Joint Blogging Series - Comments

I am joining Elana Johnson and Jennifer Daiker at Unedited this week for a series on blogging. Please visit their sites as well for some expert advice. As for me, I’ll just offer my humble beginnings and advice.

Most bloggers crave comments. Our blog post sits there, ignored by the world, and then – a comment appears! We’re thrilled. We want more. We need more. It’s a matter of life or death!

Eh, maybe not that bad.

I’ve watched my comments grow this year from single digits to over fifty-five per post. While I’m still not sure how this happened (I swear I didn’t bribe anyone) I can tell you what I’ve done to encourage comments.

I follow and comment on a lot of blogs. My goal is a hundred a day. Some days I fall short. (I slack, I sleep in, I live my life – that sort of thing.) I usually comment on quite a few though. Now, while I enjoy the luxury of blogging from work in addition to blogging at home, I think every blogger can hit 2-3 dozen blogs a day.

I try to create interesting posts, ones that spark the interests of others. Sometimes I drift, but I try to stay within my basic topics as well. If it’s a passion of mine, I like to think that shines through in the post. I believe that’s the key, too. A blog can be about anything that excites the host, and it works as long as the posts reflect that fact. After all, excitement is contagious.

Posts that receive the most comments are the ones that encourage a response. Asking a question entices others to get involved in the discussion. Sometimes the individual comments here are longer than my post! But that’s great. Blogging is all about getting involved.

Okay, my movie posts garner a lot of comments, too. Guess my followers are just as geeked-out about movies as me!

I reply to commenters in my post, and you’d be surprised how many come back for a reply – and comment again.

Word verification turns off some people and they won’t comment. Enough said.

Participating in blogfests will draw comments, but you need to comment as well.

Contests are a big draw. I’ve held one contest and that post still holds the record for the most comments.

Finally, really big news draws comments. An event that rocks your world! When I posted my book trailer, everyone stopped by to comment on it. I don’t often post about my upcoming book, but it really made me feel good to receive so many words of encouragement.

I don’t think there’s any big secret to increasing comments. If you’re willing to do a lot of little things, then it will happen!