How to Get People to Comment on Your Blog Posts

This is Bradley Bradwell’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

Bloggers often find it difficult to get visitors to their website, let alone receiving comments for their posts. However, these bloggers aren’t realizing that there are a few strategic techniques that can prove to be very helpful when attempting to attract commenters.

Make a Controversial Post

These types of posts allow different opinions to be expressed, and allow others to react positively or negatively to your stated opinion. However, don’t be offended when receiving criticism from your commenters – as those posts are crucial for keeping all parts of your audience interested. This type of criticism can also be constructive, giving other commenters more to react to.

Get The Facts Right

The worst types of comments you can receive are comments that accuse you of lying or posting false information. These aren’t productive comments, and can reduce your reputation – not only on your blog, but throughout the Internet. Link to sources you use in your posts, and (if possible) include a short bibliography towards the end. Before you publish your posts, have someone edit them and ask you questions. These questions can prove to be very helpful in creating higher quality blog posts.

Ask People to Comment

No, I don’t mean spam the living hell out of everyone you know. It can be very useful to ask for constructive information from your readers. This can be as simple as asking for an opinion, or asking for information regarding your blog post – from within the post itself. It’s also important to know that asking for comments doesn’t mean be quick about it; provide informative and creative entries that might better invoke a conversation.

Comment on Other Blogs

This means speaking your opinion in the digital public space, and letting people know where you stand. By doing this, you’re showing that you have distinctive, unique thoughts and opinions. This can lead readers to comment on your blog, adding (once again) additional information to your original post. It’s also important that you don’t just post comments on one particular blog, but spread your opinion by posting comments on a variety of other web sites and blogs (preferably, those which are similar to your affinities). Spreading yourself throughout the Internet may draw various opinions from people who otherwise wouldn’t know about you.

Get Hits

This goes without saying: if you don’t get hits, your not going to get comments. Submit your blog posts to various “social sites” when warranted, such as Digg or Reddit. In general, you should promote your blog to the best of your ability, and give yourself time to achieve increased inbound traffic. Promoting your website also means promoting throughout your local community, and asking for community members’ opinions. These can be the most powerful comments, as these members are in a similar location and potentially facing similar difficulties as you are with certain products and ideas.

Getting people to comment on your post is by no means an easy task. Make sure that you’re always providing high quality posts for your readers to comment on, and give the appropriate credit to the appropriate people. Make sure that it’s simple and easy for your commenters to find your comment box, and allow them to express their opinion no matter what side they take. At the end of the day, enjoy what you’re doing – and give yourself the credit you deserve for a job well done.

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