Have you ever felt like nobody appreciates your blog? After spending hours of hard work to write up that gorgeous and informative blog post. In the end, no one is commenting. Even a haters comment sounds better than nothing at that point.
Then you check out a competitors blog and their blog post is filled with comments. So you’re wondering, what kind of witchcraft is this person doing? How is this person getting all these people to engage while you’re struggling to get even a single hater?
Trust me, I feel that way sometimes, but don’t let it discourage you. To get more blog comments, you’ll need to have patience and be consistent because chances are, you’re building a readership.
Now you shouldn’t just let it be. Instead, go over your blog/website and find out ways you can improve upon it. So in this article, I will provide you with somewhat of a checklist, so you can go back to your blog/website to increase the chance of someone leaving a comment.
By the way, are you struggling to get comments? If you’re already getting a lot of comments, what kind of advice can you share? Please let us know by leaving a comment down below.— See what I did there? I’m asking a question to evoke engagement.
#1. How Is Your Comment System?
Source: WordPress AdminCP > Settings > Discussions
One of the biggest reasons why you’re not getting comments is because your readers can’t leave a comment. Just a few days ago, I was reading a competitors blog and wanted to ask a question. I never did because I couldn’t find their comment box.
Sometimes you can’t leave a comment because their Captcha system is broken. So no matter how many attempts you can, your comment just won’t go through.
What I recommend is testing your comment box to make sure that people can easily leave a comment. As a reader, I wouldn’t make more them 2 attempts to leave a comment. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just leave.
Personally, I prefer the default WordPress comment system. It’s simple and it works. That’s why they say, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
#2. Are You Asking Questions?
Learning is not one-sided. The best way to learn is to be engaged and that’s why asking questions will not only reinforce your understanding of the topic, but it will also encourage your readers to get involved.
If you’re not asking a question, you’re basically telling your readers to not leave a comment. That’s why if you look at most of my blog post, I try to include a question somewhere in the beginning or at the end of the article.
It’s like going to school, you don’t just sit there and absorb all the information. Your teacher, professor will often ask questions to help you better understand the topic.
#3. Are You Writing High-Quality Content?
There’s no way someone will leave a comment if your content is not good enough, to begin with. Also, with high-quality content, you will get more traffic and that’s a required ingredient. No traffic = no comments, it’s that simple.
If your audience is gaining value from your content, they might leave a comment. In a sense, leaving a comment is like leaving a tip at a restaurant.
After all, they are paying you with their time, so if they feel like they are not getting enough value from you. They will not feel obligated to leave you a comment (tip).
When creating content, focus on writing the best article you can possibly write because you are competing with thousands of other bloggers writing about the same subject.
That’s why companies are utilizing content marketing to generate leads, sales, and overall growth of their business.
Check out these stats:
The truth to the matter is, high-quality content gets more comment plus social shares which brings in more traffic, comments, leads, and sales.
#4. Are You Connecting With Your Audience?
People like talking with people they feel comfortable with. That’s why it’s so difficult to make that first move to talk to someone. But once you guys become friends, it’s easy to communicate.
When writing blog posts, you should make it seem like a conversation between you and your reader. That’s why I like to include words like you in every one of my blog posts. After all, who am I talking to right now? You of course!
At the end of this article, you will notice that I have a short author box with my picture and my motto. That’s so you know who wrote the article. And if you want to learn more about me, you can check out my about page.
Blogging and making money online should be fun and personal. So don’t be afraid to be more open up to your readers.
#5. Are You Giving Instead Of Expecting?
“You have to sow before you can reap. You have to give before you can get.” – Robert Collier
We all live in a world where we must give a little before we get something back in return. For example, the typical way to make money is giving up your time.
So don’t expect to receive anything without first giving. When it comes to blogging or making money online. You’re not getting face-to-face interaction, so it’s even harder to build trust.
If you want your readers to leave a comment or maybe even become a buying customer in the future. You must go above and beyond to help them out first.
Even though not everyone is going to leave a comment or become a buying customer. That’s okay! Just continue to give and in the end, you’ll get taken care of even if it’s in the form of good karma.
That’s why I always double check my emails and comments to answer any questions my readers may have. By doing so, it shows my readers that I do care for their best interest.
And at the same time, if I don’t know the answer to the question. I can learn more by researching for the answer. Once I’m comfortable with the question plus the answer, I can turn it into another blog post. Do you see how that works?
#6. Do You Have A Poor Website Design?
Not trying to sound superficial, but your website design matters. Would you trust someone to teach you how to build a website if their website looks like it was created by a 9-year old (no offense)?
It doesn’t validate their expertise if they can’t even create a half decent looking website themselves. So if your website has a poor design, people are just not going to comment because they probably won’t bother reading your articles.
If you take a look at my blog, the comment box is right at the bottom with the proper form to leave a comment.
Comment Box Example
Underneath that will display comments left by other people. If your readers can see that you’re responding to your comments. It will further entice them to leave a comment as well.
Also, it’s rude if you ignore someone anyway! It’s like someone is trying to talk to you and you just don’t respond. How do you think other readers are going to feel? Do you think they will want to leave a comment?
#7. Are You Getting People To Come Back To Your Blog?
Most people won’t leave a comment the first time they see your blog. Again it’s all about building a relationship with your audience. One of the best methods to get people to return is to get people to subscribe to your newsletter.
It’s not because your blog sucks! It’s because there are too many blogs out there. People just aren’t going to remember you unless you remind them that you exist.
By capturing your reader’s name and email, you can update them whenever you release a new blog post. That way you’ll get a lot more views the moment it gets published as well as potential comments.
If you haven’t started building your email list, check out my tutorial on how to build your email list with AWeber.
#8. Publish Less Often
When you’re pushing out content too quickly, you’ll receive fewer comments. This is normal because your latest blog posts will get pushed further down the list.
Like the search engine results page, people will rarely go through the pages. Instead, they prefer to choose something from the first page.
So as you continue to publish your blog post, your older ones will go down resulting in less impression and less engagement.
#9. Do You Comment On Other Blogs?
Blogging is all about networking. By networking, you can open up a world of opportunities such as collaborations. Both parties can benefit from this because both you and the other blogger can get some awareness from each other’s followers.
By comment on other blogs, you’ll encourage other bloggers to comment back and that can turn out to be a great conversation.
Most of the conversation will happen at the other blog, but that’s okay. Their readers are also reading their comments and that can drive traffic back to your blog.
#10. Are You Sharing Your Blog Posts On Social Media?
Now let’s take a step by and think about the most active networks on the internet. Social Media is designed for people to connect and have conversations. In a sense, it has kind of killed face-to-face interaction.
But that’s just the way things are. Social Media is also where we find viral videos, content, etc. So what do you think would happen if you post your blog posts on Social Media?
It may or may not go viral, but you might get comments on Social Media networks, not just your article. Any form of engagement on Social Media is a positive one.
Let’s say someone leaves a comment. You can have a conversation there and if they like what you’re posting. They might even share it with their own followers. Basically, free marketing.
#11. Avoid Registration To Comment
Source: WordPress AdminCP > Settings > Discussions
I remember there used to be blogs where they require you to register an account before you can leave a comment. This was before I even considered blogging myself.
Leaving a comment should be easy. If it requires too much effort people will simply not comment. Fortunately, most bloggers nowadays know not to require registration to comment, but it’s something to keep in mind.
In Conclusion
In the end, it’s all about creating a community around your blog. There are also many great advantages to having an active blog. You’ll get more comments, authority, Social Shares, leads, sales, and the list goes on and on.
Hopefully, this checklist was helpful. I will try to add more to the list as ideas cross my mind. Now go out there and build your community of loyal readers for your blog.
If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns. Please leave a comment down below and I will try my best to help you out.
Are you getting comments on your website? If not, are you not doing one or more of the list above?
Cheers,
Protected by Patchstack