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Home » The Famous Blog » Getting More Blog Comments (Warning Explicit Content)

Getting More Blog Comments (Warning Explicit Content)

September 9, 2012 - Last Modified: March 29, 2014 by Jonathan Smith

Blog Comments

When I first started blogging I hated working several hours on a 2,000 word article only for it not to be seen or commented on.

The sad truth is I was doing nothing to advertise my blog posts and I knew nothing about SEO and other Internet resources for getting my content to the world. One thing I have learned is that with any web project it takes time. Time to go viral and time to get noticed. Another thing I learned is that creating epic content that readers will love is probably the best way to go about going viral.

One thing I would like to touch on today is getting readers interested in your blog post and almost forcing them to comment. This will test your marketing skills. Are you a good copywriter? Lets find out…

Getting more blog comments seems tough especially for a newer blog that only receives a few visitors a day but it doesn’t have to be. Even popular blogs with high PR and traffic I frequent get less comments than some of my newer blogs. The simple fact is that they are not engaging their readers. They are not asking questions or involving the reader at all. The only involvement the blog post has is the comment form at the bottom of the post and nothing more. That is not always enough.

Through my years of failure I have learned lots of great techniques which I am sure you will be happy to learn. Some of these techniques are “duh” kind of techniques that will make you say to yourself…”Why did I not think of that?’.

Before I get into some simple techniques to engage your readers and get more comments on your blog post I would like to share with you why you want more blog comments.

Comments are a way of telling Google and other search engines your content is being read and you have social proof. Social proof does not have to always be from Facebook or other social networks.

It can also be from your own site. Having comments can often be the cause of higher ranking articles in the SERPs. Not only do search engines notice the comment numbers your readers do as well. Having loads of comments gives the reader the idea that your blog post has some sort of value inside and results in a much lower bounce rate.

Inviting Your Readers to Comment

This is probably the first thing you should have done at the end of your blog post. You can be sneaky about it without sounding desperate. Simply ask a question then invite them to share their opinion or answer in the comments.

You probably know this but are you actually remembering to do this? You should be…

Ending your Blog Post with a Question

Questions in your blog posts are ways of engagement.

Asking questions tells your readers that you want their opinion. This gets them eager to answer and post their opinion in your comments. Ending with a question is something I do on every blog post. It has been the reason my blog posts get more comments than most.

I have always considered a good blog being a blog that is talking with the reader not at the reader

Respond To Comments

If you never respond to comments left on your blog posts you will probably lose a few readers here and there.

They don’t like to be ignored and find it offensive when you do not respond to their comment. This could go either way but when you do respond to comments you should rarely leave short comments. It is not engaging at all. You should be replying with more detail not just thanks, awesome or that was nice of you. These types of comments are not good enough. Show you care about the reader’s comment and give further help by linking to further content on the subject.

Not only responding to comments but responding to comments further engaging your audience. This will further the conversation in your comments resulting in well…more comments. How do you do this? Simple…ask more questions in your comment replies. This will go further than you think. If someone responds to your post with their opinion just ask why they feel that way or why they see it like that. This is not rocket science…

Limiting your Outbound Links

This I see quite often in a blog post. Too many links that take the reader away from the post.

This is good for SEO and internal linking but not always great for the reader. I find myself right clicking the link to open in a new tab but not all readers know that trick. Think like a reader. I think it is good to further your blog post by linking to other content which is similar or keyword related but limit those links to 3 or 4 max.

Write Epic Content

Haha… this one is a given… are you writing content that is engaging that has value to the reader?

Content is key they say… but not just for search engines. It is the key to growing a successful readership. You want your readers to dive into your content not laugh and never return. If your content sucks you may not get too many comments and if you get lots of comments they will probably be comments bashing your article.

Provide value to your readers and they will comment more.

Touching Emotions a Marketing Technique

Are you a marketer? You should learn a few marketing tricks. This will help you in creating converting content.

Conversions are not just for sales pages. They can be used with anything that has a reason. Example: Your blog post has a reason. That reason is to grab the attention of your readers and get comments…right? Touching on an emotion or fear will almost always attract comments.

A Tricky Value Adder

I have seen this done on a few blogs I frequent but I have not yet done this myself. I noticed it and I know the reader who posted this comment was happy to see this judging by her response in the comments section.

What you do is quote some comments in your posts that your readers have posted. This will tell your audience that you care about what they have to say. You should probably only post the comments that you can give value to in some way.

I know a blogger who takes his comment questions turning them into post ideas. This gets his readers to engage. They ask questions and the questions become the life of the blog which is a whole lot of value. People come to blogs for information. He is really giving that information with that method.

Reward your Commenters

This is a great way to boost comments. You simply reward them by having them publicly displayed with the Latest Contributors plugin. This will link to their blog and show their face on your blog. What a great way to reward your readers who comment.

Conclusion

I could write for days on this subject but the above suggestions are probably the most successful in my experience and research. Getting more blog comments will take a little time but don’t give up. Keep writing EPIC content and promoting it. The readers will do the rest.

Do you have a technique that you use to get more comments on your blog posts you would like to share? If so post your information in the comments below. I look forward to the responses.

Image © bloomua – Fotolia.com

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Filed Under: Blog Comments

About Jonathan Smith

Follow @affcrusher

Jonathan Smith is the co-founder of Affiliate Marketing Forums an affiliate marketing forum and affiliate marketing blog teaching people how to make money online with CPA Affiliate Marketing. Jonathan focuses his time developing ideas and turning them into a profit. He has connections in most online industries and is the go to expert when it comes to affiliate marketing.

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{ 40 Responses }

  1. Frank Martz says:
    In my case, it was not about getting more comments on my two car blogs - it was about me getting inspired to spend more time on them. Blogging, in my opinion takes up a lot of time, plus, I kept getting "writers block." So, with no new updates or articles, sure your comments and traffic will decrease. I learned from that myself. Now with no blogs to worry about, now I can concentrate on my first passion - cars.
  2. bert says:
    I'm not certain if a lot of comments is always a good thing. Any ideas on that?
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Well that is surely an opinion but think of it like this...if you go to a blog that looks like it has no traffic or comments are you going to think that lots of people enjoyed the content? Probably not. If they did then most people would comment. Even if they did not people would comment on a popular blog if the content was controversial or worth a comment. Just an opinion. Comments look are social proof that a blog post was good or worth commenting...in most cases.
  3. Ana says:
    Hi Jonathan! Congrats for an awesome article! These are really great tips on increasing blog comments. You have an excellent point on leaving a question at the end of every blog. Keep up the good work!
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Ana, Thanks for your comment. So glad that you liked the post. For some reason I am not getting comment notifications or I would have been back here right away to reply. I am really sorry for the delay in my response. I have resubscribed to the comments and look forward to other responses. Once again thank you for your comment. Means a lot that you liked my article. Jonathan Smith
  4. Amanda Prior says:
    So if no one comments, the blog’s no use. But contests can be used to encourage comments. Surely if you have to use contests to solicit comments all you’re doing is attracting freebie seekers rather than people who genuinely want to contribute.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      We are talking about comments here not growing a freebie seeker list. I mean no offense there at all. Just saying. Also, if a blog does not have comments then it means it is less popular no useless. There are thousands of articles out there on the net that are of good use and original ideas but it was not promoted enough to get popular and receive comments. That is all this means. I'm not a fan of the contest promotion but could be a good idea to promote the comment but I prefer to use my own strategy as outlined in the blog post I wrote above.
  5. Andres says:
    I know what you mean, you have writers block so can't do anything and then work several hours on a 2,000 word article where no-one comments!! My thoughts are that if people can be bothered to leave you a comment then the least you can do is take the trouble to reply and acknowledge them, it also looks professional. Inviting people to leave a comment is a nice and gentle approach, that and asking a question at the end of your post should guarantee comments I think.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      You are absolutely right...hence the reason I have returned to my blog post here to respond to all of you who commented. I'm all about respect. Asking a question really does not guarantee a comment. Use your marketing skills to attract the comment. We all know good headlines. Just search for them in Digg.com and use these practices with your questions and your blog articles.
  6. Joey Xoto says:
    Hey! Great tips on increasing blog comments. I am still new to the blogging world but I think one of the keys to getting comments is writing good content really. You see so many blogs out there, where the content is just dry and dire!!! Your posts need some kind of entertainment factor, emotion and make it personal. One think about blog posting, is that it should be “event driven”; by this I mean you shouldn’t just bog for the sake of adding content. You should post when something has changed, or you’ve learned something somewhere and want to link it to your own story! Storytelling in a post is an awesome way to keep readers enticed on the read. Great post.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Those sound like great reasons to blog but a lot of people blog to tell their feelings and I blog to teach people something. They are not event driven blog posts like you mention but they are there for a reason. You should stop thinking about writing events but create the events with your blog post. Make your content the "EVENT" not about the event. Your post will go viral and you will become a popular blogger. I have learned a lot about blogging as an Internet marketing expert. I make a full time living from home and I know how to build a following. I do it all day every day. People run to my content because the information inside is game changing content. Epic content. Do that for your own blog and you will surly succeed. I wish you the best of luck in your blog.
  7. Enstine Muki says:
    Hey Jonathan, I think the Latest Contributor plugin is what I should get right now. It sounds a great way to reward commentators. Thanks for mentioning it
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Hey there, It is a great plugin. Let me know how you like it.
  8. Dean Saliba says:
    I noticed a big increase in my comments when I turned my blog to dofollow, but it does increase the spam as well.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      That is cool, do you really want to do that though? It will take rank from your website to theirs. Not a big fan of that myself but hey you are the blog owner :) I can see how it would get more comments.
  9. Sam says:
    You forgot one obvious one, to add commentluv! lol, it's on here, but you may want to keep it as a nofollow to keep that page juice and not give it all away on your blog posts. Other then that, it's a great way to get your site listed on posts that talk about commentluv and also persuade users to leave a comment so they can see their nice little link to their blog under their comment! lol
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Yes, comment love is a great plugin which I do use for all my blogs. Bought it recently when Hesham emailed me about the discount. Love CommentLuv
  10. Ram says:
    Wow! those are very good tips Johnathan. I've never tried the plugin that you recommended but I'll surely give it a shot. Thank you for the help. It'll be helpful for my new blog.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      That plugin is great. The owner of this blog here Hesham is the creator. Let me know how you like it. Thanks, Jonathan Smith
      • Gyantastic! says:
        Hey Jonathan, I used that plugin on my other blog and it looks good. Hope my readers also like it. Ram
  11. Aditya says:
    Hi Jonathan, Getting more blog comments from readers is surely a not a difficult task.The more challenging task is making them feel like they are the soul of the blog.If they don't comment,the blog is not of any use.And having contests or giveaways can also increase the comments to a blog for sure.
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      While I agree that getting comments is not always difficult but I don't agree that no comments causes a blog to be of no use. It just takes some promotion to get that content noticed and read. There are several blogs that are very useful but they just aren't read because they are not found easily. Hope that makes a lot of sense. Contests and or giveaways? Have you done this before? How well did it work for you? Share your answer in a reply. Would benefit other readers :)
      • Aditya says:
        I have to to agree with you Jonathan about the promotion of the content.But if you post as a guest to another blog which have huge number of visitors then automatically it will get promoted.Somehow it is obvious to get the content in the eyes of the readers.I have read a post on (www.betterbloggingways.com/how-to-publish-every-blog-post-to-google-plus-page-automatically).May be it can help you in promoting the blog. And about the contest and giveaways,although i haven't done it before but have seen many bloggers which frequently host a contest and giveaways and has got more comments than usual.
        • Jonathan Smith says:
          Aditya, This blog post did not get me very much traffic to my own website but did return a few visits my way. That was not the point of the guest post but was a big factor in it. You see, guest posting also helps drive traffic to your site. It allows you to get your name out there to other bloggers followers. I try to post a guest post at least once per month. I figure I should do more but I really do not have to time to devote to it anymore. Thanks for your comment.
  12. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Hi Jonathan, Ending with questions is good money J! People feel the urge to answer and usually do. Thanks! RB
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Thanks Ryan, You would definitely know :) Thanks for your comment...
  13. Joe Seals says:
    I really like the first two tips you give. Invite them to comment and end the post with a question. I think those two alone will help me get a few more comments to add to my already REALLY low number of them.Thanks for this very informative post. I can tell you as a New Blogger, this really helps!
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Joe Seals, Glad my article has inspired you. Thanks for your comment and remember to also write epic content that will give your readers something to grab to. They need to WANT to come back. Keep them engaged with your site. Don't give up...keep on trucking brotha.
  14. Jonathan Smith says:
    Carolyn, Thanks for your feedback and addition to the article. You are right it does allow you to see if you missed anything in your article. Comments can give you the opportunity to update your blog post and add more value to it. Comments are a powerful tool to use for sure. Also, the title is just to grab readers. It is used a lot in the most popular blogs. I see your point though..but my article did get a good amount of tweets and shares. Not sure if that had an affect on the social shares. I would have to test titles to find out if that has anything to do with it. Once again thanks, Jonathan Smith
  15. Roshan says:
    what's with the explicit content on the heading anyway! Regarding comments, what about the commenting system - inbuilt system vs using Facebook commenting system?
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Roshan, The warning is a headline trick to get people to read the content. Publishers do it all the time. Check out some of the top blogs in publishing. Also, I am not a huge fan of the Facebook commenting system but I do know many people who use it. I don't see anything wrong with it. I think you as a blogger have a choice. Either way comments are still a part of the content. Are you using the Facebook commenting system? How well do you like it? Have you seen any jumps in comments because of it? Thanks for your comment :)
      • Roshan says:
        Thanks, I am not a big fan of using third party commenting either. However I believe Facebook commenting is good only for sites with very regular blog readers. For many others, normal commenting is much better.
        • Jonathan Smith says:
          I can see your point but I believe that the ultimate decision is up to the blog author or owner. I think it is just a preference.
  16. Mark says:
    @Jonathan I am using "Comment Approved Notifier" to let commenters know that their comments have been moved out of moderation and are not live, and I am using "Comment Reply Notification" to alert published commenters know when they have received a reply. I have a small circuit of blogs that I comment on and I personally appreciate getting email notifiers of the fact that my comments have been approved as well as getting sent a reply. The main reason is that I almost always forget to go back and check for responses, which contain follow up questions, just as yours did. Mark :)
    • Mark says:
      I meant to say "now live" as opposed to "not live"...LOL!
      • Jonathan Smith says:
        Yeah I seen that, I knew what you meant though. If only we could edit our comments some how :)
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Mark, Thanks for sharing that. They seem like really good plugins. I may actually use them myself. I am bad about getting back unless I have a notifier to email me hehe.
  17. Mark says:
    Responding to comments is a big one in my book. I enabled plugins that notify my commenters when their comments are approved and responded to. All of the most successful bloggers I know respond to their comments and aren't afraid to link out to them. Gread article, Jonathan. Mark
    • Jonathan Smith says:
      Mark, What plugin are you using for comment notifications? Thank you for your comment and compliment. Glad you really enjoyed the article. Jonathan Smith
  18. Carolyn says:
    Hi Jonathan, Great advice. It boils down to showing you care about the commenters. You're right, comments are the lifeblood of a blog. A blog without comments seems much lonelier than one where a conversation is going. Comments are also a great source of feedback for your article. If a reader asks a question in the comment, you may realize that you missed covering something or didn't explain it clearly enough. Excellent point about comments being good fodder for future article topics. The content of comments shows what your readers consider important. I would also add that CommentLuv is an effective incentive for readers to leave comments. The title of this article has me a bit perplexed. It might make some readers less likely to tweet out this wonderful article?

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