I recently asked on Facebook if anyone has any burning questions about setting up a blog, maintaining a blog and making money blogging (or via other methods like selling a product, consulting, etc.). Feel free to go over and add your question and read what others are asking!
Bernadine asked,
How [do I] get more readers to comment? I don't make money off of my blog, it's more of a community service. When I meet people in person and they express their gratitude I thank them and tell them to comment more to keep me motivated to keep going.
Here are some ways I encourage others to comment:
- Share something personal. There's something about vulnerability that makes others respond.
- Ask a question. Be sure to always ask a question at the end of your posts even if it's a simple "What would you do?" or "What's your best tip?"
- Interact. I've found that people are much more likely to comment if they see that I reply to comments.
- Don't have all the answers. If you write a post about a topic, offer some good information but don't exhaust it. Leave space for others to chime in. Sorta like this post…
What are your tips? What are some other ways to get people to comment?
I downloaded Disqus as my comment plugin, it takes a little bit to upload but it helps with conversation in the comment section. People can reply to each other and I can reply directly from my email, it makes it a lot easier for me. I also ask a lot of questions, thanks to Amy's advice in the past. That helps a lot! Thanks for all you do Amy!
Thank you for chosing my question Amy! I'll put your suggestions to work right away.
These are wonderful suggestions. I notice that comment action is an up and down thing. I go for months with lots of action and then no action! Maybe a reflection of my posts! I don't think so, maybe more on peoples time to read or respond.
I try to remind myself (when I get discouraged about comments) that I too find myself overwhelmed at times by life. Most of my readers are military wives and mothers like myself, and sometimes single parenting, and the extra burden of being a military spouse, makes it hard to find time just to keep up with reading posts, let alone responding to them. And then I focus on the fact that they're stopping by and reading, and hopefully learning a few recipes or tips that will make their lives easier and help feed their families better. I have to step back and remind myself why I started blogging in the first place – it definitely was not with the aim of ever making even a single dime. If I help just one struggling mom connect with her kids or save a buck on goceries, I feel like I'm doing what I wanted to do. The comments would be nice, but c'est la vie. I'll take what I can get. Beautiful site Susan! Funny thing – when I went to subscribe to your site via email, my confirmation word on the feed was AMEN.
OH MY GOSH!!! Thank you for subscribing too!! For me, my site is a business – I didn't even begin to think I would be blogging on my site, I am a parent coach and help families that way. I realized soon after starting that in order to really be of service to a wide range of people I would have to offer a lot of information FREE – which began my writing. I really dislike writing, so it is a struggle for me! I get rewarded when I get those emails from moms who share how I have helped them with a tip or something I have shared on my blog and I know I am doing what I am suppose to be doing and what God had planned for me. I do need to at least have my business be self-sufficient which is a challenge at times with producing product, content and real help for parents and keeping a site that is put together nicely, which I cannot do myself. But I am redesigning it right now for a cleaner, easier look which maybe will make it easier for readers to use. Thanks for sharing and connecting!!
These are great tips – all things I've worked on lately and it definitely improves quality as well as quantity of interaction.
I have had better feed back when I cut back on posting. I used to try and post every week day. Now I am down to 3-4 posts a week. When people don't use all their browsing time to catch up on your posts, they have time for interaction!
Your blog is Soooo helpful, Amy. Thanks for such a great resource. My blog and readership have improved and increased exponentially since I started reading your blog 6 months ago. Might be the time management improvements I made since reading your e-book, too.
That's awesome, Trina — glad to hear it! And I think you have a great point about posting less too.
I too tend to get more comments per post if I post 3-4 x a week rather than daily.
I really can't complain that people don't comment very often on my blog…I'm HORRIBLE about leaving comments!
However, I know that when I ask my readers a question, they will usually respond. I love your idea about sharing something personal!
My site is very new so I get SO EXCITED everytime I see a new person has "liked" my site through Facebook [if it's because they genuinely enjoy my posts], or has liked a post enough to comment. I'm not getting a lot of interaction with my readers though, but I'm sure the number of comments is directly coorelated to the newness of my site. I'd love to see more readers chime in. Most of my recent posts I've ended with a question. When I do get feedback I make a point to almost always reply to each comment. It will probably just take time to see the readers, subscribers, and interaction to grow. Any thoughts? I've noticed that your Facebook followers have grown exponentially in the last 2 months – you're doing GREAT! Way to go!! Can you share tips on that?
I agree with all of them but #4. To me, the original content should answer any questions that might be generated from the readers. I would rather offer a compliment for the article than ask a question, if that makes sense. Always give your readers something to walk away with; lessons, morals, teachings, etc.
Also, a critical one, is don't be selfish. Go out and comment on other blogs you find interesting and get your presence known. Your community can grow vastly from that.
Thanks for the post!
Add a "Recent Comments" widget to your sidebar. I frequently have people leave a comment on an old post, and then other people see their comment in the widget, and hop on over to see what the discussion was all about!
I had to deactivate the widget for awhile to troubleshoot some issues, and readers asked for it back – so I know they are using it!
Thanks for the great tip Carrie, I just added one!
I go up and down in my comments too. It's hard to figure out what sparks comments and what doesn't. I will definitely be asking more questions.
Thanks for the tips. I'll be looking forward to implementing them soon.
Begin to pay attention which posts resonate with your readers – and which ones don't. If I find a post gets 50 + comments (which for me is very good), it might be time to determine what might have caused that to replicate it.
Also, be patient. When I first started (over two years ago), the comments were few & far between. As I've grown and my readers have come to understand my sensibilites as a blogger, I find the comments come more readily.
Great ideas, Amy.
When I'm reading other blogs, I find that I'm more motivated to comment when the blogger has responded in the past. I often find that I feel like I'm wasting my time if I never get any response. This being said, I also recommend installing some kind of comment notification plugin, if your blog doesn't already have that functionality. I often find that, without this, I forget where I commented and can't find my way back to check for responses (and over time, it becomes too big a hassle).
Apparently, a lot of people get worried when posting comments, so anything that detracts from the motivation to comment or increase the effort involved in commenting would probably give people more reason to talk themselves out of commenting.
Yes, I agree. I know it's not possible for bloggers to respond to every comment, but it's great when they do! I use the Comment Reply Notification plugin for the email notifications.
Hi Amy!! I feel like I am always asking you questions!! SO one more – how in the world do I get my comments to appear as you do here all listed below the post with the form right there – on my (atahualpa 3.5.3) blog you have to click on the comment link to read and/or post a comment – I feel like many more would comment if it were set up as yours… any tips??? I've search google and can't seem to figure it out.
Carrie – Thank you for that Tip!! I never thought of that! Clever!
So I shouldn't assume lack of comments means everyone agrees with me and is rendered speechelss by my insights and wisdom? haha. Great ideas, Amy et al.
great post amy and I love it never knew that a simple question can invites a comment on your blog