Dear Rich,
I’ve been blogging for a little while now. My traffic is increasing, but comments and trackbacks are few. What can I do to increase the number of comments on my blog?
–Commentless in Calais
Dear Commentless,
Comments and trackbacks are nice, but sales are better.
One of the reasons people get into blogging is for the community aspect
of blogs; the ability to share ideas and get feedback from readers.
However, a blog has many other benefits:
- Each blog post is a new Web page that can be indexed by the search engines, increasing your visibility.
- Your blog helps establish your credibility.
- Your blog can help you generate more online leads than a Web site alone.
That being said, getting comments can feel rewarding. Some blogs and
some posts are just more comment-y than others. At the time of this
post I have 857 posts and 1,272 comments. However, the vast majority of
these comments are on a handful of posts that are on either politics or
Internet scams.
Apparently politicians and scam artists get people commenting more than
strategies on search engine visibility or email marketing.
So, here’s a quick list of things you can do to increase the number of comments your blog gets:
- Post Regularly. People comment because they want to be
heard. If you’re not posting often, chances are you don’t have a large
readership and their voice won’t carry far. - Comment and Trackback Elsewhere. Have you been doing a
good job of commenting on other blogs? I would make a habit of reading
influential bloggers (and non-influential bloggers as a matter of fact)
in and around your niche, and commenting as appropriate. If you have
something intelligent to say, you’ll find a lot of readers of those
other blogs clicking through. - Build Your Blogroll/Link to Other Blogs. Give, and ye
shall receive. If you’re sending traffic and link love to other blogs,
you’ll find them open to giving something back. - Get Controversial. Blogging about politics, abortion or
whether Superman is faster than the Flash will definitely get the ire
up of one or more groups of people who will leave comments on your
blog. Just be ready for the heat. - Thank the Few Commenters You Do Have. It’s often a good
idea to add your own comments below others’ comments, but there’s a
good chance they may not return to the site to see if you responded. A
better solution is to send them an email response. - Don’t Finish Your Posts. If you give every answer there’s
little reason for people to comment. By leaving some thoughts/ideas off
your post you may encourage other to pipe up.
And on that note, what do you do to encourage more comments on your blog?
