Direct Link to Subscribe to a WP.com Blog
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(Alternate Title : How to make a Custom designed Subscribe button work on WP.com blogs?)
A simple question,
How do I make my readers subscribe to my posts simply by clicking on a link??
(Instead of them discovering the Subscription widget on their own)
This question has struck many bloggers, specially on WordPress, like me.
Here is how I have tackled this problem :
Post a link to the Subscription Widget so that the reader is redirected to the widget where he can click on ‘Subscribe me now!’ to get subscribed successfully.
(Thank you WordPress Support Staff. Specially, Mr Blake W.)
Here is how you do it -
View the source code for the page (generally the homepage) which has the Subscription Widget
Google Chrome – Wrench Menu > Tools > View Source
Internet Explorer 9- F12 Developer Tools > View > Source > Original
Mozilla Firefox – View > Page Source
For demonstration purpose, check the source code of this page.
Use Ctrl + F to find this – widget_blog_subscription
You should get a result similar to the one shown in the following image.
Check the id as shown in the figure
As you would have seen, the id for my Subscription Widget is blog_subscription-5
Hence, the direct link to my subscription widget would be:
http://genobz.wordpress.com/#blog_subscription-5
Try it out by clicking here – Subscribe now!
Similarly, you can get the direct link to your subscription widget which you can, then, use in your posts to make it easier for your readers to subscribe to your posts.
FAQ -
Don’t I need to inform my readers before hand that they would be redirected to a widget on clicking that link since they might not be expecting that?
Yes, you might want to do that. Read the Next page to know how to do that.
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Direct Link to Subscribe to a WP.com Blog http://wp.me/pinhe-iU—
(@genobz) June 17, 2011
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[...] to subscribe that you can include in a copy and paste and place it at the end of your posts? This brief illustrated tutorial provides the [...]
Dear genobz,
I was directed to this page by timethief on the WP forum (http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/adding-email-subscriptions-on-posts?replies=5#post-702071). This tip really worked for me. It was just about what I was looking for. Thank you for taking the pains to share this!
Greetings, Evita Martina
(aka IvichieSays)
Hi Evita!
I’m glad this post was able to help you out there.
hi, i’m trying to use this method for my blog and i want to add the subscribe button to my menu at the top of the page. for some reason it’s not showing up when i create the custom link and add it to my menu. any ideas? thanks!
hey.
can you paste the code you have inserted in the custom menu of yours. That might help me to help you out.
here it is: http://falling4food.wordpress.com/#blog_subscription-3. thanks for your help!
i checked your blog. the link to your subscription widget should be #blog_subscription-2 instead of #blog_subscription-3 try making the change and test the link. Should work. let me know the result. gud luck.
unfortunately it still doesn’t seem to be working. oh well. thanks anyway! i’ll probably just change my theme so i can get a widget at the top
oh. I tried putting that link on your site and it worked. What’s the exact code you’ve put this time?
http://falling4food.wordpress.com/#blog_subscription-2 . will it just not work in the menu bar?
actually it worked when i tried putting that link in my address bar. it was redirecting me to your subscription widget. Will check again when i m bak home and revert back to you
got it! thanks! it finally showed up. i played around with my menu a little bit and actually made a new one and it’s on there. thanks so much for your help! it’s exactly what I was looking for!
Does this work with bought domain names? My blog doesn’t have a “name.wordpress.com” address.
yes, it will work. it is merely a link to the widget area.
I can’t seem to make this work for me. I’m trying http://www.theutopian.net/#blog_subscription-2 which should be correct. Any ideas? Great guide!
Hi Agathe
Thanks.
I checked the source code of your website and here’s the URL you should try – http://www.theutopian.net/#blog_subscription-4
Wow, thanks so much!
I understand that this post was created a long time ago, but I have just tried your instructions to add a subscription link to my blog and cannot get it to work, I have tired http://www.adventuresofawriter.com/#blog_subscription-2 but it links straight back to the homepage. Could you help please?
Hi emmajogibson
The link that i helped you create helps you route the reader to that subscription widget.
I checked your website and discovered that the blog subscription widget did not exist. I believe that you were trying to replace it with a single line link.
If you want to use ‘WordPress subscriptions, i am afraid you will HAVE to use a subscription widget somewhere on your blog to route the traffic to it.
Alternatively, you can use Google’s ‘feedburner’ to achieve the same.
Lemme know if i can be of help
Thanks, but the link I created (http://elanacastle.wordpress.com/#blog_subscription-12) only takes me to my homepage not a subscribe button?
Am I missing something?
Hi Elena.
I tried it and it worked fine.
The desired result will be that you’re still on your homepage but the ‘Subscribe’ widget is now visible on the right sidebar directly aligned with the top-right corner.
What do you see? Try giving me a link to the screenshot if you’re experiencing something else.
Hi Genobz. That link does take me to the website with the subscribe button on the right but that is always there. I was hoping that the link would take me to a box where people could just put in their email address. by taking people to the website they won’t be necessarily know to look at the right sidebar to subscribe.
Any way to link to a plain wordpress page with the subscribe box on its own?
Right now, you might not be seeing the box which lets you enter the e-mail address coz ur signed into wordpress. Try logging out, and check that link again.
About helping the readers find the subscribe widget, i use the following – http://wp.me/Pinhe-it
Alternatively, you can use a blank page titled ” Check the Widget in the Right SideBar” and use this link instead – (elenacastle.wordpress.com/check-the-widget-in-the-right-sidebar/#blog_subscription-12)