Blog on 7 ways to get more comments

One of the measures of a blog’s success at engaging readers is the number of comments it gets. Let’s face it—a blog without comments is just plain sad. If people aren’t commenting on your posts, it means you’re either not getting a lot of traffic or your posts just aren’t interesting enough to warrant comments. Obviously, neither of these is a good thing.

But a lack of comments doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your blog. You can turn things around and right the ship.
Here are 7 things you can do to get more blog comments.
Make it easy for readers to leave comments — The more difficult it is for someone to leave a comment, the fewer comments you’ll get. You shouldn’t force readers to become a registered member on your blog before they can leave a comment, and don’t use those impossible-to-read CAPTCHAs either. Make it fast and easy for readers to share their thoughts.
Respond to your comments — The whole point of the comments section is to create a place for interaction and conversation about the topic at hand. If you don’t respond to the comments on your blog, it’s hard for your readers to have a conversation with you. You need to interact with your readers if you want them to leave comments.
Don’t let spam infiltrate the comments — We’ve all seen blogs that are just riddled with spam issues. When half the comments are from spammers, you’re going to have a hard time convincing your real readers to take the time to leave a comment and interact with each other. Make sure your blog is updated with the latest spam fighting tools.
Ask for comments — Time for a little common sense. Want people to leave comments on your blog? Ask them to do so. Think of it as a call to action, like you’d have in your marketing materials. At the end of each post, encourage readers to comment. It really does work!
Leave room for discussion — When you cover a topic completely in a single blog post, you don’t leave any room for readers to add their own thoughts in the comments. That’s why I like to take one side on a particular issue, or publish a list that encourages readers to add their own tips and thoughts to the list.
Don’t shy away from controversy — If you never take a stand on an issue, you’ll have a hard time igniting meaningful conversation. Too many bloggers shy away from controversy. They’re afraid to rock the boat. I’m not saying you need to intentionally be controversial. That often rings artificial. But don’t be afraid to share your true thoughts on a topic. People might disagree, but they’ll respect your opinion and it will get them talking.
Don’t block negative comments — People aren’t always going to agree with you. They’re not always going to like you either. That comes with the territory of being a blogger. You shouldn’t block negative comments though. If you do, your readers will feel like they can’t truly express their opinions, and they’ll stop commenting.
What are some of your best tips for getting more blog comments? Share them by leaving a comment below.