Post-It Notes – 4th November 2011: Getting More Blog Comments

November 4, 2011

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Little sneaky sneak of Gareth & my shoot this week with Ashton Jean-Pierre. Full shoot on the blog on Monday.

Welcome to part two of this week’s Post It Notes – the businessy section…

Last week I spoke a little about comment etiquette, so I thought I’d continue the theme today with a few ideas on how you can get more comments on your own blog. We all like feedback and nice comments about a wedding I’ve shared always make me smile!

♥ Start a conversation and ask questions within your posts. People like to feel like they’re adding someone to a discussion or debate. I’m not saying try to start fiery arguments for no reason, but asking for people’s views and opinions should get the discussion flowing.  Ask questions within your blog posts so your readers feel involved in the conversation. Although it’s important to share your opinions and write in a way that is true to who you are, talking to yourself is no fun.

♥ Make it as easy as possible to leave a comment. There is nothing more frustrating that wanting to leave a comment but having to jump through a million hoops to do so. I’ll often just give up after a couple of attempts. Unfortunately Blogger is one of the worst for this (WordPress FTW!) Often you have to type in a verification code (annoying) or sign in with your Blogger account (I don’t have one.)

Also having to register to leave a comment is annoying and will turn people away – people don’t like giving away too much personal information online and there is always the worry when you have to sign up for something that your inbox is going to end up full of spam!

You can avoid horrible or spammy comments from getting through by setting up a system so you have to moderate any comments by commenters. It’s simple really – the less reasons not to comment the better…break down those barriers!

Be personal and personable & respond to your comments. If people feel they are talking to a real person they are more likely to want to interact. Take the time to read through your comments and respond to them. This lets your readers feel valued and shows that you care about their opinions.

So, why not add to the discussion below and leave your own tips for getting blog comments…

As always, I hope you’ve found this post helpful. These wedding and business notes are for YOU. So if you have any topics you’d like me to cover in these posts be sure to let me know! You can either comment below or drop me an email.