During the WordCount Blogathon, I’m re-running popular posts every Sunday on subjects that readers ask for.
When I polled WordCount readers recently to find out what they wanted to see more of here, how to get more comments on blog posts was one of the most-requested topics.
It makes sense: if you spend your time and energy putting your thoughts out there for the world to see, you want feedback, right?
Here are some tips for getting more comments, and links to posts I’ve done on the subject:
1. Be radical. If you want comments, take a stand. Don’t be afraid of expressing opinions some people won’t agree with. They can tell you that in a comment and you can respond in kind – that’s the start of a conversation, and that’s what readers like.
2. Blog about what people are talking about. The most commented-on posts I’ve ever done had to so with the merits of writing for Demand Media, Associated Content, Helium and other so-called content farms. Some writers swear they’re ruining the profession. Others love them because they provide pitch-free work and bring in extra cash for easy work they can do while they watch TV.
- Freelancers, do not write for content aggregators
- Counterpoint: Yes, freelancers should write for Helium
- The great freelance debate continues
- Novice freelancers, instead of Helium, try hyperlocal news
3. Blog about what people are reading. The most popular post I’ve ever written is on J.K. Rowling’s writing style. Someone just Stumbled it again this weekend and page views for that day doubled from what they were the day before. People love Rowling and the Harry Potter books and movies, and with the final movie in the series coming out, they’re going online to look up information about it. Lesson learned: blog about bestselling books, movies, TV shows, and other popular culture. Some of this year’s blogathoners are doing just that: they’ve writing on blogs in the voice of Sookie Stackhouse, Anna Paquin’s character on True Blood, and I’ll wager they get some nice traffic to their websites because of it.
4. Write about things people can relate to. People leave comments when posts are on a universal topic everyone can relate to, the time I wrote about being too sick to work. People also leave comments when you share information they can use to improve their business, such posts on getting more customers or learning about search engine optimization.
5. Comment on other people’s blogs. Remember the saying you learned in kindergarten: if you want to make a friend be one? Well, it you want comments, be a good commenter. Find bloggers who write about what you write about and leave comments on their blogs. Look at the links coming into your blog, click on them to see where they’re coming from and if any are from bloggers you’d like to get to know leave a comment. Start a conversation. Become someone’s blogging buddy. Make a pact to comment on each other’s blog.
6. Create a blogging circle. A group of writers I know made a deal to regularly comment on each other’s posts  as a way to build traffic on all their blogs. At the American Society of Journalists and Authors writer’s conference I attended last week, one presenter who runs a cat blog talked about the blogging alliance she formed with six other pet writers. They started out commenting on each others blogs and over time built up so much traffic they were able to go after advertisers.
7. Ask. If you really want comments, ask for them. Include a line at the end of a post saying something like: “What do you think?” Some bloggers run question posts on a regular basis – in such a post, you pose a question and then ask readers to answer and their answers form the meat of the post. Susan Johnston, who blogs at The Urban Muse, does this on a regular basis in what she calls Open Thread posts. Surveys are another way to solicit comments. Build a post around a poll, and include an “Other” area for readers to leave a comment.
What tactics do you use to get more comments on blog posts?
Thanks for very useful points, Michelle.
From my experience I would like to add 2 more points to your list.
1) Tweeting about new posts & updating your FB fan page if you have any.
2) Writing guests posts occasionally.
Interaction with people is very important; whether it is to leave comment on others blogs or asking/replying a question.
I have a travel blog and have a substantial number of followers. I travel & write about sweet & sour experiences, the unusual things that I see on the road and it works well for me. 🙂
All great points. Some people tweet about new posts and then include a widget to show their Twitter and Facebook feeds in a sidebar on their blog’s front page so they can show people retweeting their post, which adds to the conversation.
Michelle
Great advice as always, Michelle. Your points #5 and 6 are two of the exact reasons I joined Blogathon 2011, to seek out other like-minded writers/bloggers and get a conversation going. It is certainly working thus far! I’ve also used your point #7, specifically asking readers to comment. The catch there is, you need readers first, making points #1 through 6 essential!
Lisa
It’s definitely a chicken and egg situation. One person I’d suggest that you follow if you don’t already is Corinne McKay, who blogs at Thoughts on Translation. She’s a Denver translator who I’ve interviewed on this blog before.
Michelle
I have discovered that commenting on the blogs of folks who comment on mine works. Unfortunately a lot of my readers are not bloggers. They hesitate to write comments because of making mistakes or spelling words wrong. Yes, to #5 and #6. Since I write a place-blog, it occurred to me that writing a weekly column for a local newspaper would be a way of attracting more readers who might comment. I just need the extra energy and time to approach the editor …
Good idea Alexandra. If you can find the time/energy to make the initial contact, the rest should be easy: you have a wealth of information already built up in your blog. One nice thing about the kind of place blog that you write, topics such as the seasons, landscape, are timeless, so it should be fairly simple to repurpose posts for a column by doing some minimal updating.
Michelle
Thanks for these tips! This is a big one everyone loves to know about…including me:)
Hi Michellerafter,
Maybe a little off topic, however, 3… 2… 1… Did you lose? Did your reader move away again from your blog, faster than the average driver hits the horn when the light turns green in Haifa? (I can assure you – that is REALLY fast!)
All the Best
Not sure I understand your question.
M
Great ideas! I’m always looking to drive traffic to my blog. And I’m always looking at other blogs for ideas. Thanks for sharing.
The best way I found to get comments and keep getting comments is to make sure I visit and comment on everyones blog who comments on mine.