Last week I wrote a post lamenting how difficult it is to get people to leave comments on blog posts. The post generated a lot of comments – ironic yes, but a good thing too – because it proved food for additional thought on the subject.
The general consensus of the dozen or so people who weighed in on the subject is getting readers to leave comments is hard for everyone, with the possible exception of super bloggers. Then I ran across this post from Robert Scoble, the well-known tech blogger, in which he too was lamenting the fact that his blog posts don’t get as many comments (except that his post about not getting comments anymore got tons). If you read through the comments you’ll see the suggestion that it’s because comments from the blog-reading public are more scattered now that their favorite bloggers started dividing their time between Twitter, Friend Feed and other blog-social network mash ups.
One freelance friend of mine suggests that the blog posts that generate the most comments are often on controversial subjects, such the 2008 presidential election or global warming. In those cases, comments range from rah rah to vitriolic. She asks, is that really the kind of comments you want on your blog? Good point.
Another acquaintance says she’s a regular reader of my blog but doesn’t comment because she finds the posts cover what she wants to know about a topic. She also says she follows the links included in the blog, both to previous posts or to related material elsewhere online, to find out more. That’s something fellow bloggers should note. If you’re blogging and not including links to your back posts, you could be missing out on a great opportunity to introduce readers to other things you’ve written – and the more they read, the greater the chances they’ll some day leave a comment.
I try hard to link out to others and to link back to myself so that new readers can catch up on things long-time readers know. But, I also give enough of an immediate recap for people who aren’t inclined to click-through … mostly because I get annoyed by cryptic references. Might just be me.
I’m going to be experimenting with some search engine optimization in the coming months, so if I discover anything that works, I’ll let you know.
Definitely keep me posted about your SEO investigations.
Michelle R.
It is interesting, I find that in general a good blog will have less comments in comparison to a bad blog. This is a flaw in the fabric of blog based websites
[...] More on blog comments: be careful what you wish for [...]
I’ve been lamenting the lack of comments on my blog too. But I guess that’s the shame of keeping a blog that isn’t focused on any particular topic. Maybe I need to add more controversial posts.