Real Time Reader Feedback Within Your Articles
For a burst of understanding how your readers perceive your content, let your site visitors tell you what they are thinking at the time they are thinking it.
Understanding the audience is key to writing content the audience can easily understand.
Immediately following a question or idea, readers are asked to type their reactions into a text box. Their response is automatically processed so their stride isn't further interrupted.
No personally identifying information is collected, unless voluntarily provided in the text box. We want to know thoughts and reactions, not identities.
When a response is processed, it is emailed to you.
How The Real Time Reader Feedback System Works
The site visitor is asked for a response, which is typed into a text box.
When done typing and the visitor clicks on a link or anywhere else on the page, the visitor's response is grabbed by some JavaScript and then sent to a PHP script that composes an email with the visitor's feedback and sends it to you.
(The JavaScript and the PHP script are available to WebSite's Secret members.)
Each response the PHP script receives from the JavaScript is sent to you with the URL of the web page where the response was provided and the web page's title.
Implementing Real Time Reader Feedback In An Article
If you are a WebSite's Secret member, you'll find a link to additional information and the download at the "WebSite Features" tab. If you're not yet a member, become one. See this list for the abundance of content in the membership area.
The first thing to do is put the PHP script on your server.
The only modification to the PHP script is where you provide the email address where site visitor feedback is to be sent to. If you wish to change the email Subject line or From address, those places are marked.
Once the PHP script is on the server, then you let the JavaScript know the URL of the PHP script.
Other edits may be done, and the places are marked. But only two must be done, (1) the email address in the PHP script and, (2) the PHP script's URL in the JavaScript.
Now, all that's left to do is pop the form and JavaScript into any articles you want feedback on.
The PHP script is uploaded to the server only the one time. The form and JavaScript are pasted together into the spot on any and all web pages where you want to make feedback available.
Conclusion
The real time reader feedback system lets you understand how your audience perceives your content, which is a key to writing content the audience can easily understand.
Because the feedback is anonymous, it encourages honest response.
Question: Did you find this article interesting and understandable? How can it be improved? Your response is anonymous. When done typing, click anywhere outside the box.
Will Bontrager
