Thursday, September 10, 2009

Blogger 101: Comment Reply...

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to share something really cool with you today. I've shared this neat little tip with some of my BBF (best blogging friends) before but I've had so many questions lately of "How do you do that?"  So, since you are my BBF too, I thought I would just TELL IT TO THE WORLD, that is if you're interested of course! ;)

Question is:

When I leave a comment on your blog, how do you reply back to me in an email?

example:  Dear friend leaves me a sweet comment asking me a question. I get an email notification of the comment. I click on that email notification, read it, click reply and answer her question. But! If Dear friend doesn't have her email listed with Blogger, then I am replying to a "no-reply blogger" and she will never get my answer...Then I would never know that she didn't receive it...She thinks I'm ignoring her...And we don't want that to happen do we? NEVER!

Instead, I want to receive the email notification, click reply, answer her question and hope to start a lasting friendship...that's what blogging is about right? RIGHT!

So let's make sure we are all set up and we aren't missing any replies okay? It's very simple. With a few clicks of the mouse here and there, I can have you on the road to meeting and greeting more friends out there on a more personal basis instead of leaving personal comments where "everyone" can see them.

**Note: this should not and will NOT take the place of comments as we all love to receive comments!!! This tip is only for that "extra" step to maybe say "thank you for visiting" or ask questions about a particular post, etc.

Let's try this out as I will explain it in simple "baby steps" to make sure we are on the same page. If you are interested, you can lower my blog, open your blog and work on yours at the same while I attempt to walk to you through it. Ready?

First things first, we need to make sure that your email address is properly inserted in several Blogger fields...

Sign in on your blog (top right hand corner) if you are not signed in already.

Click on My Account (top right hand corner)

Right in the middle of your screen you will see the column Personal Settings. Verify that your email address is in the Email Address Field. If it is there, we will move on. If it is not there, click Edit and type it in.  Save changes.

On the same page to the left of the screen, you will see My Products. Under that, you will see Blogger - Settings. Click on Settings. You are now in the Edit User Profile. Scroll down until you get to the Identity section. You will see Email Address. If your email address is not listed in that square, type it in. If it is, great as we are almost through! Save changes.

From this page, click on Dashboard (upper right hand corner)

Under Manage Blogs, you will see Edit Posts - Settings - Layout - Monetize. Click on Settings.

On the Settings page, you will see tabs that read Basic, Publishing, Formatting, Comments, etc. Click on Comments.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see Comment Notification Email.  If your email is in there, you are set up. If it is not, add your email address there. Save changes.

We are done :)

Now, when someone leaves you a comment on your blog, you will get an email notification. Directly from that email, you can reply to that person through email and answer any questions or go into detail about any topic discussed without feeling the need to hop over to her blog, comment, and leave information that is really too personal for "everyone" to read or leave a comment that is "off topic" of the most recent post.

I love to use this feature when someone leaves me a sweet comment and I want to go and thank them for doing so. Or when I want to add a little something personal that I don't feel comfortable about "everyone else" reading it. To me, it just lets that person know you went the extra mile in contacting them personally.

The only thing to remember is now that you are set up...not everyone is set up so remember: when you get the email, and click on Reply, always right click on the sender's name. When you do, you will either see a valid email address or you will see "no-reply blogger". When you see the latter, don't even bother clicking Send because they will not get it. This is what I'm trying to avoid by sharing this great tip with you so you can share it with others and we will ALL have a "no-reply blogger" free world! {sigh and smile}

Hope this helps as this information has helped many already and we are able to keep in touch so easily. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. My email address is at the top on the left. Oh by the way, that's awesome to have handy on your blog page too!!!! :)

Do you know how hard it is for me not to post a pretty photo in this post? Oh it is really hard. I don't think I can click Publish without doing so. I can't. So here's one for you for following my tutorial. You can right click and save it if you'd like! :)

boy in blue robe with large bouquet of flowers

So the question I'm asking YOU now is...

Are you a "no-reply blogger" free blogger??? ;)  Believe me, I'll find out if you're not...I'm off to do some right clicking! ;)

oh! and if you changed all of the above information and you want to "test it out", just leave me a comment on this post asking me to visit you. I'll then go to your blog, leave you a comment and from there you will get an email notification of my comment. From your email, you can reply back to me to verify that it works. Trust me, you'll love it!  ;)

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

32 comments:

Lori said...

ok, i did it...i might be sorry when i am spending all my time emailing...LOL...we'll see how it goes...that is THE cutest image!!! thanks for sharing Jodie:)

June said...

Yeah...you got Lori to do it!!!You got June to do it...you are off to save the world. You are my hero! Seriously though, this really did make a difference for me. I've made some awesome friends.
Hugs,
June

zandra said...

You've set my wings free... hopefully, I am a free blogger. Thanks! Hugz, Z

zandra said...

Oh, thanks for the photo~so adorable! :0)

Connie said...

Ya know, sweetpea, I feel the same way and have told people this time and again! I usually have to respond to them by going to their blog and posting an answer, which is fine because I love the blogs, but I do wish to respond privately sometimes. I have a tutorial and think I'll put it on there for them to do it. Now, let me know if my email comes through with the email about this post to you. I've already done what you said when I started my blog a couple of years ago. Thanks for bringing that up though, sugar. Love it!
xoxo,
Connie

icandy... said...

Hellooooo sweet Jodie!!

What a tutorial, you did such a great job explaining this!!! I have always used this set~up but, my prob. is.... I don't check my email enough! **Yikes** ...sometimes I open it and have like, 400 messages. Then, I just hate to weed through them all. L.A.Z.Y....that's all I am!


BTW, LOL...

~~~ YOU ARE GETTING SLEEPY ~~~

subliminal message.... HA! Love it..... and u!!! :)

no worries, I'll find a pic soon...WTH.. was my last post about anyway???? HA!

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Jodie,

thank you for your tutorial and I hope that I have done it right.
You learn something new every day.
Thanks again for that.
Lovely vintage photo.

Hugs
Carolyn

Rose Brier Studio said...

Jodie,
This is a great post! I might even borrow the gist of it and post it. I am always so sad when I click the email and discover "no-reply blogger." I could post a comment to them on my own blog as some do, but I don't and then they don't know HOW much I appreciate every single comment anyone leaves.
I'm pretty sure I'm not a no-reply, but I would love a visit. And thanks again for this post!
~Marilee

zandra said...

Ok, I've done it again? Maybe now it works? LOL I'm terrible with computers! Hugz, Z

Alison Gibbs said...

Oh you are the best. You make it sound so simple. I have been getting email notification of comments but it never entered my head just to click reply..dah!!!
I will have to try it out now.
Alison

DeeDee said...

Well thanks so much..I have been wondering about this for sometime now..watch out who ever leaves comments on my blog I love to reply...hehehe! thanks so much for this assistance...

visit me at :deedeescraftspot.blogspot.com

I will reply...

Unknown said...

This is GREAT! Being new to blogging, I love these tips. Thanks and have a great week!
Denis

Hope Ellington said...

WOW! Thanks for the 'sweet lecture'. I love learning & Jodie...you sure go the extra mile. Blessings dear friend!
All the best~Hope

Sandi said...

Once again you amaze me. Good job.

Sandi
Impatient Cajun

Geralyn Gray said...

Thanks for explaining this---I might try it, but I like the thrill each time I look at my blog and see a new comment......I love the vintage image---thanks!!!

Pam @ Frippery said...

Glad you posted this Jodie. Until a few weeks ago I had been sending e-mails to all comments then realized some were no reply, duh!

trash talk said...

I feel like such a big girl now! I went and checked everything you listed and lo and behold...I didn't have the last piece of the puzzle in place! Thanks for explaining it in a way the slow(that would be me) could follow and understand! You young 'uns are a blessing with your knowledge of these new fangled contraptions!
Trash

Tara said...

I wondered how you did that! I thought it would be a hassle. I've got myself all set up now, so I'll see how it works. Thanks for the know how!

A Fanciful Life said...

This is a really good, detailed post. Not everything is always clear in the blogging world, so it's always great to find new information to make us better bloggers. Great idea to write about this! Now, for your next lesson....?
Sharon :-)

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

Well sadly to say I know you explained it all very well. But I'm so puter dum, I forget the steps and have to go back and fourth to the directions and I'm also afraid I might click on something I shouldn't.I did that once and my daughter told me not to do anything till she comes by.So I will wait till my daughter comes by so I to can jump on the band wagon too.For I love to recieve emails.So ya'll just wait for me till then.
But for now ,please stop by for I am having my One yr anniversary.
XXOO Marie Antionette

Angela Harris said...

Thank you so much for coming by and giving me support with loss. I'm very grateful for online friends who share their experiences :) ~Angela Harris

blushing rose said...

Thank you for popping over. I will wonder how all you young folks will reflect on your childhoods compared to ours ... life is so different for you. We try to teach our gr-kidlings the games, cooking, & other things in life that we did as children, explaining to them the fun of what we did back 'then'. It is interesting how much they enjoy these times. There favorite is shooting marbles & playing with old buttons, even as old as they are.

Have a great week ... TTFN ~ Marydon

kana said...

Jodi,

I did it!! Thanks so much. I have always wondered how some folks send me an email and now I am smart....thanks to you. I love your tag book!!

Becca said...

Thanks Jodie!
I get the email notifications but I didn't know I could respond to them :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Jodie!

You know I always wonder if comments I may have made to an old post in blogger will still be read :-) I always hope too especially if it's a post I really enjoyed reading, I'd still leave something :-) And majority of blogs i get to read are in blogger. They will greatly appreciate this tutorial.

And thank you for the photo (for non bloggers like me too :-)) I'm right clicking right after I send this note :-) Thanks!

Mizpah,
Li

(Belated happy birthday to your friend. The earring you made and you displayed them with those tags are beautiful - oohhh but you always do and make that)

Linda said...

Thanks for the tip! I had thought I already had this set up, as I've received emails from some BBFs but when I checked to see if it was enabled, I guess not. Now it is.

I LOVE the photo on this entry - so whimsically cute♥

zandra said...

Just checking in. Hope all is well, I understand I've created a little monster! ;o)
Hugz, Z

Sandy said...

Jodie,
I think you just made my blog life a little easier! I flicked back and forth to do this and I am now set up! Thanks bunches!

Sinta Renee said...

Thank you for sharing this info. That helps a lot! I am really glad that you took the time to give such explicit instructions.

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been wondering how other bloggers do that for a long time.

Natasha Burns said...

so i am one of these no reply bloggers, lol! i changed something around a while ago and it went from reply to no reply. now i go back and realise, if i do check that box, spammers have direct access to my email address, which i hate! do you know if there is a way that i can have my email address show for people i leave comments for, without that email link showing on my profile? i don't think there is a way, unfortunately.... i know it is frustrating for you and people who hate it like Connie, but i like my privacy from spammers!!! i get spam on my blog daily, which is why i added comment moderation (which also sucks, but i have no choice)

Jules said...

Hi Jodie and thank you so much for your tutorials ... this email notification one and your home page one have been so helpful to me. Regards and thanks again, Jules x