Friends that headline is certified linkbait but the information contained within this post is certified gold. Â If you are concerned about comments and want to know how to guarantee that people will comment there is a surefire way to make it happen. Blog about blogging.
Yes, it is that simple. Blog about blogging. Write about how you develop ideas for posts or talk about how you build community and other bloggers will take time to comment and or share their thoughts with you. Â Comments are currency and they have value but the question is how much.
In my mind the better question is what happens when you you get your friendly neighborhood blogger to pay a visit. It is nice to get a comment or two but what happens after that. Do they stick around or they surf their way on to their next stop. How long do they spend on your site and how do you retain them. I have lots of thoughts about that. I can provide you with lots of different ideas but this isn’t Jack The Social Media Guru speaking. Nope, this is Jack the grumpy old man who is commenting about comments and communtiy.
And as the resident grumpy old man my comment is that I look for community. That is what I want. That is what I hope to build here…community.
It is happening. Even as we “speak” readers are returning because they like reading the comments that YOU leave. They like seeing what YOU think about the content. Content creates community and community in turn creates content leading to comments.
Pretty nifty stuff.
I should add that Disqus is another commenting platform that supports engagement and attracts commenters that like using it.
Nice post Jack.
I notice two important things here:
1. ComLuv commenting platform
2. Related Posts plug-in
Interesting how different audiences play differently. I tend to get Facebook Likes and RT’s before I get comments on BoomerTechTalk – so you are definitely doing something right regarding attracting comments. @LindaSherman
Hi Linda,
ComLuv definitely helps as does the related posts plug in. I am constantly trying to help facilitate a discussion here. And of course it is always useful to try to find ways to keep our readers from surfing onto the next site.
With a bit of luck the related posts helps send them deeper into the site and gives them another incentive to stick around and or come back.
You are absolutely right about commenting platforms. I have been mulling over whether I want to move back to DISQUS. Been a while since I used it, but it works well.
To the grumpy old man,
Look! You have a community and a smart one at that. Mission Accomplished. Yes, I will be surfing back again. Why? Well, of course to read the comments and join the community. 😉
Hi Rosie,
So glad to see you here. Don’t go looking for any cookies cuz the grumpy old man eats far too many of them. And yes, there is some community here that I hope you and others will join.
Sometimes the commenters are really the people who make blogs work. They can be entertaining and educational.
Bloggers who blog about blogging/social media have it good huh..they have an inbuilt audience of all their peers, and an open door to everyone else who is learning how the whole “ish” works . It’s interesting what you say about the friendly neighbourhood blogger who sticks around for a few comments, then disappears. I have been wondering about the effectiveness of Guest posting on blogs that aren’t in your niche.
Do you think it’s possible to retain any of those readers, who slide over for a quick glimpse of whose featuring on so and so- blog today? Or are they likely be to hit and run readers, and you, very lucky if you got even so much as one comment. Is commenting something you do as a strategy or just as and when you feel like it?
Blogging about blogging can be considered a simple strategy for building your blog. Much of your success is contingent upon perception and not content so sometimes the only thing you need to do is demonstrate that you have significant traffic.
I think that some of the people out there who call themselves experts are snake oil salesmen who peddle tap water and sell it as if it is holy water. We can dig into metrics and talk about what is significant, useful and worthwhile.
Give me real demographics and I can turn a blog with 100 readers into something special. Brands have thousands to spend- provided that they believe that they are getting a reasonable ROI.
Nothing profound in that. In a different life I sold space so I know the drill.
Reader retention is a battle. There is a low barrier to entry so the field is crowded and you fight a population whose attention span is shrinking. So I think that we have to try harder to build relationships.
Your material isn’t always going to hit the mark but your “online’ friends will often be forgiving and keep visiting. With a bit of luck you’ll gain new ones too to help make up for normal attrition rates like those from hit and run types.
I think you left off something really important that YOU do…comment on other’s blogs. It’s a surefire way to get the bloggers over to your blog to read and comment.
Hey Gini,
I try to get around a bit. 😉 I spend a lot of time talking about how social media is about engagement so it makes sense to follow my own advice.. If you are going to build a community you often have to go out and bring them back home.
Bloggers who blog about writing seem right up there in popularity, as all bloggers are writing.
I like what I read today about father bloggers on the Mom 2 blog–they’re writing about life through a father lens. Lots of room there. And I’d rather write about life than about writing or blogging.
Hi Wolf,
I hear you. For me it is a mix of personal and professional. As a writer I am always interested in reading about ways to improve- kind of like C.E. courses for docs. And as a father I want to spend time reading/writing about father stuff.
Got a post that I’ll write about that later tonight.
For some reason, I just have the urge to comment on this post 🙂
And I think Dino Dogan has a very good point, (based on Matty’s original comment).
And I am so glad that you did.
I’d say the easiest way to get a lot of comments is to have this title! LOL. No, in all honesty, I believe that any time you complain about women showing too much when they breastfeed you will for sure get a lot of angry comments. Any comment is a good comment, right? Just like publicity? ^-^
Isn’t that the truth. I could blog about the all the efforts men make to get women to “show off the goods” until they are breast feeding and how then it is all about getting them to cover up. The thing is that I am scared that a bunch of angry breastfeeding mamas will come protest and picket outside of my office. That could be hard to explain. ‘;)
Mission, Vision, blah blah blah… [grin]
Mission, Vision and Decision- can’t forget that or maybe you can. Oops…indecision.
Anyone who blogs wants readership and comments. It’s why we’re writing. If you blog, getting, keeping and increasing your traffic is your goal. Giving people information on how to do that is like handing out gold. Blogging about blogging is a niche that many people have built their sites around, and it’s one of the reasons they’re so popular. People want to know how to blog better, and those kind of sites give them what they want.
Its the snake eating its own tail, isnt it? Dog blogger’s audience are mostly other dog blogers and few people who read dog blogs online. Blogging Blog’s audience are all bloggers. Bloggers who blog about dogs, cats, religion, personal development, and on and on.
So bloggers who blog about blogging (say that 3 times fast) get everyone. A snake which feeds on the tail of other, smaller niched bloggers.
Sincerely,
Mr. Analogy
lol
Dino- that is a great analogy and so very true.
I am sort of a hybrid. I started blogging 7 years ago on a whim and never expected anyone to read what I wrote. I still write for me first and everyone else second. Since I love to write I decided that it would be worth trying to build something that would provide me with a source of income that might turn into a full time position.
So when I write posts like this it is sort of a mix of linkbait and sincerity. I have learned a lot about this and like you said people make money from teaching others how to blog. No reason not to grab some of that traffic.
Interesting point Jack. Writing for you first. I have to admit that I’m concerned about what my readers are going to think about my post, rather than just putting it out there for me. I have to think about that one.
Since this is my personal blog I view it as being the online version of my home. My place, my rules. I live here so it is more important that I be comfortable than you. I write about anything and everything here.
Religion, politics aren’t off limits. I offend, incite and inflame. I also inspire. I make people laugh, cry and snort. They shake their heads in amazement and anger.
This is where I unload the contents of my mind. It is not always easy. There are moments where people attack me and I wonder why I put “that” out there. But I come back to the same places.
I don’t care what most people think. There is a short list of people I worry about and most importantly when the lights go out I always know whether I feel good or bad about my actions.
It keeps me honest and makes it simple to write- but that is because I am willing to live with the consequences.