Comments on: 4 Tips For Improving The Conversation On Your Blog http://performancing.com/4_tips_for_improving_the_conversation_on_your_blog/ Helping Bloggers Succeed Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:59:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: smperris http://performancing.com/4_tips_for_improving_the_conversation_on_your_blog/comment-page-1/#comment-21022 smperris Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:54:06 +0000 http://performancing.com/?p=3025#comment-21022 Asking questions doesn't always work, which is why I think you need a critical mass of regular readers first. Once you've got those visitors, then I think asking is effective. Otherwise, I suspect that with a small readership you get a situation where people are waiting for someone else to respond first. I'll concede that this is just my own experience but I have come across a healthy number of blogs where questions are regularly asked but there are no comments to be seen. In these situations I often try and get the ball rolling but it doesn't always pay off with other comments. Actually, that reminds me of something. If you don't get many comments, bloggers should always respond to the ones that they do get. If people leave comments and then don't get any response or recognition in reply, who can blame them if they don't bother in the future? Asking questions doesn’t always work, which is why I think you need a critical mass of regular readers first. Once you’ve got those visitors, then I think asking is effective. Otherwise, I suspect that with a small readership you get a situation where people are waiting for someone else to respond first.

I’ll concede that this is just my own experience but I have come across a healthy number of blogs where questions are regularly asked but there are no comments to be seen. In these situations I often try and get the ball rolling but it doesn’t always pay off with other comments.

Actually, that reminds me of something. If you don’t get many comments, bloggers should always respond to the ones that they do get. If people leave comments and then don’t get any response or recognition in reply, who can blame them if they don’t bother in the future?

]]> By: debng http://performancing.com/4_tips_for_improving_the_conversation_on_your_blog/comment-page-1/#comment-21021 debng Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:38:35 +0000 http://performancing.com/?p=3025#comment-21021 At FWJ, I throw everything out for discussion. If you visit, you'll see a lively community of writers helping each other and discussing their habits. How did I get so many people to participate? I asked. I always ask their opinions or tell them to discuss it among themselves. I'm amazed at the response I get to some things - anywhere from 20 or 30 comments to hundreds. All I did was ask. Sometimes incentive is in order too. Though I really don't need it, occasionally I have a content. This month it's for the person with the most comments - he or she'll win a $50 gift certificate. Even without the contest though, I have an active community because I almost everything I write, I write in order to stimulate discussion..and at the end I always ask a question. At FWJ, I throw everything out for discussion. If you visit, you’ll see a lively community of writers helping each other and discussing their habits. How did I get so many people to participate? I asked. I always ask their opinions or tell them to discuss it among themselves. I’m amazed at the response I get to some things – anywhere from 20 or 30 comments to hundreds. All I did was ask.

Sometimes incentive is in order too. Though I really don’t need it, occasionally I have a content. This month it’s for the person with the most comments – he or she’ll win a $50 gift certificate. Even without the contest though, I have an active community because I almost everything I write, I write in order to stimulate discussion..and at the end I always ask a question.

]]> By: smperris http://performancing.com/4_tips_for_improving_the_conversation_on_your_blog/comment-page-1/#comment-21020 smperris Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:29:36 +0000 http://performancing.com/?p=3025#comment-21020 It can be hard to get comments unless you have a critical mass of readers to begin with. Sometimes I think it might be useful if you could round up a few people you can trust and get them to comment and converse around your posts. Hopefully this encourages other readers (and random passers-by) to jump in and add their two bits. Like most things in life, these tips probably aren't as effective if used in isolation. There's not much worse than seeing a big fat "0 comments" post after post. Not only does it look like the blogging equivalent of tumbleweeds across the empty plain, having no comments can quickly lead to self-doubt. Blogging is hard enough on the confidence as it is without thinking "Wow. There really <em>is</em> no one reading...". EDIT: Oh, and do Performancing posts come with a Stumble button? I couldn't see one. If not, shouldn't they? It can be hard to get comments unless you have a critical mass of readers to begin with. Sometimes I think it might be useful if you could round up a few people you can trust and get them to comment and converse around your posts. Hopefully this encourages other readers (and random passers-by) to jump in and add their two bits. Like most things in life, these tips probably aren’t as effective if used in isolation.

There’s not much worse than seeing a big fat “0 comments” post after post. Not only does it look like the blogging equivalent of tumbleweeds across the empty plain, having no comments can quickly lead to self-doubt. Blogging is hard enough on the confidence as it is without thinking “Wow. There really is no one reading…”.

EDIT: Oh, and do Performancing posts come with a Stumble button? I couldn’t see one. If not, shouldn’t they?

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