Okay, so you’ve got a new blog like I do, what do you do in case you wanted to have people commenting in it, at least to keep you inspired to write better each day? After reading 30 posts or so (really, no kidding, most of them say the same things anyway) about making your blog comment-friendly, I managed to put together at least 10 tips that will prove really useful in giving you the comments you desperately need. (Please remind me to do these things also. XD)
- Find topics that people can’t stop talking about. There are some topics that simply put people dumbfounded or out of opinion. And yet, there are also those where they seem to be more inclined at talking about. Find topics that your readers can easily relate to. Perhaps, reading blogs similar to your niche that gets commented fairly will give you some ideas.
- Hint your readers that you need them to comment. Write in an open-ended manner that will make them feel like sharing their views each step of the way. You can start your headline with a question, put one or several within your post, or perhaps wrap your post up with something as common as; “what do you think?” This will encourage them to leave their comments.
- Invite your readers to comment. Maybe they didn’t get your hints a while ago. Try asking them to comment literally. Instead of showing “0 comments” in your post-footer, how about changing it into “it’s always free to comment here”, or “add your views to the conversation”. Additionally, you can always ask them up front in your post to drop their comments to give them a sense that it’s ok for them to share their thoughts.
- Intentionally leave your post less comprehensive or a bit incomplete. People like it when they become expert at times and they get to point out things. Leaving a few things out will always guarantee you someone commenting about how stupid you are at missing some things. Of course, you can always forgive them for that. The point here is that you’re giving them the opportunity to share their expertise on the matter. You could also do this more directly, and challenge them to add what you’ve missed.
- Keep your posts short. Whenever I encounter a very long post, I’ll always (guaranteed 100%) skip it and look for something more “dummy-friendly” (ok, not that dummy-friendly, but something that takes less effort to read). It always intimidates readers to continue reading through a lengthy post. Skimming inevitably always sets in where they almost often miss the information they really want, the information that’s going to get them to comment.
- Write less frequently. 1 to 2 posts is enough to call it a day. This is the best way to give attention and focus to your posts from the readers. Too many posts will give your readers a hard time to follow-up leading to less engagement from them, hence fewer comments. Of course, there are always exceptions; but for the most part it has always been the case. The less post, the more you and your readers can interact substantially.
- Be active in your own comment threads. If there’s nobody commenting in your blog, maybe your readers are just waiting for someone to begin the conversation. Comment first like adding additional notes about what you’ve just written. If you feel like you’re just talking to yourself, how about leaving a comment as somebody else just to start things going. Also, don’t forget to respond to your readers’ comments in case things aren’t clear to them. It just shows that you’re reading and acknowledging what they’ve just left.
- Be welcoming. When replying to your commenters, don’t be tactless and/or harsh. This will scare them away. Always be humble and civil. Alternatively, you can be humorous but be sure that you’re not hurting or humiliating any of your commenters when you do. They must feel welcomed and able to relate and talk to you. Of course you can’t avoid occasional trolls here and there. It’s best to ignore them, but when they get too personal, just delete their unsolicited antagonism.
- Comment back. If you like to get comments in your humble little blog shack, the same goes for the rest of the humble bloggers out there. So why not comment on other blogs. Most definitely there will be those who will reply back and possibly become a frequent commenter in yours. Also, follow your commenters back into their blogs and leave a comment in one or two of their post. This will make a great impression on them, and it shows that you appreciate their comment enough to want to contribute your own.
- Make it easy to comment. Lastly, don’t give your readers a burden commenting into your blog. Remove registrations, and extra features that will consume a lot of time to get through before they could leave a simple “hello”. It’s understandable that everybody’s fearful of spams these days but there are always other means to combat these abominations without giving your readers hurdles that would intimidate most to communicate with you.
Hmm. I guess that’s it. I’d like to believe that you’re now already itching to leave your comments in here. Let me be the first to assure you that it’s ok to do so. All views are welcome and will be accepted gratefully. (oh, how I desperately need someone to comment…)
technorati tags: comments, new blog
3 comments:
Just a follow up. I intend to write another "comment-boosting" post after this. It's supposed to answer your question in case you've already done this but want more comments in your blog. (talk about being greedy, he-he-he...)
Thank you for these good tips for getting comments. I know that many of us feel like we're talking in the woods with no one to answer when we blog.
I do wonder about your advice to post less frequently. Did you get that advice from research or from your own experience?
I expect bloggers to post frequently. It irritates me to go to a blog and see that the last post was a week ago. I have either already commented on it, or it doesn't interest me.
I'd comment more if more people posted more frequently.
Hello Linda. The less frequent blogging helps for those people who have other things to do in life besides blogging. Also, it's not really advisable to make lots of posts within a day as it lessens the possibility of your every post being commented on. I got it from Darren Rowse and have experienced it first hand in this blog and my two other blogs.
Additionally, I'm only saying less frequent as in once a day, but not a lazy once a week (which I often do). Frequency of blogging is different from blogging regularly.