A blog post is more than just a piece of informative, thought-provoking content. It is an invitation to engage. It is a virtual doorway, inviting interested prospects to connect with your business, primarily through comments, which can lead to fruitful conversations.
The challenge? The sheer abundance of blogs in the marketplace creates fierce competition and makes readers more likely to skim and dash to the next offer. Your blog should lay out an inviting welcome mat for comments, by doing the following:
1. Make it easy for readers to comment
It may sound like a no-brainer, but you want to make it as quick and easy for time-pressed readers to comment as possible This means requiring them to take the fewest possible steps.
If you are using WordPress for blogging – check your settings to ensure commenters only need to provide their name and email address.
A spammed-up comment box looks unprofessional and uncared for, so make life difficult for spammers by turning on comment moderation for first-time commenters. The blog administrator will then have to approve all first comments.
On Blogger, select the option to ‘let anyone comment’ to facilitate commenting.
Meanwhile, deter spammers by turning on the word verification setting.
2. Actively invite comments
Always ask your reader to leave a comment, generally at the end of your blog post. Don’t be tempted to go generic, taking the time to tailor each comment request to the specific content of that post.
3. Create a blog comments policy
Set the tone and rules for your blog comment zone, in line with your business and ideals. You might want to see how other blog administrators construct their policy as a starting point. Consider these factors:
Will you allow negative comments?
Will you encourage people to challenge views expressed in the blog?
Will readers be allowed to promote their own businesses within the comments?
4. Provide clear comment instructions
Clearly display information about your blog policy close to the Submit button for comments. You may need technical support to add the instructions initially – but once in place they will appear automatically on all posts, instilling confidence within potential commenters.
5. Respond to all commenters
It is essential to respond to every blog comment to demonstrate that you respect your community and to build valuable conversations. Set your blogging software to send email notifications about all new comments.
Choose your points and wording carefully to make people feel valued and good about their comments.
Try to welcome challenging or divergent comments. Business blogging requires a thick skin. Take a deep breath before responding to criticisms and avoid coming across as defensive or argumentative. Try and kick off with a positive spin by welcoming the criticism, then explaining why you may not agree.
Over to you
What do you think of these tips? What techniques do you use to encourage comments on your blog? Please share your experiences of what is working (or not) in the comments below.
