4 Posts 200 Comments and Lesson Learned

July 23, 2010 - Last Modified: July 23, 2010 by JohnPaul

Many people have been talking about blog comments but no one was sharing actually results and numbers. So I wanted to share my results and my tips to getting more comments on your blog.

When I started blogging a year ago, I would write posts and sit back and wait for the comments to role in, since it seemed like that’s what other bloggers did to get their comments..Right?

Well I waited around a lot…lol

Each post I wrote I said this is the one, this post is awesome I HAVE to get some comments, at least one? Do you know what happened? Yep…NO comments!

I was so pissed, I would some time and work into that post I felt I deserved a few comments. After I got over being mad at the internet world, I got an ice coffee mmmm coffeeeee lol , I relaxed and I started asking questions to see if I was the issue, even though I knew better since I know “I’m Awesome” haha

I Was Questioned Everything

I was questioning everything I was doing or not doing…
Do they not like my content?
Did I make a mistake starting a blog?
Did I send it out to the wrong places?
Am I in the right niche?

I went on for a couple hours and it hit me…

I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I was actually doing almost everything right…Almost!

3 Steps To More Comments

Good Content -> More traffic ->Building a relationship with that traffic

I was writing pretty good content, I was building relationships with the readers I had, my only real lack was that I needed more eyes on my posts. Most bloggers that start out do not get big comments, so once you realize that, you can relax and continue to blog stress free.

The more attention I gave to all 3 steps, the more results I started seeing over time.

Getting Comments Is Like Losing Weight

I look at getting comments as if I was trying to lose weight.

Dieting is good, aerobics is good, working out with weights is good BUT to get real results and hit your goal weight you need to do all three combined over time.

Getting comments is the same way.

Writing good content is good, more traffic is good, building relationships is good BUT to get the results you want “more comments” then you need to hit it hard on all three steps over time.

First – Good Content

Second – More Traffic

Third – Build Relationships

So How Much Weight Have I Lost?

Ok you want to know about the comments not weight…lol

Here are 4 posts I wrote back to back…

Comments 27 – Top 50 Places To Advertise Your Website For Under $25

Comments 36 – Breaking Into The Top 20 Internet Marketers Online With No List

Comments 48 – There Is A New Blogging Star Born Everyday, Are You Next?

Comments 100 – My Crazy Simple 7 Step Plan To Promote A New Post

How Do I Bring It Together

Now you can see the benefits of following all 3 Steps in combination, so let’s get into the 3 steps…

1- Writing Good Content

I write when I have something to share and I try not to write about things I see to many bloggers writing about too. I like to write about what I’m going thru and learning at that time and chances are if I’m going thru it so are other bloggers.

Another thing I do is to write about what my blog is about blogging, make money blogging, and making money online.

If readers come to your blog expecting blog tips, then make sure you have plenty of “blog tips” information available. As simple as this is, many many bloggers will start with an idea then post about everything BUT what their blog was initially about.

Also watch your spelling and grammar, this has been an issue for me haha.. (I think faster then I can type) but I am getting better. People will notice so take the time to check spelling and grammar.

2- Getting More Traffic

I have tried so many traffic getting techniques in the past 8 months, some worked and some were a waste of time and money. I now have a few that I use daily to drive more traffic and so far they are working well.

For me I drive a good amount of traffic from Twitter and Facebook, I have found that they both work best to drive targeted traffic. As far as getting the most from Twitter and Facebook, you need to “be there” that means offering tips, info, help, resources etc..

Make yourself available to answer questions.

As I shared in a post My Crazy Simple 7 Step Plan To Promote A New Post I do a lot to promote a new post, writing great content that no one sees is a waste of time.

I use Onlywire to bookmark my posts pretty quickly. I’m a big believer in the benefits of bookmarking all your posts. I also recently started submitting my posts to LinkedIn groups.

I also chase Google for some search luv like a love struck school kid..lol

A simple plan I follow to SEO my blog posts and better my chance at getting ranked on Google is to grab a keyword and use it in your Title, First sentence, Middle and End of your post, then use it in your tags.

Your goal is to rank for as many smaller keywords as you can since ranking for a number of smaller keywords will get you more traffic then ranking for one huge keyword.

3- Building Relationships

You started a blog to offer help or information to readers, right? So then building relationships with your readers should be the easy stuff.

I am real, the person you see or read online is the person you will see in person. Being yourself and letting your personality show is the best way to start building relationships with your readers, make your blog personal.

I make myself available thru out the day and I answer every @ reply and DM on Twitter and every email or update on Facebook.

On my blog, I ask for comments or opinions or feedback. If you don’t ask, then you can’t be upset if you get no comments. Now once the comments come in, I reply to all of them, yes even the ignorant ones…lol Not everyone will see things the same way as you, and that’s fine.

When replying to comments I like to use that as a way to add more information continuing from the post, this is a great place to take your post to a higher level.

Bottom line here is be real, be helpful and be available and the relationships will build themselves.

Take Action

Yes all this sounds great, but if you don’t put it to work today and stick to it for at least 2-3 months then nothing will change on your blog.

But if follow all 3 steps combined you will see results. Once the comments start rolling in, it will start to snow ball into more and more comments.

About JohnPaul

Follow @JohnAguiar

John Paul Aguiar is a Blogger and Internet Marketer and the owner of Money Dummy Blog. John Paul’s blog covers all areas of how to Make Money Blogging. From SEO to Traffic Tips to Twitter Marketing and Social Media in a keep it simple way that anyone can follow. Get John’s FREE 20 Day Course Helping You Learn To Make Money Blogging.

{ 130 Responses }

Moosa Hemani says:

yep! That's right! building relation with the traffic is the key... i believe the best way i think to get the comment is obviously 1st Great content that people like and then gain some traffic but in order to get comments on the blog you should go to their blogs and common on their stuff and people will automatically come to your blog and common... obviously this is not the only thing how you get comments but this is one of the vital things... Great piece of writing...
Phil says:

"Sitting there waiting for Comments' Haha Sounds like me in a nutshell. Sometimes I get the feeling my content isnt good enough, but im also new to blogging, a lot to learn still and trying different things out to see what works and what does not. Im doing my best to keep my Web Analytics Page closed, because I tend to check it pretty often. I guess I just need to keep writing and thinking of ways to promote my blog and it will come eventually, I just need to be more patient. Thanks again for the awesome tips!
- John Paul says:
  
  Phil.. we all been there man.. If you look at my posts my first few monts,lol they are garbage man. But the only way to get better is to keep writing, and like you said, find what works, then do that . Yea stats can tear you down man.. stay away for a few mnths. Then watch stats slowly.
Brian says:

The 120 comments on this post are a testament to the fact that your system works. I think in the beginning the step that's the biggest hurdle is gaining a large amount of traffic. One of the most important things is to simply stay dedicated and not give up. Every blogger at some point has gone through a rough patch where they questioned themselves. Thanks for the great post
- John Paul says:
  
  Brain..TY for the comment. I'm glad you liked the psot. I agree with you.. every blogger has doubted themselves int he beginning, and the only way to make it thru, is to work each day and not give up.
marissa says:

I quess that nowdays you get a lot more comments to your posts when you follow your guidelines. I have seen too that you need quite a lot of traffic before you will get comments or have to write controversial text to wake up emotions.
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Marissa.. you don't need that much traffic, but you do need to build the relationships best you can. I have seen blogs with much less traffic then me, and they kill it with comments. Posts that are helpful get comments.. I wrote a post on this 2 days ago http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com/5-blog-posts-that-attract-the-most-comments/
Albin Sebastian says:

Wow ! More than 100 comments in this post too. Me too added comluv to get more comments. Thanks for sharing ideas about commenting.
- John Paul says:
  
  Albin..TY for the comment
Tinh says:

This "Gettiing Comments Is Like Losing Weight" reminds me about Jeremy :-) GReat article
- John Paul says:
  
  lol Yea.. it kinda does.. to funny..lol Glad you liked the post.
  - Tinh says:
    
    Jeremy has his unique way of marketing but work perfectly
    - John Paul Aguiar says:
      
      Yes Jeremy is great at making money .. I respect that... but I wouldn't follow everything he does.. Jeremy gets away with things many other bloggers and marketers, can not..
Sachin says:

Thanks for posting excellent advice
Gonzalo J. Suarez says:

Hey! There is useful advice... I think it's needed to emphasize that it takes time to grow the audience, to get relationship and to do a successful blog. If you aren't interested in interact with your audience, will never growth. Recently, I found a friend that in 3 years get the same audience that I get in a couple of months, by entering a Blog Challenge... Here is the history on detail Thanks for the advice! Now I'm following you on RSS too!
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Yes it takes time.. that's where the patience comes in.. Nothing happens over night when we are talking about blogging. Glad to have you follow :)
Philam says:

I have bad experience with regards to commenting. Several sites owner told me that I am a spammer. huhuhu. It really hurts when they said that. I even told a friend of mine named "Shirley" that I will just ignore their bad feedback to me as I don't have time arguing with them. I will respect them if that's how they judge me.
- John Paul says:
  
  This post is about getting comments on your blog.. but yea if numerous bloggers have said your a spammer, then you need to look at how and what your posting to see why they are saying that.
  - Philam says:
    
    Yeah, this is about getting comments on your blog and that's very important for bloggers. The steps you mentioned here would really help especially to newbie bloggers on how they could manage to get so many comments on every post they made. Anyway, talking about my experience I'll just keep my mouth discreet. It's not really good experience.
Murlu says:

What I've found with relationships is that when you regularly comment on other blogs you will get comments back because it almost becomes this trade. On top of that, since comments are already coming in, others will want to join in as well which helps drive the count up!
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Yea this isn't about getting other to comment because you commented on theirs. I'm talking about "real" comments from your readers. Those are the powerful ones that will benefit you and your blog the most.
  - Murlu says:
    
    What's doubly awesome is when your readers actually answer other comments as well. It becomes a forum where the discussion isn't influence just by you but by the community - that's such a great feeling.
    - John Paul says:
      
      Yep.. kinda like I said in the post haha Comments isn't just for you to build on the post, it is for others to support and add to what your said, that way you get other views and everyone benefits.
      - Murlu says:
        
        Most definitely. Just as it's still on topic, I'd love to see what people have to say as their ways to gain comments through questions. As in, which questions they ask that seem to gain the greatest response. Perhaps we could all contribute and find like 'the top 10 questions to ask your readers' to gain more comments, something along that line. BTW, this post is dominating with the comments, over 103 now? woo
        
        John Paul Aguiar says:
        
        lol yea so far not bad I was hoping for 100 so I'm happy. As far as questions,, I think it's niche related.. as long as your questions fit what your blog is about ur good. If you blog about social media, then keep your questions focused on SM.. blog tips, stik to blog type questions.
Dr. Lawrence Kindo says:

Nice to hear about your experience about blog commenting. I totally agree with your 3 point evaluation of a blog in relation with comments. A well-written post with a decent number of audience builds wonder-working relationships. You could check out my experience about blog commenting at comluv.com.
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  TY Lawrence, for the comment. Glad you liked it :)
ashok says:

Your tips under heading 2 are excellent - the idea of just sticking the keyword in title, first sentence, middle and end I hadn't thought of. I probably won't implement the idea, though. Your tips are for a very particular type of content. I think it's important for bloggers to realize that not all content is interactive in the same way. If it is the case that one doesn't have content that's going to get a lot of comments, that's fine - just comment elsewhere, and invite people to read your work over time.
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Those tips are the basis of post SEO.. so it fits every type of content you want it to be SEO optimized. As far as comments.. all content will benefit by getting more comments. since comments is continuing the convo from the post, and again all content will benefit from that.
Hesham says:

Only 90 comment on your post? what the heck john? this is not your average ;)
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  lol I wish 90 was my average, I would be a happy man. 90 is a nice amount.. next post here we will try for 100 lol
  - Hesham says:
    
    I remember once I planned a post to get 200 comments on my other personal blog, I started a list of 100 blogs that use commentluv plugin, I remember I put 10 or 20 blogs, then I asked my blog visitors to let me know in the comments about their comentluv enabled blogs so I can add it to the list! that was more than a year ago at Mar 24th, 2009 and it took 2 or 3 months to complete the "List of 100 blogs using CommentLuv", and you will not believe that John, but this post get tons of comments, and it still getting more and more till today, so funny! I see someone commented at July 5, 2010 asking me to add his blog to the list lol even the 100 list is completed lol! probably because it's on the page one of Google search! But I stopped approve them after I reached 230 comments because the list is completed! So, basically you can get 200+ comment on a post if you plan it to get the 200+comments! Just sharing!
    - John Paul Aguiar says:
      
      Im not a fan of comment luv.. it attracts the wrong comments. I think without comment luv the comments you do get are more about adding to the conversation and not so much about promoting themselves.
      - Hesham says:
        
        It all depends on the way people use it! Thank you for the mention on your latest post, that was awesome! heading there now!
Colleen says:

Hmm, I guess I'm comment number 89! Very good JohnPaul. Ya know, I read these "Comments How-To" or other type of comments posts and they are all the same. You did a great job in detailing out what and why the comments are coming, and how to bring them. Nice!
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Colleen,,TY for the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yea, I talk more about how to get more comments within your blog, not about commenting on other blogs, or plugins or any mess like that. If you follow the plan I lay out, you will get comments regardless of what you do out side your blog.
- Hesham says:
  
  This is why I really like this post from John! and the most important thing that I see is "Building a relationship with that traffic" part! I am glad that I was able to know more new people through comments, and recently I have started a few projects with them, all successful because they were on the same page!
  - John Paul Aguiar says:
    
    TY my friend. I agree that building the relationship is most important . That's why I included you in my new post today :)
  - Colleen says:
    
    Exactly. If it were not for commenting and the relationships, I would have never heard of the famousbloggers contest, and of course, I wouldn't have been a sponsor! :)
Michael says:

I wonder how much is comments/readers ratio? Could it be that people read a post but don't comment? Is it worth of trying to get as many people commenting? I know it feels good and having no comments seems like waste of my blogging efforts...
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  TY for the comment. Every blogger goes thru the no comment stage, doesn't mean your doing anything wrong. Just mean you need more time to get more traffic and build a relationship with them.
Laura Davis says:

Great tips! And look how many comments you already have on this post :) Thanks!
- John Paul Aguiar says:
  
  Hi Laura,,and TY for the comment. Yea comment count on here is really nice, but I think that has more to do with great readers on FamousBloggers then it does with my post :) I'm glad you liked the post.
Hieu Martin says:

Nice to see promotion comment. Thanks man
Kevin S says:

Building Relationships is very important to get good number of comments once one starts blogging.
Lennart Heleander says:

Hi JohnPaul, Great article, I have a few small complement; Links to older posts. Good and interesting titles. Dont write 10, 20 or 50 ways, tips – articles. Write instead 9, 13, 22 or 46 way, tips –articles, its more interesting titles then. And like I have said before; Decide before a read thread and not float out into different topics. Not for large articles, (heavy reading) instead split them up over a couple of days.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  lmaoooo that is great.
Louie Lazaro says:

I was thinking on starting my own blog but have heard bad stories from a couple of my friends, on how they blogged for a couple of years without any success with comments (except spam). But i have to say, you make it sound very doable i think i might just give i a try. Thanks.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Louie, Blogging isn't that hard, but there are a few things you need to do to take your blog to a place where you make money with it. As far as getting comments, if you follow my 3 steps in time you will have more comments then you can handle :)
Designer Freelance says:

Thanks for sharing this, I'm just in that moment of "no comments" in my blog (but crazy amounts of spam) and I was wondering if I'm doing something wrong. I realize after reading your post that I'm doing the 3 steps but not at the same time : ) Thanks again for the good tips.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Yea best thing to do is do all 3 combined. I don't see that your doing anything wrong, but I do see your using comment luv,, that attracts a lot of spam comments,,
Brian says:

I am speechless. When I read the post it was like a blast showing all the comments? Wow. When will I be like this? I have some blogs but I am shy to have it posted here. I might be the laughing stock of the site. (sigh)
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Brian..TY for the comment. But your no different then I was when I started.. in time and following my steps, you will get more comment man.
  - Brian says:
    
    Thanks for the boost, John Paul. You sure know how to make a person feel better. I hope I can be like you man. You really rock. I will check out some of your other postings and will definitely do my best to be like you. Thanks Man.
The Bad Blogger says:

Great information on getting more comment, but I believe out of all the stuff you listed, there is one more important stuff you left out may be to many is not a big deal but it does drive great amount of curious reader. Go figure... I'm writing it on my blog soon. Well... this looks like a tease... may be someone already know, but in any case, what you have written is really informative....
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Nice self promotion comment.. to damn funny
  - The Bad Blogger says:
    
    Well... comment section is an advertising place for bloggesr, and guest post are for self-promotion for guest poster's blog isn't it? I was wondering what's the "funny" means? Anyway... no comment... Play the game like a player...
    - Holly Jahangiri says:
      
      If that's all it is, I'm closing my comments. Starting today. That was just depressing.
      - JohnPaul says:
        
        Holly, Please don't listen to that noise... Maybe the most ignorant thing I have heard a "blogger" say in a long time.
        
        Holly Jahangiri says:
        
        It seems to be a common attitude "out there" though. I try to ignore it, but it still depresses me - perhaps even more when it's so blatantly stated. Not only do people use other people - they're not even shy about discussing it openly.
      - JohnPaul says:
        
        hmmm comments reply has a limit here..lol So I had to come back here to reply to you. I agree there are way to many wanna be bloggers who are glorified spammers, and think there is nothing wrong with that. This is why I don't use comment luv.. it attracts wayyy to many spammers for my taste.
    - JohnPaul says:
      
      Umm the guest post was invited by the blogger and the comment section is for building on the conversation, not for advertising. But good luck with that mindset.. you will go far as a blogger chief.
Dean Saliba says:

I have found that making my blog a do-follow has seen my comment count shoot up.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Dean that is the best way to give a lil back to readers that comment.. its a win win to offer do follow. Great job for seeing the benefits.
hilary says:

I am new to blogging. I have only been doing it for a few months, and I slowing learning may way around. When I started, I didn’t really expect to keep it up, but I have found that I love writing. Even more, I love when I am able to connect to someone else thru sent and received comments. Thanks for the tips!
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Hey Hilary.. Glad to see you in our blogging community :) Yea enjoying writing puts you ahead of many bloggers, since the basis of a great blog is great content, and you are already seeing the benefits of connecting with your readers in your comments.. that's great :)
Gary David says:

Thanks for sharing this. You've really covered all the important details here. I agree with you, when you write good and quality content, there's no way that people won't like it. Combine it with your skill to drive traffic, then you will have a steady flow of visitors in your blog which will leave comments as well. Kind regards, Gary
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Gary.. TY for the comment. Yea quality content is the foundation to getting more comments and interaction in your blog, Then driving traffic to that great content is vital.
Julius Kuhn-Regnier says:

Nice article John. I agree with you here. Good content is simply the basis for getting comments. If you don't have great content then you are not going to get many comments. Then of course you need to build up a relationship with the people that coming to your blog. That way you will turn that visitor into a reader. And at the end you do need to drive traffic to your blog just to get more comments and thus readers ;) How is everything going on your blog?
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Julius..TY for the comment :) You got it man.. content, drive traffic, build relationships.. isn't rocket science. haha Things are good.. hows your blog rollin?
  - Julius Kuhn-Regnier says:
    
    Everything is good :) I am just at the moment focusing on building up some additional websites that will make me some money .. hopefully ;)
    - JohnPaul says:
      
      Nice.. Just don't get to spread out man... But a lil focus on other projects is good. I learned this hard way..lol Trying to do to much at same time building my blog.. Lesson Learned :)
Gera says:

Build it and they'll come - not always! Solid tips - by the way RT, shared at FB and stumbled! These 3 combo of points must be done together - in my opinion - all are #1. I see blogs with: * Excellent content but few comments. Why? Poor traffic & social networking. * Good content and lot of comments. Reasons: Decent traffic but excellent in social networking. * Medium or good quality content but avalanche of comments. "Normal" traffic but a Master in social networking. So if the target is to get comments, you need to do points - 1, 2, 3 - at the same time. Cheers and have a great weekend! Gera
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Gera.. TY for the comment and RT and FB Share and Stumble :) Yea, all 3 need to be done together to get the full benefit and the most comments to your blog. Have A Great Weekend :)
TriNi says:

"(I think faster then I can type)" I think you mean "than". LOL. Sorry, just happened to notice. It happens to me as well though, I make a few grammar and spelling mistakes myself, I guess it's because I don't write a draft into some word processing document and then anally spell check it. I write straight from my head, the exact emotion I'm feeling at the time, and sometimes I think faster than I type as well lol. Anyway, relating your post... comments are great. Comments are fine and dandy, but you know what, I've learned over time that sometimes NO comments isn't such a bad thing. It's a heck of a lot better than spam in my opinion, or someone who just commented to get a backlink. JMO. :)
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Yes, no comments is fine, but hard to build a blog and a business when you can't even get a few comments.. don't you think? But we all have different wants from our blogs, if yours is to not build a community around it then no comments is just fine and dandy. But if you are trying to build a community around your blog, then comments is where is begins.
  - TriNi says:
    
    Yes I agree, comments are definitely nice. But most people blog for money.. well at least around the niche that I'm in. So when you are blogging for money, as long as you're making money from your blog.. comments don't matter as much. As long as you have a clear call to action, and you're getting targeted traffic on a daily basis that is doing what you want them to do when they come to your blog, which is "click ads", "sign up to stuff", or "purchase"... then you're making money and it doesn't matter much if they comment or not. Again, just my opinion off course.
    - JohnPaul says:
      
      Yes if you are making money with your blog thru a million ads, then comments mean nothing. But if you are making money from your blog selling your product or service, then comments are important, since if you can't get a comment for free, you will not make a sale.
      - TriNi says:
        
        Nope, I beg to differ. I make quite a decent amount online, and though I do not sell products because my blog is about ways to make money online free so I refuse to have people pay for anything from my blog, but I make a decent amount from affiliate marketing through CPA campaigns, and I don't get a ton of comments... only a few legit ones every now and again. Mostly spam comments that I reject.
        
        JohnPaul says:
        
        Did you read what I wrote? Because I said comments are not improtant when you are selling ads or aff products.. comments are important if you are selling your own product or service.
        
        TriNi says:
        
        Yup, did read what you wrote... but "thru a million ads" didn't exactly say "ads or aff products" to me.. but ok, if that's what you meant then I agree with you. Yes you need to interact with your customers in order to sell YOUR OWN products. Either way, I hope you didn't take anything I said out of context, I really was just sharing my opinion. And I was just stating that no comments is alot better than SPAM comments.. which I tend to get a lot of because of my rank in search engines. However, I do LOVE comments on my blog and I reply to each and every one of them. So your post is very legit, I was just sharing the downside which was spam comments. Sorry for posting above your comment, I couldn't find any reply link under yours.
        
        John Paul Aguiar says:
        
        Trini.. I get where your coming from.. and I think we agree, on both sides, just lil messing gettin there..lol I also agree that no comments is better then spam comments, that is why I'm not a big fan of comment luv.. it attracts huge amounts of spam comments, comments just for links, and promo comments, all the comments you don't want. I rather have much less then to have 50 per post coming from comment luv.
        
        TriNi says:
        
        Definitely agree with you. That's one of the reasons I haven't tried to install it on my blog. Anyway, lemme go do some online work and stop blabbering around her lol. Good luck with everything!
Kim says:

Great comparison made using the similarities between diet and getting comments. Both do take a combination of different things to produce a successful end result. I’m filling my funnel by learning from your knowledge that you’re sharing here.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  TY Kim.,. I'm glad you liked the post and my dieting example :)
Evelyn says:

I've been reading a lot of posts this week about commenting. I'm glad to see you share your comment numbers. You have the numbers to back up what you're saying. That's awesome! *very catch headline* Great job, John! -Evelyn
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Evelyn. TY for commenting :) I have read a few too, and most are missing the point on getting comments, so I figured I'd share what has worked for me, and the numbers to prove it, since people want to see results, not JUST chit chat. You know I worked on that headline a few different ways..lol I'm glad you like the version I went with.
Holly Jahangiri says:

Good advice. Too many of us would like to follow the "build it and they will come" strategy, but if they can't find "it" they won't come. Ever.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Holly, I'm glad you liked the post :) Yea I don't care how great your content is, if you do not promote it, no one will see it. Kinda like, "if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" Same with a post, if you write it, and don't promote it, is it getting seen?
  - Holly Jahangiri says:
    
    Oh, yes. As an author, not just a blogger, I'd love to believe that my job is over the minute I sign the contract with my publisher. (I'm also an introvert, believe it or not.) Unfortunately, it's not over then. Blogging has been a good way for me to pick up tips on marketing, as well as being a fun, creative writing outlet.
    - JohnPaul says:
      
      Promote Promote Promote..lol The internet makes it easy for introverts to shine :)
Justin Germino says:

Excellent article and very true that in order to solicit comments you have to actively engage and build a community and relationship. Until your site can become massive enough to garner enough traffic and attention that you don't have to actively go out and comment in order to receive a comment, you have to give some to get some.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Justin..TY for the comp.. I appreciate it. Yea it really is all about engaging and building a community..lol The reality is, it takes a few min to reply to comment son your blog or other blogs to build the relationship, there really is no reason to not do it.
Nabeel says:

Hi, I agree. Doing all three of them will have the most effect. The example you give of dieting, aerobics and weight lifting is really true. Many people do only one or two, but the power is in doing all three of them, Good Content, More Traffic and last but not least Build Relationships! Kindest, Nabeel
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Nabeel.. TY for the comment. I'm glad you got my dieting example..lol But I used to be a bodybuilder in my non fat years..lol and it worked same way.. dieting good, working out good, aerobics good,, do all 3 together and you see huge results quickly.
Ryan Biddulph says:

Great points here John Paul. Those are some heady comment numbers too ;) Content is the cornerstone. Without something of value to read, readers won't show up. Beyond that engagement is vital. Ask questions, give answers and respond to every commenter who shows up. Visit their blogs and leave comments. This is the foundation of a valuable relationship. Thanks for sharing your pointers :) Ryan Biddulph
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Ryan..TY Man,..Im glad you enjoyed it. Great post needs a strong promotion behind it to have it seen. But I agree that great content is your cornerstone, great content will bring them back for more over n over.
Aaron says:

Good post John Paul. This one might end up getting the most comments so far :) I am a huge believer in social bookmarking and spreading your new post to as many places as quickly as possible. If the search engines can pick up on the relevance based on when it was published, it tends to help as well.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Aaron..TY I'm glad you liked the post. I'm with you, promoting a new post to as many places as you can is the best way to get it in front of many many eyes. People need to see that a great post with no promotion is a waste of a great post.
Gabrielle says:

Oh thank you for this post! I am going to come back and read the rest of your interlinked posts to get more information. The best part was the "permission" you give to write about what you are learning and going through. I recently bought an excellent software program called, Fiction Master by Sol Stein. It seems that I'm the only one searching for this program according to the numbers in Market Samurai. I didn't think that any of my readers would be interested in learning about the program but I really want to write about it. I think I will now that I've read your post. It has improved my writing so much already in fiction and it definitely classifies as something that many other bloggers are not talking about, probably because it is old school but still newsworthy. Thanks for an excellent post and I'll come back to read more. Already bookmarked your site :)
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Gabrielle,, TY for the comment.. I'm glad the post was helpful :)
Dev - Technshare.com says:

Hey John, Glad to see you here man. You're doing awesome job on your blog. Those are awesome tips. Thanks for sharing this great Post. Really Great Post. ~Dev
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Dev.. Nice to be seen here :) I'm glad you liked the post man.. I appreciate the support.
element321 says:

John, thanks for sharing your tips. I noticed just in the last few weeks my comments on my site are going. Writing for Famous Bloggers, guest posting, BloggerLuv and commenting several different sites. I am getting more comments. Now that I spend time talking with people on BloggerLuv I have built up a little more traffic and I get more comments. I have several new posts with a good amount of comments. I still haven't had much success with talking with people on Twitter, but I am trying to figure out ways to fix that...
- JohnPaul says:
  
  James... Glad to hear that your comment count is going up.. your finally building relationships, that's why your seeing the jump :) Great work man.. as far as Twitter. READ MY BOOK YOU HAVE..lol
Paul says:

The 2 first steps are the most important: writing good content and getting a lot of traffic. If you achieve those 2 things you will get a lot of comments. Another way is to have a do follow blog, ha ha
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Paul.. I have seen many blogs with great content and huge traffic and still get barely 5 comments a post...I agree those 2 steps are very important, but without building the relationship.. you still won't get good amount of comments.
Make Money With Adsense says:

Great post and some very interesting tips, getting blog comments can be hard at first, but i found that building a good reputation reeps its rewards.
- Hesham says:
  
  Hey David, thank you for stepping by, would you plz add your name next time before your keyword?! You can do it like this : (David @ Make Money With Adsense) That would be better ;)
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Hey David.. TY for the comment. I agree that building that strong reputation/brand, will get you more comments. Glad you liked the post :)
Kevin M. says:

Great tips! I have found all of these tips helpful on my blog.
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Kevin, Glad you liked the post :)
Maira Grove says:

This was great, thanks so much for sharing this experience. At least now I know I was not the only lonely blogger out there for a while, lol. Taking your advice and for now it seems like I'm on the right track...
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Maira... I'm glad you liked the post :) Trust me, ever newbie blogger goes thru this, myself and Hesham included, but the thing to do is to continue to write great content, share it and engage with your readers. If your stick to all 3 steps, you will be writing your own "how to get more comments" post :)
Tia says:

Good stuff, JP. I have seen this work over time as well on my blog. It does pretty well with comments. I feel like chatty bloggers attract chatty readers. The content itself has to be good, but there is more to good than just good writing. It also has to be conversational. It helps to be "present" instead of being like an encyclopedia, IF you want comments. Of course, some people value traffic over comments and that is fine, too. But what I have noticed, even on the bigger blogs, is that the tone of the post needs to invite comments and sometimes that's not easy! Cheers, Tia
- JohnPaul says:
  
  Tia..TY I'm glad you liked it. I agree that good content is only the beginning.. like I say in the post, each step alone is fine, but to get that comment nirvana, you need to do all 3. Being present is big, if people know you will see and reply to there comments then they will comment more.. I myself have stopped commenting on some blogs, because the blogger rarely replies to comments, which to me is lazy and a big mistake. People like to know that their input matters and is valued by the blogger, if they feel thats not the case, they will not comment again.
C.A. Simmons says:

Great post. I like the simplicity of your system. It took me awhile to appreciate the 'Relationship' part and missed some opportunities to connect with my readership. But I'm better now. Good stuff!
- JohnPaul says:
  
  CA,,TY for the comment, I'm glad you liked the post. Yea the "relationship" part is the most important to me. There many blogs people visit, but they will visit and look forward to adding their 2 cents if you have built a relationship with them first. Good thing is you learned it now man, build from that and kill it.
  - C.A. Simmons says:
    
    That's the plan. I recently realized the power of bringing the conversations to your site through Twitter and various WP plugins. Been testing it out for a little while. Now to see if it works. Until next time.
    - JohnPaul says:
      
      Yea Twitter is a hige push for my blog... have a psot on my blog about getting more ReTweets.. You might like that too.
      - C.A. Simmons says:
        
        Off to check that out right now. One of my focuses has been figuring out how to crack these new Klout scores. I want mine higher for obvious reason.
        
        JohnPaul says:
        
        Let em know what you think. Klout is cool, I have been as high as Chris Brogan and then much lower. Thing with Klout.. if you check your rank right after posting a bunch of tweets and RTs and @replies, your rank will be higher. If you check your rank after some quiet time on Twitter, your rank will be lower. Don't focus to much on stats like that man,, just focus on buildign your community on twitter.
John Paul Aguiar says:

Hesham..TY for sharing my post with your readers :) Hope they like it.
- Hesham says:
  
  It's my pleasure, and I really like your tips because I am always after personal experience which I can get something out of of most of the time! I was remembering my blogging journey while reading your post, I faced the "NO Comments", it was hard times ;) but I find your post make a lot of sense to me because I was following exactly what you have said in your 3 steps! The most one I like is writing something different than others, or at least in a different style, I went so far with that .. I even some times had to publish my posts with a Title that has no relationship with "keywords" to be able to get attention and drive readers! some how it works, if you know what I mean! lol Thank you John for the awesome post! nice add to FB! By the way, loging to your account while replying .. it will style your reply!
  - JohnPaul says:
    
    Hesham.. I think all new bloggers go thru the same issues when it comes to getting more comments. There are many ways to get comments, but to get "true" comments that add to the conversation and build on it are the comments I like. These are the ways I use to get more comments and that you use as well, and seems to be working great for you too :) I'm glad I could post here for your readers, again, Bloggers Helping Bloggers!

4 Posts 200 Comments and Lesson Learned

I Was Questioned Everything

3 Steps To More Comments

Getting Comments Is Like Losing Weight

So How Much Weight Have I Lost?