Last week I received an email from John Baker, aka ‘frustrated blogger,’ asking:
I’m tired of stressing out over whether or not I’m going to get comments on my blog. It bums me out when I write one, put it out there and don’t get any comments. Am I doing something wrong?
You are not alone, John. As a matter of fact if you were to do a keyword search for how common the phrase “how do I get more comments on my blog” you would see that there were 14,030 global searches for that exact phrase last month. This is by far the No. 1 biggest issue I get from frustrated, beleaguered bloggers, second being “what do I write about?”
The issue of the empty comments box is anxiety provoking, as many of you bloggers are aware. I know, I’ve been there, and often times, I’m still there, resorting to a steady stream of urgent pleas for interaction from my faithful posy.
Understand however, that just because folks aren’t commenting does NOT mean they are not reading, absorbing and appreciating your words. If our blogs are being written for higher reasons, we don’t necessarily need to have our egos stroked by fawning fans every week, correct?
But let me ask you this John: What are you doing to help encourage readers to comment? After all, just because you are putting out great content does not guarantee that your blog is going to be read! Not even the Huffington Post would have commenters unless they were performing a few effective tactics such as:
- Using keywords- terms that people who are looking for your topic are going to be searching for in Google;
- Sending your blog out via email to your opt-in list… which I know you have on your log to encourage folks to subscribe via RSS or an auto responder… right?
- Sharing it on your social media sites and other high authority sites such as E-zine as well as sites of strategic alliance partners. (Other blogs are usually happy to host your blog if the content is good.) Just make sure that you’ve included your URL to link back to;
- Blogging consistently and often. Once a month doesn’t cut it;
- Using titles that are going to grab a reader and make them want to click on it;
- Commenting on other people’s blogs. It’s called quid pro quo, and finally:
- Paying your mother to comment.
For more in depth info on blog comment anxiety and how to treat it, see .
So get out there and just do it. Happy Blogging!
Get Found, Get Heard, Get Crackin’!
I am a writer and currently in the process of writing my first novel. Everyone keeps telling me I should be blogging but I'm not sure what the value would be for me. I'm not trying to sell anything...yet. Why should I be blogging? Thanks in advance, Katy
blogging can serve many different purposes. for an aspiring writer, your purpose might be to do drum up anticipation for your upcoming book and for you as an author, and to test the waters as it unfolds, researching what is hitting a chord with your readers and what is not, ie market research. It can be looked at pre publicity and be very valuable, especially if shared with publishers, authority sites, respected online magazines and news aggregators and or agents. good luck!
I find myself guilty of reading and not commenting. There is no particular reason why I fail to comment, it's just that I enjoy the material (or not) and move on to the next blogger. Thanks for sharing your effective tactics, I particularly like the last one. As for me, I enjoy just writing, so this gives me an outlet to release stress. I tune out momentarily from being a mother, an employee, a volunteer and I write about anything that brings forth my interest. I hope Katy takes an interest in blogging, it's fun!