Why Won’t My Visitors Comment?
I was reading Emil’s post about not receiving comments and I started to write my comment. Soon enough my comment was so long it warranted it own blog post.
My very good friend Felix is running a blog in Swedish and we have tried for about a year to make the site’s name famous. It has worked, we’re well known and the name, Zmolklife, has almost become a brand. We have an incredible amount of visitors if you see to the fact that it’s a personal blog. What we don’t have is a steady stream of comments although we know our visitors have things to say. Do I need to change something at the site to make it more attractive or what?
There are a number of reasons why. My blog isn’t a very popular blog, and though I get around 500 visits a day, I don’t get that many comments. This is something that doesn’t bother me at all, but it is obvious that other bloggers do want more comments.
Sometimes I get 25+ comments on a post because it is funny or a great story and readers want to tell me their own experience. Sometimes I only get 3 comments on an article that I thought would do better. It all depends what the reader wants to read, and if it targets them.
To encourage more comments you should ask the reader a question. If you leave a question at the end of a blog post asking me what my thoughts are on it, or to share a story of my experience I will more than likely comment. When it is just a straight up and down article, the reader might be very interested and find it helpful but they don’t necessarily want to go comment “hey your article helped me thanks”, they would rather read it, learn and then move on. So by leaving a question at the end or asking for ones experience creates more interactivity, which visitors love.
Another reason (some) visitors comment is because they are greedy, they only comment on the blogs they want to suck up to (i.e. the ones with a high PR, or the ones with 40+ comments already) in the hope they get more referrals to their site. Take Jemjabella.co.uk for example, everyone comments Jems blog post even if it’s a really boring one (not that she has many boring ones, but some don’t really require comment). If you read through some of her more reason posts, she has left questions throughout each post, so someone is going to read one question and think to themselves *no I don’t really know why* but then read the third question in the post and think *hey I know the answer to that, you…* and then they comment. Her posts invoke discussion and encourage people to contribute. That’s one reason I always go back, to view the conversation happening in the comments.
Another reason people may not comment is because they read your blog through a feed reader, and they are too lazy to visit your website itself. You can let visitors comment through a feed reader by using Feedburner, to do this just activate FeedFlare. Under FeedFlare, you’ll see checkboxes and put a check on “Comments Count”. That way, subscribers will see the number of comments below each syndicated post. They can just click that to leave a comment without ever leaving the comfort of their feed reader.
Replying to comments makes a big difference too. I don’t mean going to the commenters’ blog to reply on their blog on a post which is probably unrelated. Reply to them on your blogs post. Most of the time, the visitor will return to see if you replied back. Not a standard reply like “Thanks for commenting” but something that invokes more discussion. For example, let’s say you posted a blog about “What font size is best” and your post discussed what font and size you preferred, and then you asked the visitors what font and size they preferred. The visitor replies with “I love verdana 10px”, why not ask them “why is it that you like verdana and why at 10px. Have you ever tried Arial at 12px”. Then they will probably return, see a response and reply back. That in itself is a higher comment count even though you are the one contributing. Then another visitor comes along and reads your blog, reads the other visitors comment and decides to say “actually I have to disagree with both of you…” and so the discussion continues.
Some things just turn visitors off from commenting at all, let alone even reading the blog post, such as page cuts (the read more link). No one wants to read half of what you are saying and then realise that they have to click further just to read the end of the article. Some may just give up and leave. Most visitors hate clicking, the quicker they can get to and read content, the quicker and easier decision it is on whether they want to comment or not. It just makes sense to not cut blogs down to a “read more” link and leave it all out there as one whole uncut post.
Sometimes you can offer incentives for someone to comment. Giving your visitor a chance to have their website plugged is a great reason for someone to comment. Of course some of these comments will come off as “fake” because they aren’t commenting for any real reason other than to get a quick plug. But not all visitors are like that, and many will appreciate that because they took their time to comment genuinely it is great to give a plug back. They give comments (which you want, right) and you give link backs (which they want), so everyone wins.
And last but definitely not least, make sure your comment form works and that comments actually go through. Don’t hold comments for moderation unless you have a serious spam problem. You can use Akismet for Wordpress which will get rid of spam and the need to moderate comments. Visitors like to see their comment up straight away so they know it went through. If you must hold it for moderation, tell the visitor after they have posted it that it is being held for moderation.
If you haven’t told me my comment is being held for moderation, I don’t know where my comment has disappeared and it has me worried. I would try re-comment and if it doesn’t show or tell me that it is being held, I would leave the site and probably never comment again (though I would keep reading future blog posts).
If your blog receives a high amount of comments, what do you think contributes to getting them (apart from having brilliant posts) and what do you love about receiving comments?
Now I do worry about these things because, while I like getting comments, I don’t want to seem if I blog just for comments. I do ask questions on my blog but I’ve read some where people do it at the end of every post and it makes the entry seem ‘affected’.
The strange thing is, my blogs with the most visitors aren’t necessarily the ones with the most comments! Some don’t seem to invite comments. While one post will be, by and large, successful if I do something that I think to be similar again it can receive a fraction.
Comment by Amber - November 15, 2007 8:38 am
My site isn’t very popular, it probably gets less than 100 unique hits per day, but compared to my previous sites, my visitors seem to comment more than before. I think it has a lot to do with the blog post content. Usually, blogs that touch too many topics, and specially if they are very personal ones, don’t stand out as much as a short and concise post about one specific topic, and then of course, like you said, it’s good to end the entry with a question that encourages discussion
Comment by Lene - November 15, 2007 11:17 am
Eh. Commenting doesn’t concern me all that much; I love the few readers I have that really go all-out and comment rather than say something like, “Nice entry yay.” I have two types of comments — trite, the kind that just pop into my head and I leave just because I have twenty seconds to, and thoughtful, the sort that I think have any sort of merit. I went over this in a little mini rant here and here, if you’re interested.
I remember somebody once left a comment saying one of my return comments merited its own entry; that amuses me, because it relies on the assumption that a comment should have a maximum length. As for discussion, I especially adore Asia’s style of returning comments. I tend to email replies to people who ask for one unless I feel like defending myself, which was the case here.
People can leave amazing comments; people can also…not. That’s my view of it in a nutshell.
Comment by Leila - November 15, 2007 11:42 am
Truth be known, the reason a rarely leave comments is because 1. I probably don’t have anything new to say and 2. half the people I’m subscribed to, I don’t know personally. Comments that I have left on other’s blogs seem… impersonal when I don’t know them, and they are rarely acknowledged. I have the same difficulty with people who comment my blog. I rarely return comments simply because I’m incredibly busy with other things. I know it’s important that I should return comments because it could ensure a reader to be more apt to reading my blog. However, I read blog’s and rarely respond to the writer. Maybe it’s a sort of webanxiety that I’ll say the wrong thing. Who knows?
Comment by Linda Belle - November 15, 2007 1:33 pm
My site doesn’t get much hits (usually less than 100/day) but I frequently get over 20 comments, which I consider pretty high since I blog often. I don’t know why visitors are more inclined towards commenting on my posts - it could be because I ask questions sometimes (not always, though), or they are able to relate in some way, or because I almost always return comments. It’s probably because I return comments
Comment by Kaylee - November 16, 2007 1:26 pm
I think people comment on things they can relate to personally, or they’re compelled to comment if they’re from Despair or Exentrique etc.
But a lot of times, I read interesting blog topics and feel that they’ve basically said everything I wanted to say so I don’t go ahead and leave a comment.
Comment by Rilla - November 17, 2007 2:24 am
I don’t get very many comments, but it’s not a big deal! I’ve been blogging since I was 11, and there have been times when I’ve got a lot of comments, and tried to get more. Now, I don’t care. While I was travelling, my blog was just for me and my family and friends. Now, it has a wider audience, but it’s still a place for me to just be crazy and weird, and ramble. Ha ha.
And, I do visit your site, even though I am afraid of the ladybugs. I just avert my eyes from them!
Comment by Aisling - November 17, 2007 8:16 pm
500 visitors a day? Gosh you’re popular… I’ve averaged about 80 unique visitors a day (over the past month). ^_^
Why do I like receiving comments? Well, I like the interaction. I do blog for other people. If I blogged just for myself, I wouldn’t go to the trouble of putting everything online for all the Internet to see. I like the interaction. I like to hear what people have to say about what I have to say. I like to discover new sites via my comments, so even though I don’t return comments (which I really should), I do visit everybody’s sites.
Comment by Rachael - November 20, 2007 2:05 am
Rachael- I may get 500 unique hits, but over 80% of them arent personal website/blog owners so I am not popular in that regard. The main hits I get are from people searching for illustrator tutorials.
Comment by Bobbi-lee - November 20, 2007 3:04 am
What I love about receiving comments is the interaction. Oh now I read what Rachael wrote and my reasons are pretty much the same.
I think it’s fun to contribute with comments to sites I like. Mostly because their entries make me smile or laugh, or cause we share something in common. I really don’t know
Comment by Regina - November 20, 2007 6:01 am
I comment on 90% of the blogs I visit, even if it’s my first time there. I’ve always said that I have something to say about nearly everything; I like to voice my thoughts!
Another reason why I like to leave comments is because I know how happy comments make me… I’m “spreading the joy”, even if they’ve never commented on my site before. It’s not about that.
Having said all this, I always make sure my comments are well thought out and contributive, even if it’s just to let the author know I enjoyed it.
As for your questions.. My entries usually average around 7 comments. I get about 80 unique visitors a day and around 150-200 page views. However, in my situation, I know for a fact that a lot of people who aren’t involved in blogging or this particular “internet community” in general (extended family, offline friends, etc.) read my blog - they send me emails in response or tell me in person. This explains the volume to comment ratio.
I love receiving comments because it’s always a joy to know that *someone* reads what I write.
- Also, I like to hear what others have to say about the particular topic, even if it’s just about expressing their feelings towards the subject (as was the case with my Aye-Aye post!).
Comment by Chanel - November 20, 2007 10:54 pm
Commenting concerns me to an extent, in that I do like to get opinions and feedback from the things I blog about. My comments range from 2 or 3 to 7 or 8 and I’m happy with that.
What I love most about receiving comments is the opinions and feedback as stated previously but I also love the opportunity to make friends with visitors as well.
Comment by kim - November 21, 2007 10:43 am
I think its all in the content. It’s so much easier for a random visitor passing through to comment on “the ridiculous price of petrol” rather than “my uncles funeral was really sad”. Bad examples I know, but the main reason I DON’T comment on peoples’ sites is their posts are way too personal and I don’t feel it’s my place to comment, or it’s too technical and I don’t understand.
I loved having 11 comments. It’s double digits and palindromic. Maybe I’m just a little OCD.
Comment by Paddy - November 22, 2007 4:34 am
OK, here’s a shameless attempt to get you to visit my blog. I find that a lot of blogs, that I shamelessly visit, offer nothing for the reader except a bunch of talk about their own problemed life. Still, what I like to do is find the blog where there a very few comments, and then the editor is excited to get any kind of comment and happily visit your own blog.
Also, humor helps. Try leaving a comment that is honestly humorous and that will encourage a return visit as well.
AND….
I always play my URL information in my comment.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/
Won’t you come and visit my site?
Comment by Rick - November 27, 2007 10:53 pm
P.S. I honestly do like your artwork. My work is a little different from yours.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/
Comment by Rick - November 27, 2007 10:55 pm