Ahhh…the sound of crickets chirping. Lovely, isn’t it? There may be nothing more discouraging than committing to a regular posting schedule on your blog and never getting any comments. Sure, it’s not as bad as being stalked by a troll, but it definitely doesn’t make it easy to find the motivation to keep going when it seems like you’re just talking to yourself.
In most cases, we know that if you’re regularly posting quality information and leading people interested in the topic to your blog, people are reading. But, unfortunately, the majority of web users are lurkers, not contributors. This can be compounded when your blog focuses on business topics, a technical focus or other subject matter that typically doesn’t appeal to the masses.
So what can you do? Well, the best thing to do is to continue posting great content as consistently as possible. The content is the most important part of your blog and if it’s interesting and informative, you can start to implement some of these other techniques for getting more blog comments.
- Publicize Your Posts: If you want comments, you need readers. And if you want readers, you need to let people know about your blog and what you’re writing about. Use feed functionality on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to get your posts some publicity and make sure you plug your blog on your web site and other marketing materials.
- Ask for Comments: There is usually a place in most of your posts where you can ask your readers a specific question, such as how they would handle a certain situation or what they think about your viewpoint. On a more general basis, make it known that comments are always welcomed on your blog and tell people how easy it is to contribute.
- Respond to Comments: When you do get comments, taking time to respond to them will generate conversations, make commenters feel valued and help entice the lurkers to have their say.
- Use Comments for Future Posts: Even if your comments are few and far between, when you get a really good one, capitalize on it. You may be inspired to do a follow up post, addressing the issue raised by the commenter. And linking to the original comment and the commenter by name is a great way to start your follow-up post.
- Create a Poll: Polls are fun, interactive, and easy to do. And they give your readers a chance to weigh in without having to spend the time writing a comment. Then you can use the poll results to start a conversation with your readers.
- Comment on Other Blogs: As a blogger, you probably read other blogs that have similar content to yours. Try being a contributor instead of a lurker and leave regular comments on posts that resonate with you. Just make sure your comments are appropriate and genuine and not just an attempt to generate some backlinks.
- Link to Other Blogs: Scan some of your favorite blogs and link to posts that relate to yours. Not only will this encourage other bloggers to read your posts, but it can also bolster your own posts with additional information.
Do you get a lot of comments on your blog? What do you do to encourage participation?
Image credit: Benjamin Earwicker
Alyssa GregoryAlyssa Gregory is a digital and content marketer, small business consultant, and the founder of the Small Business Bonfire — a social, educational and collaborative community for entrepreneurs.
