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Comments on Blogs

Posted by kathiemt • 4/28/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Tags: activity on blogs, comments on blogs, subscriptions

I've recently begun exploring different blogging communities like this one and can see an increased number of visitors to my blogs, which is great, but there hasn't been any increased activity, i.e. people subscribing or people leaving comments. I wonder if this is because people feel that through the communities they can remain informed/updated without doing the other things, or if it's something else? I do get comments on my blogs but nowhere near as much as I'd like. I also get people subscribing but again I would like to see that increased. What do others think?

User Comments

4/28/07

ChurchOfIntegrity

Hmm...I guess I've been lucky then because I've had some really good commenting on my site from people that came from Blogcatalog. Then again my site is rather new with not that many comments...

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4/28/07

jphillips

Hello kathiemt!
Well i personaly get a nice amount of comments on my blog, one thing that is important is to ask people questions, make them want to participate and join the discussions, when i write a new post i always try to "leave out some infos" and usually people will comment and bam! discussion is on!

Simply replying to comments (all of them) on your blog, and giving some "reasons" for people to comment is what helps i think. Try to run a contest over at your blog, see if it attracts a decent aamount of traffic, them try to leave comments on other peoples' blogs, it might just do the trick.

On a ssidde note, there are really quality blogs, that have over 3000 RSS subscribers that don't get a lot of comments (0 to 6 comments on average), so the number of comments is not necessarly the most important thing, but asking for feedback from your readers can definitely help, it also depends on the niche, i'm off to cheking out some of your blogs more!

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4/28/07

kathiemt

Thanks for your responses. I do comment on other blogs, follow on discussions on my own blog and respond to comments. Guess I just need to be patient to see it happening more.

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4/28/07

kiltak

Kathy: You have to end your post by asking a question to your readers. It works quite well! It also depends on the nature of your blog. A site that stricly reports news will not get as much comments as another that brings up touchy / controversial subjects..

I've got over 2000 RSS subscribers and 1000's of front page readers.. and I have around 4 to 6 comments per post on average... when I ask a question, it can go up to 10-20. (Or sometime 0 )

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4/30/07

BasilandSpice

Kathi,
Blog with content that others want to read about. Then tell others what you're blogging about. They'll come have a look.
For example, I write about authors--interviews and their books related to diet, weight loss, nutrition, health, and fitness. My site is #1 in this field. Come meet: Brenda Watson--The Fiber 35 Diet, Dr. Ralph Felder--The Bonus Years Diet, Trisha Gura--Lying In Weight, or Dr. Perricone.
Kelly Jad'on/Publisher
www.basilandspice.com

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5/01/07

ThePopulist

I hardly ever get any comments.. I had to put them on Moderate, because of some idiots. But I've since took it back off... but no one comments.

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5/01/07

lafrance

comment or post or even forum may not generate any interest for a long time then one day it seem like an explosion.Keep the faith it will come if they feel to response,Mind you comment also bring spam bot so you have to be careful.
Pierre

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5/01/07

joolz

Often the posts you expect to generate comments don't and vice versa. Best thing is not to try too hard!

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5/01/07

ThriftShopRomantic

Hi there-
I don't have my site set up with a comments area, due to the technology I'm using, but I found I got a serious increase in response from folks when I changed my email page title from "Contact" to "Say Hi". I guess the "Contact" which is used very standardly in the business area, is just too formal for a more relaxed blog site. So maybe readers are getting a sense of formality on your site that prevents them from commenting in some way?

Just an idea, anyway.
--Jenn

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5/01/07

robinbal

I leave comments on the various blogs I visit, some blogs you cant just help leave a comment. I get my decent share of comments on my blog and make it a point to reply to all of them.

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5/03/07

m38967

You bring up a good point, because often i read in authority blogs, that the measure of success for blogs is:

1. the number of subscribers
2. comments or other participation from readers

So one can assume that little to no action by visitors/readers is not good. BUT, also one has to take into account timing, content, niche, and a host of other factors in reaching measures 1 and 2 above.

It is not easy, but it is always fun (atleast for me)to reach far-fetched goals.

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5/03/07

kathiemt

I appreciate all your answers. Some of my blogs have regular subscribes and regular visitors so I know the interest is there. It's just the lack of comments - or perhaps I'm just being too anxious. I do get comments - I just want to see lots more. I'll have to rethink how I'm posting I guess.

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5/03/07

Randlet

At mikes money making mission in his latest post he talks about comments, and sorted out that for every 400 visitors or so over at problogger, problogger gets 1 comment.

Pretty interesting I think.

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5/04/07

kathiemt

With those stats I'm ahead then!

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5/07/07

NicholasK

Kathi, comments are always appreciated. And as a blogger, you feel that people should comment more often. But I read a certain amount of blog every day, and most of the time I just don't comment. It doesn't mean I don't like their blog.

In the end, each comment should always be treasured and each commentator greatly appreciated. You appreciation should always be made known by replying, especially in the beginning stages of your blog. And make the approval process as easy as possible so that they can see their comment and your reply as soon as possible. Being quick is the key.

Commentators add value to your blog, and I myself always feel great warmth for those who do leave comments...

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2/14/08

jackpayne

My experience has been that roughly 5% of visitors leave comments, though I understand this figure is, generally, lower.

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2/14/08

davet

i agree with jack....low number of comments, but always nice to see the visitor number going up.

newsblip.blogspot.com/

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2/15/08

FLOOG

As a relatively new blogger, I'm always amazed and excited to see the visitor numbers increasing, and comments are always gratefully received. I originally set out not worrying too much about traffic and the chances of connecting with my reader (singular), but I think perhaps I'd secretly love a million hits a day and a barrel load of comments.

To me, one really honest, constructive comment can mean an awful lot.

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2/15/08

GlossGreen

I have a problem with my blog. It seems that not many people here are interesting in gaming. I've had a couple of these people comment, but it's not common. I do have my blog on several gaming web sites with links to my blogspot address. I'm hoping that by spreading out more people can see this, and hopefully comment. And Flood is correct. One good comment is worth 100 "good blog", or "nice writing" comments.

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2/15/08

PANDONG

Comments are helpful to a blogger in the sense that they boost the confidence of the blog owner, that is if the comment is good. But if the comment is negative or not related to our post. that is a different story. Apparently, I made three posts about having comments on blogs, and if you like, pls. feel free to visit this link.

wherebloggersandhumansmeet.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-some-bloggers-disable-t...

For the 2 other posts, pls. see the Related Posts at end of this post. Hope you find them interesting to read. Thanks!

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