As an 15 year veteran of blogging I am frequently asked by other bloggers how to get people to comment on their blog. Needless to say, I share some of their frustrations since even with my view rate my interaction from my blogs is very low.
So, why do people not post comments to a Blog?
In an effort to learn more on why I, and others, are not getting any comments to our blog I contacted 25 people I know who read my blog. I asked them why they don’t comment.
Following is the result of the question I asked the 25 people I know:
90% stated something like…Don’t mind making comment. I just don’t have the time to deal with the notifications received from other people’s comments.
10% Reported that they did not like to comment on blogs due to that action usually leads to receiving an unruly amount of spam.
The Risk of Commenting
This report from my supporters tells me people do have interest in commenting, but value their time more. What will it take to get people to comment?
I’m not sure I have a solution to the problem this group reported. Seems the culture of the internet allowing people to make off character remarks and promotional posts in the comment field has taken a great toll on blogging. True, there are a large number of bloggers who do get a large number of comments to their blog. If you take a look at some of them you will see that many of the comments are from people out to gain attention to themselves.
Monitoring or moderating comments will help cut down on the deviance and uncalled for remarks. However, the time it takes to moderates hundreds of comments puts the burden on the blogger who could be quickly overwhelmed.
Is there a solution?
Why People Do Not Comment on Blogs has a number of good reasons why people do not comment, but what are some solutions to eliminating the problems people have with commenting on blogs. Maybe you have a few solutions we need to hear about..but that would require you to comment. Hope you make an exception this time.
Let me know how I can help.
Scot: Getting readers to comment .. getting them to engage … if you can figure that out God Bless You. Will definitely be watching for others’ comments to this post. I think anyone that blogs would love to have the insight …
Hope all is well!
Gene
Gene,
Always a pleasure to hear from you. I know the mission here is daunting but one that maybe someone else has a solution. Let’s see what happens.
Scot
One of the main reasons I don’t reply to some blogs is they make it difficult. I get that monitoring comments can take time, but there have been instances where, even after digging out my password for whatever service someone might use to prove it’s a comment and not a machine, I have to enter extra criteria — making it even harder to reply.
I might be willing to jump through a hoop or two so I can reply, but if I have to run a gauntlet, I don’t reply and sometimes stop reading entirely.
Hey Scott
Actually, I am trying more to answer and participate more in other peoples blogs. It is hard and I have to remind myself that I am expressing an opinion or idea or adding to the discussion, whatever that may be. It is annoying to toot one’s own horn in a comment to a post when the blog writer just want’s feedback or to begin a good conversation. I think we also have to remember that there are a lot of people in this world that haven’t been taught courtesy and decorum.
Hope all is well, by the way. I get to play golf tomorrow and Friday. Interesting thing about Friday is that I am in a tournament that will be using the new Taylormade 15 inch cups. What do you think about them?
Thanks David,
A constructive remark as a comment on a blog should offer an opportunity to learn something which I did from your comment. 15 Inch Cup???
Thanks for linking to my post. 🙂 One method to getting people to comment is to make the first comment yourself. Often times when people see zero comments, they might think that particular blog isn’t a place where comments are left. But if readers see comments already existing, then they see a thriving community–especially if the author is making comments. If I see that an author will not comment on his/her own blog, then usually I won’t comment.
Thanks Matt, and a very good point.