Blogging 101Tips for Christian Bloggers
As of today the Heart of Wisdom Blog currently has over 17,486 hits and 437 comments. Over 17,000 read the post but did not comment. That’s less that 1%! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t write to get comments. I write to share. But comments are encouraging and I would like to see more interaction on the HOW blogs, i.e. more comment and encouragement so you will blog more.
Comments Are A Form of Encouragement
IMHO, the best way to get comments is to visit and leave comments on other people’s blogs. This is what blogging is all about–encouraging one another. Writing to encourage others is good, but relationship encouragement is better. Jesus is our example. He was an effective communicator, not just because of who He is and what He said, but because He listened.
Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thess 4:18)
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thess 5:11)
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Heb 3:13)
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25)
Blogging with other Christians is Fellowship
Comments on your blog give another viewpoint (good, bad, or indifferent) and allow you to develop a relationship with others. . When readers allow me to know what they are thinking and feeling, it helps me to serve them and others better.
Here is an article from the ProBlogger site on getting comments that may help. I’ll be using the techniques myself and let you know how they work.
Jakob Nielsen’s latest study finds that 90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing) with only 9% of users contributing ‘a little’ and 1% actively contributing.
So 1% of your blog’s users are actively engaging with your blog and the rest are at best occasional contributers.
The study isn’t just on blogging so the actual numbers could be more or less than these and would no doubt vary from site to site anyway - but the principle is true. The vast majority of readers leave a blog without leaving a comment or contributing to it in any way (and some bloggers like it like this and switch comments off - read more on whether to have comments on or off here and the up and downsides of comments on blogs here).
To some extent this is just the way it is and we probably need to just get used to it - however when it comes to comments there are some ways to encourage more interactivity on your blog:
10 Ways to Increase Comment Numbers on Your Blog
1. Invite Comments - I notice that when I specifically invite comments that people leave them in higher numbers than when I don’t. To some degree this confuses me as most of my readers know that they can leave comments on any post - but I guess inviting a comment triggers a response to some extent. Also keep in mind that new readers that are unfamiliar with blogging don’t always know about comments or how to use them - invitations to participate in well laid out and easy to use comments systems are good for helping them participate.
2. Ask Questions - Including specific questions in posts definitely helps get higher numbers of comments. I find that when I include questions in my headings that it is a particularly effective way of getting a response from readers as you set a question in their mind from the first moments of your post.
3. Be Open Ended - If you say everything there is to say on a topic you’re less likely to get others adding their opinions because you’ll have covered what they might have added. While you don’t want to purposely leave too many things unsaid there is an art to writing open ended posts that leaves room for your readers to be experts also.
4. Interact with comments left - If you’re not willing to use your own comments section why would your readers? If someone leaves a comment interact with them. This gets harder as your blog grows but it’s particularly important in the early days of your blog as it shows your readers that their comments are valued, it creates a culture of interactivity and gives the impression to other readers that your comments section is an active place that you as the blogger value. As the activity in your comments section grows you may find you need to be slightly less active in it as readers will start to take over on answering questions and creating community - however don’t completely ignore your comment threads.
5. Set Boundaries - I noticed that shortly after I set the rules for my comments section (with a comments policy) that my comment numbers jumped up a little. I’m not sure if it was just a coincidence or whether readers responded to knowing what was and wasn’t acceptable. It’s just a theory but I think a well managed and moderated comments section that is free of spam and that deals with well with people stepping out of line is an attractive thing to readers. I personally don’t mind people expressing different opinions to one another in comments but when I sense things are getting a little out of hand and too personal I often step in to attempt to bring some order to the situation (I rarely delete non spam comments). I find that people have responded to this and that comment threads generally stay constructive as a result.
6. Be humble - I find that readers respond very well to posts that show your own weaknesses, failings and the gaps in your own knowledge rather than those posts where you come across as knowing everything there is to know on a topic. People are attracted to humility and are more likely to respond to it than a post written in a tone of someone who might harshly respond to their comments.
7. Be gracious - Related to humility is grace. There are times where you as the blogger will get something wrong in your posts. It might be spelling or grammar, it could be the crux of your argument or some other aspect of your blogging. When a someone leaves a comment that shows your failing it’s very easy to respond harshly in a defensive manner. We’ve all seen the flaming that can ensue. While it’s not easy - a graceful approach to comments where you admit where you are wrong and others is right can bring out the lurkers and make them feel a little safer in leaving comments.
8. Be controversial? - I put a question mark after this one because it doesn’t always work (and I personally avoid it as much as I can these days) - but there’s nothing like controversy to get people commenting on your blog. Of course with controversy comes other consequences - one of which is the risk of putting off less vocal members of your readership.
9. ‘Reward’ Comments - There are many ways of acknowledging and ‘rewarding’ good comments that range from simply including a ‘good comment’ remark through to highlighting them in other posts that you write. Drawing attention to your readers who use comments well affirms them but also draws attention of other readers to good use of your comments section.
10. Make it Easy to Comment - I leave a lot of comments on a lot of blogs each week - but there is one situation where I rarely leave a comment - even if the post deserves it - blogs that require me to login before making a comment. Maybe I’m lazy (actually there’s no maybe about it) or maybe there’s something inside me that worries about giving out my personal details - but when I see a comments section that requires registration I almost always (95% or more of the time) leave the blog without leaving the comment that I want to make. While I totally understand the temptation to require registration for comments (combatting spam in most cases) something inside me resists participating in such comments sections. Registration is a hurdle you put in front of your readers that some will be willing to leap but that others will balk at (the same is often said about other comments section requirements that go beyond the basics). Keep your comments section as simple and as easy to use as possible.
So - what do you think? How have you increased the levels of comments on your blog?
August 13th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Hi Robin, I’m leaving a comment to let you know that I’ve read the post! I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said. I have been guilty of reading blogs and not leaving comments and your are right in saying that blogging with other christians is a form of fellowship. It’s so easy to be faceless and nameless and just ‘lurk’ around on the internet. I’ll be making more of an effort to interact by leaving more comments.
Love,
Chrissy
August 13th, 2007 at 1:28 am
Hi Robin, me again. I’ve tried to leave a comment on Pure and Sensible but it won’t let me until I’m “logged in”. I know that can’t be right, and I’ve noticed that she has no comments at all to any of her posts. ??? Can you help ?
September 22nd, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Well, I’ll leave you a comment since I’m here. And since I tagged you with a blogging meme you might have fun with. No worries if you don’t choose to pick it up, but it was fun to do! (Basically how NOT to blog!)