A lot of people like to use forums and social networks for communicating. Did you know you can have your own community, much like those forums through your blog’s comment system? Did you know that it should be one of your goals to convert people to comment on your blog?
Well, its true!
Each person who comes by and leaves a comment, is leaving their mark on your site and might have a good opinion… even if it does not completely agree with you. Those comments make your site dynamic as no other site will have the same exact comment from each and every person. Some of those might have information that help you, as well as others who visit. Some may be questions you can answer, or even, other readers can answer too!
Communication is a beautiful thing if encouraged correctly. You can build a sturdy community around your blog comments by doing a couple basic things:
1. Write thought provoking content. You could even end with a question. This leaves the floor open to your readers to decide if they want to jump in and share their opinion.
2. Reply back to comments. The thing is… if you reply to a comment and they come back, you just successfully converted them! They were interested enough not only to comment once, but to come back and reply.
3. Return the favor by commenting at your commenters’ blogs. This is going that extra step forward and being active to go outside of your own site and help carry on the conversation at your readers’ sites. This is a win-win as you end up helping to build two communities instead of one.
4. Try a Top Commenter of the Month contest. Not everyone does this, but from time to time, it might be something to integrate into a contest where your top commenter might win a prize.
5. Implement the Commentluv plugin. (This plugin has versions for both WordPress and Blogger.) Commentluv gives your commenters an incentive to comment. When they submit a comment, the Commentluv plugin pulls the most recent post from that person’s site and places the link to it with the published comment.
These are merely a few ways to build a solid community around your blog. How have you encouraged your readers to comment on your site?
Great and simple tools. Unfortunately, I think that a lot of people are holding themselves back from interacting or building community until they see some big traffic, or their site is perfect, or some other goal in their mind.
The key to building community is the same as making friends – it’s getting out there and being genuine. So here’s my Friday night comment for you Nile 🙂
Absolutely Nile! You can also display the top commenters in the sidebar to give them a little added incentive.
Hi Nile, these are great points. Especially about commenting on the sites of the commenters on my blog. I am going to give that technique a try and see if it boosts traffic to my blog.
Nice, I do received a lot of comments from my post most of them are related to funny thoughts and pick up lines one of my post already has more than 500 comments since readers share their own version of pick up lines.
The idea of making comments are giving positive inputs, problem solving, or sharing knowledge.I have got spammer all my blogs, if you read them, it does not make any sense, they are using software.So let’s fight this spammer and mode on your askimet to protect from spammer.
hi Nile, great post! I agree, the ‘goal’ should be to have the party at your house, not someone elses! I love your comment on stepping outside your own front door and going back to comment on the blogs of people who bothered to comment on you. That I think is going the extra mile because so many people just don’t bother to do this.
Hello Nile,
Really good advise. I win be incorporating some of these into my own blog to encourage more visitors to start leaving comments.
I really like the contest idea. I’m going to come up with a prize and implement this right away.
Thank again,
Anthony
One of the most impressive sites Ive seen. Merci for keeping the internet classy for a change. Youve got grace, intellect, and common sense. Please keep up the good work because without you the internet is definitely lacking .
Some bloggers have top commenters listed on their sidebar, which keeps updating after each comment. Its good because it makes the commenters to return and comment more to see their position rise!
I want to ask questions at the end of my blog posts to entice comments, but at the same time I don’t because then if no one comments, people will think my blog is lame. Do you think I should still ask questions in my posts?
Hi, Nile. I’ve already done #5 and I’m liking the idea in #3. Although my site is still very young, I’ve implemented Commentluv anyway, as a way to reward those who come to my site and leave helpful comments. As for #3, I like the idea because I believe in karma. Gratitude begets gratitude. Sometimes, we forget, but when we take time to appreciate another’s work and leave helpful comments, that will return to us a hundredfold. 🙂
Nile,
This is just flat out great advice. It may seem like simple advice but it’s really important that bloggers follow this advice if they want to build a following on their blog. Four of the 5 steps (except for the top commentator contest) are easy to do and easy NOT to do! But they are all important. CommentLuv is a great plugin to help encourage comments and build a community. Since this post was published, Andy Bailey has now come out with CommentLuv Premium, and I highly recommend that even though it’s going to cost a few dollars. Going the extra step and commenting on someone’s blog because they commented on your blog can also be a great way to build a blog following. And, of course, commenting on someone’s comment in your own blog is important, but sometimes easy to overlook when we are caught up in our busy schedules.
Thanks for your great Post, Nile!
Sincerely,
Jupiter Jim
Im new to SEO, but do want to see my fishing site higher in SERPS, hence the reason I am doing everyting that I read about, problem is I keep doing the things suggested but my posts arnt published? help!
I love building relationships with blog comments. It seems that many of the people who comment on blogs are also bloggers. They simply have more motivation to take the time to comment. I have also found that when I meaningfully participate in the community aspect of a blog, I am creating meaningful relationships with people who can send me significant traffic—bloggers and other active social media users.
Good post Nile, more and more people are getting on board with blogs these days, always good to share the tips
Hi Nile:
CommunLuv is an awesome tool/plugin for encouraging commenting! I have found that replying to comments and commenting on other blogs have been very helpful as well.
Kevin
CommentLuv is definitely awesome. I started using it back when Andy first put it out there in the WordPress plugin repository a little over 5 years ago and I jumped on board immediately when he introduced CommentLuv premium.
CommentLuv Premium has drastically increased the number of comments on my site. The quality has improved as well. Terrific plugin. Includes GASP, which traps bot spam and moderates invalid trackbacks.
nice post
hello
nice post cooment luv is such a good plugin to share it ……..i want to dispaly a topcomments on my blod how to dispaly it
Hello Nile
Like you I use the Commentluv plugin. Nile, in this article you have give me several tips to create conversations on my blog. What plugin do you use for comments and replies?
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City
These are great pieces of advise, Nile, thank you!
When you say build our communicity do you mean a group on FB or Linked in?
I’m often wondering where to find forums easy to write and comment, as well as dynamic where my target market hangs out ( savvy business women). Is there a way you know of t by which I can leverage time in my research?
Thanks,
Patricia
Hello! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Thanks for your time!
Hi Niles
Great blog btw – so excellent tips read so far.
I am commenting on this post because I too wrote an article on commenting, with a slightly different perspective.
Of course since writing it, and pointed to by some commentators, I have seen no end of articles on the art of commenting.
Who knew it was such a big topic!
Of course, comments and spam I knew there was loads on, but not about why to comment, what it can do for you.
regarding comment LUV, I looked a long time ago, when just building website, using WordPress (extra points for spelling?) but since starting a blog, I was advised to install it, and love it.
It is so good to give back to people who do comment, but need to get better at following them all back. I would imagine that someone like you, who had a ton of comments cant follow them all back, but I would imagine replying to comments, and seeing who carries on the conversation, or comments often would make it to the top of the list, to return, and comment too/.
I grabbed Premium, at the one year giveaway price promo, and amazed (didn’t look into it, just bought, and was about 8th!) at how much it gives you on other blogs with it installed.
Anyway, thanks for the advice, I had had a productive hour or so in the archives, and only came to see info on the plugins you have written for WordPress…. but resources section being re-vamped, and guess they are in there?
Posted By Jon Barry