Six Ways to Get More Blog Comments

Have you ever wondered why some blogs get lots of comments from their readers and other blogs do not? 

Have you ever wondered why your blog posts are not getting more comments?

We recently surveyed blog readers and asked them what would cause them to read a blog post but not leave a comment.  

Many of their answers surprised even us.

We collected the responses and found there were six main reasons your readers may not be leaving as many comments as you would like.  We think you might find the answers as interesting as we did.

Here's the top six responses:

1.  Readers can't find where to leave a comment - While this might seem elementary to you, it's a big issue to your readers.  The most common problem is when you display the whole post, but your reader must click on the post title to be taken to the page where comments can be left.  It's most often seen in blog themes where the blogger can choose to display a post excerpt on the home page, or the complete post.  Those themes, however, create a problem when your reader cannot simply read to the end of your post and find the place to leave a comment.  

Readers are accustomed to finding the comment  area at the end of the blog post.  If your readers don't see that at the end of the post, many won't leave you a comment.  Don't expect them to know they should click your post title, or that they should hunt around for any other link that will take them to the comment area.

If you use a theme that allows excepts on the front page, use the excerpts.  When your reader clicks the "read more" link to read the remainder of the post, they will find the comment area at the bottom of the post.

2.  You use CAPTCHA -   After your readers have gone to the trouble of leaving a comment, their name, and their email address, don't force them to also try to get the CAPTCHA code right.  Some of those CAPTCHA codes are simply darn hard to read.  Yes, they may help block spam, but they are also blocking the number of comments you would otherwise receive.  

This was a major factor in our survey.  Almost everyone said they would not leave a comment if a CAPTCHA form was included!

3.  You use DISQUS - This applies to all auto-signin systems.   The common complaint we heard was often the reader does not have or does not want to use any of the signin options listed and they couldn't find a way to leave a comment without using one of those options.   If your commenting system requires your readers to use an outside ID such as their Yahoo ID, Twitter ID, Open ID, Facebook ID or others, you may be over complicating the commenting system.   If your reader cannot easily find a place to enter their name and email to comment, they won't comment.

4.  You Rarely Reply to Comments - Or, you only reply to people you know, making other readers feel like they are outside of the clique.   We were surprised how often this came up as a reason people didn't comment.  Apparently, no one wants to feel left out or feel their input isn't important.   The key message here is if your readers take the time to comment, you want to be sure you take the time to reply.

5.  You link them away before they get to the end - If your blog post contains links, you want to make sure you have those links open a new window.  If you don't, your readers will simply click away from your blog before they have gotten to the end of your post.  Once you send your reader off your blog and over to some other webpage, they will likely not click the browser's back button to return to your blog.  Always, always, set links on your blog to open a new browser windwo.

6.  You don't invite your readers to comment.   It's a bit like inviting guests to enter your home.  If you don't extend the invitation, they will simply stand in the doorway and look in.  Always be sure to let your readers know you love to hear their thoughts.  Encouraging comments will bring more comments.

On that note, I'd love to encourage you to leave your thoughts below!   Are there any other things that keep you from commenting on blogs you read?  Please do share your thoughts...the more we know, the better we can be!

To your success,

Robin