Convert All Your Commentators to Subscribers!
21 May, 2008 - Blogging - 12 Comments
Photo by Peter Bowers
60% of all my commentators are not subscribers. It’s an astonishing fact, and one I intend to change. Change, not by disallowing non-subscribers the right to comment (I value them far too much to do that), but rather by encouraging non-subscribers to make the switch to subscriber.
I first noticed this statistic last week and it was then that I decided to try and do something. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do, and I came to the conclusion that in the ideal world I would like to convert all commentators to subscribers. So that’s what I set out to do.
Walk the Walk
After many hours of contemplation during my commute to and from the city, I came to the conclusion that I should starting walking the walk rather than talking the talk. Building relationships is a topic I’ve spoken about almost constantly over the past 11 months, and I came to the conclusion that building a relationship with the commentator is the best (and possibly only) way to convert the individual to a subscriber.
How Can Online Relationships be Formed and Built Upon?
This was the next obvious question that I had to ask myself. If I had to build a relationship, then I had to find out how I to do that. With that in mind, I came up with five simple tasks I could perform with each new commentator.
Building the Relationship
Each time I receive a comment from a new individual, I
1. Email the Individual - I email the commentator with a friendly, automated message. I spoke about automated messages earlier this week. Used well, the Comment Relish plugin can be used to form the basis of a good relationship.
2. Repay the Favour with a Comment - They’re doing me a favour when they comment on my blog. I always repay that favour by heading to their blog and writing at least one comment.
3. Send a Personal Email - Take enough time out of your day and you’ll always find a reason to email somebody. I often search the commentators blog to find a way I can help them. Maybe I’ll spot a broken link or a broken image. I always find a reason to make contact.
4. Follow them on Twitter - I search for them on Twitter and if they have an account, I follow them.
5. Add them on Facebook - Just like Twitter, but I search for them on Facebook and add them as a friend if I find their account.
The Key to Make it Work
Doing all those five things may produce some results, but there is one crucial element missing that will ensure the best results.
Timing!
Rather than performing all five elements of the dance at once, I spread the process out over 24-36 hours. By spreading the process over a long period, I ensure that my name is placed in to their inbox (and brain) multiple times, rather than in one big batch. Eventually, they hear my name so much they just have to come back to my blog and subscribe.
What proportion of your commentators are subscribers? Do you actively try to convert commentators to subscribers? Let us know in the comments!
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Posted on 21 May, 2008 by Jamie Harrop
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Wow… these are some great ideas… I definitely want to increase my subscribers… I am curious how you found the stats for commenters vs subscribers.
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Hey Breakaway,
To be honest, it was just an educated guess. I know who most of my subscribers are, and I also use a live stats program which lets me see where my commentators were referred from (if they are a subscriber, it shows an email account or a RSS reader address).
It may not be a perfect guess, but it’s pretty close.
Thanks for the kind words!
Excellent ideas! I’d like to caution you about one thing - make certain you verify your autoresponder sends back a message that isn’t blatantly automated. I cannot begin to count how many messages I receive that try to come across as personal yet have quotes backlashed, are addressed to “Barbara Ling” instead of just plain “Barbara” (a much more typical salutation) etc.
I’ve added your feed to my reader as well. You have good stuff!
Best wishes,
Barbara
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Hey Barbara,
Thanks for the kind words and the excellent comment.
Unfortunately, the plugin does send emails with the full name, rather than just first name. I do agree though that it would be much better just to use the first name.
That may well be a good reason for me to start sending the emails manually.
The personal email is a nice extra touch and a rare one at that. Id have loved a month ago to have had someone email me about a bunch of broken pictures on my blog. And unfortunately that went on for month or more with a specific browser and I had no clue.(not till someone blogged about it…ouch!)
So i can definitely say that the added personal touch would make me more inclined to visit your blog etc. And quite possibly end up being a subscriber.
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Being helpful is never a bad thing.
Thanks for the comment.
I am trying to use CommentLuv on my blog. Do you need to just activate the plugin or need to add a code somewhere?
I do not think it is working properly on my site. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the help.
Rangoo
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Hi Rangoo,
As far as I know, you just need to activate the plugin.
I’ve just been to your blog and under the comment form there is a tick box asking if I want CommentLuv to be enabled on my comment, so I guess it’s working just fine.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks Jamie
Nice of you to check it out for me and let me know.
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I would love to mail my reader rather then use an auto responder as it is more personalized and genuine it shows your reader you really appreciate their association with your blog.
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Hey Sunil,
I completely agree. However, as I said in a previous post, automated email responders are only as impersonal as the author. http://www.jamieharrop.com/2008/05/19/automated-email-responders-are-as-impersonal-as-the-author/
Thanks for stopping by and writing the comment.
nice article.
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