Comments … you know, those things at the bottom of your blog post.
You love them.
And you want more of them. More comments equals more social proof. It means more people are listening to what you’re saying. It means your audience is bigger, and you can sell more stuff to more people.
Have you noticed how certain blog posts just beg to be commented on? It’s so bad, you have to drop everything you’re doing and leave a comment. You get completely distracted and wrapped up in the conversation.
You’re going, “Oh yeah. I know what that’s like. Huge time waster too. Ugh.” Yes, but imagine having people distracted about you. Now that would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?
Let me tell you: it is cool.
Ok. Now it’s time for you to go to your own blog and look at how you’re doing. Let’s look at some reasons why your next post might not get any comments.
1. You’re writing something your audience knows nothing about.
If they’re not sure what you’re talking about, they’re not going to comment. Don’t forget that you’re the teacher, and you can’t start out talking about quantum physics before they understand basic Algebra. Bring them along slowly, and create lots of value for first-timers, too.
2. You’re copying everyone else.
This is the opposite issue. This time, you’re just shouting out stuff everyone already knows. They’re not going to listen, and they’re certainly not going to comment.
To a certain extent, even good writers feel guilty of this. They forget how ignorant most of their readers are. Repetition is good but don’t fail to add nuggets for your mature readers.
Don’t forget, you need to tell lots of stories too. That keeps your content unique.
3. You’re just talking about yourself.
This is such a huge problem. There’s a long blog post and possibly an eBook begging to be written on the subject. For now, just remember that nobody cares who you are.
Don’t talk about you all the time. Your audience gets sick of it.
4. You’ve bloated it with YouTube.
Have you embedded your post with YouTube videos? That’s not necessarily a bad idea, but if you do it, don’t expect lots of comments. If you’ve stuck a huge media file (could be video or podcast) in your body copy, your readers are going to feel like they have to consume it before they’re allowed to comment.
Getting comments is hard enough as it is. Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be.
5. You have an endless series of weekly whatevers.
Ok, this is an extremely controversial point because practically everybody does this. They have a group therapy session wrap-up or link-share.
Don’t do it.
Well, go ahead. You just won’t get any comments. 
6. You’re too consistent.
Usually the danger is to be inconsistent, but it’s possible you’re being overly consistent.
Break it up a little bit. Write a really, really short post. It takes guts to hit the Publish button, but it’ll be one of your most popular articles. Don’t believe me?
Surprise your readers with an abstract post that has a mysterious message. Talk about broccoli ice cream, and how it relates to your business. Tell them about that graveyard ghost you saw on your recent hike in Arkansas. Maybe even a Sasquatch too. Be different.
7. You don’t respond to the few comments you do get.
Train yourself to get back with every single commenter. Thank them for their input. Start a discussion. Begin a relationship. Create a fan.
This is something you’ll never hear big bloggers talk about because they get so many comments that they can’t get back with everybody. But since your blog is still pretty small you don’t have this excuse. And don’t forget, those successful bloggers started out responding to most everybody.
You may not realize this, but successful businesses depend on extremely specific interactions with specific individuals. I can’t tell you how many doors have opened for me because I’ve focused on individuals, not masses.
If you don’t feel like responding on the blog, just reply to the email notification. Sometimes a private conversation will bring readers out of the woods a bit, and bond you closer together.
8. You don’t have any readers.
If you have less than 100 readers, you shouldn’t be surprised that after following these steps, you still don’t get comments. I mean, if nobody’s reading what you write, you’re being hard on yourself to expect comments.
About 1% of my readers leave comments.
That being said, everything I write gets comments. This advice does work.
Ok, those are the reasons your blog doesn’t get comments. Getting comments isn’t magic. It just takes common sense and hard work. Don’t forget that increasing interaction on your blog is a vital step towards building a tribe, which is a vital step toward selling stuff. There’s a business model here. It’s your job, blogger. Take it seriously.
P.S. If this helped you, would you please share this with someone you know? That’ll inspire me to keep writing. Thanks.
An exclusive warning sign for me would be, “Turn on the commenting feature”. (I don’t allow comments on my blog at all).
I’m wondering what inspired you to write this post?
Why don’t you allow comments?
One reason is because the Blogger commenting system is weak (so far) and second is because I like to keep it simple. I might turn it on later this year, when Blogger will upgrade the system, and when I’ll have a larger “tribe”.
Dude I love your blog. Some really good stuff there. Totally cool.
Why are you using Blogger instead of WordPress?
Thank a lot, man! I’m just beginning. I got on your blog from a ProBlogger guest-post, and I read all your articles and then subscribed; so, I feel the same way about your blog.
I love Blogger’s interface and free hosting. I don’t plan to become the next problogger, only to share my blogging ideas. Blogger fits my needs.
Free hosting even on your own domain? Wow. I didn’t know that.
Hey Martyn,
Another nice post. Comments are definitely one of the tougher things to get, because it requires people to do a little work, so there’s got to be a strong reason for them to write something. I definitely agree with being unoriginal and too consistent the most. Throwing up more white noise doesn’t inspire people to comment and neither does being boring. You’ve gotta publish something original and epic, and possibly controversial or truly inspiring… easy said than done sometimes!
Greg, I’m so happy that people are getting fed up with mediocre content.
Writers with something to say will always get comments.
this is a test. do you really return comments?
i have broken every single one of your rules, and
am grateful to have them pointed out to me.
excellent advice!
Yes, I reply to comments Lea.
Nothing should offend people about this post. If you’re referring to my email apology, it was because the previous email (sent about 10:15 this morning) didn’t contain this post – it contained some default text that’s supposed to be replaced by RSS-driven content, which of course didn’t happen. I’m not sure why.
ps. what in the world could have offended anyone about this post?
Hey Martyn,
Nothing beats social proof, am I right? So, for visitors they get to see that other people find you interesting enough to comment on your work. For you, the creator, you are encouraged to keep writing because your audience awaits
We all have to be careful about the “me too” type of writing and the regurgitation of what was posted all over Mashable, Seth’s blog, Brogan’s or Huff Post. Wherever. Doesn’t matter where you’re finding it; try to be original.
At the very least, people can incorporate your advice to tell more stories in an interesting way. You can wrap your personal experience around a current event and have people walk away feeling like you’re a genius for making the connection.
It isn’t rocket science but it does take work and finesse. The ones that are willing to stick around and hone their craft doing this (and replying to every comment) are the ones whose businesses will endure.
Thanks for this read…
Jon
You’re right – social proof is a two-way street of helpfulness. I’m actually working on an article about social proof. It’s a fun subject.
I really like that. Thanks Jon.
I’ve been lurking for a bit. I’m glad you provided this list because although I’ve been working hard to hone my writing skills, I didn’t really have a lot of knowledge regarding blogging skills.
I have started utilizing lists more, and I try to use stories to explain concepts/ideas. I do seem to get SOME readers, and people state that they enjoy reading my posts, but they are not actually commenting on the blog itself. Instead, they are commenting on my Facebook page (on the link that referred them) or as a response to the email they received. Additionally, my posts don’t seem to provoke much interactive dialogue regarding the content.
Anyway, I really appreciate your posts. They have been helping me to write better. I hope to work toward having my own domain at some point. For now, my goal is to learn as much as I can regarding increasing readership, etc.
Angela
I hate it when people comment on blog posts on Facebook or email instead of the blog! It happens inevitably, but I don’t like it. My advice here is, getting people to talk about you in the first place is the first step. As you grow, they’ll start extending those conversations to the blog. Just keep at it.
Or you can be like me and not even have a Facebook page. That’ll force the conversation to move to your blog.
Couldn’t agree with you more about the Facebook situation. I, too, don’t have a Facebook but have recently had people tell me via Linkedin messages and emails that they love my blog. What the heck? Comment on the blog, lol.
On my blog, http://www.thejaclynofalltrades.blogspot.com, I try to incorporate storytelling by using myself as an example in my posts so that I don’t come across as standing on this positive, preacher pedestal. Based upon reader feedback, I appeal towards women and have tried using the “Carrie Bradshaw/Sex and the City approach” to my blogging. But this week, I will attempt a few different approaches and I am open to suggestions. Anyone’s suggestions. I think fresh perspective is always a great thing.
Happy to have connected with you through the blog challenge #31dc. Appreciate these tips!
You know? That 31dc thing ended kindu abruptly. I’m left wondering if Ricardo ever finished it or if something happened…
Agreed. It really helped me stay on track and stay focused. Not sure why it ended!?!?
Thanks to your blog post, I will check out Raul’s blog. Look forward to see how someone else is using blogger. Let me know if you come across any more blog challenges.
Actually, there’s a blog challenge starting April 1st. No not exactly a challenge – Chris calls it a “Carnival.”
http://www.thetrafficblogger.com/2011/03/most-underused-and-powerful-traffic.html
I’m actually entering the carnival myself. The next Two Hour Blogger post will be answering the question “What mistakes have you learned from while driving traffic to your blog or website?” Spent a couple of hours writing it today.
Chris’s The Traffic Blogger is powered by Blogger too. I strongly recommend self-hosted CMS systems like WordPress, but Blogger seems to work for a lot of people.
Great post Martyn, very nicely done.
With regards to using Blogger, I’m actually moving to wordpress once I find a designer to create a custom theme for Traffic Blogger. I simply used Blogger to get started as that’s what my first successful blog was based on. Having seen the power of wordpress blogs for years, I’m happy to be moving to it in the near future.
I look forward to seeing many more posts created for the carnival as it was my biggest event on my warcraft blog and created quite a bit of traffic for all those involved.
Thanks for stopping by Chis. I feel honored. Here’s to hoping the carnival idea gets serious traction.
Glad to hear you’re moving to WordPress!
Agree with all your points, except the fifth. I just didn’t understand it.
Hey Olga,
By “weekly whatevers” I’m talking about when people have a series that they post once a week that covers a specific topic. For example, they might have a “question of the week,” a
“video of the week,” a “summary of this week’s posts,” etc. The tendency is for these to become stale posts covering a well-beaten, boring path. There’s nothing wrong with them per sé but they generally don’t get (as many) comments.
Make sense?
Oh, I see now. Well, put this way it does make sense. Thanks, Martyn.
P.S. I like the colours on your blog. Their combination is relaxing and fresh at the same time.
Hi Martyn!
I am also a new blogger but have been reading blog for quite a long…I like your blog-style and positive approach to your readers…You can count me as a regular as well as dedicated reader. I will advertise for your blog to my surrounding people who also love to read good blogs…
Thanks!
Great post Martyn. Monotony can really give readers a shove off to the next page. Thanks for the share. Looking forward to more.
Okay, I have a problem on your site. I want to read all of your articles and there is no archive. I got it that you are against chronology, but how do you get readers to read everything you have to say if you promote only your most popular articles?
Showing archives is a bad idea. You can have a tiny link for an “archives” page but listing each month in the sidebar is pure clutter. That’s valuable real estate to ask for email subscriptions and such like, instead.
Oho! Your advice on the blog does work! You hardly have 15 posts and already you are on most people’s watch-out list! I’m impressed..