Comments on: Putting Yourself Out There but No Comments? Here’s why.

By: Jamie Chambers

Jamie Chambers — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:43:06 +0000

I just abandoned my iWeb/dot-Mac web account for my own domain and Wordpress-powered site for some of these issues. Almost no one could comment even when they wanted to, it was difficult to update and maintain because I had to use the Apple software, and there were other parts that were kind of a pain. I have a “plan” for what I’m going to do with my personal writing in 2009, and having the right website and place to share/promote online is the first step.

By: Becky

Becky — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:10:46 +0000

Thank you so much for this post. I’ve been teetering on the fence about venturing into the world of blogging, but have always been scared of the sound of crickets that my lack of responses might get.

I think it’s really the work to be in now, though, because if the trends I came across earlier today (http://www.odesk.com/trends/Tech%20Writer) are accurate, then freelance writing is on the rise. Pretty impressive given the state of the economy right now. I’m finding lots of jobs looking for bloggers too.

Thanks again!

By: Marie Ann Bailey

Marie Ann Bailey — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:25:08 +0000

Excellent post! Thank you for writing about why a blog might NOT get comments. I admit that I make many of the “mistakes” that you mention; at the least, I know many of my blog posts are not compelling enough to elicit comments. Blogs are high maintenance if you want to generate a lot of traffic. Sometimes I wonder why I even decided to write about writing since there are already so many writing blogs out there. But, then, every other blogger has a slightly different take on writing, which makes it fun and interesting to visit other writing blogs, such as yours
@William Aicher: You provide good advice for encouraging comments. John Hewitt of http://www.poewar.com often ends with his posts with a question that frequently leads to an extended discussion among John and his readers. Comments can be as fun and informative as the posts that inspire them.
@LShep: Not every blogger wants comments, and most (if not all) blog sites offer you a choice as to whether you will allow comments on your blog. It depends on the purpose of your blog. In my case, I like the exchange that comments provide: I’ve learned about other bloggers and writing-related websites that I might have never stumbled across if someone hadn’t left a comment. My world gets a little bit bigger with every comment that I receive. For me, it’s the best part of blogging.

By: LShep

LShep — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:47:29 +0000

Why do you have to have comments? Is it really necessary? Personally I’s rather just speak my mind than have to listen to what other people think about it.

By: William Aicher

William Aicher — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:58:16 +0000

Another good way to get people to comment is to engage them with a real reason to comment. This article, for example, begs to be commented on. One other way to do so though is to really leave the article open for a conversation to start – most easily done with a question. Of course, not every article lends itself to this, but in instances where it does it can work quite well. If writers keep in mind that not every article IS comment-worthy, or even should be comment-worthy, it can go a long way toward feeling confident that your blog or writing is still doing its job.