Want more comments on your blog posts? Of course you do!
The good news is that it’s simpler than you might think. No magic required, just a few little tweaks.
Click play now to find out the three things that have made a huge difference in how many comments I get on my blog (they’ll work for you, too!).
If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_jRO75GAzU
Your Turn!
What have you found helpful in getting more of your readers to comment? Are you using any of these strategies yet?
Spread the Love
I agree some bloggers make it difficult for their readers to leave comments. I’ve left many in frustration. Hopefully, they’ll find your site for blogging tips and strategies. I have used all 3 of your tips but I’m still working on getting regular, consistent comments on my blog.
Continued success!
Yep, you’re not alone in that, Adalia. Every time we run the blog challenge I get dozens of emails and messages asking me to please tell bloggers to turn off all the “red tape” around their comments. LOL
Once you’ve got these things in place it’s more a game of driving traffic to the site.
I turned off my word verification for a while and it helped garner more comments. Blogspot was terrible at catching spammers though and after having a very graphic (x-rated) comment on my religious blog, I regretfully had to turn the catchpa back on.
I wish blogspot had a simple “click if you’re human” button.
Honestly this is one reason I’m such a fan of self-hosted WordPress — much more control and flexibility. In addition to the checkbox you see, I make extensive use of a blacklist option to stop spam. There are dozens of words that will send a comment straight to my spam folder. Is there any chance a similar feature exists for Blogger?
Enjoyed your video Michelle and think your tips are great. I just have to work on asking those questions.
Awesome, get those questions in there, Kaye! :)
All good advice. Seems sooo simple but, glad you put this out there. Thanks, be well.
Sometimes it really is that simple!
Enjoyed the videos, they are full of good information. I am guilty of not ending with a question, but that will get corrected today. Thanks for reminding me.
Glad the reminder was helpful, William. And thanks, appreciate you taking time to watch the videos.
Yes make it simple! It amazes me how many blogs are hard to leave comments on. Love comment luv ! Thank you for the recommendation! :)
Crazy, isn’t it? If we want people to do something (like leave comments) then we need to make it as easy as we can!
CommentLuv rocks. *said adoringly* :)
Thanks for the tips, Michelle! And YES, it is so hard when you just want to give your thoughts and all these windows pop up! Sometimes I don’t even notice, and my comment doesn’t get posted. I will definitely try these to see if my comments increase…High fives to you! :)
I’ve done that — thought I’d left a comment and not realized the process required multiple more screens of “yes, I’m a human,” “yes, this is me,” “yes, I really really really really want to comment. Insane!
*high five back*
Great tips, Michelle – especially the make it easy to comment one. Oh yes, that is a huge bug bear for me!
Yup. It’s easy to forget as the blog owner how frustrating that is for new visitors to deal with.
Great suggestions! I used to require ‘approval’ before a comment could be posted on my site, but often times, by the time I reviewed the comment and published it with a reply, it would be later in the evening or the following day and the conversation had gone cold. Much better to let the comments flow and have commenters interact with each other.
That’s a great point, Marta. It does make a difference if people see their comment pop up quickly as opposed to hours (or days!) later.
Fantastic tips here, Michelle. Love the way you do videos – so natural!
Thanks Corinne, I appreciate you tuning in and watching! :)
The video was great to watch and i loved it. Somebody once said, ask and it shall be given. ask questions when writing your post that will surly make your readers comment except you over killed the post. Thanks
Thanks for watching. The questions do help for sure.
Michelle – I’ve just discovered your site – a link from FB. These tips are so simple, but then the simplest things are usually the best. I do practise the first 2 tips here, but am thinking of putting Comment Luv on the site too to see what happens.
Awesome! Welcome to my blog, Caroline. :)
Making it a call to action helps :)
The video is very helpful. I get comments but some of them are spam please provide a way to improve security.
Ms. Shaeffer, as a visually impaired computer user who uses a screen reader, I hate captchas. Thank you for telling people not to use them.
Hi Michelle,
This is my first time here, I followed the link from Caroline and Davinas FB page. Well what you’re saying obviously works judging by the amount of comments that you attract. It is always a fine line between gaining comments and fighting spam.
I spotted Comment Luv on Jans website (mylocalbusinessonline) last year and I must admit is has helped.
Good suggestions that really work–I do all of these for the most part. It’s also very important to get out there and attract the traffic to one’s site. If I slack off on visiting others for a while then I start seeing the drop in comments. Social interaction is so important.
Hopefully this comment won’t end up in spam. WordPress is bad about exiling my comments to spam folders when I comment on sites where I’ve never left a comment before.
Good post. I’ll tweet it.
Hey Arlee, I’ve got mine set to moderate a first comment but after that you’re free. :) And welcome!
Yep, getting traffic in the first place is KEY — if no one is reading, well… all the smart comment-getting strategies in the world won’t make a difference.
Hey! Thanks for the great video! I don’t like working too hard to leave comments either! Appreciate the tips;)
These are great commenting tips, Michelle. I need to work on more prompts to have my visitors WANT to comment. Your Q&A videos are fantastic! The more I watch them, the braver I get to want to start talking in front of the camera.
I do have one question for you: what platform are you using to add text overlay on your videos. You’ve shared your video recording platforms with me in the past, but just curious what you’re using to add text.
Thanks!
I am taking note of everything. I think I had all you said on my current blog. I am building a new blog. Have yet to install sharing buttons. I am still putting up some posts.
Thanks
Congrats on launching a new blog–fun! :)