wp.com, plugins and building lists
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Can someone confirm this for me? Can’t do plugins using wordpress.com, right? Gotta be self-hosted at .org. Right?
And if I’m not ready to go .org yet….is there any other way to start building my mailing list in the meantime? I’m assuming not.
Just wanted to make sure I’m clear on all this.
TIA!
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Plugin installation possible only if you hire a web host http://wordpress.org/hosting/ and set up a WordPress.ORG install. http://wordpress.org
There is no FTP access to WordPress.COM blogs and we bloggers cannot install any plugins or third party themes.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/ftp-access/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/plugins/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/adding-new-themes/There is no other upgrade you can purchase here that changes that reality.
WordPress.org offers free software that you can install on a web server. You can upload and install themes and plugins, run ads, conduct ecommerce and edit the database. Learn about the differences here. http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
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And if I’m not ready to go .org yet….is there any other way to start building my mailing list in the meantime? I’m assuming not.
There is no such mass mailing feature here at WordPress.com. Your followers can subscribe to receive your posts by email and they can control the frequency of receipt. However, when subscribers or commenters provide an email address for a specific purpose you cannot use it for any other purpose. In fact doing that in some countries like mine, Canada is against the law.
You can create a page and clearly state on it that you intend to harvest email addresses if that’s what you want to do. http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/
You can add and customize a contact form with multiple fields, change the email address where you’ll be notified, and mark feedbacks as spam from your dashboard on that page. http://en.support.wordpress.com/contact-form/You can create a sign up page on MailChimp directly and simply link to it from your WordPress.com site. Here’s their instructions http://kb.mailchimp.com/article/how-to-add-a-mailchimp-signup-form-to-your-wordpress-blog
Additional information:
You can set up email subscriptions here > Appearance > Widgets > Follow Blog Widgets by using this guide > http://en.support.wordpress.com/widgets/follow-blog-widget/If you would like a follow button to appear on the bottom right hand corner of your site for those who do not have WordPress.com accounts go to > Settings > Reading and scroll down to Follower Settings:
These settings change emails sent from your blog to followers.
Logged out users __ Show follow button to logged out users.Checking this will present a follow button to logged out users in the bottom corner of their screen.
Find Friends Who Use WordPress > http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/find-friends/
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We have a subscription shortcode which you can make use of. The help page on it is right here: http://en.support.wordpress.com/blog-subscription-shortcode/
You can create a custom menu http://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/ and add a Subscribe page into it. http://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/#adding-pages
Or you could also simply include the subscription shortcode at the end of every post you publish. Also note that you can also use subscription shortcode on your About page or on any other page.
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Thanks a million. I get the gist of most of what your explanation – thanks!
‘Nother question. Could I “collect” email addresses and use them only to notify of new posts? And then when I’m ready, switch to .org and use them for other stuff?
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More questions….
Can you use subscription short code at the end of posts or just pages?
And if I did it this way….and people choose to follow and they enter their email addresses – where do their email addresses go?
And how do I send notification of new posts?
I assume that happens automatically? -
Yes.
Their email addresses are going to be on the stats page, I believe, down near the bottom.
Yes, it happens automatically.Note that in many countries, collecting email addresses for one purpose and using them for another is illegal. You might be better off with a Contact Form, saying “to get our newsletter, etc, fill out this form” or similar wording.
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Still confused. A newsletter is not in my plan right now, though it might be someday.
Right now I only want to use email addresses to notify of new content and site updates.
So….maybe a follow me button is sufficient for now? And then I would eventually switch to .org, use a plugin and then start mail a regular newsletter to subscribers…. Is that it?
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It sounds like a follow me button is exactly what you need (it’s in the standard widget assortment). When you move you can transfer subscribers too, so it’s seamless.
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