After weeks and months of long hours in front of your computer, you’re finally getting some traffic on your blog, but you can’t get enough people to participate on your site. Ever wonder how some smaller blogs get a lot more activity than some of the giants in your niche?
Let’s look at some comment stats during the first week of this month. I went to three favorite sites that I’m sure many of you frequent and grabbed their three most recent posts. Then I did the same to mine.
Before the bashing begins, I know that this is just a small sampling. We should consider that some of them have multiple posts per day, some of their posts are by guest posters, and perhaps this set didn’t include any of their killer articles. We all know that some of their jobs break the 100 comment barrier and none of them made it in this sample lot.
Anyway, the fact remains that on good days, their traffic beats me by a factor of 10. I’m not knocking these blogs because, I too, am a regular visitor at their sites. I’m merely presenting those numbers as a testament to how even newer blogs can create a buzz as loud as blogs that have been around for years.
8 simple steps to increasing comments
Write useful content1. Create quality articles: People won’t comment if your article is terrible.
2. Ask a question: Help start the dialog by posting a problem at the end of your article.
Promote your articles
3. Regularly visit top blogs in your niche and leave value-added comments: You should leave a comment at least 50% of the time.
4. Periodically visit blogs of those who went comments for you in the past and leave value-added comments on their site: You should leave a comment at least 75% of the time.
Build relationships
5. Respond to every comment on your article when appropriate: You should be able to reply at least 75% of the time.
6. Reciprocate the gesture by leaving a comment on their site every time they issue one for you: You should leave a comment 100% of the time.
Provide incentives
7. Install CommentLuv plugin: Give your commenters a way to promote their articles.
8. Install Do Follow plugin: If you have PR, give your commenters some link juice.
Just a little time each day makes a big difference
It seems like there’s a lot of work involved but really, this is where you’re grabbing the low hanging fruit. Spend a few minutes to do these things every single time you post a new article, and you’ll see a boost in your comments.The key is consistency. Many of my regular visitors know me by name and face. They know I’ll return the favor when I can and occasionally even double or triple the effort. I’d like to think that there’s a level of expectations that are mutual on here. So not only am I providing valuable information, but they are also going to get me on their team.
There will be a day when this site will also be too big (e.g., the sites above) for me to do what I’m currently doing. Until then, however, I still plan on following my steps and helping this community grow.
What are some other things that increase comments that have worked for you?
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