5 Reasons To Spend More Time On Blog Comments Than Your Blog Post.
This title is not meant to instigate. Take as much time as you need to craft a well written, thoughtful blog post that your readers will look forward to reading. Then, spend the next few weeks checking in with the comment board. For better or worse, comment boards are everywhere now. Most of them you can completely ignore, but that’s not the board’s fault. The comment board is really a great tool for promoting your blog and getting your readers engaged. Here are five reasons to spend a good amount of time fostering the comment board on your blog.
1. Provides an Open Forum
Of course, this reason will have its high points and low points, but when used as a tool to increase one’s knowledge, the comment board is fantastic. Your readers come to your page to read what you have to say, hoping to gain something new from you on a regular basis. Since the internet universe is pretty much infinite, there’s a good chance you may have missed an article or source your reader can bring to light for you. Giving your readers the chance to enhance the article for you and your other readers is a great idea, regardless of whether it supports or refutes your post. The more people that weigh in on your post, the better.
2. Allows for a Q & A
Not every post is ideal for a Q & A, but the ones that are can wind up being a valuable resource for a long time. On tech blogs, SEO blogs, and other industry specific blogs, you can get a lot of “Hows” and “Whys” answered from the educated readers sharing their experiences with you and your other readers. Promote the Q & A aspect by asking your own question when appropriate, asking for their experiences or knowledge. These posts can then show up when people with similar questions type them into the search engines. If they like what they read and it helps them, you can count on some new readers.
3. Develops the Social Aspect
There’s every argument for how important the social aspect is for every almost every website right now. Have your readers create a brief profile to comment. You can get to know the names and faces of your readers, and they can get to know you and each other. There is more weight to the comments of people with a history of good comments and helpful advice then the folks commenting behind the anonymous title. Getting to know your base in this way will only help to promote your blog, and understand more of what they look for in your posts. And that’s the point.
4. Reward Your Readers
Comment boards can be a great source for a quick link to your reader’s website. If one of your readers has taken the time to create a profile, read your posts, and interact with your story or other readers; show them some luv. Keyword luv that is. There are many blogs that allow their loyal users to use a keyword they want to be associated with as their username, which is a valuable anchor text for their site. As the moderator, you’ll be able to tell who is coming to your site for the right reasons. Reward these readers, and they’ll reward you with loyalty and spreading your blog.
5. Become a Better Writer
I don’t know if there has been an influx of English majors online lately, but for every few posts about an article, I see a comment about the author’s writing style or lack thereof. Granted, most times this is far from constructive criticism. In fact sometimes it’s downright mean. But if you are hearing feedback from your readers about a change of style or errors, use this as an opportunity to grow. Now it is your blog and they are coming to you, but one should never stop learning. So if there is anything of value to take out of these types of posts, give it a shot.
