reducing the headache.
Shailender recently posted..Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from India Darshan
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Shailender,
You are right. Glad you find it useful too.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
You’re definitely right Lye. There are more than a few different plug-ins for WordPress. I can see how the ReplyMe plugin can be helpful because I am one of those people who hopes the author gives a reply to my comment. Thanks for the heads up on this.
John recently posted..Treat Eczema Naturally
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi John,
I am same as you as i always appreciate the fact i wan informed of the reply so that i don’t miss the follow up.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Lye
Wow Lye, I came over here after reading the title of the post and then I see you’ve mentioned me and some other awesome people on here regarding our use of the ReplyMe plugin. Thanks so much for these mentions man
I tell you, anyone that does not have ReplyMe is crazy. I’m one of those guys that never subscribes to comments. If anything, I’ll come back and check, simply because I don’t want my blackberry ‘dinging’ me every 3 seconds with replies from articles I’ve left a comment on. Reply me not only takes care of that, but it also leads to replies of replies, if you know what I mean. In other words, comments have an ability to turn into conversations with ReplyMe quite easily.Plus, ReplyMe still works with the normal ‘Subscribe to Comments’ plugin.
Anyway, glad you’ve also now spread the word on this killer plugin Lye.
Much thanks
Marcus
Marcus Sheridan-The Sales Lion recently posted..Why You Should Stop Writing and Start Networking This Second
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Marcus,
That was a great post by you. It deserved to be mention.
You are right. Subscribe to Comments will send a notification when there is a reply. It’s not as good as ReplyMe. I am just too glad to spread the word as i believe this should be widely used.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
I honestly think that this should be a requirement and default installed on all wordpress installations. It makes commenting so easy and you don’t have to go running about trying to find that post you commented on in the hope that someone’s replied to it.
Peter J recently posted..The ‘real’ reasons as to why you should keep on blogging
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Peter,
Absolutely, i am forgetful. Sometimes i forgot which blog i have commented in.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Hey Lye,
Thanks for the awesome article!
I think that plugin is awesome! I love to comment on articles that I enjoy reading. Then to take it one step further I can build a conversation with the author, because I’m notified when they respond to me. I’m addicted to conversation so there’s no better plugin for that reason to me!
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
William Tha Great recently posted..Someone’s Bound To Hear Your Cry
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi William,
I think we are all addicted
We love comments and interaction. This plugin definitely helps to keep the conversation going on.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lye
Twitter: ditesco
Sounds like a winner and I’ll be sure to take it for a test drive. I can see the benefits of having this as often times I do not want to subscribe to the “comment” thread and only want to know if someone (including the blog owner) replies to a comment I left. I understood it right, Lye. This is what this plugin does?
Thanks for sharing and being a plugin “addict”, lol, I’ll let you know how it goes.
DiTesco recently posted..SpeedLink Weekly V1-2011
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi DiTesco,
Yes, that’s what the plugin does. I don’t like subscribe to comment too. That’s why i love this plugin and hope more bloggers install this.
Thanks for commenting.
Lye
Hello Lye,
This is a cool plug-in. I used it on my old blog but haven’t installed it on BG. Will have to make that a priority.
It is a nice way to stay connected with the blogs you comment on.
In fact I will install it now.
Thanks mate.
Pete.
Pete Carr recently posted..How To Create A RSS Master Feed
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Pete,
Good to hear that. I will know when you reply to my comment.
Thanks for commenting. Appreciate your support.
Lye
There are so many plugins or enhancements that you can use to your favorite CMS. These are really cool plugins! I believe one of the most useful plugins that you can put to your CMS is a commenting plugin. You surely would want that to build traffic to your site!
Samantha Dermot recently posted..Causes Of Temporomandibular Joint DisorderTMJ
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Samantha,
Is is a useful plugin and we need to consider all plugins if it is convenient to our readers and visitors.
Thanks for taking your time to comment.
Lye
Hello Lye,
I completely agree with you, this is one of those plug-ins everyone should have on their blog. It seems to be a small thing, but it actually brings major improvements to your commenting system.
All the best, Cosmin.
Cosmin Stefan recently posted..11 Awesome Blog Rankers You Just Have to Add Your Site To
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Cosmin,
Welcome to the blog. Glad you discover the benefits of this plugin. Hope to see you around.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
It would really be great if you could get email notifications if some one had directly addressed your comment, much like facebook alerts. Its really great, a must have for those who are frequent readers and networkers.
Joshua recently posted..Plumbing Practice Test
Twitter: Findmyblogway
Hi Joshua,
This is a must have plugin. It actually save your readers hassle in always check out whether there is any reply.
I am a big fan of this plugin.
Thanks for the comments.
Lye
Indeed true! While socializing, each and every comment of your readers is valuable, you cannot underestimate its importance.
Joshua recently posted..Plumbing Practice Test
This particular plug-in requires no subscription by the commenter, and will only update you when there is a DIRECT reply to your comment. We can all only answer for ourselves. The blogger is an effective marketer and answers every comment. Subscribe to Comments is a pretty good plugin but i prefer ReplyMe as people may not click the Subscribe to Comments box.
Helga Shaffer recently posted..Cancer Tattoos Tumblr