Encourage comments
In many ways a comment is a blogger’s biggest reward. After all, a person usually drafts a blog post to reach out to others who share their point of view or who can offer new perspectives. We may not always admit it to ourselves, but blogging is ultimately an interactive process. People often think of blog’s as websites with a one-way street of communication; a blogger blogs their thoughts daily with little regard to who is reading. We forget that people create blogs to share what’s on their mind with other people. You can see this difference in popular blogs. Successful bloggers connect with their readers in a way made visible by the number of comments that accompany each post. So how can you write posts that elicit responses from your readers? Here are a few methods that could work for you.
Start a conversation within the blog
Bear in mind that (hopefully) people read your blog every day looking for new and interesting content. Treat your readership as confidants in your intellectual endeavors. Bounce ideas off of them in your posts by asking questions about a certain topic. Write an opinion post covering an article related to your blog’s theme and ask for feedback from your readers. Your readers will certainly have their own opinions about what you write in your blog; all you need to do is encourage readers to share their mind in order to set up a healthy dynamic. Asking for feedback can be as easy as including a simple “What do you think?” at the end of a particularly interesting post.
Write compelling material
It may be the case that your readers refrain from commenting because your posts leave little room for other opinions. Write about a topic that already invites several perspectives. For instance, if you run a tech blog, post articles that approach opposing sides of the industry: Mac vs. PC, iPhone v. Android, Twitter v. Facebook, etc. If you focus on material that invites multiple perspectives, you’ll surely invite some friendly debate and discussion into your blog. However be wary of drafting posts just because you know they’ll be controversial. If you write a post that becomes too contentious among your readers, you may need to step in as the moderator to maintain a civil tone.
Encourage guest posting
You can improve your blog’s dynamic with your readers by giving them a chance to contribute through guest posting. Guest posting works for both the guest poster and the webmaster: if the article has potential, posting it could give notoriety to your blog for posting it and to your reader for writing it. New readers may come across your blog and, noticing the guest posts from other readers, consider commenting on a post because they see that you’re open enough to allow outside contributions. If you’re someone hesitant to implement guest posts, simply make strict guidelines for contributors to follow if they want their material to be posted on your blog. Remember that you’ll always get the last word on what gets published on your blog.
Respond to the comments you do get
If you start to get a steady stream of comments, do try to respond to as many as possible. Take some time out of your blogging schedule to address comments whenever appropriate. You can respond with a basic “Thanks for your feedback!” to brief comments, and give more detailed out answers to more detailed questions. The important thing is that you let your readers know that there’s an open line of communication between you and them.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.
