Jan 02 2009
Improving the Comments on Your Blog
People want to leave their thoughts on what you have written. You want their comments. Essentially, it’s a win-win situation. The main reason you want to accumulate comments on your blog is a) to interact with other members/people who share your interest, b) they quickly show the true popularity of your blog, and c) they can help you sell your blog quicker if you decide to sell it.
Starting your first blog and landing the first true, legitimate comment can take quite some time. From my experience and the content that I write, it takes a hundred visitors before I see a comment. Other blogs see higher rates, while others will be lower. If you have a smaller blog, it will take less visitors; larger blogs more.
Let’s assume that you have a typical, run-of-the-mill blog and want to jump start comments on your blog. Well, there are a few things that you need to do to ensure that everyone who wants to leave a comment is able to.
- Ensure that the comment section works properly. Place some test comments there when you activate a new theme, make any major changes, or notice that there are fewer comments. People will become frustrated if they can’t leave their thoughts properly.
- Encourage people to comment by leaving a footer note (there are ways to place this in without writing it on each post) and reward those who comment the most frequently in the sidebar or through a monthly post.
- Use a plugin that allows them to use the OpenID username and password system, so they don’t have to create a separate account/profile simply to comment. Don’t use anything too fancy, or they won’t know how to comment.
- Integrate a reply system and threaded comments, enabling users to respond to one another, adding into a more forum- or chat-like experience.
- Be sure that all comments have been replied to within a short period (less than three days) of time.
- Write content that is “respondable” and doesn’t contain all the information necessary for them to “get the point” - they should be intrigued to ask more.
What ways do you use to maximize the number of people who respond to your posts?
