Remember that last article you read and how informative it was? Yea, you thought you learned the secret of the Sphinx in that post. But guess what? You can take EVEN more out of every blog post you read.
OMG, that last line sounds like a sales pitch! I swear it’s not. And what if it was? You wanna start somethin?! Okay, I let loose and I’m back now.
Blog Post Is Only Beginning
The author of most blog posts does some research so that their topic is well backed up. No one wants to come off like a big dummy head when they release their brilliance out to the world (or just Ohio maybe)…depends on who ya are I guess.
But I digress…so the post is well researched and given to us to ponder. But the blog post is only the beginning of our learning. When the author is all done and left it for us to consume, enter the peanut gallery.
The Post Within Post
That’s how I look at it…a post within a post. You don’t have to look at it that way, I mean you can do whatever you want. I can;t stop you. I’m wandering again.
Once you scroll down to the comments section of a blog post, you are smacked right in the eyeballs by a plethora of opinions.
What I have come to appreciate is that every commenter has something of value to offer. It is your job to determine the value however.
Mixed in with those opinions are expert tips, ideas and techniques. The comment section is filled with huge amounts of information that a lot of us can put to practical use in our blogs. Or any business for that matter.
I don’t even think you need examples of this. I mean, you are all intelligent people. The next time you read a blog post, read all of the comments. I promise you that you will find one or two golden nuggets in there. And if a major conversation takes place in the comment section, you might even find enough information to build an entire website!
The Bottom Line
If you are only reading a blog post and then jumping down to your spot on the comment section, you are missing out…big time. Yes indeedy, BIG time, grande.
Not only is it self serving to do that, you are not engaging the community at all. The comments section is where you can interact with other bloggers…you DO know that by now right?
I encourage you to read through all of the comments. Participate in the conversations that occur. Hell, throw your own knowledge in there. This is a great opportunity for people to see you as the go to guy/gal.
My number one traffic boost last month came from actively engaging in the comment sections of numerous blogs. Not just leaving a comment, but replying to others and adding my own opinions to questions.
Again, I say…not rocket science people! Okay, your turn. What is your commenting strategy?
Please share this and grab the feed for more!
Interesting post (found because @3HatsComm tweeted about it, BTW).
Some questions for you:
1. In the stats, do you see a correlation between your most read (or at least most viewed) posts and those that receive the most comments?
2. When you are writing your posts, do you deliberately build in questions (or commentary) that are more likely to elicit comments?
3. What do you think of plug-ins for comment sections that turn the comments section a bit more into a community (Disqus, IntenseDebate, Echo) Of course one of the newest examples, Livefyre, also turns commenting into a competition (or “game”) for points.
Cheers,
Judy
Hi Judy:
and thank you for visiting me! I love the questions!
I am just beginning to do analytics on the most viewed/commented so I can’t answer that with 100% certainty. I can however tell you that my most viewed post, with #1 rankings on Google, has np comments! LOL. I think the reason for that is that it is a sample motivational sales letter and I believe visitors are searching for a free download. Just my opinion.
I always try to build in questions in my posts or at the end to facilitate a conversation. A lot of times people comment and don;t even answer the questions!
I personally do not like the comment plug ins like disqus, etc…I think they take too much time to deal with, but again that could just be me!
hope to see you back soon,
Lisa
Lisa, This was very good and you can thank @Ingrid for sharing this with me. Doesn’t surprise me to see folks like @Patricia and @Tristan in here, others who appreciate the comments. I’ve got more than a few “love of comment” posts in me so this will get a trackback for sure.
Another thing to add, since much of what I’ve wanted to say has been said: You meet other people in comments. Bingo! THAT is a big part of all this social networking mumbo jumbo, right? Connecting, building community. Via reading other comments, I see other posts to read, new people to follow on Twitter, etc. That’s the real win. FWIW>
Davina:
So happy Ingrid sent you this way! That girl is a rockstar.
I agree 100%…what better way to interact with people than in the comment section? It’s easy and fun.
Hope to see you back soon,
Lisa
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Hey Lisa
Now you know that the title alone of this piece is gonna’ capture my attention :).
I couldn’t agree more with you on this one. Besides the fact that it’s not rocket science as you said – it can actually help enrich your own views. Learning from a single blog post is great – but why not learn even more from what others have to say about it?
I rarely comment on a blog before reading at least some of the comments. Why? Cause I’m curious as to what others have to share and because there’s a chance I may want to add on to what someone said – which in turn can lead to a great conversation and engagement party (you know the one I mean).
Why again? Well, another great reason is because I think reading the comments of others is also a great way to find ideas for your own blog posts. You get inspired to take a comment and make something more out of it.
In my case – most of my comments are already posts LOL ;).
In all honesty as well – I rarely think of the traffic my comment could bring to my blog (although it’s great) – I usually comment just because I have something to say that I think – at least I hope – will bring value to those reading it.
Wow – off topic though – I love the large font on your commenting system – so nice and practical. Nice! Plus – when you’re typing at 7:30 (cause you haven’t slept yet), the big letters make it a bit easier to see what you’re typing hehe. Oh, and that’s a hint and an excuse in case this comment is less coherent than it should be ;).
Did I mention that I really liked this piece here :)? I didn’t? Well, I do! Nicely done Friendly Blogger.
Cheers
Ingrid:
I so enjoy our little chats! And here you are now talking about an engagement party!! Again with the love…:)
You ALWAYS add value when you stop by and I think value can come in many forms. Be it more to the story, humor, debate…whatevv.
That’s the beauty of moderating the comments as well. If anyone gets too wacky crazy, du-lete. But for the most part I think people are respectful in their commenting business.
Now, go get some slepp…and glad I could assist with the big boldy font!
peace and jiggy dances,
Lisa
Lisa,
I’ve always believed in active learning and discussion. I’ve always believe that learning is much easier if you were more actively engaged in the topic. I totally agree with you that the comments section is the active part of a blog post and where you will learn things you will never knew.
And the best part is you meet new friends!
Exactly Bryan. That is my favorite part of the comments anyways…meeting great new people. Makes all the hard work worth it in the end!
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Lisa
Hi Lisa, the comments are pretty much the best part of the blog post! And sometimes it’s crazy to hear all the opinions of some people. Sometimes one comment has a complete opposite opinion from another.
Since starting blogging, I’ve started to look at it the way you explained–a post within a post. And it’s true, there are some real golden nuggets in those comments, even on some of the blog posts I’ve written. Pretty darn cool.
And I do believe that commenting is one of the best ways to get more traffic (and for networking). There are some amazing bloggers like Patricia and Brankica who comment like crazy! I wish I had the commenting stamina that they have!
Thanks for the cool post about comments, Lisa. It has inspired me to go and comment on a bunch more blogs!
Yay Elise!! Comment away my friend. And you are spot on about Brankica and Patricia! Those are two commenting queens I tell ya.
I especially enjoy commenting on beginner blogs because I know it helps to validate their efforts. And of course, your blog cuz you just bring it!!
Lisa
I never thought of this Lisa. I’m mostly focused on the blog itself and not on the opinion of the commenter. However, there are some instances when certain comments attract my attention and respond to it; I never thought that this is a good practice. 🙂
Hi Walter:
I think comments also help us conjure up new post ideas too….whatever people start talking about in the comment section, usually means it’s a good post idea!
thank you for visiting my blog!
Lisa
Lisa,
I really liked your post. I always make it a point to read through the comments section of a blog. I’m fairly new at this whole thing, so for a while, I just read and didn’t comment at all. At first, I think I felt that it should be left up to people that have been doing this for a while and know what they’re talking about. As time went on, I realized a lot of these people started out like me. I also realized, hey, I DO know what I’m talking about! I hope this encourages other bloggers to speak up:)
Alicia:
thanks so much for visiting me! I felt the exact same way when I started out. It was almost an intimidation factor. But the more I saw people asking questions in the comments and I just knew I had the answer to them..I took a leap of faith. And have not turned back since. I think even if a topic is something we know little about, we can find something of value in a post to comment about.
I appreciate you stopping by and come back any time.
Lisa
Alicia, I was the same.. did a lot of lurking before commenting then kept my thoughts more reserved or something. Didn’t take long to realize that the point is to mix it up, to discuss, to debate.. even if I sound like an idiot. Which of course, we can’t rule out. 😉
Great article and some good information, keep up the good work and i will continue reading your posts.
I really wanted to make a stupid, throwaway comment, just to disprove your title 😉
Andy:
I would expect that from you!! 🙂 Will you be attending the Serpd broadcast?
All the best,
Lisa
I know it’s quite easy for genius person like you but for a newbie it’s not less than any experiment and he may take some time for getting desired result.
Shailender:
No genius here, but thank you!! 🙂 I understand what you mean however, I think even just adding in a comment can help. Your comment could be the one some other visitor spots and then reacts to or goes and visits you from there.
Thank you for visiting me!
Lisa
Great comments from everyone so far.
One additional thing I’ve been able to do with comments on the blogs I read is create products. People talk when they’re happy, and they talk even louder when they are upset. This goes for the support comment sections of site too.
Oooo silly product makers not replying to all of your comments. Guess what?! I know how to make products quick and can do so when you don’t respond to your customers.
Easy targets says I. There be gold in them thar comment sections, in many forms.
Thanks for another great post Lisa.
Robert:
Pure genius!! I love that idea and it shows the winning attitude you have. I firmly believe their are the sidelines and then the players. I know where you are my friend.
Pleasure to see you,
Lisa
Hi Lisa
One of my fav topics and pastimes so had to come see what was happening here 🙂
By commenting on other blogs I got my small niche blog known. However, I had no idea at the beginning that this was happening. All I knew was that when I visited other blogs I would like to let the blog owner know what the post meant to me. And on some blogs I also had questions; especially if they were doing geek-speak and it sounded like it chould be something I should know about on my blogging journey.
Getting my blog recognised was an added bonus and it did bring me an increase in both traffic and regular commenters too.
Whether I am in the “real” or “virtual” world, I have come to realise in a relatively short time, there are givers and takers. Those who contribute and those who don’t! For me, it has been such a positive experience, getting to know other bloggers, help build community and learn heaps from more experienced people than me. Why wouldn’t I want to be a part of it too?!
Must admit, if it is an interesting topic and a good conversation going on, I will read all the comments. Get to learn a lot and sometimes it gives me a smile with some of the witticisms displayed by some bloggers.
The funniest is when I have gone on a blog and in the comments they are having discussion about me lol All in good humour so of course I have to add my 2 cents too 😉
Lisa, if you are on my blog and want to answer a question or reply to someone’s comment, that’s okay with me. That’s building community in my book and it happens when people are feeling at home. Sweet.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia:
One of the greatest things about your comments specifically, is that you always leave value. Well crafted comments are my faves. You always leave more than a “great!” and I think as blog owners…we love that. It shows a real interaction with us and our content. I think I need to create a commenter of the year award!
Thank you as always Patricia!
Lisa
YES! Loved this post, Lisa. My favorite part of my blog is the comments section. Whatever I write is just taken to the next level by my readers, and it’s awesome to see.
If you’re reading a blog post to get information out of it, it’s stupid to stop reading once you get to the comments. A blog post is one person’s opinion. The comments will provide either the validation or damnation of that opinion, and it’s worth reading the comments just to make sure you don’t go and do something stupid!
Tristan:
You are absolutely right! If we didn’t have the chitter chat at the end…where would I content really be? No where. Most people know that already so they should know the comments section is going to be full of fun and fodder and the occasional squabble!! Those are my favorite comments to walk in on.
Thank you for the visit Tristan,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I have looked upon comments as the second half of a post. That is actually one of the things that drew me to blogging. The author of a post really is just bringing it up.
The comments are usually my favorite part. And, I must say this – the commentators on icebluebanana.com are incredibly smart. 😉
Have a great day!
See! I knew you were a genius Mark!!
Thank you for visiting me!
Lisa
Hello Lisa, that is a smart tip to engage your own readers more, I guess you also have to get the content to a point where people actually want to say something about your website that is worthwhile.
Excellent point Joshua. Content should be comment worthy.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Lisa
Right on, Lisa! The comment section often features some of the best information. Not to mention giving us bloggers lots of ideas for future posts. Although I will admit that on blogs that get dozens or hundreds of comments I often give up before reaching the end.
Cindy:
I go through the same thing with lots of comments on a blog. I do try to find something useful in there and CONSEQUENTLY, 🙂 I do!
Lisa
Cindy, I just posted the same elsewhere: Comments are the Shiz. I do often find the discussion better than the post, get ideas for new posts. Totally agree.
Hey Lisa,
You have a great blog here, I couldn’t believe that I missed to spot this, but anyway, I’ll be adding your site on my list of top new online marketing blogs, seeing as you’re site has pass through all the criteria (mozrank, alexa traffic rank, community, design, etc…).
With regards to the blog post’s topic and as for the closing question, my commenting strategy is to just really contribute something to the discussion and mostly to point out some things that I think was clearly missed on the topic’s coverage. But I don’t really do much of blog commenting, as I engage with other bloggers through twitter more often than not, especially to those who come by my blog.
Regards,
Jason
Hi Jason:
Thanks so much for coming by and for the support! I appreciate that and I do see you on Serpd!!
I too am beginning to interact more with Twitter and I find it’s been a solid source of traffic. I think commenting tends to be more personal then tweets, but both have been good to me!
Pleasure to see you here Jason.
Lisa
I agree in principal but in practice sometimes its hard to read comments and heres why.
Sometimes, there is just too many of them.
Sometimes, the points within comments repeat themselves.
Sometimes, comments are boring.
Sometimes, hmmm, I duno..Im sure there are other reasons I cant think of 🙂
Having said that, I totally agree and I will sometimes reply to a comment on other people’s blogs (tho I do feel little weird about that).
Dino:
you always make me smile…or is it sometimes?? Either way, you are correct…it can be weird to reply to others in a comment thread, but Im weird so I try to do it!!
Thanks for visiting!
Lisa
yay…we’re weird together lol
it makes things so much more enjoyable!! 🙂
Lol, Dino is always so sincere 🙂
Most people don’t ever read the post let alone the comments. However they still make a comment. Sometimes it also adds to the value.
I try to comment on posts I like on blogs I like. I try not to reply directly to people (like now) because to me it is like skipping the line saying “I am here, notice me, notice me”, although I like when people do it!
If I don’t read the post I won’t comment. Most of the time, I will read the comments but not always! If there are too many of them, I will skip them, try to give my 2 cents or just leave.
It is so time consuming…However if I am blog hoping and just reading for fun I will stick around and read everything. That is why I subscribe to comments, it makes it easier for me to follow up.
Brankica:
I know what you mean about a lot of comments! Sometimes it makes my head spin and I leave…but I always try to find some new info or maybe even a debate within the comments so I can add my happy lil two cents worth!! 🙂
Yay Me! LOL
Hi Liz,
Great thought. I always have it a habit to read through the comments to see what other say about the post. I sometimes never make a new comment but only reply to comments. I have made a handful of friends through the “Reply” feature. So cool. Thanks for bringing it up.
Jane.
Jane:
I love reading through the comments and I agree with making friends thru replies! It really works wonders sometimes.
Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa
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Thanks for the RT Pippa!
Lisa,
I try to read all the comments, as well as the blog. Although in my case usually if I have thought of something to say it’s usually been posted several times already so will tend to put me off posting.
Also Blogger (where I’m hosted) does allow the reply to a post feature (ok, it might do I just haven’t found it yet 😉 )so leaving a comment about something someone else said miles above doesn’t always work either.
Cheers
Hi Pippa:
I just moved to WP from Blogger, but while I was there I wanted that reply feature. If you go to Paul’s blog at http://spiceupyourblog.com, you will see how to add all kinds of awesome features to the Blogger platform. Including that reply feature!
Thank you for visiting me, always a pleasure!
Lisa
Thanks for the tip, guess that’s me sorted for the tonight, sitting playing with the blog (again) 🙂 cheers
LOL! Glad I could help!!
Cheers,
Lisa