You’ve spent countless hours planning and developing your blog. You stayed up until 4 o’clock in the morning painstakingly researching, writing and editing your post. You’re excited about the topic and just know that somewhere out there there is a group of people who will be equally excited to read what you have to say about it. You put up each post with eager anticipation of what people’s responses will be, and then the waiting game begins. So you wait. And wait. And wait some more.
Nothing happens. No comments. No feedback.
A lack of comments on your blog posts can be both frustrating and discouraging to even veteran bloggers. Without comments, you don’t have any way of knowing if you are reaching your readers and engaging their minds. You don’t know if they’re coming back every day to read what you have to say or if you would have gotten more reaction if you had stood in the middle of your living room and recited your post aloud to your fish tank. There are a number of factors the influence whether people have anything to say about your blog.
Originality
The best posts are those that provide quality blog writing, fresh content and information. With very few exceptions, most readers have no intention of spending their time re-reading the same old boring information for the twentieth time, just because it was rephrased by someone new.
If your blog content is not original or fails provide new opinions and insight on the topic, then people may feel there is nothing to say about it and do not comment. Blog posts have to engage the reader’s mind and interest in order to generate comments.
Controversy
The most stimulating discussions tend to be born of controversy. If there is nothing to discuss or everyone shares the same opinion, then you probably won’t have a lot of comments on your post about the topic. This means that you have to offer your readers something to discuss or debate in their comments.
Tone
As a writer, you need to encourage comments from your readership. Ask readers for their opinions and respond positively to valid ones, even if you do not necessarily agree. Comments are your readers way of communicating with you. It’s your job to make the tone of the conversation positive and enjoyable so that they will want to participate.
Some individuals may be intimidated to be the first one to comment on a blog, so you may want to privately encourage a few friends or family members to break the ice and post on your blogs to get the conversation started.
Visibility
Sometimes it may feel like no one is reading your blog. If you have not marketed the blog or worked to promote its visibility, that might actually be the truth. There are literally thousands of blog pages on the internet for readers to choose from. You have to work hard at promoting yourself and your content in order to attract readers. If your blog is number 9,999 out of the first 10,000 search results on your topic, you probably aren’t very visible to readers. Promoting your blog through social networking, businesses and word-of-mouth can help increase your visibility. The more readers you have, the better chance you have of getting comments on your blog.
Other Blogs
If your blog is part of a unique niche or community, make sure to stay active in other blogs about similar or related topics. You can even link your blog to other blogs in order to provide readers with a broader view of the topic. Commenting on other people’s blogs is a good way to encourage them to comment on yours as well as to draw attention to your own blog from people who are already interested in the topic.
Genevieve D is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments. WriterAccess is powered by ideaLaunch.
