Top 7 Strategies For Getting More Comments On Your Blog

One of the most satisfying things you can experience as a blogger, apart from having a blog you can make a living off of, is when you see people engaging with your blog posts and leaving comments. Even if your latest article is doing well in terms of traffic, comments are still valuable, because they show that your content actually matters to people and that they’ve read it all the way through. After all, one of the reasons why you’ve started a blog in the first place is to have your voice heard, and comments represent a reflection of that.

Comments are also useful because they infuse your posts with fresh content, which won’t go unnoticed by Google. A lively discussion can be full of user-generated keywords and phrases which can contribute to your overall SEO.

But, even though 77 million new blog comments are written by readers every month, only a small percentage of visitors actually leaves comments. This means that even some of the best posts you have ever written will fall flat in terms of reader engagement. To fix that issue, let’s take a look at seven tactics which can help you get more comments on your blog.

1. Reward visitors who comment on your post

This is one of the most useful things you can do and one which makes an impact almost immediately. In order to motivate your readers to leave a comment, you can give them a small gift. In this situation, it is beneficial to have a PDF or free eBook you can provide to your visitors. They leave a comment, and after a few minutes, that PDF arrives inside their inbox.

If you have a premium section of your blog with exclusive content, you can grant them access for a limited period of time after they have made their first comment. It won’t really cost you anything, and it’s relatively easy to scale and implement.

2. Ask your readers a question

In order to encourage your readers to leave comments, finish your blog posts with a question. It can be anything from “What do you think about _____?” to asking them to share additional tips regarding the topic you have covered in your article. Once you ask them, you will be surprised at how many of them will actually take the time to contribute to the conversation, whether your niche is thesis help or beauty products. It’s a simple method, but it works really well.

3. Make it easier to leave comments

While it’s important to prevent spammers from taking over your comment section, you are only going to discourage actual readers from commenting by introducing some of the more intrusive spam prevention methods, such as captcha. Also, make the login process simple by offering several different options. Since pretty much everyone uses Facebook, allow readers to use their Facebook login in order to leave comments. Even if you are using a system such as Disqus, always enable Facebook commenting.

4. Show your comment count

Another method you can use to reel your readers in is to display the number of comments. We’re not sure why, but people will want to get in on the action if the commentary is featured prominently. It doesn’t even matter if the number is high or low. If there are only a couple of comments, people will want to among the first ones to join the discussion. If there is a vast number of comments, it works even better, because they will think the topic is exciting and worthy of their time and feedback.

Protip! To better keep track of your comments you may want to add comment tracking in your Google Analytics so you can see which tops drive the most responses.

5. Take part in the discussion

Your work as a blogger doesn’t end once you have published your latest post. If you want your readers to leave comments, lead by example. In other words, take part in the discussion and respond to users’ comments and add more value to your content. Another thing you can try, especially if you have fellow bloggers leaving comments on your posts, is to join the comment section in their blogs and gain exposure to their audience, which can drive additional traffic to your blog.

Finally, another part is being active in your comment section is removing useless, spammy, or offensive comments which disrupt the discussion. Also, if you fail to delete them, it just shows your audience that you don’t really care about the kind of comments your posts get, so why would they bother leaving them in the first place?

6. Don’t be afraid to take a stand

The majority of bloggers try to be all things to all people, never treading on anyone’s feet. Well, sooner or later, they will, and once that happens, they will have a hard time keeping their audience. Therefore, it is best to take a stand for what you believe in right away, while your audience is still relatively small. Not only will you be able to recover more quickly from a potential backlash, but you will also filter your audience early on and attract those who are OK with your voice and beliefs.

And when it comes to responding to controversial comments, stand your ground too, but without having a meltdown. Not that the readers wouldn’t love it, but you’re going to need to keep your credibility, as well as your cool. Rest assured, you will have more than a handful of intense discussions, but that’s all a part of being a blogger.

7. Link to the comment section

In order for your readers to leave comments, they have to scroll past all the comments and to leave their comment at the bottom, which is the case with most blog themes. We have already mentioned how you should make it easier for readers to leave comments. One of the ways in which you can achieve this is by linking to the comments form from inside your blog post, usually from inside the conclusion.

If you are not using any of the comment system solutions, you can easily link to your comment section by using #commentform.

Final Word

Running a blog comes with its own unique set of challenges. Not only do you have to write consistently in terms of quality and quantity, but you also have to keep an eye on the analytics and social media, and engage your audience inside your comment section. Not only are comments useful as yet another way to interact with your audience, but they are also great for building a sense of community around your blog. Start using these tips today. Good luck!

About the author

Tobias Foster is an experienced journalist, editor, and essay writer service, veteran. His areas of interest include marketing, philosophy, and business. He takes pride in his craft.

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