Blog commenting – Get The Conversation Started
Blogs that are the most active tend to be the most thriving and lots of quality comments are a good indicator that your blog is on the right track. There could be many things holding people back from blog commenting on your space on the web. Some times blogs are just unfriendly, if you look at your blog and say to yourself that you wouldn’t comment here chances are neither will anyone else.
The most important thing you can do is write using your own unique perspective. While I cover topics that have been covered a million and 1 times I do it because I have a lot of first time readers visit my blog and I know a good percentage of my readers are just getting started in this whole online marketing thingy. So this post is really for them, if you have some helpful information on the subject matter, we would love to hear about it.
Don’t assume people will just start blog commenting for the sake of blog commenting. You need to give your readers a reason to stay and comment. Here are some ideas for you to use in your own blogging. Your not going to find anything here that is unique in fact you will see these tips all over the place the reason is, well because they work.
YEP! More Blog Commenting Tips
- Ask and you shall receive – I know it sounds easy enough but you would be surprised just how many new bloggers don’t ask for comments. Sometimes it is unclear for the reader if they should comment back. It helps to let them know that you are open to discussion.
- Ask for expert participation – Experts love to share their knowledge, after all it took them many years to get to where they are at. When you are asking folks comment also encourage them by asking questions like “Do you agree?” “What is your opinion?” and things like that.
- Yes this blog is a dofollow – People go out of their way to find dofollow blogs, the reason is because they know if they leave a good comment they will get a one – way link pointing to their site. This is crucial for them getting higher search engine rankings. Yes this will draw out the spammers, but there are plugins that will combat them effectively.
- Ask your buddies – Often times people don’t like to be the first ones. So if you have some blogging friends ask them to come to your blog and leave some comments. Once people see that some folks have already jumped in the water more are sure to follow.
- Don’t finish your blog post – A good tactic is to only write a partial post so that you can leave room for others to add to the post. This is another great way to get the experts out and sharing, Remember experts tend to have egos, and many of them are dying to let others know just how much knowledge they have.
- Make your comment box easy to find – Blogs come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t make it difficult for a potential reader to find your comment box. Make sure that comment box is accessible and easily found.
- Don’t make it difficult – Many blogs make people register before commenting. That inconvenience people. Remember they are commenting and helping you build social proof and helping you add content to your blog. The least you can do is make it as easy as possible for them to do that for you.
- Be Friendly – When a person does leave a comment do your best to comment back to them. Hopefully you are using the commentluv plugin, it is also a good idea to go over to their blog and leave a well thought out comment. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine still applies.
- Stir Up Emotions – Everyone loves controversy feed peoples need to hear gossip, if you have a gripe with someone let them know publicly. If you think a topic is to taboo perfect. Talk about it!
- Do a self promotion post – Create blog post that allow other people to promote themselves. a little goodwill goes along way in getting people to come back to your blog.
- Create Resource Post – Everyone loves resources, these are great post. Maybe you know some good plugins. Or perhaps you have some good places to create a linkwheel. Whatever it is that you use share your resources with your readers, they will thank you for it.
- Write article series – Break down your post into series, this way your reader will be more likely to return to your blog to read the rest of your articles. This also helps in establishing regular readership.
- Create how to post- These are time tested and proven. People are always looking for all types of stuff to learn. We all know how to do stuff, share the stuff you know. You would be surprised how many other people would like to know how to do it. (whatever it may be)
I hope that you found these tips helpful, if I have missed any please leave a comment and share your tip with us. Besides myself I am sure our readers will be grateful if you do.













{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
That is so true. When I am reading other Peoples blogs I tend to only comment on a blog post that has a comment on it already. Great tips, Thanks.
Tanya recently posted..Finally a Customer Reviews & Testimonials Plugin for WordPress
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi Tanya, thanks for being first
Twitter: VincentParker
Hi Larry,
Great post, as always. You start off by saying that what you are going to talk about is material you can find many places. And perhaps it is true that most of the people that find these tips useful are new bloggers.
And yet, even though I have heard these tips before, I love to hear them. It serves as a reminder. Sometimes as a nudge or even a kick in the pants.
I think a lot of people are fearful of posting or writing articles because other people have written about it before. But the truth is, you ad your own voice to it.
The way you personally write, your personality, speaks to me in a way other people cannot. So, I might understand things because of your unique voice while someone else may leave me a little confused.
Something Jamie did during the first Watercooler Wednesday goes along well with your self promotion tip. She issued a challenge and asked people to write a blog post about their personal journey. I did it. And she even went over to my blog and left a very nice comment about it.
Hey, thanks for the post, the tips and the kick in the pants.
We all need those from time to time.
Vincent Parker
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi vincent thanks for the kind words. As bloggers one of our goals should be to find our unique voice. Once we do then it becomes much easier to write. One thing I like about getting people blog commenting is that it gives you more ideas for new blog post.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts..
Twitter: GrowOnlineBiz
Hi Larry,
These are great tips that can really encourage more comments on your blog.
A blog without comments is as good as dead
Thanks for sharing your insights, Larry.
All the best,
Mavis
Mavis Nong recently posted..How to Rise Above The Noise and Bring More Traffic to Your Blog
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi Mavis, thanks for stopping by and reading. I started following you over at TribePro. I look forward to more of your post.
Twitter: AboriginalMama
I definitely agree with a few of those. My blog is still very small, so there are only a few posts that actually have comments on them. I think it’s the negative social proof that people talk about: people come and see no comments, so they think the blog is dead. Therefore, they don’t post.
Delena
Delena Silverfox recently posted..Eleven2 Promotional Code
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi Delena, Thanks for the comment. That sounds like a good post title: “How To Avoid Negative Social Proof!”
You bring up a very good point. Blogs that have no comments generally are seen as D.O.A –> dead on arrival.
Yes, I think it’s very useful for blog beginner and you had given excellent tips. By the way you had shown a formula for the blog commenting. Generally, the blog writers mind set wishes to have made useful for the readers and they should wanna to understand they way enrich with the particular thing. Similarly, blog provides the conversation around the world! That is good in the social media and for the technology. Thanks for sharing with us:)
Twitter: larryrivera
Your welcome
Twitter: adriennesmith40
Hi Larry,
I can relate to what you are saying because a lot of the visitors to my blog are people who are just starting out and don’t know a lot of the information that I share with them. Plus when I learn new things I can’t wait to share it with my readers.
I’m not bashful about being the first to comment. Heck, I think it’s great being the first one! But a lot of your tips were very helpful so thank you for those. I know that I always just assumed people would comment and I didn’t have to ask but I have since learned that you always need to ask. I try to end some of my posts with questions so people can add those to the comments. So, great tips indeed.
Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..My Twitter Revelations
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi Adrienne, when I first started blogging I was under the same impression. I think most people are. For a couple of months I was tracking my traffic and seen that I was getting visitors but nobody was commenting.
Once I started asking questions and asking for feedback, I started getting comments. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.
Some good tips but I’d think I’d have a coronary if I left my post unfinished! What also works is people following through via comment luv; they generally comment more then less.
very good post, congratulations! I really that a do follow links, is a great way to you more at at regulars at any blog, it’s a nice way to secure some traffic, the only concern is that many times, it may attract spam, or undesired visits.
Twitter: Roz_Bennetts
I think you’ve covered all the salient points there Larry. I’m surprised people don’t like being first though.
I’m also surprised how many people are prepared to tweet a post having just read it and not leave a comment. Why? What happened to ‘the conversation’?
Roz Bennetts recently posted..Roz_Bennetts: Amazon.com Facts: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Web’s Biggest Retailer http://on.mash.to/piFe25 <— great article RT @mashable
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi Roz, you bring up a good point. I usually dont comment when i retweet something. But if i am retweeting something it is because i like it. So i see retweeting something as a sign of respect. Thanks for sharing.. definitely something to think about.
This is a very great information and guidelines in creating a blog comments. Most blog comments today will be examined first by an author and if fount not related to the post will be disapproved. So this post really helps a lot on how to be approved by the site owner.
Michael recently posted..Sam Pinto Bikini Pictures
Hi Larry,
Love your blog. I’m having a big problem with spam comments at the minute, currently deleting about 50 per day, so I’m going to look into the plug-ins which you mentioned!
I do love receiving genuine comments on my blog though, it’s great to see that someone is taking the time to read and leave a response.
Twitter: larryrivera
Hi spam can be a big pain.. Your comment almost got deleted because you were in my spam folder. You just happened to be the first one since I last threw away my trash..
Another good way to stay out of the trash bin is to use a gravatar. This way you make it easier for you to get your comment approved.
The most popular blogs have a very interactive community. Blog comments are a critical part of a successful blog, and an area bloggers must understand and focus on to create a great blog. Keep up all the positive work
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