Two Must-Have Plugins to Make the Most of First Time Comments

This post is in response to a question by Evelyn Bourne, who had just left her first comment on this blog. She asked what plugins I was using in relation to reader comments. This is my long-a** answer to that question. Thank you, Evelyn! Have a question??

Authored by a freelance writing mom, 'A Productive Pen' is a blog about online writing, marketing and personal development.

First-time comments are precious. Once a reader goes from being passive to being active, you have just been presented with a golden opportunity to turn a stranger into a reader for life.

Jump to: Active Readers vs. Passive Readers | Comment Redirect | Thank Me Later

Active Readers vs. Passive Readers

Every blog has four types of readers at different points in the funnel:

• Visitors: these are the anonymous people who drop by your blog, leave no trail and do not come again.
• Passive Readers: these are also anonymous people but they come by regularly.
• Active Readers: these are readers you know by name and face, and they interact with you on your blog. Active readers are typically high off the rush we all get when we meet someone new that we like, so early interaction is fast and furious (like romance).
• Loyal Readers: these are people you know quite well, and they interact with you on your blog as well as outside of it, sharing content, referring people to you, and helping you build rapport. They are the types who after a few months have probably read every popular post you’ve published, even the ones before they connected with you. They are the types who will become your affiliate when you launch a product, just because they like you.

The moment when a passive reader becomes an active reader is crucial. It’s the moment in time when the wallflower at the dance finally peels himself out of the corner and comes up to you and asks you to dance.

If you’re too busy to notice, he/she may never ask again. It depends on how hot good-of-a-blogger you are, right?

Thing is, the funnel is actually more like a two way street with several opportunities for U-turns. A passive reader who leaves a comment can just as easily go back to being the wallflower, and then eventually leave. Again, it depends on how hot good-of-a-blogger you are (just kidding).

There were blogs that I circled and commented on and tweeted several months ago that, today, I don’t even visit! I don’t even open the RSS in my Google Reader. They have completely dropped off the radar and are now simply old relics, replaced by a circle of bloggers whom I’d now consider friends. The common trait in the ones I no longer visit? The bloggers have never, ever responded to a comment I’ve left or acknowledged a retweet. Human nature: we’d rather hang with our friends (well, most of us would).

Top

Investing in First Time Comments

It takes somewhere around 9 impressions to convince a stranger that they should get what you’re giving. But a repeat buyer will buy again with far less effort. To me, there is something to be said about the exchange – the fact that it costs you something and it costs them something – that makes the active reader that much more valuable. It costs you great content and high-quality: without it, you won’t get the comment in the first place. And it costs them time, a name, and an email address, something very few people like to expose. At this point, they have “purchased” from you. Now what will you do?

There are two great plugins which take this engagement – this investment in first time comments – to another level.

Comment Redirect

I’m a huge fan of this plugin. Comment Redirect will redirect readers who leave comments for the first time to a page that you choose. Ideally, this will be a page thanking them, presenting an opportunity to subscribe, giving them something, or pointing them to more posts.

Thank Me Later

I’m an even bigger fan of this plugin, as I’ve now received a handful of responses saying that it’s awesome to receive a follow-up to a comment left. Thank Me Later sends a message to people who leave a comment. It can be whatever message you want and you can send it whenever you want – right away, a day later, a week later, etc. You can choose to send one message or multiple messages. I set it up to just send one message – ever – because I believe in the golden rule and I personally do not like to get tons of unsolicited emails. This plugin complies with CAN-SPAM and offers an opt-out feature which you will want to take advantage of. Make sure to copy the opt-out link directly into the thank you email so that people who really do not want to hear from you via email won’t have to fear that more is headed their way.

The ways in which you could use these two plugins together are endless. You can always take the active readers a step further and invite them at this point (now that they’ve left a comment) to get on your list for something better, or suggest some resources they might like.

UPDATE: Several people said they couldn’t install this via the WordPress Codex. So, if you’d like it, you may download the zip file here. Enjoy!

Download Thank Me Later Plugin for WordPress (just right-click and save)

Top

How do you make the most of first time comments?

Related Great Read: Chris Brogan’s Before You Seek Business

Front Page Thumbnail Image Credit: Paul Downey