One of the things most people who start a blog look most forward to are the reactions they will surely get from all the words of wisdom they are set to share with the world. Unfortunately, most of us will be disappointed.
Comments aren’t that common
We all want lots of comments. Very few people comment. Less than 1%. That’s really not a lot.
Add to that the fact that many posts don’t leave an opening for discussion/comments. For instance, if someone shared some interesting information and nobody had any questions, would there be a reason to comment?
Would you comment?
When is the last time you read a blog post, even one you found very interesting, and felt compelled to leave a comment?
On average, what percentage of blogs that you read do you comment on?
Others are no different than you. If you wouldn’t comment, why would your readers?
Make it easy to comment
I’ve wanted to comment to support someone but “Great post!” is a tired comment and not even worth taking the time to write.
Entice me. Ask me a question. Ask me to tell you something specific related to the post. Readers still may not comment, but at least if they WANTED to comment they’d have somewhere to start.
Don’t get discouraged
Just because you aren’t getting comments doesn’t mean people aren’t reading your blog or finding your content interesting. Make sure you’re tracking your analytics (Google Analytics is one of the easiest ways) and seeing the number of people visiting, where they’re coming from and how long they’re staying is far more important.
Share some comment love
Remember that people love comments, so if you’re reading a post and feel even remotely inclined to share something, do it. I’ll even challenge you to leave 3 comments today.
Do you have a blog? Leave me the url in the comments and I’ll come and visit (and comment!) – just make sure to give me an idea of what you’d like to hear from me so I don’t end up saying “great post!”