Stacilayne

I've been blogging for about 5 years now, but I'm still not sure what entices people to comment. My blogs are totally from my own personal standpoint, talking about everything from the celebrities I interview for a living, to the concerts I go to, my photography, makeup tips, fashion finds, etc. It's entertainment related, but very hard to categorize.

When I had my MySpace blog, I’d get anywhere from 10 to 20 comments per post. Now? Pffft! But I still think I needed to make the move to Wordpress because MySpace is unprofessional, and the community isn't growing. It was the same people posting on my blog all the time, after awhile. (And only two of them followed me outside of MySpace.)

When I see a blog with no comments, I am less-apt to return. Yet, I have people (totally unexpected people, not just my friends) tell me they read my blog all the time. But who's gonna know? Ultimately, I'd like to be paid to blog, so if perspective employers see my personal blog as "successful" then so much the better. That's why I'm hoping to get more subscribers and comments, so I'm asking around for tips and tricks.

I'm not sure if I am a typical commenter. I only remember to go to my friend's blogs, and blogs I like, if I am subscribed and get email reminders. I made sure my own blog has that. I like blogs that embed videos and links, and are visual, so I make sure mine has plenty going on in that regard, too. Aside from that, I will comment if I want to be supportive — for instance, I will say something on my friend's blogs if they don't have many comments.

If they are already successful and have dozens of opinions expressed, then I am less likely to chime in. Also, I seldom post to disagree — if I don't have something nice to say, then I don't say it at all. I probably won't comment on a blog if I have to log in, and I do hate CAPTCHA's. If I have to keep typing in CAPTCHA's, then I probably won't return.

Anyway, I'd love to know what makes other people more or less likely to leave comments, and also if you are a successful blogger with lots of followers, I'd like to know what you did to find new readers.

Thanks,
Staci

I Think, Therefore I Blog

Pooran27

Hi Stacy,

I am a rank newcomer and I write really melancholic blogs that sound like a dumb teenagers diary.So I may not be the right person to comment. But when I went to your site, I was overwhelmed with all the content there. A lot of it was like news and so I read some and left. And there were lots of images and videos and stuff which made me feel I was reading an online mag. So I did not comment. I needed a quieter kind of interface which first introduces me to you and your website and then leads me on to various links. Then I would have felt like Im having an intense read and I would have commented. That's just my 2 pennies worth - please do ignore it if it doesn't make sense...

mancpete

Hi Staci.

I have often wodered the same my self, but I have only been blogging for a few months. I think I will try to visit other blogs for the purpose of checking them out instead of networking them for a while. I think this way I will be able to get into the mind of a non-blogger again and look at blogs from a non-commercial standpoint once more. This may help me to understand why I visited blogs in the first place and also get back to my roots and understand why I started writing about a subject I love (see below).

Maybe you could give this a try as well?

I write a blog about the art scene in the Brick Lane area of London. I deal a lot with the street art, though there are also 20-30 galleries in the immediate area, so there is also sme photography.

I review the exhibitions as much as possible, though I don't comment too much on the street art and graf as it is all great!

Please have a look at Brick Lane Arts on blogspot

I'll have a look at your blog in a minute

cheers

mancpete

roni

I've only been blogging for a few weeks, but try asking questions (especially at the end) to encourage readers to comment.

techtonicc

i agreed with roni, i try to interact with my readers and not just tell them facts

Labrat

As bad as this is, I've seen over and over again that people who write BOLD OFFENSIVE statements get loads of comments (Okay, loads of hate comments, but still...) Maybe take the offensive part out and just make BOLD statements. example: "Cream of Wheat is the best food to have ever come in box! Quaker oatmeal should be ashamed to sit on the shelf next to it!!!" comment one: "You must have never heard of poptarts" comment two: "I hope you choke on your cream of wheat. Hamburger helper comes in a box and it's way better". So uhh, yeah. Bold statements.

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Querying Lit Agents? Raising Hellions? Facing an impending stike organized by your disaffected evil minions? Yeah... me too.

MrDimpy

I tend to coment on interesting well laid out informative blogs.