I Love The Smell Of Comments In The Morning
Jan

(OK, the picture has nothing to do with comments, but I couldn’t resist! Gotta love Apocalypse Now!)
I admit it, I am a comment junkie. It’s not that I get a lot of comments, because I don’t. But when I do, it makes my day!
I don’t know if most or all bloggers feel the same way here, but it’s like I’m being validated that my blog is actually providing value (or not).
Before I downsized out of my BlackBerry (sob), I would literally be waiting for that red light to start flashing which would tell me that I had a new message. If it was an email telling me I had a new comment, I couldn’t wait to read it.
Unfortunately, I had to cut back on expenses and the BB had to go. Now I have to actually log in my account to see if anyone has left one!!
Is it just me or are comments like crack to everyone? It’s like we just can’t get enough of them. Maybe it’s because my blog is relatively new and I want to be sure people are actually finding my posts helpful or interesting.
One thing that always bothered me, and maybe it’s just jealousy, is when I see a blog that seems to have just average content and yet has a ton of comments. I have to wonder what I’m not doing that they are.
Recently, I’ve started looking into this question and discovered a few very cool blogs that help to answer my questions. By the way, these are NOT the average blogs I was talking about!!
Comment Machines
Here are a few blogs that are killing it with the number of comments they receive. I’m not saying that comments equal success, but I think that comments help to forge a community and having a community of readers who like and trust us is what we’re all looking for.
Anyway, take a look at these sites and maybe you will find something that will help you build your comments as well. Note that these sites are not juggernauts like Problogger or CopyBlogger, who have a ton of comments because they have soooo many readers (and their content is fairly decent too).
- BloggingBookshelf.com Tristan Higbee seems to have mastered the art of getting comments. For a relatively new blog, he is hitting the ball out of the park. Check out his post, “How To Guarantee 100 Comments On A Blog Post“. 170+ comments is not too shabby in my book!
- Sensophy.com Jacob Sokol has only had his blog since April 2010, and has gained a lot of traction already. His comment numbers are very impressive and he is super passionate and clearly building a community around his vision.
- LavenderUses.com I’ll be the first to admit that I know nothing about lavender. I do however, know that Patricia is a true commenting machine (and a heck of a sweet woman)! She has been kind enough to leave multiple comments on my blog and if you take a look at some of her posts, like “Are You a Tweetheart, Commenter, or Both“?, you will gain some insight as to how she generates so many comments (and on such a small niche blog!).
How To Ramp Up Your Comments
If I knew the answer to this, I wouldn’t be writing this article!
I will however, share what I have learned recently (like in the last hour) about increasing those elusive comments.
- Start commenting on other people blogs. Duh. Well, it’s not going to work if we just comment here and there, like most of us do. How many of us can honestly say that we put a lot of effort into commenting on blogs? Bloggers like Patricia and Tristan spend a ton of time crafting genuine, well articulated comments on other blogs. In return, they see that generosity frequently returned.
- Use Twitter to build your network. This seems obvious, but when you spend time on here actually conversing with people, many of them will visit your site. If they like what they read, you very may wellΒ get a comment or two.
- Focus on creating relationships. In my opinion, this is one of the most important things a new blogger can do. Getting traffic, comments, and attention, are all difficult in the beginning. If you can find a way to build relationships, not even with big name bloggers, you will be amazed at what happens. Just don’t go looking for something when seeking out these relationships. Instead, focus on creating a mutually beneficial one.
- Engage your readers. This is not done any better than by Nick at SiteSketch101. If you want to learn how to get conversations going with your readers, spend some time on his site. Each of his posts are specifically written to call his readers into action. And that action is commenting and getting involved. Brilliant.
I understand that comments don’t make a blog successful or put any money in our pockets, but what they do is get people talking. When we can get people talking, things are going to start happening. The more buzz we create, the more we will get noticed. And that’s a very good thing!!
I plan to post this on Sunday morning and if by Sunday night I don’t have at least 50 comments, I will consider this a complete and utter failure.
Just kidding.
If you did find this post useful or interesting, or you just like the title of the post, please leave a comment. Thanks

Judy Helfand
Steve,
This will be quick and short…need to bathe the dog, walk a mile, vaccuum the house, etc. I once asked Chris Brogan why he posted on Sunday and he told me that he found people have more time to read and engage via comments on Sunday. I teased him that i had this vision that he hit the publish button and then went out for the day leaving his followers to hash out the meat of his topic. Check some of his Sunday posts, you will see what I mean.
Have a good day!!!
Judy
Steve
Judy,
That’s what I was thinking. It seems like most people would be spending some time on their computers and would have some time to read. It a bit more difficult when you’re at work.
I do like Chris Brogan’s work, so I will take at a look at his Sunday posts.
Michelle Lecours
We just had this discussion in my Social Media Meetup in OC. One of our members mentioned how much she likes thoughtful comments and that she’s getting less and less of them. Instead, she’s receiving retweets of her blog post announcements.
I can say personally the reason why I rarely leave comments is because many bloggers require the whole signing-in process to leave a comment. That usually stops me in my tracks. However, Steve’s format here is perfect! We always hear that “content is king” and I tell you that could not be more true now. There’s a guy in this meetup who is a WordPress expert. When he talks, the room goes silent.
Seriously. And the reason is he’s providing some of the most valuable content in the room when he speaks. Steve, your blog is the second reminder in less than 24 hours that I should be taking time to make comments on thoughtful blogs. I will pay more attention. Thank you!
Steve
Thanks Michelle!
I agree that having to log-in to leave a comment is a pain in the ass and I usually won’t do it. I also don’t understand the whole moderator thing. If you have a high traffic site and get tons of spam, then ok. If you are like most of us, Akismet will weed out virtually all that garbage.
I just don’t like waiting for my comment to be approved and I’ve seen it take many hours to be posted. Big turnoff and I probably won’t try again.
Glad to hear you will be leaving more comments and hopefully a few more end up on here!!
Melody O.
I’m like you, in that comments are like crack to me. Do you know the feeling of getting a tweet about your blog article and you think, “That would’ve made a perfect comment – Wish it would have been a comment instead.”
I often wonder if blogs with hundreds of comments are “Do follow” blogs. I haven’t done that with my own blog, but I hear that gets you more comments.
By the way, comments are still content driven. My own blog does fairly okay with comments (come see ;)) but I notice that things that are a hot topic (new Starbucks logo, Trenta size cup) drive way more comments than my more mundane posts.
I notice that Sensophy’s blog is all over the board in comments. Some posts with less than 20, and some with many more. That suggests to me that that blogger is doing a good job of get content driven comments, and not artificially creating them.
I can’t stop my comment addiction! Ahhh!
~Melody
(PS: I enjoy Nicholas Cardot’s blog too – So very well written and thought provoking.)
Steve
Hi Melody,
I get people sending me emails from my contact form with great comments and I wish they actually left in on the blog!
As far as the do follow tags, I think that tends to attract the attention of spammers who are searching just for the links. I use CommentLuv to give my readers/commenters a little link juice. My site doesn’t carry much weight (yet), but every little bit helps!
I checked out your blog (I figure if someone is willing to spend their time writing a sincere comment, the very least I can do is visit their site), and I actually like the design. It has a nice, clean layout and a pleasant color scheme. I can also see you are passionate about your coffee!
Jacob at Sensophy is a very passionate guy and it looks like he really reaches out to his readers. What a great way to build a business.
I keep bringing up Nick in my posts, but I can’t help it. He puts more effort into his posts and his messages that any other blogger I’ve seen. He’s the same way in person too.
Thanks and I hope to catch up with you soon.
Jo
It’s so easy as a new blogger to be turned off by the whole blogging experience when your well-thought out post receives no comments. But sometimes it’s not much better when you receive just a generic comment, which indicates the person either didn’t read or think about what you posted. I like your tip about building relationships. It’s definitely about adding value to others sites, since that’s what we want on our own. Taking the time to read and engage with other bloggers will always come back to you in good blog comment karma. Commenting for the sake of commenting just isn’t useful.
Steve
Jo,
I completely agree. There really is no point of leaving a “nice post” comment for anyone. Usually, it’s just someone looking for a backlink. I’m finding that the more time I spend making friends, especially on Twitter, the more feedback I get.
Gibson Goff
The whole issue is self-serving for the reader, but still beneficial for the writer. Forget the links and the tracbacks and the pingie things a little. It’s finding value in the authors ideas and posts. If they never received any feedback, do you really think they would continue posting?
So ask, do you derive some value overall from this author? Well then, thank them and spur them on to write more. Simple.
I’ve subscribed to this blog. I enjoy the ideas presented, the concept, and the author. So . . .Thank you! And, good job!
Steve
Hey Gibson, good to see you back again!
It would be tough for a blogger to pour his/her heart into their site and get no feedback. The more comments we receive, the more we learn about what our readers want. When we give our readers what they want, we all win.
Steven
Steve,
Found your blog post from Dumblittleman and enjoyed it. I too am trying to “end the grind”, so I am looking forward to see what I can learn from your blog. I just started mine, http://www.theleadershipdr.com.
Best of luck with everything!
Steven
Steve
Steven,
Glad to hear you enjoyed my article. I will keep an eye on your blog as I love to see others trying to get out of the rat race too!!
Keshav
I loved this tittle. (Okay just scratched off a few words trying to describe how a new comment feels like) I love comments. Period.
Can you please comment back now? π
I was drawn hear from your post at DLM. I’ll look around a bit.
Steve
Keshav,
Thanks! You are the first person to mention the title. I though it was really a catchy one, but nobody acknowledged it, so thanks!
I would love to hear any feedback you have after reading some of my others posts!!
Robert Wall
I love both comments on my blog and commenting on others’ blogs.
I definitely agree on the whole “moderation” thing – the best part about comments is them being able to build off of each other rapidly. You can have five people post in five minutes, each replying to the post before them, each building on what the previous one said.
Comment moderation just shuts that all down before it gets started.
I like the Sunday posting idea – I may have to give that some thought!
Steve
Robert,
Yea, that’s how I feel. I have even had comments not get approved??? I think filtering your comments (other than for spam) is weak. We need to take the good with the bad.
Robert Wall
Even more than taking the good with the bad, a lot of the blogs I see comments moderated on are small, upstart blogs that haven’t even had a chance to have a bad experience!
I know that at this point on my blog I have Akismet turned on and I just let it go. I’m happy with most any comments I get!
Steve
Yea, I think that is a common mistake (if you can call it that) that a lot of new bloggers make. They don’t realize that it’s turning potential return readers away.
Alison
I love comments, but am more addicted to my page views….Ian thinks I’m crazy, but was super excited at my first comment. Some of the natural foods blogs I follow have blog carnivals, not sure if your portion of the web does stuff like that, but has greatly increased my traffic by participating….and comments of course!
Steve
Hey Alison,
I get so excited when a new comment comes in! It’s funny isn’t it? Ian doesn’t seem to get wrapped up in the numbers, but it’s so much fun to track our progress!
I haven’t gone the carnical route yet. I am focusing on guest posting for high traffic sites and it seems to be working pretty well.
Hope your blog is kicking butt!
Stella
I think this is a very informative post, Steve. It’s all about learning from each other and I think comments are the best way to go in that respect. You get to hear what works (or doesn’t work) for your readers and how to tweak your blog so that you’re providing more value to them. Keep up the great work!
Steve
Hi Stella,
Comments are such a great way to find out if you are giving your readers what they want. I have learned quite a lot from the few comments I receive and I know it will only serve to help my blog.
Harriet`
Its good to hear that you like getting comments because I like writing them! Nice list of blogs that get lots of comments, I often find that commenting on a very popular blog means that my comment gets swallowed up and I don’t get to respond if my comment is repsonded to because I can’t find the original comment!
Steve
Harriet,
I feel the same exact way. I never leave comments on a site like CopyBlogger, which receives 200-500 comments on any given article. I don’t see the point. I’ve also noticed a pattern in blogs that get like 80-100 comments. It seems like the author of the blog will usually stop responding to comments after 50 or 60 and maybe that’s because it just gets too time consuming or they feel like they are just being redundant with their responses.
Dino Dogan
I thought this little comment for you
and so I wrote this little comment for you
It said “here’s the comment I wrote for you”
5, 4, 3, 2
Kim
25 comments- not too shabby! I laughed at this post because I feel the exact same way. For example, last night I put up a new post and this morning I check my email at work first thing and I only had two comments. Two friggin comments!! Sadly, I felt a tad depressed by that. BTW, checking comments is the ONLY thing that gets me out of bed and on the way to work in the morning, so I guess my comment obession works for me. Alright, well, thanks for those links to the other blogs, I’ll check them out.
Steve
Hey Kim,
Glad to see I have a fellow addict! I totally hear you with getting bummed out when you have no or only a few comments. Sometimes when I write a post that I think will get tons of comments, it totally flops. The key seems to be starting a discussion or debate and having people contribute.
As far as getting out of bed every day, it’s a combination of comments and Red Bull that does it for me (and of course a 5 year old shaking me!).
BTW, I’m leaving you a comment to make your day!!
Jason from Skyward
Steve,
You’re a comment crack head bro…I think you need to come to terms with your problem.
Kidding man, everyone feels the same way. Comments are awesome. They do validate our work and just plan feel good!
Great post Steve
Steve
Jason,
Hell yea, I’m a crackhead!
Thanks dude..
Tristan
Sweeeeet. Thanks for the mention, Steve! I just added a link to the post on my Mentions page and in my sidebar π
I think you pretty much nailed it with how to get lots of comments. Just write great content and be a real, friendly person. Reply to every comment you get. People will take the time to write quality comments if they know you’re going to read them.
Another interesting thing to note is that all 3 of the blogs you mentioned were started in 2010: Patricia’s in February, Jacob’s since April, and mine since October. It just goes to show that there’s no reason even a new blog can’t have a lot of comments. I think the post I did on my one month mark got something like 90 comments on it.
Someone else wondered in the comments if the blogs that get lots of comments are DoFollow blogs. Mine is not. It was for about a month at the beginning of my blog. Then I switched back to NoFollow and saw immediate LARGE improvements in my search engine rankings. I didn’t get any fewer comments.
I think another important part to getting lots of comments is asking specific questions at the end of every post. Not just “What do you think” or “Do you agree” type questions, but very specific ones.
Anyway, thanks again for the mention and the link, Steve. I really do appreciate it, man. Keep up the great work here!
Steve
Tristan,
I’ve learned a lot from your blog and the interaction you have with your readers. I was missing the boat and will start doing things a bit differently to engage my readers.
People know when you’re real and when you actually care about what they are saying. If someone takes the time to read a post AND leave a thoughtful commment, the least we can do is respond with interest.
Why do you think the NoFollow tag has helped you? I don’t really understand that whole issue. Is it that people are just looking for link juice with DoFollow and the comments are subpar?
Can you have CommentLuv enabled and also have a NoFollow ?
Asking specific questions is a great idea and something I need to get much better at.
I have also started using the “Reply Me” plugin which sends the commenter an email when I respond. I think it has helped becasue most people will leave a comment and never follow up to see if it was replied to.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Tristan
I love ReplyMe, so thanks for installing it!
NoFollow has helped me get ranked better in the search engine rankings. When my blog was DoFollow, I was #400-something for a specific keyword I’m aiming for. I switched back to NoFollow and was #140-ish the very next day.
Yes, you can have CommentLuv and KeywordLuv but still be NoFollow. That’s what I’m doing on my blog.
Steve
Tristan,
How does the follow status affect SEO so much?
Tristan
Here are some posts that talk about it more:
http://hotblogtips.com/update-on-do-follow-vs-no-follow-debate
http://seommotips.com/seo/why-not-to-make-your-blog-dofollow/
All WordPress blogs are NoFollow by default and you can only turn them to DoFollow by installing a plugin (or doing it for individual links with html).
There are very vocal people on either side of the issue. But I tried it personally and saw no benefits but did see negative results. Your mileage may vary.
Steve
Thanks for the links. I haven’t really taken the time to fully understand the main differences.
Keith
I love that Tristan mentioned my debate over on HotBlogTips about this do-follow topic.
I use no-follow on some of my sites, and do-follow on others…. I use do-follow on the sites I don’t really care about the serp’s on (like on BizHax) and no0follow on my money sites…
Steve
Keith,
Apparently your knowledge spreads far! Thanks for the clarification, I had never really thought about the difference.
Patricia@lavenderuses
Hi Steve
Thankyou for mentioning my small niche blog. I only started blogging seriously in June and it has been hard work as far as getting my small niche blog out there and noticed in the blogosphere.
The commentluv community sure helped with that. Also I have been consistently commenting on about 20 blogs a day and eventually people began to comment on me being everywhere with my comments lol
I am a dofollow blog and I don’t think I get any more spam than the nofollow blogs. And I am on page 1 with my main keywords and have been for awhile.
Have just read an interesting post by an analyist and he stated that no more link juice was lost whether commentluv dofollow or nofollow. I like to reward my commenters and it’s interesting that people who have nofollow are happy to take link juice from dofollow blogs but not give it to those who visit theirs.
One of the things a lot of newbies think is that the commentluv blogs are automatically dofollow. It would be interesting to note if these nofollow blogs came out and said if they would get as many comments. I don’t think it would effect established blogs but maybe newish ones it might.
And Tristan is not a new blogger. He has shared that he has been blogging for 7 years and has had his failures as have I. Mine was with a static website so you will find Steve that when people look like they have almost instant success, in fact most of us have not.
Over the past week I have been reassessing my blogging and business plans. I have been spending so much time networking and now I have to concentrate on building my business. So I have been visiting marketing blogs and asking plenty of questions of my successful marketing friends.
Have pulled back from Twitter and visiting so many blogs. Why? Cos I need to start generating an income and concentrate on writing my ebook. That is what will hopefully move my business along.
Sadly, many people feel that blogging will be both easy and a quick way to monetise. Neither are true. Most marketers don’t go round commenting on lots of blogs. They are too busy making money π
It takes time to gain authority and just a gentle reminder Steve. If we hadn’t conversed, I would not have known you had visited and read several of my articles. Why? Cos you didn’t leave a comment. On my latest post where I have an experienced marketer Guest Posting, here is an opportunity to ask him questions and learn from someone who is doing it and being successful.
I asked heaps when I started. Still do if I don’t know something. That way I am learning form people who are actually walking the walk.
Not to detract from the popular blogs that get heaps of comments; the question has to be asked…..are those blogs making the blog owner any money?! I’m not speaking of the “big boys” who have been around for years. They got in at the ground level when there wasn’t the amount of competition around. Kudos to their success.
However with so much competition now we truly have to be unique, write quality posts and think outside the box. Sadly too much emphasis is being placed on having lots of comments. I know when I started out I checked all the time waiting on those first few comments to come into my backoffice.
Still wonder if anyone will visit when I press publish. Cos being in a small niche, there is less traffic. But now I am concentrating on how to build my business. In my opinion too much emphasis is placed on getting tons of comments. Targeted traffic is more important if you want to grow a business.
As you visit blogs, leave a comment, ask a question you should see more comments. But more importantly I hope you begin to grow your business and live your dream.
Patricia Perth Australia
Steve
Patricia,
Your comment is longer than some of my posts!! This is why you are dominating the world of blog commenting!
It’s obvious that you have put A LOT of time into networking and getting attention for your blog. There are plenty of different strategies to build relationships and drive traffic and you seem to have figured out how to do that with your commenting.
I like CommentLuv not only to give my readers a backlink, but to see their blog. I visit all the blogs of people who leave comments. I need to get better at actually leaving them comments though!
As far as the debate on dofollow vs nofollow and its effect on traffic, I am not too concerned. It’s good to understand the difference, but I’m just focusing on other, more important things.
It’s easy to spend all day doing marketing/networking and not enough time on your own site. What is your eBook going to be about? Lavender or commenting?? I think you would do well with either….
Blogging is far from a quick or easy way to make money! I am expecting a long road ahead of me.
As far as reading your articles, I should have taken the time to leave a comment or two. I’ll be back soon and do so π
Getting a ton of comments isn’t going to make money for anyone directly, but by building relationships through these comments, you will gain people’s trust. Trust is imperative to having long-term success in an online world filled with scammers and quick buck artists.
I agree that too much emphasis is put on getting comments and I am guilty for sure! I just really love the interaction.
Your time and interest in my success are very much appreciated and I know I will hear from you again soon.
Patricia@lavenderuses
Hi again Steve
My first ebook is on all thing lavender which should please a wide group of my readers: gardeners, crafters and those interested in natural health. I am pleased that since my blog has been up; many of my visitors who knew nothing about lavenders are now regular visitors and comment that they are learning heaps. Some are even attempting to grow their own lavenders…wow that’s progress I reckon π
Two of my very good friends who are experienced marketers have both suggested I do an ebook on social media too. Will see how long it takes to complete the all things lavender ebook.
Will be interested to see what questions you come up with for Rick’s GP. I am leaving his post up this week as I have told my biz/marketing support group about it and want as many people who are interested in starting a business to read it. I know it will still be on my site when I publish my next post, but want it to continue featuring, as it contains such excellent content from someone who knows what they are on about.
I will be doing another post about success. Just deciding when to publish. Either next week or the week after.
Keep hanging in there Steve and when I have more to share about my own foray into the home business arena, will let readers know my progress.
Patricia Perth Australia
Steve
Patricia,
It seems like you are on the right track to success. When your readers truly like you, it makes a world of difference. With the thoughtful comments you leave and your pleasant nature, it’s easy to see why you are doing so well.
I will keep an eye out for your eBook…
lisa
Hi Steve,
This is my 2nd visit to your site and I enjoy your content as it resonates with me being a new blogger. I guess my biggest issue is how do I get visitors to post a comment on my blog page and not my FB page (for ex).
Patricia’s comments really were interesting, especially her comment about traffic as opposed to comments. I actually get more traffic than I do comments.
Steve
Lisa,
Try to make your posts as conversational as possible, ask questions, and then ask your readers to leave a comment.
Try spending some time readingabout commenting strategies. Check out bloggingbookshelf.com for tips on how to improve comments.
Also,your traffic should always be higher than your comments!
TheNextMartha
Interesting. I’m not so much into the #’s part of blogging. The stats, the number of comments. I’ve only checked stats once. Once I get a handful of comments, I stop marketing it. If they come, they come, if not, that’s ok with me too. Hope you get to 50. π
Steve
Jen,
You beat me to the comment! For whatever reason, I am hooked on stats. I guess I feel like the more comments I get, the more interest there is in what I’m doing.
Now, off to your blog!
JT
One way to get – REPEAT – comments and build community – is to go on the commenters’ sites and, if it’s a blog, comment there.
And, if for every comment they leave, TRY to go and return the favour, you should soon end up with a few dozen very genuine, valuable authentic and very beneficial relationships.
Steve
JT,
That is a wonderful strategy and is used by a few of my regular readers. I need to get better at that. I find that after visiting all the websites I want to, I don’t have much energy left to leave a genuine comment.
My goal IS to build a flourishing community, so I have to start returning the love. Thanks for reminding me….
Brankica
I am totally helping not to make this utter failure. And I think it is far from it.
You listed the perfect ways to get more comments. I will add one more thing that I think can add a bit.
Remember top of the sidebar on Tristan’s blog? Telling you why you should comment. I have it too. Dino Dogan has it too.
I think it helps. I recently deleted the part where I say I will visit every blog, although I still do it, but I am so behind on it that although I will do it, I don’t want to promise it.
So maybe you should think of something like that.
Engaging bloggers is the best way to do it. People are busy and sometimes they will forget to visit you. But I never mind blogger sending me a link and saying “Hey did you miss my new post?”
And you have been featured on Saric’s blog, can’t believe you are not having 200 comments on every post π
Steve
Thanks #50!
I actually saw the little blurb about comments on Tristan’s blog and I tried it. It actually looked like shit on my blog. Maybe it’s the scripting of my theme. but it wasn’t pretty.
I chose to start interacting with big time commenters instead! After I read Nick’s post about chasing comments or conversations, I started asking questions. It was a good move π
As far as my post on Mario’s blog, it didn’t do anything for my site. My 4 posts on Dumb Little Man have been the biggest boost so far!
Thanks again
AJ Clarke
I am here to make your day! I am not really a comment junkie (actually in the process of moving my blog over, so prefer not to get too much traffic to my blog at the moment). I do however, love commenting on other blogs. I don’t do it for back-links (although no one can deny that it is an added benefit) but more because I really enjoy building online “relationships” and getting to know more bloggers out there. There are a lot of interesting people blogging these days and every one of them has something cool to teach me.
This is a great post – although I am curious as why you didn’t mention “comment luv” as this seems to be one of the best tools for getting comments out there.
Cheers!
AJ
Steve
AJ,
Thanks man, I appreciate it. I’ve definitely seen you around on other blogs and I think that’s a great strategy if you have the time.
It’s so true too that leaving comments really forges new relationships. As far as CommentLuv, I just overlooked it. It’s a great tool but I have to wonder sometimes if people are just doing it for the link juice..
AJ Clarke
Yea, people definitely use it for the “link juice” but honestly it doesn’t provide that much value in terms of SEO or sale conversions on their site. So those people are wasting their time.
Steve
You may be right, but the people who are doing it for the link juice don’t realize that.
Elaine Thatcher
I enjoyed reading this and I really liked your honesty: “maybe itβs just jealousy, is when I see a blog that seems to have just average content and yet has a ton of comments”. I feel that too π
My blog is also pretty new and I don’t get many comments although I love reading the ones that I do get. I tend to get more comments on FB after I have published the link, I don’t really know how to get people to comment on the blog instead.
I only just found your blog from another site. I’ll keep reading.
Steve
Hi Elaine,
Seeing a fair or even poor blog that has a bunch of comments drives me crazy for some reason. I see so many bloggers, even some of the guest posters here, who have very good blogs and get very little interaction. I’ve seen blogs so terrible that I could barely stand to read them for more than a few seconds, but had tons of comments. There could be a number of reasons for that, but I just stopped thinking about it π
As far as getting more comments, try using the CommentLuv plugin and ASK for comments. Also, why don’t you find a WordPress theme that lends itself to all the beautiful photos you are using? There are a ton of free ones that would work well.
Elaine Thatcher
Thanks for your advice, Steve. I am looking into changing my theme and hosting my own blog so that I can use slideshows and other such things. I appreciate your help π
Steve
No worries, let me know if you want help with anything.
Julia Hayes
Hi Steve,
Your terrific title pulled me in. I immediately tried to imagine what a comment would smell like in the morning.
I’m not a blogger – I write about local businesses who themselves don’t read the articles – but I love reading and learning things WordPress from the posts and comments in your blogging circle. Comments and numbers are hardly on my radar right now – I’d even welcome SPAM !
Julia
Steve
Julia,
If it’s SPAM you want, I’m sure you won’t have to look to hard π
I thrive off of my comments. It’s the way I judge how effective my posts are and how interested my readers actually are in what I’m doing here.
Emerson Alexader
Andrew Schneider~ People are simply incapable of prolonged sustained goodness.
Danielle Lynn
Hi Steve,
Just stumbled across your blog for the first time. And now I’m hooked.
This -> Focus on creating relationships. Yes. I admit, there’s times that sticking my neck out there and meeting new people is a bit intimidating.
But then I realize that if I’m ever going to get anywhere, I have to step outside of my comfy little shell once in a while.
And This -> The little red blackberry light. Ahh.. that blinking light. It’s addicting.
Looking forward to reading more from you!
Danielle
Steve
Danielle,
Hooked huh? That’s great to hear π
What’s your hang up about meeting new people? You seem to have a pretty successful business going and a good looking blog. What would you like to do more of?
As far as the BlackBerry, it is like crack. Mine broke and my wife won’t let me get another one because I’m on it all the time. I do miss it so…
Danielle Lynn
Well – not so much about meeting new people – I LOVE people π
And don’t get me wrong, I love my blog and the business rocks!
It’s more like “leaving comments on new blogs that I stumbled on” is a step out of my comfort zone. In the familiarity of one’s own blog, you know the topic, you know the regular commenters.
But I’ve put myself on a mission in the last few days to go out there and meet interesting bloggers and start joining in on the conversation.
And frankly, I’m wondering why I didn’t do this sooner π Glad to be joining the discussion – you’ll see more of me I’m sure!
And Blackberry-wise, yep. I had to ask my hubby to hide mine after 7pm so I’d stop checking for the red light and hopping onto the computer. π