Have you ever wonder why certain blogs get lots of comments?
I had been wondering that before this and I kept blaming for the traffic that cause me not to be able to achieve it.
It was right but not completely right.
Traffic is part of the reason by those big blogs get lots of comments.
At the same time, you should also think whether your blog statistic and content worth to be commented.
Check this blog first
This blog is a good place to start because it is new and not generating lots of traffic.
But it has quite a number of comments for each published post.
Why is it so? The main reason I think is that I have the environment built for readers to comment.
If you observe carefully, I had done a lot of things to encourage my readers to comment.
Here are the things which I had done:
A clean design
I use the Genesis Theme on all of my sites including this is simply because it is clean.
When you enter a clean looking site, you will have a better environment to read the content and finally place a comment.
If you go to a messy site, chances of you reading the content is low. Apart from that, you might have problem understanding the content from a messy site and ended up leaving the site without leaving a comment.
As a result, having a clean site is the foundation to attract blog comments.
Use CommentLuv Premium
I use the CommentLuv Premium to let my commentators share out their blog post when they commented on my post.
Apart from that, I also enable KeywordLuv to them so that they can use both their real names and keywords while commenting.
Lastly, I apply DoFollow link to them if they share my post out to the social media.
All these benefits can be controlled easily with this plugin where I personally feel it is worth the money to invest into it.
Reply to all comments
When your readers know that you are going to reply to all comments, chances of them leaving their comments are higher.
This is because they know that someone will care for their feedback where their valuable input will not be wasted.
On top of that, replying to comments also increase your number of comments.
Imagine that you have 10 comments from your readers. If you reply to all of them, you will get a total of 20 comments from that post itself.
Email them for any reply
Notifying your readers when someone replies to their comment is a good way to get them to return to your site.
Who knows they might drop another comment if someone replies in a way that leads to a question.
There are many ways for your readers to subscribe to comments but I personally prefer to just email them simply because I don’t like receiving lots of emails.
You can always refer to my starter post for increasing blog comments.
Reward top commentators
If you realize on my homepage, I had a widget call Top Commentators at the bottom of right sidebar.
The reason to have this plugin is to reward my readers who heavily involved in the interaction within my blog.
What would you feel if a site is linking to you for some heavy interaction in their site?
Feel good isn’t it because your effort is being recognized and rewarded.
Lead them to comment
Some people call this the ‘call for action’ but to put it in a direct way, I will say ‘lead them to comment’.
I use this phrase instead is simply because I guide them on how to comment and what to comment.
You can check back my previous few posts where at the end of the post, I always end with a question.
This kind of question, will be automatically presented to your readers where immediately without much thinking effort, they will be able to know what to comment.
What about your tips to increase comments
Back to you now, we would like to get a share of your experience.
If you happen to get a lot of comments for a period of time, what had you changed to make it happen?
Share with us below on how you achieve it.
Looking at your list, I would say that I feel I’m on the right track. I could do with a ‘cleaner’ theme, but that’s a work in progress. 🙂
I’m not really getting enough traffic to have an abundance of comments right now, but the comments I do receive get treated with tender loving care. Hey, if someone has taken the time to comment then it’s only polite to reply.
Mena Jo recently posted..LinkedIn for Business Step-by-Step How to Guide
Yeps Mena. A simple reply will bring a lot of meaning to the commentator.
Excellent list Alan.
Also a Call to action will work.
Khaja moin recently posted..6 Awesome Tips to Increase Your Blog Comments
That is included in the last item, lead them to comment 😉
Oh! yes I didn`t see that part!
BTW good name lead to comment! 🙂
Khaja moin recently posted..What is the Importance of Images and Videos in Blog Posts
Blogger should make their blog very good by using some rules.I don’t know everything but i can say that every blogger should have a good theme and better plugin as you suggested(commentluv).
This plugin is awesome and give various features as i think you know.every person which comment, want reply so their should be focused.
At last show the list of some good commentators at sidebar…
Bhushan recently posted..Inventory Management Software India
Yeps. You had mentioned all the items in the article.
These are great tips. I feel Comment Luv is the best plugin for a blogger and I really feel great when a blogger takes the pain to reply to comments made on a particular post. It makes one feel their opinion is read and valued. Thanks for this informative share, Alan.
Thanks for your comment, Richa. 😉
Hey Alan,
I just came across your tips and will have to apply them to my blog…
Another thing you can do is to reward your top commentator every month with some gifts, a book or something like this.
Could boost your comments too…
Regards,
Mikka
MIkka recently posted..5 Problem Solving Steps
That is a good suggestion there. I might start to do it after I had established a group of readership here. Running this sort of contest without a good traffic will just end up with the same people commenting. 😉
Encouraging our readers to leave comments is the first step in ensuring their engagement. Make the experience even more interactive by making an effort to reply and extend your gratitude to your readers. Thanks Alan.
Kristine recently posted..Hello world!
Thanks for your comment, Kristine.
Hey Alan,
Well my blog is very fresh, about 2 months old, and at first I only got spam comments left by automated bots which I didn’t approve, but once I started to comment on other blogs the comments that I wanted to see finally came. First the blog owners where I left comments came to comment back on my blog and slowly but steadily genuine human comments where left on my blog.
It feels great to see people take up a bit of their precious time to leave a comment, for me the means that I actually delivered some useful information in my post.
So I say just go out and comment on other blogs and eventually people will find their way to your blog too.
All the best to you Alan.
~Philip
Philip A. recently posted..How to start a successful blog that stands out
Just like what you are doing now and it is great 😉
Just subscribed to your RSS and I’m expecting to see more interesting stuff from your blog 😉
Alan Tay recently posted..5 tips to improve CRM via Twitter Social Media