Get More Comments On Your Blog – Things you can do today!

Get More Comments On Your Blog – Things you can do today!

One of the most asked questions that new bloggers have is how to get more comments on their blog post. Especially when you have not yet made as many friends in the blogging world it might seem like a difficult task. I talked about how to comment on other blogs, even if you are an introvert on my earlier post, so I promise this is gonna be much easier than that. 

How do some of the bloggers get so many comments and have so many friends who dote their posts? 

How do some of the bloggers get so many comments and have so many friends who dote their posts?  Read more on getting more comments on your blog Click To Tweet

Let me break it out for you right away. There are no shortcuts to receiving 100 comments per post. It takes time, patience, and efforts to build those relations. Commenting and blog hopping goes much beyond ‘I will scratch yours if you do mine’. And that is why many ‘follow for follow’ groups fail.

Get More Comments On Your Blog

Here are all the small things that we all can do easily to motivate, help and enthuse the readers of your blog to comment. 

Let us face it, not all of us want to leave comments on all the posts we read. And most of us are still too anxious to start a conversation on the internet with a stranger, even if we love their content. So why not make it easier for them right?

[toc]

End with a question

Many of us write posts between 500-1200 words and our content is usually so awesome that we often leave the reader baffled on to what to say. I am not even exaggerating. Okay maybe a bit. But seriously it is on us to prod the reader to leave a comment and then tell them what to comment about. 

My posts usually end with a ‘let us chat’ section where I ask some relevant questions for the reader to answer or share their thoughts on. Of course they are welcome to talk about anything they want, but a little guidance never hurt anyone, right?

get more comments

Just make sure these questions are generic and open ended so it is easier to get a variety of comments.

Make it a dialogue

Do not forget to respond to those comments when you receive them. Do not leave the other person hanging, make it a dialogue. This will help the other blogger to remember you and maybe visit again. If you can you should visit their blog and leave them a comment as well. As I said earlier, this is beyond being reciprocal. Who knows, you might make a new friend even!

If this is something that interests you, you should consider joining the Comment 4 comment Challenge. The goal is to make sure we return every comment we receive on our blog. You think you can do that?

Make use of relevant plugins

Okay this is kinda specific for self hosted bloggers, but hey it might be useful for others as well some day right?There are nifty little plugins that I love and I know a lot of bloggers who swear by them. I am gonna keep the descriptions short and will provide a link if you wanna read more about them,

Here are a few nifty plugins that I love and I know a lot of bloggers who swear by them to make their commenting lives easier. Click To Tweet

Commentluv

A lot of bloggers use this plugin to let their commenters leave a link to their latest post. I love how some of them have set it up to bring up the last 10 posts so that the commenter could have a choice. 

Comment Reply Notification

This small plugin sends an email to the blogger when you respond to their comment on your blog. This helps them to continue the conversation by hopping back to your blog, if they want to.

Comments Not Replied To

Thanks to Evelinah for recommending me this plugin and I totally depend on it these days. This plugin adds another tab on your WordPress comments section and shows only those comments that you have not responded to. 

get more comments
I am too ashamed to show the number of replies pending.

If you don’t have these plugins, do consider using them. They make the commenting life much simpler.

Build relationships

Find out who are your regulars and form a relationship with them. Of course you don’t have to force yourself to do that. But the fact that they are visiting your blog regularly means you have something in common with them, so why not explore that? 

get more comments

You might want to take a look at Bloggers’ comment junction if you are interested in forming long standing blogging relationship and a community that will support you through comments and shares. 

Make commenting easier

This sounds like a no brainer but it is kinda very important. Make it easier for the other bloggers to comment on your blog. Ditch all the things that complicate their lives. I mean Captchas and excessive authentication questions. 

For example, I am kinda glad that they got rid of the Google+ commenting system because I hated commenting using my Google Plus profile. I understand your needs for your blogs are different but I suggest you make sure that they are comment friendly as well.

Final word

As I have mentioned on my earlier post, blog engagement is a two way street. Commentors may not flock to your well written post just because it is up there you actively promote it on your social media and keep linking it everywhere. You will still have to make an effort to talk to other bloggers through their comments. 

I love how responsive Cait from Paperfury is to her comments, even when she must be receiving 100+ comments on each of her post. We should all make a start somewhere and just start leaving comments, despite what our introvert self says.

We should all make a start somewhere and just start leaving comments, despite what our introvert self says. I promise, none of us bite! #commentingetiquette #commenting #bloggers Click To Tweet

I promise, none of us bite!

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Let us chat

What are your secrets to receiving lots of comments on your blog? Do you use these plugins? Are you struggling to get more comments on your post? Share us your favorite plugin or trick to boost the number of comments on your post. Let us talk.

Get More Comments On Your Blog – Things you can do today!

Commenting Etiquette – How to Comment On Other Blogs

Blog engagement is a two way street. The only way to improve interactions on your blog is to take the plunge and involving yourself in one. I understand how that sounds difficult especially if you are an introverted bookworm, like many of us are but take a step, we won’t bite I promise. 

Remember, blogging is as much about relationships as it is about commenting and engagement. What type of comments would you wanna receive? Think before you comment! And find out more about the commenting etiquette! Click To Tweet

Be it a new blogger or a blogger who has been lurking around the corner for a while but never joined for a discussion but want to, this post is for you. I belong to the second category, it took me years to come out of my hermit shell to talk to other bloggers or leave comments on their blog.

Well now I follow and comment over 100 blogs every week (and this is why). If you are wondering how I do that, well take a look at this post for more blog engagement ideas.

Commenting Etiquette for better engagement

I just want to say I understand how frightening it is. And to leave you with a list of etiquette as a reference to follow when you are leaving comments on others’ blog. And I promise, it gets easier.

[toc]

1) Start by saying something relevant

Assume commenting as dropping into someone else’s party. All you have to do say a hi and join the conversation that is already going on, ie the topic or the post. I know it might sound intimidating, but once you start commenting you will get better at it. 

Start by saying something relevant  Ideas for commenting etiquette

2) Nothing is at stake

Remember nothing really bad comes of making a bad comment. Nobody is judging you, especially not your comment. Once you start commenting on a few blogs you will definitely feel better And the blogging community is usually nice and nicer to the newbies. 

3) Leave genuine comments

Last week someone was talking about how they received a comment asking to check out their new blog and leave a comment there. This type of comments rarely work.

Remember blogging is as much about relationships as it is about commenting and engagement. What type of comments would you wanna receive? Etiquette is all about common sense and giving what you want to receive.

4) Spark a response

No no, I am not recommending to start a keyboard war.

Spark a response idea for commenting etiquette

But invoke a response from the blogger by asking a relevant question or sharing an anecdote or experience. Leaving generic comments like “Awesome post! Thanks for sharing.” are okay too, but they don’t call out for a reply, does it?

5) Do not self promote

While it is okay to share relevant links in a comment leaving comments to your own blog is generally frowned upon. Of course you can link your blog from your user name that you use to sign in. 

While it is okay to share relevant links in a comment leaving comments to your own blog is generally frowned upon. Let us talk about #commentingetiquette. What are your rule? Click To Tweet

When that is not possible (read as Blogger or Disqus commenting system) I do leave a sign with my blog name on it. Though I am not sure if it is alright, anymore. I would love to hear some of your opinions on that. 

6) Be YOU

Commenting is just more than leaving your links all over. Comments are just a way to brand yourself so make sure your reflect your blog, personality and YOU. 

Be YOU ideas for commenting on other blogs

A Final word

As I was mentioning earlier, commenting on others’ blogs is just a part of the blog engagement and is not complete until you start receiving comments on your blog right? I will share on a post on that soon as a part two of commenting etiquette, so watch out.

Final word

If you are looking to meet more blogs and bloggers, join my Bloggers’ Comment Junction where you will find like minded peers. Take part in the Comment 4 Comment Challenge and ensure to ‘leave no comment un-replied and un-returned.’

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Let us chat

What is your taken on commenting etiquette? Are there are rules that you follow while you comment on others’ blog? What is your best advice to other commenters? Let us talk.