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How to get more comments on your blog


I was asked a question by a potential client about blog comments.  She was concerned that some of the blog designs I’ve created have little user interaction.  She wrote (emphasis added by me):

I have been looking at the blogs you have created.  I am wondering why there aren’t many comments.  I want to use my blog to have extensive viral discussions; mainly to ask questions to moms that want to go back to the workplace.  I want my blog to be primarily questions with as many comments responding as possible.

The question is a good one: why aren’t more people interacting?  I wanted to dig deeper into the question: what contributes to comments?

I did a quick Google search and found some articles that try to answer how to get more comments:

Some solutions presented in the articles above:

There are the technical aspects:

  • reduce hinderances to commenting
  • remove rel=”nofollow”
  • allow users to follow responses to their comments

There are copywriting aspects:

  • feature open-ended questions
  • write in an interesting manner
  • be controversial

There are administrative aspects:

  • Respond to comments promptly
  • Moderate comments
  • Set rules (no hating, on-topic only)
But in the end, getting more comments on your blog is what happens when you build your blogging community.

My take on how to increase comments?

I responded to my potential client with this letter:

Dear [potenial client],

The essence of blogging is that you are actively building a community. No website can automatically generate a community; it needs to be built, nurtured, and worked on. Blogging is a commitment not only to writing articles, but becoming part of the blogging community. Blogging is as much about loyalty as it is about content quality and interest. Loyalty is both your loyalty to your readers, and theirs to you.

I started writing on my blog on January 23 of this year. At that time, I averaged 40 readers a week. Now, I average ~400 readers a week. The reason? More content, more interest, and more commitment = better results. When more people find my blog, more will follow it.

By working on developing interesting content and spreading that content online, I have grown my website’s influence. And yet, I still average only 1 comment per post…but each post is being seen by more people every week. It stands to reason that each week/month/year, I will get more comments on each post.

So, regarding your question about the number of comments on blogs:

  • You must continue posting through the lack of comments, and your website will come out stronger on the other end
  • Blog posts must be interesting, well worded, and open ended to encourage comments – especially the titles
  • The focus of a website may contribute to the nature of your visitors. 
  • If it’s in their interest to comment (if they’re looking for feedback or advice), then you may get more comments
  • How many comments a post gets is also directly influenced by the vitality of your website’s community

Here are some websites that are great for blogging tips:

I am happy to discuss ways we can improve the “comment conversion rate” of your future website. I can also guide you on how to spread the reach of your posts online.

What do you think is the best way to improve comment response? 😉

What you do to get more interaction with your readers? What works, and what doesn’t?

By Zack Katz

Zack Katz is the founder of GravityKit and TrustedLogin. He lives in Leverett, Massachusetts with his wife Juniper.

5 replies on “How to get more comments on your blog”

Just found your blog today. Really like it – keep up the good work.Domain info more important than you think :-)Domain information such as DNS, age of domain and even the expiration date are used to distinguish between illegitimate and legitimate domains.Why are google doing this? Simply to get all the factors they can to get an internal “trust score”.This “trust score” is used to eliminate “doorway” pages and spam in the search result.I’M not saying that it’s working perfectly – but they are doing a pretty good job.

I have noticed that Bloggers crave recognition as well as response. In order to increase traffic on a specific blog, one needs to amplify or recognize those posts that are real contributors.

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