Subscribe to comments to follow blog conversations

One of the most popular WordPress plugins is called Subscribe to Comments. This handy little plugin adds the check box you’ll find below my comment box.

Check the box and you’ll receive updates of the comments on that post delivered right to your email inbox. Whether you’re curious about the same subject, waiting to respond to another commenter or just want to know how other people reacted, you can stay current on blogs that use this plugin. TypePad blogs can have the same feature with a script, Subtocomments.

A few weeks back, I spent a couple frustrating hours trying to rig a hack to do the same for Blogger. I never succeeded—but that’s okay, because last week Blogger unveiled a new feature:

This check box does exactly what it says! It only appears if you’re signed in to your Google/Blogger account, however, so if you want to follow a Blogger blog post, be sure you’re signed in.

Why would I want this feature on my blog?
This feature is ultimately all about your readers—though helping your readers almost always helps your blog!

Letting your readers keep track of your blog at their convenience is similar to using RSS feeds, in my opinion. Let them read it when they want, where they want, and surprisingly often, they’ll come back to your site, whether to comment or to read others’ comments.

It’s all about the stickiness!

Would you like to know more about developing your blog’s stickiness? I’ve written a free guide to increasing your blog’s stickiness, “Get Your Visitors to Stick!“