5 Little Known Ways To Get More Blog Comments!
Many virgin bloggers face two issues when they first venture into blogging. The first, is lack of content inspiration and the second is getting comments on your blog posts. We’ll cover writer’s block on another post. Today I’d like to help you with the comment aspect. Having a new blog with no comments is like buying and driving a brand new range rover and no one to show it off to! What’s the point?
Okay, it’s not exactly the same thing. With blogging you should be writing because you’re passionate about what you’re blogging about. So that a lack of acknowledgment will not dissuade you from pursing your writing. Although this is important, the whole point of web 2.0 and blogging is the idea of a community and interaction. I don’t know about you but a community of 1 "ain’t" much of a community to me. So what’s a newbie to do about getting more comments?
There are some obvious things you’ve probably read such as: Write good content, Get Your SEO skills up, Be a celebrity and blog about nonsense. But that may not always be practical or even available to all bloggers. So here are some other ways to get more comments to you your blog.
1. Write incomplete articles.
As human beings we’re all pretty much trained to create an ending for any of the stories we tell. That’s the whole point of telling a good story, right? That may be great when you’re reading a bed time story to junior. But in my experience it’s awful for encouraging comments because you pretty much coming to the conclusion for your users. It’s like arguing with your wife and she asks you for your feedback. But then decides to give it to to you before you can even think of anything to say. That’s the end of that conversation! The same applies to blog posts. Don’t make them a monologue. Keep your articles open ended when possible. This will encourage people to end it for you. Just keep in mind those so called "two way discussions" you were supposedly having with your spouse and it will be very easy for you to keep your articles open ended.
2. Drive traffic to your articles by sending a solo email ad.
Find a site that already has a list that is related to your industry and purchase a solo email ad. (A solo email ad is basically an email advertisement sent to a list that has no other message but your own.) When sending a solo ad, write a very appealing subject and blurb. Be sure that you’re emailing your best article which you have already set up to be monetized by an affiliate program or AdSense. With this said, please keep in mind that the main purpose of buying and sending a solo ad is to get more instant eye balls on your best work which presumably will cause them to comment if your followed step 1.
3. Piggy back on existing traffic of your own or that of someone else.
This is similar to step 2 but we’re talking about having active links on existing sites rather than just one off emails. I’ve used the existing traffic of my existing work at home website to get new visitors to my work at home scam blog. The result was a net gain all around in terms of profits and subscribers and no lost of revenue or visitors from the original site.
4. Email someone a personal thank you note when they comment on your site.
Let’s assume you’ve followed some of the steps above and the comments are rolling in. Don’t get complacent! First, go and respond to their comments on your site. Second, take some time out to email these folks with a personalized thank you message. Be sure to include a reference to the URL of the article where you responded to their comments. This will encourage them to come back to your site to see what you wrote and possibly to post more comments!
5. Be quick to respond to comments on your blog.
When possible try to chime in while every one’s juices are flowing. Get’em while they’re hot. Your visitors will see you as an active blogger that is approachable and attentive to their needs.
Bonus Tip!
Here’s another tip for you. Ask for comments dummy! As Internet marketers we were all trained to include a call to action on any copy that you create. Well blog posts are no different. Always include a call to action at the end of your article that encourages people to comment . Don’t assume people will comment especially if you’re a new blog. Established blogs with good following and a lot of rss subscribers don’t necessarily do this. But personally I think it’s something that should be practiced no matter where your blog is in terms of notoriety.
So what do you think? Were these tips already obvious to you? Were there any that I missed that have helped you? Inquiring minds want to know…
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 am
Hi,
Just find this site on internet today while i was surfing for something.
Really, amazed!!!!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Great post. I like it because it’s not the typical advice. It’s more of the outside the box advice and I love that.
Well, I’m off to surf through your site. Thanks for the post.