Interactivity And Participation - Question From A Reader
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As usual, please take what you think might work for you, and leave the rest behind, but please share your thoughts, it can be beneficial to everyone :)
So TJ asked me, what is it that i’m doing that makes my readers reply and comment to my posts. Well honestly, i had to take a step back and analyze my blog, my posts and the comments, because at first i had absolutely no idea what to answer TJ.
First, since you’re reading my blog, i’d like to ask you (yep you!), what is it that makes you want to reply to a post or join in the discussions, either on smartwealthyrich or on other blogs?
Well, i know there are maybe a couple things that makes people want to reply to a post, appart the fact i’m kind of a relationship geek, and read a lot of blogs and post a lot of comments everyday on other blogs, and try to “jump in the conversation” if i can add something relevant or if i feel i can add some value to the post. Here’s my list of the things i think makes my readers stick and makes people want to join in the discussions:
Do Follow
I removed the no follow attribute to the comments section, so, when you leave a reply you get a link back from my blog! A nice way to reward the people that take some time to actually read, and reply. Some may say it can lower your page rank, but i care more about interactivity with my readers than what Google “may” think of my blog. Still the last Page Rank update shows a nice PR4 for my blog.
Ask Questions
Although i like to read informational blogs and blogs that “states the facts” or news blogs, i really like it when readers are asked a question or invited to participate or join the discussion. So i try to do just that, ask questions. It helps me get my thoughts together, and it can also be beneficial to my readers. Short sentences like: “what do you think” or “please share your thoughts” or “i would like your feedback on that” can help increase the number of comments a post will receive.
Comment On Other Blogs
Of course, if you leave a comment on another blog, the blog owner will notice (we’re all “stats crazy” to different levels I guess) so when you leave a comment the blog owner will most probably check out your blog or website. Sure it helps to add something to the discussion, something valuable, an opinion or thought.
Reply To Every Single Comment
When someone leaves a comment on a blog, the nicest thing to do is to reply to this comment, even if it’s just to say “thanx for replying welcome to my blog“. When people sees that, they know there’s a human being behind the blog. It’s never fun to talk to a wall. Of course it’s ok if you skip or forget one or two from time to time, like i said we’re human. But, as soon as someone leaves a comment on Smart Wealthy Rich, i go and approve it, and reply almost right away, though there can be a delay, since i approve all comments.
Branding and Personality
That, i must say i learned from Liz. Branding is everything! Many bloggers are using a default template/theme, while it’s way fine, re-designing or customizing a blog can help a lot in increasing the number of comments. I must say, since i put my new design online, i get at least 30% more comments, which is awesome! Also, you surely have noticed, there’s this little pic of me at the top of the sidebar, yes that’s me! This is my blog, this is me. People want to know who’s writing on this blog, so voila, a picture of me :) Choosing the right domain name also has a direct impact, everybody will remember problogger.net!
Ads and Useless Stuff
While it’s definitely ok to want to monetize a blog, removing some ads can increase the number of comments, and also increase the number of returning visitors and traffic. Nothing is worse than a page loaded with ads (even worse when the ads are not relevant). Right now on this blog i’m running adsense, and i do sponsored reviews from time to time, that’s it! I’ll explore other services, but for now i think it’s too early, my blog is only 3 months old. We’ll see in the future.
Link Away
I try to link to other blogs in every post i write, sometimes more than once. To relevant blogs and to relevant posts of course! With the right anchor text, if possible. Again, like i said, if you link to another blog, the blog owner will notice, and is likely to check out your blog and possibly write a comment. Doesn’t work all the time, but it doesn’t matter, if the post is relevant, it’s fine. I try to write for my readers and not for the search engines (just gotta keep in mind that search engines exists).
Comments Attracts Comments
No doubt that the more comments a post has received, the more likely someone will want to join in the discussion. A blog with no comment may seem a little “desert“. Many wordpress themes have a “comment link” either at the top of the post or at the bottom, that says “no comments” or something similar, i changed that to “add comment” instead. A positive word instead of a negative one. That, i think helped too. Another reason why installing the “top posts” plugin is a must do. If you have “popular posts” that mean your blog is worth reading i guess.
Opinions and Controversy
While controversy may not be the best route, having an opinion on a subject is real fine. We can’t please everyone, and we should not try anyway. If you have an opinion regarding this or that, and post about it, some people will agree with you some won’t. It’s cool that way.
You Are Who You Are
No need to know everything, just be yourself, no reason to claim to be someone else. If you’re an internet marketer, and you write about inernet marketing that’s awesome. So what is your monthly revenue? If it’s below 100 bucks, what can i learn about affiliate marketing by reading your blog? It is well okay if you’re just getting started, we all start somewhere. Just be who you are.I write about the stuff i know about, and when i don’t know a topic well enough, i do extensive research, and ask questions.
Pronet Advertising also has a worth reading post about “how to create passionate users“, though it may apply more to “businesses”, it’s really a nice read.
So what do you think? What makes people want to come back to a blog and comment? Or, in the offline world, what makes people want to do business with someone or a company? Repeated business that is. Please share your thoughts, i’d be really really interested in reading what you guyz/galz think ;)
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26 Responses to “Interactivity And Participation - Question From A Reader”
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That’s actually a super good question, one that has popped up in mind many times! I’ve just in the past few weeks started getting comments on a regular basis and many from the same folks. I’m not sure what got it started, unless it was the post about my favorite blogs, where I linked to 10 of my favorites. Whatever the reason, I sure appreciate the discussion and I try to respond to every comment.
Hi Anthony! Linking to other blogs can helps a lot, blog owners will definitely notice the link. I sure do appreciate the discussions too :)
Personality is definitely one of the foremost things that keeps me coming back to a blog. Seeing that there’s a real person, with real feelings - maybe some of the same ones that I’ve experienced - creates a connection of sorts. When you begin to feel like you know the person behind the blog, it becomes much more than just a way to pass the time. It’s personal. You want to stop by and check in on the blogger on a regular basis. That’s why I just stopped by here as a matter of fact! I think that “in real life”, we’d probably be great friends! So, with that in mind, you can always hop on a plane and fly to Tennessee for a visit! That would be awesome!
Have a great day, Jonathan.
Hi Tish, nice to see you on here :P
You’re right, personality and “human touch” definitely helpsmaking people want to come back and comment.
Tennessee, that could be arranged :)
Two of the simplest ways to attract comments are:
1. Linking to other great blog articles
2. Going to other blogs and commenting
Ya gotta give to get.
Then there’s branding. That’s important. I’ve been to a few blogs and I’m struggling to find out even what the owners name is. It’s like “hey uh, whoever, great post!”
Other than that, just write the best stuff you can. Stuff that makes people think “Hey, I got something to add to that”.
Hey Shane, good point! You gotta give to get, that’s true! Branding is also really important, too often i’ve came across a blog and wanted to know who was the author, couldn’t find it, so didn’t comment.
Good points Jonathan. Also, it’s nice that you are answering your reader questions in public so others can benefit. :)
Regarding do follow, I removed the nofollow attribute long time ago, I think, as it didn’t make much sense to me. It is beneficial for the search engine as it means less work for them, but I saw little or no benefit, or even more downsides, when it came to users getting incoming links through their comments on other sites.
Commenting on other blogs is the hardest thing for me so far, since I know so many blogs and I am doing my best to comment on them regularly.
As for replying to every single comment, I have been trying that for about 2 years now. It has its flaws [I sometimes forget a comment or two, or even a few comments if I get a lot of comments in one day], though, just like communicating with people in the offline world, communicating with everyone who communicates with you is a very good thing.
Also, branding indeed is important! The default templates are cool but they need to be modified even a little bit. Otherwise, a person who can see the design will not be able to associate something visually to each site. I wonder how this logic applies to people who cannot see well, though.
I have no ads on my site, and have keep the site ad-free for a while now. I tried ads for a while and they just looked ugly. I guess I have to either come up with a good design or find some other way to make money, if I really want to make money from ads on my site.
Linking away and commenting on others sites is a way of telling others that you can approach others instead of waiting for others to approach you, which is a very nice gesture.
the “YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE” is in my view the most important point. :)
Thanks for the info Jonathan! This is surely a great answer to your reader’s question. :)
[sorry for the long comment =\ ]
Thanks for the article and the response to the email. I’m going to try to incorporate a lot more blog comment posting and user focused questions into my next project.
You’re the man- Vi SES
Hey Bes, yeah that is indeed a long reply, but keep ‘em coming! I absolutely don’t mind long replies :)
It’s true replying to every single comment is not always easy, and sometimes i forget about one or two, but i try to reply to most of them.
“You are who you are” is definitely one of the most important part i think. If you check out Liz blog (successful-blog.com) it’s usual that a post Liz writes gets anywhere between 10-20 to 300 comments, quite impressive! :)
Hi TJ, you are more than welcome, i’m glad it helped :)
Keep me posted! Take care
I totally agree with responding to every comment. Frankly it makes me happy when people take the time to leave one.
Hey Goldy! Same here, every time i get an e-mail that reads “smartwealthyrich - new comment posted” i can’t help but go approve it and reply :)
Getting your readers views on questions aimed at you is a good idea and answering them in public, awesome mate. I wasn’t particular in replying to comments earlier but now I do and it helps.
I visit your blog and leave comments regularly simply because of you and your writing style, the way you write is like you are talking, it takes me much longer to make a post, no wonder sometimes you have a few post s a day.
Ans you are also my 911 call if I need help, I love that human touch, helpful, modest and simple part of you Jon.
Take care and
Hi Robin, thanx a bunch for the kind words! I appreciate it a lot!! :)
I think that the writing style has defnitely something to do with the number of comments, i’m certainly not the most skilled writer out there, but i try to write like i talk, so that people can get my point. seems it’s working hehe
Thanx a bunch Robin! :)
i agree with shane. linking to other good content and leaving comments is a good way to get people to comment. some blogs i’ve seen recently have brought up some controversial material in the blog world which gets some attention. but you have to be careful with that stuff. anyway, great post! :)
Hi msdanielle! Thanx for replying! :)
You’re right, controversial stuff can help bring trafffic, readers and visitors, but in the long run i’m not sure if it’s worth it. I have no problem sharing my opinion, and it’s ok to agree or disagree, but controversy is not reallly my thing :)
Hey Jonathan!
I think one of the best ways to get participation is to ask for it directly, just as you did on this post. If your blog is fresh, getting to that tipping point of an interactive community is difficult. I think it is easier to build that base when you directly (either online or offline) actively solicit feedback.
The other key way to keep people focused on interaction is the “notify me of follow up comments via e-mail” plug in.
Be Well Jon. :)
HI Kendall, totally agree, the subscribe to comments plugin definitely helps.
“actively solicit feedback.” you’re right on this point man, i try to ask my readers and visitors what they think and ask for their opinions, cause in the end you guyz/galz are the end users :)
I think I spend more time reading the blogs that are clear and concise and easy to follow. If it’s a mass of text I might skim it, but it’s more difficult for me to read. I’m new here (via todayisthatday.com) but I already notice that your entries have headings and clear sections. Your writing style is clean and easy to follow. I’ll definitely be back. This is exactly the kind of writing I like to read.
-Renee
WEAR the Law of Attraction
http://www.manifes-t.com
Hi Renee, thanx you very very much for the encouraging words! I have to say my writing style improved a lot over time (hehe if you take a look in my archives you’ll see)
Let me welcome you to SmartWealthyRich!, Please make yourself at home! :)
Good post buddy!
The one thing I learn from you here is to ask questions to readers out there to invite interactivity. I’ve recently implemented this, and I did notice that I got more comments within a shorter period of time. Thank you for that!
The part on ads is very true too! Some people are very turned off by the sheer number of ads on the site that they leave before they can even read the content, which can be a pity especially if the content turn out to be good.
We have to remember that people on the net are surfing around primarily for information. Therefore, as site owners, we must do our best to give the readers what they want. If we can establish that, monetization will come in naturally soon enough.
Cheers,
Jag
Hi Jag, glad you liked the post! :)
I, myself, am usually turned off when a blog is over-using ads. Like you said, especially if the content turns out to be good. It happens too often i leave a site even before it’s finished loading, when i see a huge number of ads. And asking questions definitely helps, good example, i think, is this very post.
Thanx for stopping by and replying Jag! :)
Great tips for creating relationships on your blog, and how to create friends and influence people. 22 comments on this post (now 23) can’t be wrong!
Keep doing great things, and enjoy being a relationship geek!
Hi Phil, thanx a lot for stopping by! and welcome to SWR!
I’ve heard your a relationship geek yourself, will see you at SOBCon07, till then let’s make it great :)
Jonathan - You’re very welcome. Glad to finally stop by. I’ve read a lot about you from Liz and a few others.
We’ll definitely connect at SOBCon07. Going to be amazing!
Phil, can’t wait to meet with all fellow bloggers in Chicago! hey it’s nice to hear Liz says good things about me hehe :)