Every now and then, bloggers have to face some challenges. I believe some of the biggest complains are poor traffic, not making enough money, or they are just not too many comments. Well for me egos aside, I think the biggest issue is that I feel that they’re not many people leaving comments.
It has improved a bit but after an accidental feedback and stumbling across a great post about this matter, I’ve came to realize certain things about blogging and my blog in general.
My 2 Dumbest Mistakes
Comments are closed after 60 days – I know most of the A list bloggers do this. They close their comments after a while and they don’t allow people to comment. For some, they just limit it to some pages or blog posts.
My reason for closing comments after 60 days was not because I’m an A-list blogger but because I wanted to reduce spam. But hey was I so wrong to do that! That realization didn’t hit me until someone gave me a comment on Blokube saying this:
“Bryan, why are comments closed on this post……??”
It was then it dawned on me, that I’ve probably tried to reduce spam by doing the wrong thing. I do have 2 plugins to reduce spams from comments and trackbacks but I figured since it worked well for me, why should I close comments and deprive my poor legitimate readers the privilege of commenting on older posts?
I’ve since disabled this feature completely. And this has led to more comments on this blog.
Enable Threaded Comments – I should have banged my head against the wall 207 times for not enabling this. I didn’t realize this problem until I did a blog redesign and it was then I realized why my comment section has no threaded feature unlike other blogs. I even searched for a plugin to see if this could fix the problem but the answer was right there, staring at me in the eye, that checkbox saying “Enable Threaded (nested) Comments x levels deep….”
Once I did this, I began seeing more replies from readers.
Now doing the 2 things above, still did not significantly improve interaction and comments. I’m always amazed by a few bloggers who have tons and tons of comments. It just seems like they have “it”. An example is Patricia from Lavenderuses.com whose recent posts have an average of about 100+ comments on each of them.
Addressing the Biggest Blogging Myth of All Time
One of the biggest blogging debates ever is to address this question?
“Is content really king?”
I do agree content is really important and it is even more important now than ever to have great content because of the stiff competition we face on the blogosphere. The trouble is when there’s so much great content right now, it’s quite impossible to go after all the great content, let alone learn anything from each of them.
But is it just enough to have great content or do you need more than that?
I’ve surfed around blogs and what I’ve noticed is there are some really good content out there but hardly any interaction while there are some that are mediocre in quality but getting a lot of comments, good feedback (even when I think personally it isn’t) and lots of Retweets.
So what makes the difference between the two? I believe it’s more of who you know rather than what you know.
For all those who’ve just started blogging, I think one of the ingredients to building a popular blog is to know people. An in-depth look into what I’ve done so far is:
- Comment on blogs
- Linking great blog posts to my own
- Retweeting great blog posts
- Do some guest posts
- Getting others to include my content in their ebook
- Post a freaking interesting post
- Spend time crafting a great comment
- Email and ask questions
How to Get People to Notice
But still something is missing. I’ve discovered that you really need to be a bit more proactive. You’ve got to get people interested in what you do. For example:
- Emailing your subscribers or regular readers about what you can do to make your blog even better. I think this method draws your reader’s attention easier than other methods. Of course doing it too often might be a little too much. Alternatively, you can also ask your subscribers.
- Find something that you’re good at and make it known to the bigger better bloggers. Give them something in return for their help. Reciprocating is the key. They might help you get into their inner circle, introducing them to more bloggers around.
- Social media interaction. This is my biggest weakness. I know there are a lot of bloggers out there who’s got heaps of traffic from Twitter or Facebook. For me, my primary source of traffic is the search engines.
- Email and ask questions. I’ve recently started doing this. I’ve realized better feedback through emails anyway.
I’ll leave this to an open discussion. What else do you think I should do?
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
It will also be beneficial both to you and your readers if you will add commentluv/keywordluv plugin in all your blogs. But of course, you’ll also be needing spam comment moderator plug in to avoid spammer feasted on your blogs.
Ann Karen@log homes recently posted..Does your log home have a name
Maybe in the old days when there was not many sites about content may have been king…ph wait no even then marketing was king, and still is.
Content is Queen and get people to that post is the main thing.
Donace@hostgator promo recently posted..Beard Trimmer Review
Yeah Don,
In the good ol’ days, things used to be easier but no longer when everyone wants to talk about commenting, blogging, social media etc. It’s more of how to get the crowd to you. Ooh btw, i dropped you an email. Check it out
Twitter: profitmc
February 3, 2011 at 1:25 am
Hi Bryan, thanks for this article. You’ve just given me an idea and right away going to do one of those strategies you laid out!
Chadrack@Making Money Blogging recently posted..Finally Uncovered- The Hidden Traits Of Millionaire Bloggers!
Twitter: alexanderthegry
February 3, 2011 at 7:15 am
Well Bryan,
Although you may have great content on your blog if you don’t tell anybody about it, it’s practically worthless.
Patricia is a great online person, she interacts a lot with many people and by doing this she is creating lots of friends that will come to her blog to comment back and this friends bring (organically, in search engines terms) other people along.
But blogging in itself is a networking business, you have to go out there and bring in the visitors (I bet Patricia has the highest traffic – direct) to see your articles and if the content is good this will form a small snowball that rolls down the hill growing bigger and bigger.
So go out there and interact
Alex@Jocuri recently posted..Lupte samurai ninja
Hey Alex,
yeah, I’ve started experimenting on something yesterday. Started leaving more comments around and going around places meeting different sorts of people from the usual bunch. Found that quite rewarding although I’ve yet to see the returns from that
Nice article
thanks for sharing it
sem media recently posted..Social Media Optimization- Vital Part of Online Marketing
Twitter: lavenderuses
February 4, 2011 at 1:13 am
Hi Bryan
It depends the reason you are blogging too. If you are using your blog as a platform for a business, sure you need to get traffic, actually targeted traffic to your site. Comments don’t equal sales and for marketers, many of them don’t bother with comments or have very few. Too busy selling lol
However, if you are blogging as a hobby or for enjoyment, then comments may mean more. I feel that there is so much emphasis amongst bloggers about getting tons of comments that often the point of the blog is often missed.
Sure I get tons of comments. BTW thanks Alex for those kind words. Appreciated. Networking has been a big part of my blogging journey. I didn’t set out to get lots of comments. I visit blogs to learn and connect with other bloggers. Then they started visiting my blog – I’m sure some came out of curiosity. Let’s be honest here…who blogs about a single flower
As I got to know other bloggers then I became an active part of the blogging community. And I love Twitter so interacting there and RT other blogger’s posts helped too. So because of networking heaps my blog is now well known in the blogosphere. That has been a bi-product of networking and blog hopping.
Yet recently I have had to take a look at the use of my time. I need to learn more about marketing and therefore visit more experienced marketers blogs to learn from them. And I am also writing more articles for a friend, so I am aware of how I spend my time which will result in me spending less time commenting . Of course I will continue to do this but I will be more laser focused. Commenting is important. But only one part of the puzzle. Just my 2 cents
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia@lavender recently posted..Collaboration- the new buzz word
Hey Patricia,
After publishing this post, I realized that yeah there are lots of bloggers out there who have plenty of time to comment and visit blogs and make an impression. I think the idea is to be there and be around. But I do agree with you on being laser targeted or focus with what is more important. I still do believe getting to know the right people is better than trying to know everyone. I’ve seen some bloggers mentioning that it’s also more of trying to get your focus right. Commenting works but you can’t spend your whole blogging life doing 50 comments a day and forgetting everything else. Anyway, that’s my opinion.
Thanks for the fantastic comment!
Yes, just settling up your blog in a way that’s more conducive to interaction can help a lot. I have one blog that has Disqus comments set up. I know that some bloggers don’t like this, but I think it facilitates interaction.
One of the ways is that it will show up the tweets that people have made on posts. So if you tweet your own post, and then get a mention or a retweet of that including the blog post URL, then that will appear at the bottom of your blog post. And when readers see these reactions, I think they’re a little more likely to comment themselves. So it sets the ball rolling.
This is just a hunch, But I think there’s truth in this because that particular blog does seem to get more comments than others I have.
Matt@Australian Article Marketer recently posted..Use backlink checks to find more great blogs for commenting campaigns
Hey Matt,
Yeah it was my 2 dumbest mistakes but I learned from it. I used to go with Disqus but a lot of people don’t seem to use it. So I gave it the boot and sticked to CommentLuv instead. I’ve actually no problems with Disqus per se. I still actively comment on Disqus enabled blogs. The other thing I like about Disqus is also you can create an RSS feed from those comments, which I use to build backlinks for my website. Ok I know I’m digressing but definitely, setting your blog correctly to comment is the first thing everyone has to do.
Twitter: stevescott1
February 5, 2011 at 2:55 am
I guess I am stubborn, ultimately I think that content still is king. But I will readily admit that you are also right, and that without people finding it the greatest content is worthless. There is certainly a great need to interact and network to reach the point where success is really a possibility.
Commenting is important, but it is also a sliding scale. It is INCREDIbLY important so that people find you when you are starting out. Likely more important than anything else. As time goes on, content and real networking become more important because frankly there is only “so much time in the day” to leave real quality comments. As you get to know and network with more poeple it becomes harder to keep up with all the comments.
As for shutting down after 60 days. Yeah it is a great thing for A listers. It probably hurts a blog trying to get noticed a bit. If you are actively checking for spam there is basically no real reason to do it.
Steve@Internet Lifestyle recently posted..My 3-91132 Affiliate Income Day- 8 Lessons YOU Can Learn
Haha Steve, it’s ok I know you are
Well I’ve no problems with content. Content is still very important but it’s just a matter of getting the right people to read it. And I won’t stop interacting and commenting but it’s more of finding the right people and being laser targeted. Thanks for your insights Steve, I do believe I still have lots to learn.
Bryan,
“Content Is King”
That still holds true but it is now barely enough just to have content. Collaboration has now become a indispensable “tool”. With millions, ok billions, of blogs that are being updated on regular basis, it is now not good to sit and wait for readers to come.
With the explosion of social networks, people can easily find interesting content. So, there is a great competition for bloggers to get their content across the table. You have to compete for people’s attention.
It’s hard work.
Marlon @ productivity bits recently posted..Purge- Step 0 In Getting Things Done
Marlon,
Spot on. Looks like a lot of comments before you agree that content is still king
I agree but yes, it’s not longer good enough to just sit back relax and “hope” for people to spot your “out of this world” post. Yes social networking, it’s also about getting the right people to mix and mingle with.
Commenting is a finicky little creature. He sometimes comes, and sometimes goes. There are times when he’s all around and FEASTING upon your blog post. It’s difficult to know what type of post will attract so much commenting attention. I’m going to check on my comment threading right now!
Christian recently posted..Chapter 2- Mother
Christian,
yes unfortunately, you really can’t influence it, well at least partly by creating a good post ( which is also very subjective to others). But I think at the end of the day, comments should not be the true driving force to blog. I think commenting is where you will get ideas for discussion or a blog post. Besides interaction, you pretty much get to know what kind of crowd stops by your blog.
When i started out with wordpress, i decided to keep most of the settings at ‘default’ and research into them before i made any changes.
As for getting comments, it’s always the hurdle at the start before things get going. Most people don’t comment on a blog that says ’0 comments’ and has no interaction, but once someone does, you’ve just opened up a whole new world to that blogger.
Hey Peter,
that’s right having 0 comments is that one barrier to get through in my blog’s earlier days and it someone just have to start and after that its more of spreading the word about your blog and the comments will slowly come in.
I think a lot are using blog comments now a days as a way of promotion of their websites. I lot are spamming already. I know it matters that your post has some conversation going on. But I think you need to screen comments also.
Hey Teena,
that’s right, I think screening comments is something that is very important these days and I personally go through all of them to make sure I don’t just approve spammy comments. I also take pains to recognize good comments and visit those people’s website and comment on them as well. That is one of the ways I get some people to visit my blog.
Thanks for stopping by
Hi Bryan
A pragmatic article!!
A well-written article with proper marketing strategy and advertising will receive good comments (quite self-evident now with yours
)
Looking forward for more articles from you.
Have a Great Weekend.
Best Regards
Lakshmi
Hey Lakshmi,
Thanks for the kind words there. I hope you continue to be a frequent visitor here as well.
Have a great week ahead!
Twitter: lionslinger
February 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I think you have covered all the important factors here and I do admit that I have learned something here particularly on how to get people to notice me. While I have practiced some of the methods here, I have lagged in connecting with my readers.
Welcome aboard Walter,
I see what you mean. Hopped on to your website and you do get a lot of comments, much more than here
But really getting comments depends on a lot of things and not just good content and networking. Sometimes it’s just luck or the design of your website itself that draws people in. Over the past couple of weeks since this post was published, I’ve learned not to focus too much on getting a zillion comments but getting the right kinds of people to interact and be my subscribers.
Thanks for your input and see you again
Emailing your subscribers or approved readers about what you can do to accomplish your blog even better. Great step by step explanation of this process. I’ll have to add to my favorites.
While most of the people here have already said the connection in between the author and the reader, it is also best to leave something to your readers that would leave them itching to post a comment, reply or a feedback. Try leaving them with a question or a statement that is still open for a possible discussion.
Just my 2 cents
I appreciate the information. In my articles, I typically put a lot of argument in the middle of the text. Lesson learned.