The Elusive Comment
November 28, 2008 by BloggerNewbie
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“The Elusive Comment”
Blogs, also known as weblogs, are actually interactive websites. They are typically written by an individual whose thoughts are published in daily posts. The posts are listed in chronological order in a given niche or topic.
The idea behind a blog is for the author to express his or her opinion or authority on a certain topic and then open the discussion up for comments. The best exchange is when a topic is controversial or causes contradictory positions. Blogs are a collaborative effort between the author and the reader in the form of comments.
Ah, the elusive comment. I have many thoughts about comments. I also have many questions.
How do the numbers make sense?
Some blogs get thousands (I’m talking 5 digits here) of visits a day yet, in my observation, only receive 40-45 or even 60 comments per post on average. However, there are other blogs that get only hundreds of visitors and receive 10-20 comments on their posts. That doesn’t make sense. The numbers don’t add up when you are talking percentage points. The blogs that receive the large number of visitors are considered the “A-list” bloggers. A-list meaning more professional? Older blogs, more experienced? So having said that, one would think that the A-list bloggers would gather a bigger percentage of comments, yet they don’t. What is the reason?
Why do people comment?
Is there one main reason why people comment? I certainly don’t think so. In my opinion (which is extremely important), there are just as many reasons people comment as there literally are comments. So why do people comment? They have an interest in the subject. The topic or the author inspires them to action. They are passionate about the opinion expressed. They want to express their passion or sentiment. Maybe the post makes them angry. The comment part of blogging is a sense of community. There are plenty of other reasons people leave comments. What are some reasons I haven’t listed?
Why do people not comment?
Wow, that is the “big” question. If I knew the answer I would probably be a kamillionaire! The subject doesn’t interest or concern them. They don’t feel like they have anything to contribute. When I first started blogging I was almost as nervous about leaving comments as I was about publishing posts! I didn’t want to sound stupid. I often thought I would get lost in the shuffle of the flurry of comments already added. Maybe the blogger has already said all there is to say on the subject. You know, kind of beat the life out of it, so to speak! Maybe you weren’t invited to comment. What else, what other reasons do people not comment?
Why do bloggers want comments?
Well, because. Lots of reasons. You don’t want to feel like you are talking to yourself! Bloggers want to connect with their readers. The significant part of blogging is the interaction between the author and the reader. Blogging is Community. Not to mention comments are a great ego booster. People are reading your “stuff”! You have something to say and people are interested in discussing it with you. Life is good. Comments kind of validate your post. If you don’t get comments then your post is mediocre, or so you think. So, why do you want comments?
How do you get more comments?
I wrote a post and it has been published for 8 minutes now and no one has left a comment yet. It must be crappy. I can’t do this. Calm down. Don’t Panic! Try to get the news out that you just published a post and announce a little blurb about the content. The more people that see your post, the more people who will comment (to a certain extent). You should twitter your post a couple of times throughout the day. Different people are on twitter at different times. You know, work schedules, time zones, stuff like that. If your post is “Stumble” worthy, then certainly submit it to your friends. It is somewhat unlikely that every post you write is “Stumble” worthy (sorry) so be choosy. I have found that the social media can be fairly slow at times. Frequently, I will get comments that trickle in for days after I have submitted my post to the various social networks. Be patient. Another approach I use to get more comments is to ask. Yeah, I know, who would have thought of that? I’m a genius. Do you have a creative way to engage your readers to add more comments?
So what are your thoughts?
Do you have secret strategies to entice your readers to comment?
Join in the conversation, I appreciate and respect your opinion – add your comment!
Toodles – Blog Happy!
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“Communication leads to community, that is,
to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing…”
- Rollo May
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Dee,
Some people leave comments, specifically on the A-Bloggers to kiss some hiney so that maybe they’ll get noticed. I see those all the time and it disgusts me.
My number one reason for not commenting on a post is when I have to jump through any other hoops. Make me log in or register and trust me, if I had a way to make a “single finger salute” pop up at the author then I would do it.
So there. (Tumblmoose is a tad testy today – sorry.)
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Finding your writer’s voice
Oh, stumbled and dugg, by the way. Great post!
I don’t comment if it’s difficult. Captchas really bother me and I have a hard time reading them. I only comment on one blog that uses them and that is because I really like the blogger. I also won’t register to leave a comment – well, I take that back. I did on Lifehacker but that was a long time ago. I also don’t comment if I really don’t have anything to say. Sometimes I try and I’ve got nothing.
I comment because I really liked the article, the individual is part of my community and I am being supportive and sometimes, to get noticed
(Sorry George).
I will stop commenting if the author never responds to me, especially if I’ve asked a question.
I don’t know – it’s one of those questions that we bloggers seem to ask again and again.
Kim Woodbridge | (Anti) Social Development´s last blog post..Thankful for My Friend Jim
You two crack me up! Register or sign in? I agree, forget about it. Thank you George.
Kim, what in the world is a captcha? I can’t even spell it without looking! Every time I think I know a little something about blogging, I get knocked down a peg or two, probably a good thing to keep me in check and I can never learn enough!
I’ve done the a-list commenting and still do if I have time, I usually feel like I’m talking to myself though, and I find they never respond. It doesn’t have the community feel so yeah, I guess hoping to get noticed would pretty much be the main reason. I go to my peers and my community first.
Dee – It’s when there’s a little box of letters that you have to type in. They are usually used when you are registering for gmail or commenting on a forum but some blogs use them too. I can’t read the darn things.
Kim Woodbridge | (Anti) Social Development´s last blog post..Thankful for My Friend Jim
@KW: The silly captcha thing is one of the things I hate about Digg – it’s case sensitive and it’s very difficult to tell if that’s a capital “K” or a small one. Very frustrating
George
Kim & George,
Okay, I’ve seen that little spam filter, didn’t know what it was called, thanks..again, learn something new everyday! gotta love this blogging gig..
I’m always afraid that people don’t comment on my posts because they didn’t like them. So, one of my goals is to try and take a minute to post on other people’s blogs. Not so that they feel obligated to comment more on mine, more for general karma.
One thing I’ve noticed from running a message board, is that so many more people lurk than will every participate. That gives me comfort. It also seems like certain threads that are “easy” to comment on get a lot more posts than ones that require more involved thought.
Tracy´s last blog post..The Paranoid Mom Reviews New Products: Stove Top Quick Cups
Tracy,
I know, I feel the same way about whether or not people like my posts. I panic after about an hour
and there are no comments..I know, silly. I never thought about easy comment vs more thought. That’s completely true. What exactly are message boards? Another name for forums?
That’s right, forums/message board.
It seems to me also that comments have a snowball effect. I think that’s why some blogs like Pioneer Woman have hundreds or thousands of posts. Some people are shy and wouldn’t want to be one of two or three posts if they know other people will be reading it, but if they are one of fifty or 400, well that’s a totally different thing. Or, at least that’s what I tell myself.
Another thing I think is a factor is your audience. Most of the people that read my blog don’t have blogs of their own, aren’t plugged into social media, and are more happy being more of a pure audience. Which is great, I am not knocking it one bit! But it does mean, I’ll have a post with 300+ views in a day and 2 comment one of them from me. I hope that doesn’t mean they are reading my blog to see me make a fool of myself; rather that they are just quietly enjoying it.
That’s another reason I’m making an effort to network with other writers, because I do want that feedback and kinship that you get with people trying to do the same thing you are.
Tracy´s last blog post..The Paranoid Mom Reviews New Products: Stove Top Quick Cups
Tracy,
I think that some people come to a blog looking for something, not necessarily to interact. And of course the topic has everything to do with your audience, my blog is directed at other bloggers so…
When your peers are commenting then it becomes more of a discussion then a question/answer type comment.
I totally agree, my niche is a lot different. I can understand why somebody wouldn’t want to comment to say “Hey, that was a semi-pleasant way to spend the last 65 seconds”.
Tracy´s last blog post..Korean Medicine Tea
True, I guess it depends on your visitor too, some are looking for social sites, some just happen upon your site, blogging is definitely a challenge whatever the niche.
Dee Langdon – BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..The Elusive Comment
@Tumblemoose – No wonder I always have trouble with Digg – I didn’t know they were case sensitive. There are, however, many reasons I don’t like Digg.
Kim Woodbridge´s last blog post..(Anti) Social-Lists 11/30/08