Monday 18 June 2012

5 Reasons why people won't comment on your Blog!

Touchy subject, I know! But have you ever wondered why your blog isn’t getting more comments? I mean you’ve put a lot of work into each post, you’ve searched for the right keywords, you finally figured out how all this SEO stuff really works, you’ve written the killer headlines, you’ve promoted your content on social media sites, you’ve commented on other blogs and you are getting the traffic but still no positive results.

I’ve been to some blogs recently and was just really surprised to see no comments at all while others had very few. After looking their blog over, I instinctively knew why. Here are a few tips that just may help.

1. You Aren’t Asking for Comments

I know this seems kind of silly right! I mean if the content is good and the people are coming then you shouldn’t have to ask. But trust me, it’s for the best.

I used to visit blogs all the time and I read their content but you know what! They never asked me to leave a comment so I didn’t. Dah! I know, seems really ridiculous but I’m serious. I didn’t know they wanted me to leave a comment.

Now remember, you may be a pro at this and you just know that if you run across some great content then you definitely are going to leave them a comment but others just aren’t sure.

The best solution is at the end of each post ask your reader to leave a comment or open up a line of communication by asking them questions and let them know that you would appreciate them adding to the conversation. Give it a try, you’ll be surprised.

2. You Aren’t Sharing the Love

Yep, that’s right. You want to share the love! What do I mean by that?

I know that a lot of blog owners are looking for that link juice. That’s a part of the blogging world my friend and there’s nothing wrong with that. Getting those backlinks to their blog is how the search engines start really paying attention to their content. Trust me, you want some of that too.

So how can you help out your fellow bloggers? Add the CommentLuv plug-in to your blog. It gives your commenters a link back to their site and if they register at the ComLuv site they will be able to choose any one of their last 10 posts to be displayed in their comment. It’s great exposure and a great way for their readers to follow your link back to your site. Win/win for everyone involved.

3. You Don’t Make It Easy For Us

So I know there is a lot of debate lately over the different types of commenting systems. Let’s see, there’s the old fashion kind (what I have here on my blog), then you have the Disque and Livefrye systems. Some people are offended that they would be asked to sign up for yet another service before they can leave a comment so this does turn some people off.

I have gotten used to the Disque because you can comment as an Open ID but the Livefrye you have to sign up for an account. What I really am finding interesting is that a few of the bloggers I visit regularly who recently made such a big deal about Livefrye being so cool because it will actually tracks their comments have gone back to using the good old fashion one again. So, just take into consideration that you want to make it easy for your commenter, not turn them off.

4. No Interaction:

Another reason for very few comments is perhaps there is no interaction taking place among the readers.

There are a few things you can do to remedy this quickly. I have two plug-ins that I really love that help me, the blog owner, know when someone has replied to a comment and then you as a commenter, being able to add to the conversation and know when others reply.

The first one is the ReplyMe plug-in which will notify the blog owner via email when they receive a reply on an already approved comment. The second one is the Subscribe to Comments plug-in so that the commenter can subscribe so that when others reply to their comment, they will be notified so they can remain part of the conversation. It is especially helpful when leaving a guest post so that you can reply to what others are saying.

5. You Don’t Care That I’m Here

Let’s face it, we all like some type of recognition that you appreciate us commenting over at your place. Now what better way to do this than to put a Top Commenter Widget over on your sidebar so we’ll be able to see who has been visiting your blog the most and leaving their comments.

You can set this widget up any way you like either with their photos or a list of names with the number of comments they’ve made. Either way, it’s a nice tribute to your blog commenters saying that you appreciate them being here. It’s a very kind gesture.

Recognise Anything?

Have you noticed that some of the above is missing from your blog or maybe some of these things you haven’t implemented yet? These may be some of the reasons your blog hasn’t gotten the attention it so richly deserves.

Make these few changes and additions and watch your comments pick up.

Your turn! Have you noticed that you receive comments because you have a lot of these things implemented over at your place? Or are you not receiving the number of comments you would like and now understand why. Would love to hear your comments and yes, I’ll ask for them. I learned my lesson early on so comment away. Please! :-)

Courtesy Adriennesmith.net

3 comments:

  1. I guess the only comments I see are either spammy, or of such a general nature as would be designed not to generate discussion.

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  2. Then of course there is the CAPTCHA hoop to jump through

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  3. I guess you are right to a certain extent Eric.

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