futuregirl craft blog : How Do you Handle Comments?

I'm Alice, aka futuregirl, perpetrator of total craft badassery.

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Saturday, February 05, 2011

How Do you Handle Comments?

There was a comment on my last post that asks some great questions:

nancymoo said ...

As I was making amends for my previously-mentioned slackness [in answering comments on my own blog] I thought of a question I wanted to post to you and the readers.

Your blog, Alice, is really cool (and kind of unique) in that you designed it yourself, so when you reply to the comments it sends an email to the person [and displays the reply in the comment section, too]. But for a blog like mine, if I reply to the comments *in* the comments, how do I know that the commenter read it? They would have to go back and re-read the post & comments to find out if you responded. I know you used to email each commenter individually - so cool, but seriously time consuming!!

So how does the bloggy community prefer to get their comments replied to? What is the most effective but also efficient way?

Discuss... :D

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40 Comments leave a comment

Charlotte said ...

In the comment I made in your previous post I talked about this too. As I'm quite new to your blog, I had no idea you e-mail commenter individually... WOW.
But I agree with nancymoo, when I leave a comment on a blog, I hardly ever check back to see if I got a reply. This because I don't keep track of my comments and because I just plainly forget about it. So if there is no automatic system that notifies me of replies, I just don't know...

2/5/2011 9:28 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Charlotte ... I never check back either. It would be too hard to keep track of all my comments.

2/5/2011 8:57 PM

Gwen said ...

I'm usually too impatient (read antsy, excited)to wait for the email response, so I check the comments section (if I'm not working). However, if I were a "normal" person, and I knew how it all worked, I'd just wait for the email.

I really like how it's set up her, both visually and functionally, because you can follow the dialogue or conversation between people easily and without confusion.

2/5/2011 9:33 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Gwen ... Thanks! I've done comments here lots of different ways over the years, but this way is my favorite so far.

2/5/2011 8:58 PM

DK said ...

My blog is like that, too. I send the reply to the commentor's email so I know they get it as that's the more important part to me. But then it doesn't show up on my blog as a response, so I'm not entirely happy with that solution, either.

2/5/2011 9:34 AM

Heather said ...

I tend to like an email notification. A lot of the blogs I read have a spot to check to be notified of future comments or replies. This helps me, because I may forget or not have time to check if my comment or questions received a response.

2/5/2011 9:39 AM

Jeannine | SaylorMade said ...

Excellent question, have often wondered the same thing myself.

When I leave a comment on a Wordpress or Blogger site and I'd like to hear back from the author, I make sure to sign up for comment notification by email. I once did that on a post that received a ridiculous amount of comments and no reply from the blogger, so I unsubscribed.

When I thank the commenter on my site, I guess I simply hope they received it via a subscription or they check back. If I were to ever receive a specific question, I would likely try to email them back directly. Many of my commenters are also followers on Twitter, so I have another way to find them and reply.

2/5/2011 9:45 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Jeannine | SaylorMade ... If you offer a way for them to subscribed to comments (and it sounds like you do) then it makes sense for you to put your response in the comments. For sure. :)

I tried that on my blog and then a spammer sent 600 spam comments to everyone on a certain post. Wow. Was that embarrassing. :) After that, I realized that most people that visit my site probably only care about my response to them, so that what I changed it to.

2/5/2011 9:02 PM

Martha Winger said ...

As a new blogger, my goal is to respond via email to anyone who comments on my blog. If I don't have an email address, I will go to their blog and leave a comment on something I like. I also plan to de-lurk and leave comments on blogs I read; especially if it seems like a newer blog.

2/5/2011 10:08 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Martha Winger ... That's a great system. I'm sure all those fledgling bloggers will really appreciate you letting them know you're out there and enjoying their blog.

2/5/2011 9:07 PM

wendy said ...

I read a lot of blogs, hop a lot and leave a lot of comments. I would NEVER remember to go back and see if the blogger has replied. Personally I always respond by email.

2/5/2011 10:29 AM

futuregirl replied ...

wendy ... I don't usually check back unless the person has solicited comments to start a conversation and I've said something that I reasonably expect to be responded to. But that's almost never.

2/5/2011 9:09 PM

cara said ...

I think the comments in comments setup lends a nice open conversation sort of feel to something that's otherwise kind of removed, but it's also nice to get some sort of email notice that it's there, even if the comment itself isn't in the email.
I say all this, but I probably should have a novice commenter disclaimer.

2/5/2011 11:44 AM

futuregirl replied ...

cara ... I think your comment hits the nail on the head, novice or not. :) It's nice to know the blogger is engaged and it's nice to be notified when you've been replied to specifically.

2/5/2011 9:11 PM

pam said ...

I am going to pop in here, nancymoo, because Alice has had a huge huge impact on my blogging - especially in how I respond to comments.

It takes a lot of time YES! But for me personally, it is worth it to e-mail each person back with a note of appreciation.

Very, very rarely do I ever respond to a comment right on my post - for the very reason that you mentioned - who goes back? If I DO leave a reply, it is usually because I believe the reply will be useful to others (ie answering a question). However, I then send a copy of the reply via e-mail to the person who left the comment.

Most of the time, when I receive a comment I do one of two things. I will respond via e-mail or occasionally, I will leave a comment on their blog.- especially if we have recently been in touch.

I do love Alice's system. Brilliant! Wish something similar were available to all of us.

2/5/2011 12:38 PM

futuregirl replied ...

pam ... Thanks for weighing in and letting us know your system. It's been amazingly success for you. (Too bad I don't do drupal development. teehee.)

2/5/2011 9:13 PM

June (planetjune) said ...

I use the Wordpress plugin "Subscribe To Comments" which lets people check a box if they want to subscribe to further comments on a specific post. It's not ideal (I'd much prefer to be able to email it automatically at the same time, as Alice's system does) but people are coming back to reply to my replies, so I assume it's working well enough.

Since I started to reply to questions on the blog instead of privately by email, I've noticed that I'm getting asked a lot more questions, which is a good thing; it helps to build the conversation. Also, by making my replies visible to all, visitors hopefully understand that I really do read and appreciate comments, and am happy to answer questions, even though I don't have time to reply to say 'thanks' for every comment.

2/5/2011 2:02 PM

futuregirl replied ...

June (planetjune) ... Great observation about commenting *in* the comments. I know a lot of people are worried that their readers won't come back to see the answers. But, if they see you've answered other people in the comments, they'll know to come back if they asked a question *and* they know you'll answer it. That's a win-win. It also helps that commenters have a way to subscribe. (Thanks!!)

2/5/2011 9:15 PM

Kristen said ...

This has been on my mind, too! I don't get a lot of comments but I do reply to the ones I get. I always reply through the Blogger system, so that's there's more of a conversation there on the blog.

I know that when I leave comments on other blogs, though, I hardly ever check back on them (unless there's an interesting discussion going on in the comments and I'm checking back on that).

If someone asks me a specific question, though, I'd reply via email and just copy that response to Blogger - because as a reader, I like to see the answers to other people's questions, too!

2/5/2011 2:02 PM

futuregirl replied ...

Kristen ... That's a good system that balances the concerns of readers and you as a blogger. :)

2/5/2011 9:16 PM

Kristen said ...

Also, I'm trying to do a little research on this, and for those who use WordPress (I do not), I think there's a plugin for that??? http://www.u-g-h.com/wordpress-plugins/wordpress-plugin-comment-email-responder/ Like I said, I don't use WordPress, my blog is through Blogger right now, and so far haven't found anything for it... but maybe that could help someone else!

2/5/2011 2:08 PM

futuregirl replied ...

Kristen ... Oh, awesome! Thanks for the link

2/5/2011 9:22 PM

Sus said ...

I may be a little different than most people in this regard, but I don't expect a response to a comment I leave on a blog, unless I ask a specific question and even then, if it's a decent question, maybe it's worthy of being answered as a follow up in a future post so everyone can play along. Amongst most of my blog buddies, we just sort of comment on each others' blogs as acknowledgment. I think I like that system better. But, like I said, I may be a complete weirdo.

2/5/2011 6:29 PM

futuregirl replied ...

Sus ... Oh, this isn't about people expecting replies. :) This is about bloggers wanting to answer questions and respond to comments so that (1) other commenters who might be interested see the answers and (2) the person who asked the question gets the answer, too. None of the blog platforms make this easy to do.

You are totally right, among my good blog-friends, we exchange "Love it!" comments all the time without acknowledgment because we're great friends already.

But most of us don't have a lot of time to blog *and* answer comments, so it's good to find a way to do it that isn't super time consuming and helps you turn those first-time commenters into blog-friends.

2/5/2011 9:36 PM

Carmen said ...

I've always responded to questions within my comments but have wondered if people check back... sometimes I'll go to that person's blog to answer the question and make a comment on their latest post. I've always liked getting email replies myself, though. Good food for thought!

2/5/2011 6:51 PM

Jan said ...

Okay, I don't have a blog but I read a lot of them! I never go back and check to see if anyone answered my question in the comments. I have had one blogger that I can remember e-mail me every time I comment on her blog and that was nice - made me feel kind of special that she took the time to do that. The other method I am fond of is to answer questions in a subsequent blog post and I will see it in my reader.

2/6/2011 5:30 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Jan ... Thanks for weighing in on the other side of the question. I think it's important for a blogger to know their audience and what their normal operating procedures are. :)

2/6/2011 12:39 PM

Nitsan EM said ...

You got me out of lurkdom to find a post that is closed for comments???
I'll comment here then! :)
Thanks for your blog, time and effort. I'll crawl back under my reader-rock.
Tah tah!

2/6/2011 9:15 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Nitsan EM ... Haha! Well, I was making a point that I don't expect comments. Thanks for delurking! It's good to know you're there. :)

2/6/2011 12:41 PM

Gabrielle said ...

I'm with Nitsan EM, I love reading your blog, but usually I don't have anything really great to add in the comments because I am such a novice at crochet. But I love your blog so hi there!

I am a new blogger, and this discussion is very interesting to me. I jumped in with 2 feet to blogging and without doing enough research I set up a Blogger account. Blogger is giving me a headache! It seems that all the wonderful features I see on other blogs for comments are simply not available. Most of the time, email addresses are "no-reply" and there seems to be no way to require email addresses from commenters, and no way to respond to just a single comment in a discussion thread.

Soon after I started blogging I participated in a giveaway event and now I have subscribers! It seems like it is too late to jump the Blogger ship and start again, so is there anything you would suggest to make Blogger work better?

2/6/2011 7:31 PM

futuregirl replied ...

Gabrielle ... Well, it's never too late to move, if that's what you want to do. I just saw a great post on about choosing a blog platform: http://heartifb.com/2009/04/20/blog-platform/ that might help you. I didn't like any of the platforms, which is why I wrote my own.

2/7/2011 4:35 PM

Seanna Lea said ...

I use Typepad, and I get the comments in my email. If I reply to the comment, then it goes on the blog (or I can manually go to the blog and reply). I use that function if people have commented using a profile (so I don't see the email address). Otherwise, I use direct email. It feels much more friendly even if it makes it harder to carry on a group conversation.

Sadly, my blog (despite being 5 years old) has a very small readership, so there really isn't that much group conversation to be done!

2/7/2011 9:08 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Seanna Lea ... That's pretty convenient that you can reply via email and it gets posted to your blog. I know the 3rd party tool Disqus does something similar.

2/7/2011 4:38 PM

Bree said ...

I use Blogger & have it set up so all comments get e-mailed to me. It's easier to moderate, and ensures I won't miss comments made on older posts. My favorite part though is that, as long as the commenter has their email attached to their profile, I can e-mail the commenter directly back to answer their questions & address their comments. I've met a lot of great people this way, and always to to send at least a quick response to every comment that includes an email. I'm not perfect, and it gets harder the more comments you get, but it keeps the blog more personal, and I know I love it when I get replies from comments I leave for other people.

2/7/2011 9:52 AM

futuregirl replied ...

Bree ... That sounds like a great system. :)

2/7/2011 4:39 PM

Bree said ...

Also, I never go back & check on blogs where I've left comments. There's just no way to keep track of them all, and I just hope if it's something important they'll respond by email.

When I get a comment I really want to respond to that doesn't include an email, I'll usually go leave a comment on the newest post of their blog, and will usually mention they don't have an email on their profile. I've come across a LOT of people who don't even realize it, and are glad I mentioned it to them. I have come across a few people who don't have an email or public profile, and I always feel bad that I can't respond to their comments, but they've made it impossible to do so.

2/7/2011 9:55 AM

julia @ Simpletruths said ...

The flow of this conversation is exactly why I love the way you have it set up on here. I don't get many comments on my blog but I'm working on a standardized way to reply to those that I do get.
There is a 'follow the comments on this blog post' button but you never know if the commenter selected it or not.
The best way for me right now is a direct email. I'll also post my response in the comments section if a question was posed that others may want to know the answers to.

2/8/2011 2:07 PM

futuregirl replied ...

julia @ Simpletruths ... It sounds like you have a reasonable policy. :)

2/9/2011 9:06 PM

Jackie said ...

that is so true, i never go back either to check if my comments have been answered, but would love it if there were a way to notify the readers on my blog, if there is I just don't know about it. btw i love the new design on your blog Alice.

2/19/2011 5:14 PM

futuregirl replied ...

Jackie ... Thanks! Glad you like the new look. :)

2/24/2011 1:27 PM

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