Can you comment please?

The big old debate = Quantity or quality has been on my mind a lot lately.  I used to write 3 posts a week on the blog but I’m now only writing one a week. Why?? Well a) I wanted to do a bit of an experiment to see if one post well managed is better than 3 unmanaged. I have tons of posts with no comments on.  That’s a bit sad 🙁 and yet I know the content is good.  I’ve decided I’m going to start sharing old content over the next few weeks.  and b) even with the great time management and scheduling techniques – my time is more and more limited – mostly due to 1 small child who is harder work than 3 of them!! – I do still only works out once a month I sit down to write.     I know how important having a blog is for your business so I’m not likely to let 2 years worth of work go BUT it has got me thinking have I been using the articles to their full advantage?? and given that some have no comments my theory is no.

We all love getting comments on our blog posts it’s a way for us to gage what people think and more importantly has it been read!

Comments – not only lets you know people like your content but they give you a talking point, maybe ideas for new content and they are away to see who your customers are.

Here are a few suggestions for increasing your commentability (yes not a real word but you get my drift 😉 )

  • Definitely a call to action at the end of your blog, share an example ie “I’m wearing yellow knickers, what colour are yours? Jayne from ilove2blog4you 
  • commentluv – I’ve just added this plugin as I had become aware of others using it and then I actually started reading someone’s blog based on their commentluv post on an entirely different blog! The title intrigued me. (wordpress users only)
  • Sharing posts on social media comment there and engage conversation meaning people move over to your blog to read what people are chatting about
  • When you share your post think about what you say – “are you utilising the interest list facility?” is going to be far more effective than “come and read my blog
  • Facebook like buttons are like gold – if a reader maybe isn’t confident or doesn’t know what to say they are likely just to click like and have then shared it with there 100+ friends = new readers
  • Ditch captcha! Reply to as many comments as you can, make sure you comment on other blogs, run a plugin that shows your Top 10 commenters on the homepage – Jen from Sign and the City

As usual if you have any other suggestions on how to increase your comments  please do comment below 😉

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21 Comments

  1. October 25, 2012 / 1:18 pm

    Hi Joanne,
    I don’t tend to worry too much about comments. Don’t get me wrong, comments are lovely and it’s nice to know someone is reading the post. And yes, good user comments can help with on-page SEO by contributing to the post content and validating it’s relevance.

    But, in reality, most people won’t comment.

    The simple fact is the more you blog, the more you expand your reach and the more traffic you get. It takes a bit of practice to find your voice and to get into the habit of blogging.

    For a business blog, remember you aren’t writing for you but your readers and potential customers. It’s ok to have an opinion, but if every post is about me, me, me they won’t come back let alone comment.

    I’m taking part in a blog challenge this month, (and I’m behind again!) which focuses the mind a little to keep posting. The main challenge is not to post for posting sake (quality vs quantity there). For example, I don’t see the point in posting up a picture with a quote – that’s what Facebook is for! I feel quite cheated when I land on a blog post that doesn’t share something with me – even if it’s an opinion or how the quote has inspired them, anything!

    Joining blog commenting circles or taking part in a blog challenge can help kick start you and your comments into action.

    And, I love Commentluv – I’ll quite often find myself on blogs I have never read just by following the Luv! You mentioned you have it, but I don’t see it here?

    • Joanne
      Author
      October 31, 2012 / 8:44 pm

      Thanks Jan,
      Is always most helpful I find to maybe turn plugins on!! Doh!! Have rectified this now!! I hope!!

  2. Jane
    October 25, 2012 / 6:12 pm

    Hi Joanne
    I was reading another post on the subject of comments (sorry can’t find the url) which suggested having a CTA at the beginning of the blog. People then begin to think about what comment they might leave while reading the post (maybe subconsciously). E.g. “this post is about xxxx what do you think? Remember to leave a comment below.”
    Thanks for including me in your post!
    Jane

  3. October 25, 2012 / 6:14 pm

    I love your word – commentability!

    Yes, receiving comments is great for morale, but it’s the reading stats that are equally important.

    If you weren’t receiving hits from readers, then I’d worry!

    And don’t forget, sometimes you can read a post, enjoy it, but really have nothing to say.

    Comments on this post will be the ultimate gauge…

  4. October 25, 2012 / 6:22 pm

    Just clicked on some of the links within your post and they don’t all open in new tabs. You might be losing readers/comments that way – they won’t all bother to return – especially if the new page grabs them.

  5. Linda Kennedy
    October 25, 2012 / 8:08 pm

    I have a huge list of fav blogs (yours included!) and very rarely do I leave a comment on them. I’d never catch up with them if I wrote comments on them all! But they are all bookmarked and read with interest.

    BTW I’m just reading your book ‘Crafting a Small Business’ Very helpful and inspiring read.

    Linda x

  6. October 31, 2012 / 3:31 pm

    I comment a lot, but that depends a lot of the kind of blog. Some I always read and won’t comment on. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with quality.

    I do like to have a subscribe to replies by email option (hint 😉 )
    Rosie Slosek @1ManBandAccts recently posted..Thinking about your tax return?My Profile

    • Joanne
      Author
      October 31, 2012 / 8:43 pm

      Thanks Rosie – What plugin for email description do you suggest??

  7. November 5, 2012 / 12:23 pm

    Hi Joanne,

    I came to your blog because I’m looking for examples of local business blogs to show to students this week. Your latest post prompted me to comment.

    Like you, I would like more comments on my blog. But I take heart from the level of retweets and comments made on Twitter, where my blog posts are regularly shared, along with excerpts and other tips.

    As with all business activity, it’s good to have ways of measuring results. For a blog, comments are one measure, but others include reader stats and also feedback that you get outside the blog.

    On a practical note, I struggled to see where to comment on your post. I was on your main page, not the page for this post, and there was no obvious comment box. I finally spotted tiny text telling me how many comments had been made – so I clicked that. But it wasn’t intuitive. This could deter some from commenting.

    Hope this feedback is useful.

    • Joanne
      Author
      November 5, 2012 / 1:57 pm

      Thanks Andrew I’ve never looked at it from a readers point of view will have to look at how to make that bigger and easier to spot 🙂

  8. November 5, 2012 / 1:22 pm

    Hi Joanne 🙂

    I use CommentLuv (and the Twitter name add on which I adore) and find it really effective for getting ‘loyal’ commentators (if that’s the right word?!).

    As others have touched upon though, I don’t spend too much time looking for comments or commenting elsewhere. For me, the response to my posts comes in many more ways than what’s written at the bottom of each post. Twitter conversation is the largest form of feedback in my case and I find the RT’s there and the @’s specifially about my posts the ultimate reward.

    Ultimately, it’s all about what suits your business model. I gain 80%+ of my clients from Twitter so it’s of more value for me to have a twitter comment and high RT count than it is to see a single comment.

    I also use live analytics data that I monitor closely from the moment I click publish. From that I know how people use my information, where they share it and what happens next.

    I’m getting a buzz even thinking the process through! Off to finish my latest post so I can hit the button!
    Laura Summers recently posted..Top Tips: How to Avoid the Top 5 Social Media MistakesMy Profile

  9. Elaine
    November 5, 2012 / 10:11 pm

    I tend to read blogs using a blog reader on my phone so that makes commenting a bit more tricky and means it takes a bit more effort to when I’m reading them on the PC… comments are nice but they aren’t everything!
    Elaine recently posted..Bird FeedersMy Profile

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    • May 7, 2014 / 6:40 pm

      thanks lovely 🙂 surprising how many old posts can be referenced in discussions on Facebook!