Creating Comment Abundance: Writer Dad Style
Posted on October 14, 2008 by Eric Hamm |
Image courtesy of acaben
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sean Platt of Writer Dad.
The perfect post is rarely finished, even after we’ve pressed “publish,” or moved on to an outline for the following day. The best posts leave our readers with something to think on, question, or respond to. We must never think of our comment area as the downstairs basement where we never go unless we have a leaky pipe. It should be the lounge where we gather, lean back on our sofas, and watch the world as it’s passing by the tiny window over our heads.
Comments are the blood which pumps through the veins of our blog.
Few of us write in a vacuum. We write so that others may read our words. Our motives may be different, but I think we can all agree our aim is to find an audience. The best method to gather a crowd is to pen posts which promote discussion. We as authors, are directors of dialogue.
Beginning a blog is difficult, occupying our time and making us hurry to wait. We pour untold minutes and untapped soul, straight into our posts, then leave them to die in the desert. Therein lies the mistake. We should never allow our posts to wither on the vine. Instead, we should continue to add water and fertilizer, until our brambles are bursting.
There’s a basic law of human behavior which states that nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. A successful blogger knows how to take a whisper and render it to riot. When we feel the fire start to burn, we must feed it with everything we have; each comment, another piece of kindling to crackle the flames.
When we pen our posts, we’re clearing our throat and stepping to the podium. Comments are descending the steps to mingle among the crowd. We must provide ourselves with the proper tools if we are to further our chance of success. There are plenty of basic plugins that will help with comments. One of these is CommentLuv, which parses the commenter’s last post, adding incentive for them to leave a thought.
Respond to your first comment as though it was your next post. Convince the reader to come back and comment again next time. Groom a steady bank of commenters, by making them feel like family. Mention them, or perhaps reward them with a spot in your sidebar. More will follow.
Commenters are more than readers; they’re loyal. Building a subscriber base is important; building a subscriber base who is willing to take time to respond to your thoughts places a lot of power in your hands.
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Matthew Dryden
October 14th, 2008 4:06 amThis advice should be crammed down ever blogger’s throat. Your commenters are a vital part of growing your blog. Word of Mouth is everything.
Not only should you be responding to your own comments, you should also be following those CommentLuv links. Being a bloggers also means being an active part of your community of bloggers.
I disagree with the rewarding your commenters statement. I can only support blogs that I read and think deserve it, even if they don’t read me at all. I choose them because it’s important for my readers to know who is inspiring me in the blogosphere.
Matthew Dryden´s last blog post..Dullness Prevails / Worst Entry Ever
Oktober Five
October 14th, 2008 10:19 amI’ve thought a lot about some bloggers who have decided to disable comments on their posts, thinking it was a shallow form of participation, or else people did so only to promote themselves. I tend to agree. And I’m shallow and base enough to cheaply promote myself via comments that I pull out of the toilet. Seriously though, when 90 percent of us are only motivated to comment because of our selfish desire to promote our blogs, the comments will not be as genuine as they would be otherwise. Eventually, I think blog authors find that their value and the value of their blog is dependent on the number of comments, which is something they may have guided but did not create, and they start seeing the quality of the comments–and eventually, I think their wears on the nerves, makes one’s content seem of less value. I could go on, but then again, I’m only writing this to promote myself, so it seems silly to put more time into it than is strictly required to get you to click on my website link.
Oktober Five´s last blog post..When I Forget, You Lose
BloggerNewbie
October 14th, 2008 10:57 amGreat post WriterDad. I do like my comments. I like the participation in the conversation, makes me feel less like I am talking to myself! I also like to comment on other blogs, I don’t always comment because I don’t always have something to say! But the comment section interaction of the blog is the reason for a blog! Adding CommentLuv to my blog. Thx.
BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..New Year Resolution?
Marelisa
October 14th, 2008 2:48 pmHi Sean, great post. I usually hit the publish button late at night and then go to bed thinking, “I hope my readers enjoy this post”. When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is turn on my computer to read the first comments that have come in. When I see the words, “This is great, I know how I’m going to apply it my life” I feel like all the work I put into researching and writing the post was worth it. Comments are very important to me, and I know that they’re important to other bloggers too so I try to visit their blogs and leave comments for them.
Writer Dad
October 14th, 2008 3:34 pmMatthew: Word of mouth is everything. How you interact with your audience is a reflection on who you are.
Ocktober 5: I totally agree with you. It’s exciting when the comments somehow transcend the possibility of a good link. When I was pulling a few dozen comments, with no traffic and not too many subscribers, that was a high. It’s helped me to push myself to maintain it ever since.
Blogger Newbie: Comment Luv is wonderful. It’ll help you feel less like you’re talking to yourself in no time.
Marelisa: That line about mingling among the crowd I wrote a long time ago. I don’t know if it was in a post or a comment. The only reason I even remember it was because you complimented it. Thanks for that, and it’s ironic to see you hear so many weeks later.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..Dejá Vuesday
Christopher Golda
October 14th, 2008 3:58 pmGreat post — anything that boosts the incentive to write comments is good for everyone. Bloggers should definitely be writing posts that promote discussion in the comment; I think it’s very important for bloggers to comment _elsewhere_.
Also, I believe that comment systems that support threading (Disqus, Intense Debate, etc) help the conversation a lot.
Thanks
Jamie Simmerman
October 14th, 2008 4:29 pmWonderful post, Sean. Good to see you out in the blogosphere.
Jamie Simmerman´s last blog post..For Sale: Ran Great Yesterday
TheAndySan
October 14th, 2008 4:31 pmGreat post, Sean! The first paragraph convinced me to take a gander at your blog and I subscribed.
I’m an up-and-coming writer myself, but right now, I’m working on building an income online so that I have the resources as well as the piece of mind to begin writing manga and/or light novels.
I’m also thinking about learning how to draw. I don’t really want to hire someone to draw everything for me, so I’ll just do it myself. I used to trace things way back in junior high, but I didn’t really take it seriously.
You never know, I could start a blog about learning how to draw my manga. Hmm, now there’s an idea…
TheAndySan
http://www.theandysan.com
TheAndySan´s last blog post..I’m Going To My Happy Place!
Sara at On Simplicity
October 14th, 2008 11:30 pmWhat a good reminder to cherish the comments! Like Marelisa, I’m always excited to see what kind of comments the day’s post will bring.
Whether folks are disagreeing with me, engaging fully, or simply expressing appreciation, it always gives me butterflies. The day that feeling goes away, I should probably stop blogging. Fortunately, i don’t see it happening any time soon!
Sara at On Simplicity´s last blog post..Weekly Links: Stinky Couch Edition
thatwashot
October 14th, 2008 11:31 pmhaving a reader who comments is especially hard for new blogs. That is why, it is a challenge for new bloggers to come up with posts and interesting ideas where reader can really engage their selves. I hope new blog can gather commenters as early as possible like you do. Domo!
Writer Dad
October 15th, 2008 2:16 pmChristopher Golda: Thanks Christopher. It’s amazing once we start the dialogue, discussion continues to pollinate on other sites as well. You’re right, we need to keep the discussion flowing everywhere.
Jamie: I used to make it out a little more often. It’s getting harder. Come on, January!
TheAndySan: Thanks, welcome, and I’m very happy to have you. I actually think that’s a great idea. Especially if it’s a learn as you go site. Sometimes it’s fun to learn along with someone rather than learn from someone who already knows it all.
Sara: Hi, Sara. Me too. I used to be excited to write the posts. Now, I’m excited to answer the comments. I’m a talker by nature, so I like discussion more than monologue.
That Was Hot: Be funny. People like funny, and will often respond downstairs if you made them laugh on the ground floor.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..Daddy Destitution
Tim Brownson
October 15th, 2008 2:19 pm@ Mathew - I agree with your disagreement
I read a lot of blogs that I don’t comment on. Some of the inane comments that people leave just to get traffic leaves me cold. I want to add something to the debate or what’s the point?
I had a couple pf regulars that used to comment on my blog and now don’t. My guess would be it’s because I don’t comment on theirs, although I could be wrong and maybe they have got bored with my style of writing.
If somebody is purely commenting on my blog to gain traffic and thinks I then have an obligation to comment on theirs or they’ll up and leave, then I’m really not interested. I understand the thought process round this, but all it tells me is that you weren’t commenting because you wanted to, as much as because you wanted something back.
I comment on several blogs that never comment on mine and I have several commenters on mine who’s blogs I seldom visit. It’s not because I am unappreciative, in fact far from it and I have linked to a lot in my blogroll. It’s because they may write stuff that I tend not to read and to do so out of obligation defeats the point imho.
There are so many great blogs out there and so little time to check them all out and that is only going to get more difficult as more and more blogs go live.
Finally, I do agree with Sara and Melissa because it is great getting comments, especially when you can tell that somebody has thought about it and just wants to chat without a whole host of ulterior motives bubbling away in the background.
I think I just wrote a post
Tim Brownson´s last blog post..Change Is Always Possible
Frank Costello
October 15th, 2008 4:35 pmEvery response to a post takes time and some thought. An intelligent blogger should thank each response with a thoughtful note themselves
Frank Costello´s last blog post..Internet Telephone Service, A Frugal Approach To Home Communications
Writer Dad
October 16th, 2008 1:18 pmTim: I’m with you. I’ve been as guilty as anyone of leaving comments for the sake of traffic, but I haven’t done it in a month. If it’s not genuine, it’s not worth it. Someone close to me pointed out that I was spreading my writing three sentences at a time through the Blogosphere and that I was thinning myself. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve stopped, and started doing a better job in my own comment section, and my writing. On a side note, I think your blog is excellent. You use image better than most, and your blog always looks super clean. I liked what you said about using the words we mean. I’m a big believer in this. In fact, I wish I believed it a little less, then I wouldn’t take so long writing my posts.
Frank: I couldn’t agree more.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..My Feet Never Touched the Bahamas, but My Voice Found Paradise.
Moodderee
December 7th, 2008 4:40 pmПривет, я думала что это совсем не так происходит:)
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