Receiving comments
on your articles can make you feel like you're actually accomplishing
something, as it means that people are actually reading your work. It
can motivate you to continue writing to please your audience. However,
you could be having quite a large audience that do read your work, but
aren't leaving comments. So, how can you increase the number of comments
you receive?
You can invite people to comment. It doesn't hurt to ask your readers to leave comments on your articles.
It can get a discussion going, and encourage alternate points of view
to be brought to light. Leave your articles open ended or on a question
to invite further comments on the matter.
Reply to comments. It's important that you don't try to respond to every single one,
as this can oftentimes clouds up the discussion and certain points can
be missed. However, even by responding to a few, your readers will know
that you are actively engaging with what they have to say. If your readers
know that you care about what they have to say, then they're more likely
to continue commenting in the future.
Make it easy for your readers to leave comments. Don't require them to sign up for accounts, as this can make the
process more laborious than it needs to be. Many readers also refuse
to register as this can lead to receiving more spam in their inbox.
Set up some boundaries so that you're not receiving spammers in your
comments, but don't make it too difficult.
Show that you appreciate your readers. Highlight certain comments that are made and raise good points in
future articles. You could even have a star rating system for the comments
you receive. It will make your readers feel welcome to leave comments
in the future.
Don't be afraid to comment on other blogs. Although you are running a blog, it doesn't hurt to visit and read
other similar blogs and leave comments of your own. It shows that you
care about the community and are taking steps to continue to be involved
in it.
Highlight the quality posts of your blog. Bring attention to those posts that have received a large number
of comments, or that you're particularly proud of. Not all of your posts
will be read by readers, so it's important that you highlight the posts
that are of exceptional quality.
Explain, but be brief. If you cover everything in one article, that doesn't leave much room
for your readers to give their input. Don't make your articles vague,
but leave enough room for the visitors of your blog to ask questions
about anything you've written.
Create incentives. You could give out small prizes to someone who has left the 100th
comment on your blog, or for those who have left a certain number of
contests on your blog. You could even do a random drawing of names from
a certain bog post to decide who gets a prize. This will encourage your
readers to share your blog with others so that they can participate
as well.
The maintenance
of a blog partly subsists on how many readers and comments you get,
as it shows that people are paying attention to what you publish. Building
up a volume of readers and commenters does take some time, but it's
important that you stick with what you love so that you can reap the
rewards of developing a community around your website.
About the author:
Elise Brooks is a copywriter at e
