14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that everyone is adding a 'follow' feature these days. Facebook introduced 'subscribe' and now WordPress.com is adding a Follow button to all blogs for visitors, i.e. not logged-in users.
The button sits at the bottom of every blog page, as long as you don't disable it, and slides out to reveal a follow by email feature for users who may not have a WordPress.com account.
WordPress.com tested the feature and found it to be quite popular which is why it's rolling it out to all users. However, you can disable it if you don't like it.
"After weeks of experimentation with different designs, locations and names, we’ve determined the addition of a small, cute, little button at the bottom of your blog will dramatically help pageviews and retention," WordPress.com's Scott Berkun wrote.
"Starting today, on all blogs, whenever someone who is not logged into WordPress.com visits, they’ll see this small little button in the bottom right corner," he announced.
"The button is mostly out of the way, but just noticeable enough before people leave," he said.
The button is largely inconspicuous, but not so much so that it is completely unnoticed. If someone finds your blog interesting and wants to get more posts in the future the Follow button is just the thing.
When clicked, users can leave an email address and will then receive regular updates.
WordPress.com already has an Email subscription widget, but the Follow button is enabled on all blogs by default. Testing found that the button did a much better job at generating attention.
What's more, it's called "Follow" and not "Subscribe" or anything else because testing showed that it was the most effective name.
Still, if you want a clean blog, you can disable it from the WordPress.com Dashboard via Settings > Reading > Email.