Find Out What Readers Want
If you aren't receiving blog comments it could be because your blog is very new and needs time to gain readership, or it could be that you are doing something wrong. Use your comment boxes to teach you which of your blog posts work and which ones don't.
Back in my empty comment box days I remember posting videos and finally receiving a couple of comments, it was a miracle! Well actually it was the fact that people like videos and they are easy to comment on. But I learned that videos are something readers enjoy, and I still post videos every week.
Be a Comment Box Investigator
Take a look at the bloggers posts that are doing well and learn from them. What kind of blog posts are getting the highest responses, and which ones are left unnoticed? How are successful bloggers interacting with their guests?
Be Your Own Best Friend
Be the first one to comment on your own post. This may sound pathetic but it actually works. When I first heard of this I thought it was nuts, but I gave it a try, and it helped. By being the first to comment you are breaking the ice and visitors are more likely to join in. An abandoned blog isn't so appealing to visitors. So if you're willing to take a risk, leave a comment and you might just get the comment ball rolling.
Make Commenting Easy
Have you ever wanted to leave a comment on a blog and after searching though multiple blog posts you couldn't find even one thing to say? It's happened to me, and I was amazed that the topics these bloggers chose to write about were so difficult to respond to. If you're looking to gain comments then make it easy for readers to do so. Post interesting or funny articles, videos, or pictures. Don't make your posts so complicated that you are the only one who can can understand them.
Simple Is Better
Keep your writing simple. Did you know that newspaper articles are written based on a grade seven reading level? You may be so busy trying to impress people with your fancy writing skills that you are actually intimidating potential readers. Remember to make your blog posts an easy reading experience.
Don't Barricade Your Blog
The easier you make it for others to comment, the more comments you'll receive. You may want to consider taking off word verification so it's faster for people to comment, and make sure that your settings are set so anyone can leave a comment and not only registered users.
You can give your readers a little more freedom in commenting and use comment moderation or anti spam programs to deal with spammers. To see how easy it is to comment on your own blog, sign out and come back as a visitor attempting to leave a comment. You may be surprised at how difficult it is for others to comment on your blog because of your settings.
Why Trading Comments Doesn't Work
Unlike trading links (which does work), trading comments is not a good way to gain readers. Whenever someone asks me to trade blog comments the first thing I think is "Wow, they must be desperate." The second thing I think is, "What? Do they think I'm desperate?" I don't enjoy leaving comments because I have to. I tried trading comments one time, felt stupid, and I've never returned to that blog again.
By asking for comments a blogger is giving the impression that they have a low quality blog with very little readers. This might not be the case at all, you may have the best blog in the world. But people might wonder why you need comments so desperately and assume that you aren't doing well.
Play It Cool
If your goal is to become a successful blogger then you've got to act like one. Have you ever heard the expression "fake it 'til you make it?" Instead of asking for comments create content that your readers will want to comment on. Behaving in a confident way is a great way to attract readers.
Don't Turn Your Blog Into a Jerry Springer Show
Remember to be friendly. I've seen bloggers who are rude, who ignore, or who even attack their own visitors. If you disagree strongly with a reader or find something they've said offensive perhaps it's better not to publish their comment. Or publish the comment but remain positive in your response. Many people will disagree with me on this one because controversy does attract readers, and blogging is about expressing opinions. But at what cost?
Drama definitely sells but if you get a reputation for fighting with your blog visitors you might not be attracting the type of readers that will fill your days with joy, and quality readers might decide it's just too risky to comment. Even if you have a controversial blog, you can still choose to handle visitors comments with grace. Make your visitors feel relaxed and at home and they will be more likely to comment, and also to return!
But They're Still Not Coming
You've got to get yourself noticed or you won't have the chance to gain readers. You may want to do something dramatic to get noticed. I started out with a cut pet photo contest that I advertised on Craigslist (and everywhere else I could think of). For those who are shy this is the hardest part about blogging. But it's a must! The more you practice blog promotion and socializing with other bloggers the easier it will get. Read more on how to increase your blog traffic.
Be an Avid Blog Reader and Comment Leaver!
Be a social butterfly! Or at least let other bloggers know you exist! With a bit of effort you will soon be getting those comment boxes filled!
All written material by Christy Zutautas is licensed.
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28 comments:
Hey! i'm going to cali this sunday.. gonna be there for a week, this is the site i was talking about where i made the extra cash. later!
Thanks Jason,
Have fun on your trip!!! :)
I started having less comments and decided to post a small contest, however, I only have 2 entries so maybe I just suck:(
http://acowboyswife.blogspot.com/2007/07/small-contestguess-that-mountain.html
Sorry if you don't allow urls. It's to my contest.
First of all you do not suck! Did you read the part of my article where I say "play it cool" and "fake it 'til you make it"? LoL. No talk about sucking, it just isn't allowed. :)
And yes I post URL's so maybe you'll get some more entries and comments!
I love the changes you've made to your blog, it's getting better and better!
Fantastic write-up, Christy. A-list material :P
Another thing worth mentioning is that it helps to give the readers something to respond to at the end of your posts. For example ask them a question. Give them a reason to be interactive.
You could write some amazing informative article, but by the end of it the reader may just nod their head in approval and move on. If you ask them for their input or opinions of the article though, they're more likely to leave comments.
Yes,
I'm glad you said this Mike. I did consider including this in the article but sometimes a brand new blogger with few readers might be left disappointed if they ask for opinions and no one answers.
This technique is definitely effective once you've begun to establish some kind of traffic, and just about all the top bloggers ask for their readers opinions to promote feedback and get a discussion going.
:)
great tips christy! very nicely done. i especially like that you remind people to make it easy for readers to comment. that d*mn word verification irritates me to no end...if you're getting spam in your comments, just delete the darn things...it's not so hard! :P
Thank you Lisa Q.!
I agree! LoL. If you have comment verification and I'm leaving comments on your blog then know that I must really love you! I'm red/green colorblind, it usually takes me about three tries and it's beyond annoying. And those supposed "handicapped" thingies where you listen to the words don't work at all! LoL. It drives me crazy!!
:)
Thank you for the peppy and kind words. They were needed!
That part about people who are shy hit home hehehe. I think I might have to come out of my shell heh.
Hi Brown,
When I first heard that you actually had to go connect with other bloggers I didn't think I could do it. It sounded scary! But in reality the more schmoozing you do, the easier it gets.
You can do it! I've gotten to know you and you're a great guy (and super funny)!!
Hi Cowboytf,
I'm glad you feel better! All bloggers get discouraged once in a while, blogging is tough, the trick is to hang in there. :)
deary...I love this post. It teaches me tons about the blogging world and how to survive it firmly. and you're right about keeping the blogging responses to a positive tone. I find it inapropriate for bloggers to attack their viewers just because their views are different. Everyone is entitiled to their own oppinion and we should all respect that. If they happen to be rude, which I haven't encountered, there's always an option to remove ore just ignore them.
secondly, it's funny you posted something about commenting because I have just finished dealing with my comments setting problem two minutes before I read this. I tried the comment moderation option last night and something went wrong. I had to test for myself to see if it was working, and it turned out, i may have missed a day of comment-a-thon because of the silly thing did not work properly. So I guess one thing to keep in mind is making sure any changes you make with your comment setting works!
Anyway...I know it's quite long...but for what it's worth, I don't hide my passion to write even on commenting. I go on and on most times.
Thanks for reading....have a great day!
Thanks, Christy.
I do agree that commenting is very much related to the way you write and to th subject, and more.
One observation I have made, is that there may be a difference in 'blogging culture' around the world. In many parts of the world, blogging, and especially 'commenting', seems to be much of a 'social thing' (and I have seen remarks like: "comments. comments. comments. it's the new location. location. location")
In other parts of the world, a blog is somewhat more seen as a 'magazine', to which one doesn't comment. Strangly, I have about 4-5k regular visitors to my blogs, who hardly ever comment. Maybe because I'm doing some or many things you descride wrong. But why do thy keep coming back?
Also, I have a fear that, if I would start writing/posting in a way that is more focussed on prompting comments, I would become too much interested in obtaining comments, which is not the primary reason why I blog. On the other hand, as Ann said: every writer feels good if he/she gets noticed everyonce in a while.
So I am kind of puzzled what to do, here. What do you think?
... and OMG, I never realised that some people (like you) might have a problem with this word verification thing. I have disabled it immediately.
Hi Jos,
If there are cultural differences in comments being important then I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you mean that you are trying to fit in with our culture.
There's a few reasons why comments are a big deal. Comments are basically another badge, another way to prove you're being read or doing well. It is a popularity thing, like blog ranking.
Also (I don't know if it's the same in your culture) but we like to read comments and follow people's conversations, it makes blogging more interesting to see what other people are saying.
Another reason for comments is so we can meet and get to know people. Look at Mike's site, we are using comments to joke around, get to know each other, and that's how connections are made, and it leads to friendships, projects, etc.
It's our way of connecting and communicating, it's almost as important as the blog itself!
So that's why comments are so important, but do you really want to fit in with our culture? LoL. Oh no!
I would love to hear from bloggers around the world on this one. Are comments important in your country? This is a very interesting topic to bring up Jos....thank you!
Thanks again, Christy. I know you know I don't. :)
(either I don't WANT to fit in or I just CAN't, 'by nature').
All the things you mention, I like.
I just love to 'meet' interesting and fun people. To me, as to you, that's more than half the fun of blogging.
There are of course many other blogs in my area, that DO get many comments, but they are mainly common interest blogs (e.g. about marketing, advertising, etc.), and there the tendancy is more of a 'debate' amoung the commenters, of whom many are suspected to comment 'to make themselves more "googlable".
And even there, there is not much of an interaction going on between the blogger and visitors.
I still have this dilemma about writing for a blog as a magazine, or writing to evoke comments, so probably for that part I do fit in within the culture ;-).
I know the trick will be to discover how to do BOTH. But basicaly, I do want to stay and write primarily for people that are 'somewhat similar to me'. If I wanted to write for people that are not at all 'similar' to me, I would have joined the advertising industry.
Anyway, hopefully the changing over to using more ande more English for NoDirectOn will help.
Oh LoL! I've completely misread a part of your comment!!!
I actually thought you questioned if I wanted to fit in with OUR, i.e. my own, culture. LoL.
Of course I don't (and surely can't, by nature).
On a more serious note: I think people should get in touch with as many cultures as possible. I have worked and travelled (and lived) around the world, and I feel there's nothing so inspiring as to meet and understand other people, wherever.
Well, Receiving comments is indeed fun, and I see the logic to your theories, Christy. That said, I'm going to add this blog to my links tomorrow. I love the diversity of the things you put up :).
With love,
Maartje
Hi Marjie,
Thanks for you comment, it's awesome!
I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Coincidences like that always freak me out too!:)
Hi Jos,
I think the fact that you are writing your blog in both English and Dutch means that you will have double the chance at readers! You can have both a Dutch and English audience, that's pretty cool.
Have you really traveled all around the world? Have you been to Canada? I've hardly traveled anywhere so I get excited whenever someone has travel stories!!
Thank you so much Maartje! I appreciate it very much!!
((Big Hug))
Christy :)
You make excellent points. I love to comment, partly because I like being able to respond and partly because it usually means that someone might be interested enough to visit my blog.
You didn't mention how you feel about the DoFollow movement or social networking places like BlogCatalog and BumpZee, but if this is a three-part series you've obviously got a lot more to say. This is a great start!
Hi LegBamel,
The Do Follow movement is a tricky subject, a lot of the bloggers that believed it was great are now a month later turning around and changing their minds. I am still a fan of Do Follow though, and have removed all of the tags from my blogs.
I've covered a bit of social networking in a couple of different articles, I'm a huge fan of MyBlogLog, I'll have to check out BumpZee, I'm not familiar with it at all. Joining blogging communities is the best way to make contacts...which will lead to more comments.
Thanks for bringing up some great points! :)
I have such a hard time with the social butterfly thing, but I'm trying to be outgoing :)
Thanks for the great pointers.
Hi Wendy,
I swear it gets easier the more you practice doing it! :) Just keep trying, you'll be a butterfly in no time!!
I've been grousing around about not getting comments on 2Dolphins but I'm finally seeing a gradual increase.
Two things I've noticed that might help... The one you can control is to leave your posts a little open-ended or ask questions throughout an article to prompt reader input.
The other thing - one that you have little control over - I've noticed is that comments beget comments. Seems like the more comments you have, the more comment-worthy your blog appears, and bingo you get more comments!
Hi Rob,
Definitely a great tip!
And yes it's true, blogs with more comments receive even more comments. Doesn't seem very fair to those getting less comments now does it?
:)
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