One way of finding out how far your blog is reaching people is to look how many comments you are receiving. A lot of people like to receive comments so that they know that people find their content interesting. Well, if you’re not satisfied with the amount of comments you are receiving then try these 8 ways to get comments.
1. Comment on Other Blogs
I know, I know. You guys are getting sick of hearing me talking about commenting on other blogs, but the point is that it brings traffic and brings more comments. For some reason (Hmmm) if you comment on other blogs and then it makes other people that come to your blog want to comment. They realize that you are an active member in the blogging community.
2. Anonymous Comments
This has just begun to get popular. Just make sure that you have a spam plug-in for your blog so that you don’t have to sort through all of the spam yourself. There are a lot of people that do not like to give out their e-mail, name, or any other information. So allowing people to comment anonymously will get that group of people to feel comfortable commenting. Make sure that you moderate your comments so that you don’t approve anything that you think shouldn’t be posted on your blog.
3. Nofollow Blog
This was very popular a year ago but really has died down. It really shows that you care about your commenters because they get a back link to their blog every time they comment. However, the bad thing is that it hurts your search engine optimization. If you get enough visitors and subscribers you won’t have to worry too much about your search engine optimization. So if you’re not worried about your search engine listing right away then this would be a good way to get people to want to be part of your blog and on course comment.
4. Reward Them
You can always reward your commenters by putting a top commentators widget on your blog like the one that I have on my right sidebar. You can always set up contests where the person that comments the most and other top commenters can win prizes. This will surely get people to comment because people love free things.
5. Promote Your Discussion Basis
You can get more comments by promoting your discussion basis to a wider audience with social news portals such as Digg or Reddit. These people love to comment so you should of course dip your noodle into this area.
6. Bait them
Another simple technique is to try and bait your readers into commenting. One of the easiest ways is to put a most commented widget on your blog. People want to be part of the conversations that have it on the comments. They feel like their voice will surely be heard by everyone. This is similar to rewarding your readers that comment.
7. Respond to Them
Responding to your commenters is a big deal. Let them know that you do read their input so that they want to comment more. People like to feel like they are being noticed when they’re commenting on blogs. That is why a lot of people stop commenting. They feel like no one is reading what they are saying so they just give up. So make sure you let them know that you are noticing what they’re saying.
8. Ask for Them
One of the easiest ways to get more comments is to just ask for them. This is not very difficult and you can see that I’m asking for your input below. You can also do this on each of your posts by asking your readers for their input and opinions. Usually when you ask someone to do something or answer something they will choose to do so. You at least have a better chance of someone commenting anyways. They’ll feel like their opinion is needed.
If you have any more ways of getting people to comment on your blog then let us know in the comment form below. Your opinions are always welcome.
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good ideas. thank you.
A couple of things that you have implemented but didn’t mention: Reply to comments and Comment subscriptions. Having some kind of reply link in each comment (whether your comments thread or not) and a mechanism for people to receive notifications when more comments have been posted is a good way to encourage active discussion in the comments section and keep people coming back to see what others are saying even after they have already commented.
Good ideas. I’m having trouble finding other blogs with a similar focus as mine however. This makes it a little more difficult to promote discussion.
Like in a real conversation, be genuine. People will naturally want to respond.
I hear you. Basically don’t sound like a robot.
Commenting on other blogs is one the best ways for me to get comments. i answer all comments made on my blog.
Yeah, answering comments is huge. People want to know their opinion is recognized.
Excellent list. The first one, comment on other blogs, really takes time. Of course, I still have much to learn and put into practice to really get things nailed…
Thanks for the tips!
Yea its a lot of work, but f you keep with it and get a list of blogs you want to visit and comment often, it becomes really easy. You almost just dont even think about it anymore.
Commenting on other blogs really works. It does take time but a couple months down the road it’ll be worth it.
good points there. um… did you realise that millionaire has another i in it?
call me a skeptic but i don’t really believe that you sold two blogs to become a millionaire.
I like having skeptics. From all the money I made off of them and then the sales, I became a millionaire. Thanks for the spelling police.
I reckon #4 and #6 are the most effective ways to get them to comment.
Great stuff! I subscribed to your blog.
Thanks for subscribing. Can’t wait to talk to you more.
You are implying the more comments are better. They are if they add value.
I only publish (I moderate my comments) about a qarter of the comments that people make because so many of them have not added any new original thought.
Jim Estills last blog post..The No Complaining Rule Book
No. What I’m implying is that if you get comments and they are not spam then you know people are going to your blog.
I personally don’t moderate any comments at all. Of course, I have yet to get any spam. Wouldn’t moderating comments of those that don’t have any original thought make your blog appear less friendly and approachable for those that perhaps, have a hard time gaining an original thought but want to participate?
How would you distinguish this anyway? Seems to me if someone is willing to take the time to write a comment, as long as it is not spam, it should go up. But that is just me. I think it makes a blog more approachable to new users.
Waynes last blog post..Sitting on the Mountain Top with a Guru
You are right on with this one.
yes you are absolute right, if you delete his comment you maybe loss one reader, else you maybe get one reader and commentator.
Shoto Azikuris last blog post..Lorelle on WordPress
Did you just bait me again? Just Kidding.
haha. Maybe. . . . .
Nice list. Looking at the list, it looks like I’m set.
By the way, it’s a good idea rewarding your readers. As you probably already know, other than my blog being no-follow, I reward my top commenters with a prize, so I’m always attracting comments.
Sly from SlyVisions dot Coms last blog post..Quick Links – September 4, 2008
I saw a blog where the top commentator of the month gets $50 and 1 125×125 ad for a month.
Quick question,
Is there any way to get a crazy comment with no siganture off of a blogger based blog?
Explain this more so I can make sure I understand what you are saying.
I probably just need to dumb blogger, don’t I! I just wish I was more savvy with tech stuff.
I had http://www.getmoneyenergy.com do a guest post for me on her economic outlook and stock picks. A week later I received a raving anonomous comment that is really long and annoying. Wonder if I can erase it. Thanks much!
-Almost
You can erase it. Just go to your comment section and click delete by it.
Heya TAM, thanks for the link!:) I don’t remember what that raving comment was – too bad your spam filter didn’t catch it. I’ve been getting strange LONG spam-poems lately for comments.
Very interesting ways, i think top commentators widget is very good way to get comments it is good stimuliant for commentators, also comment on other blogs and ask for others comments is very good way, with this way you encourage your readers.
Shoto Azikuris last blog post..Lorelle on WordPress
I love the conversation you got going here in the comments section. Credit is due partly to the community of people you attract but you are the glue that brought and holds it together. This is more engaging than any other comment batch I have read on a blog. It makes me want to come back and read more of your blog. (This is my first visit here.)
Christines last blog post..Raising Dough for Obama
A lot better when you have that community feeling.
What do you think of some of these comment replacement services? I just recently started using Intense Debate (http://www.intensedebate.com). All comments are hosted on their servers rather than my own Wordpress database, but they do have some pretty cool features and the commenting interface is nice.
Side note: I get a substantial amount of traffic from Reddit but my experience with this is that Redditers tend to almost always leave their comments on Reddit rather than on my blog. I have not been able to entice them to say something directly to me!
I think the best way is to award your top commenters. I mean everyone will want to comment if they know they can win something. Although, I think everyone needs to make really good rules because otherwise everything end up being a lot of spam.
You could also start a relevant forum thread discussion pertaining to the topic of your post. I am sure people who are attracted by the discussion will click through to your post and possibly comment there too if you include your link. This way you can kill two birds with a single stone, increasing your exposure on forums and also bringing in visitors to your blog.
TheContestBloggers last blog post..Dorm Room Biz 2008 First Contest
Rewarding them is one of the best things you can do. I am rewarding my top cemmentators with $50 at the end of the month and this has really encouraged comments on my blogs. I have seen this work for other blogs too. The more comments the better I reckon so I do everything I can to encourage comments. Thanks for the tips
nicely done. Great outline… rewards and recognition works wonders. You can also try getting them to be your featured guest on your blog. Now, who does not want to have thosee honors???
Its a kind of promoting your blog, if there are more comments readers get an idea of readership, and if it is liked by so many people it will be liked by them too and they will also start following your blog.
Asifs last blog post..What is RSS
I think what Asif is trying to say is that the more comments you receive on your blog the more authoritative it appears. Well, maybe he wasn’t saying that but I think there is something to it. I will often come across blogs and while scrolling through the list of posts I will see a lot of these “0 Comments”. If nobody is commenting that gives the illusion that nobody is reading – or at the very least that the blog is not stimulating enough for people to even want to respond. I know I am less likely to read a blog like that – which is a shame because the content could be great – but that’s the reality of it.
I get a lot of traffic from Reddit and unfortunately these readers prefer to leave comments on Reddit rather than my blog – which can be a bit irritating. But at the same time, Reddits with a lot of comments are more likely to attract more Redditers….so who knows.
Jamess last blog post..Is The Old Testament Unique Or Original?
I think rewarding people who leave comments, even with something as simple as a mention in a top commentators list, is a great idea. Everyone likes to get some recognition for their efforts no matter how seemingly trivial! I’m not too sure about allowing anonymous comments though. The potential for worthless comments seems high…
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Anonymous comments sounds good in principle but probably are not worth the extra effort of moderating them. You become an easy target for offensive and insulting comments – especially if you write on controversial issues like I do. I am using a post-rating plugin that allows people to give some feedback without requiring them to write a comment or give out an e-mail address. There are certainly other ways to promote interaction with your readers than just comments. Creating polls is another example.