blog comments

The comment count on Blog Tyrant currently sits at 19,975. With any luck this post will tip it over to the 20,000 mark, something I never imagined possible.

This seems like a nice milestone to write some reflections on how we got here, and what it has meant to me personally.

I’m really not sharing this number to brag, but to take some time to share some tips and thoughts that will hopefully help some other bloggers out there. And also to say a heartfelt “thank you“.

Let’s jump in and take a look at how you can get more blog comments, and how you can make the process more rewarding and beneficial for everyone involved.

1. A lot of those comments are mine

One thing to note is that a lot of those comments are mine. Since the start of this website I’ve made an effort to reply to every single comment and, while I sometimes fall short, I have, for nearly seven years now, done my best to engage with or thank every single person who leaves a comment on this site. For this, I think I owe Glen from ViperChill a big thank you because I probably stole the idea from him, like I do most of my ideas.

Part of this is marketing strategy – I think that the engagement and timing makes people more interested. But part of it is also that I am still genuinely so grateful that people contribute to this site and I want to make sure that everyone feels that gratitude.

2. Comments are harder to get now than ever before

I’d like to point out to any new bloggers reading this that it’s not as easy to get blog comments as it used to be. A lot of the ideas and feedback that used to go in a comment now get written in Tweets or on Facebook pages and, as such, many bloggers note that it’s difficult to see more than a few comments.

This is a pretty normal thing to experience and shouldn’t get you down. There are a few strategies you can implement that might make a difference which we’ll look at in the next few points.

3. Many of the comments are more useful than the articles

One of the things that we joke about a lot around here is that many of the comments are more useful than the actual articles themselves. This is a really wonderful thing to notice and, as a blog owner, it’s fantastic to learn from readers who are so engaged and active in the niche. Just have a look at this comment from Lewis which is 1,111 words long!

I’m looking at adding a system to the comments like some news sites (screenshot below is from the ABC) where I am able to feature a comment that goes above and beyond.

Sometimes we have comments that are 1,000+ words long and I’d love to be able to highlight them in a different color and pin it to the top – sort of like an editor’s pick. I think this would be a small reward for the effort.

4. Some genuine friendships have been made

Something that is a little surprising about a comments thread (have you been on YouTube…?) is how genuinely kind and generous some of the frequent visitors are. It’s been my absolute pleasure over the years to make some genuine friendships.

And I think this is one of the great things that can come out of an online community that is based around a single topic – you often develop a support network that you otherwise might not have been able to encounter. This can be really useful, especially when you’re starting something new and need a bit of extra help.

5. Asking (and bribing…) is okay

One of the more successful tactics that we’ve used is to have little giveaways every few months. This really seems to generate a lot of interest which can sometimes last over four or five posts after the event.

For example, one of the bigger ones that we’ve had was on this post about how to start a blog where we gave away some tools and free hosting packages for people looking to start a new blog. One of the ways you could enter was by leaving a comment.

This tactic is especially powerful when done in conjunction with a mailing list because you can promote the event before the blog post goes out and also ask people to share the event so as to get even more people involved.

6. Introducing new readers to the comment policy is useful

Something that I’ve found quite useful is to let new email subscribers know about the way the comments work, the community that hangs out at Blog Tyrant and the best way they can get involved. In fact, I do this in the very first auto-follow up email that a subscriber gets by saying:

TIP – Give to receive. People who leave valuable comments on Blog Tyrant often find themselves getting promoted by other bloggers or getting new business opportunities.

I really noticed an increase in engagement when I started to actively talk about the comments section on the site and give people some ideas about how they could participate and what they could get out of it in the short and long term. I’ve seen a lot of people land jobs from the comments here.

7. Scarcity plays a role

A well-known idea in marketing is the principle that if something is perceived as being scarce people are more likely to want it. I think that plays a little role in the articles where Blog Tyrant gets 100 or more comments because it generally happens when I haven’t posted for a fortnight or more and follow up with a nice long article like this one on how to get more traffic from Google.

I also close comments after 30-days to avoid spam, and this also has the effect of pushing new readers on old posts to check out the latest blog posts and leave a comment there because they can’t on any of the archived stuff. Not everyone likes this method, but it seems to work pretty well.

A few very, very special mentions

I’d like to give a big shout out in particular to Scott, Chris, Rachelle, Vishal, Kirsten, Lewis, Slavko, Ahmad, Ryan, Steve, Laura, TJ, and Leon who sadly passed away a few years ago.

You crazy bunch have been around for years and have been an integral and valued part of the community. I’m sure I’ve missed someone and I’m going to feel absolutely terrible!

Some of you have left hundreds of comments (Rachelle left over 250!) and have not only written to me, but answered questions and given feedback to others on the site. It has been so heartwarming to be part of and I can genuinely say that it’s made many of those late work nights much more enjoyable for me.

Does your blog need help getting comments?

I’d like to finish off this post by spending some time trying to help you guys get more comments, if that’s something that you’d like. If you’re having trouble getting people chatting on your site let us know below and I’ll take a look and offer some suggestions. Feel free to comment about others as well, if you have some tips.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has left a comment on Blog Tyrant over the years. It means so much to me.

Top photo © Daniel Villeneuve

109 Comments

Join in. The comments are closed after 30 days.
  1. Freddy G. Cabrera on October 9, 2017

    Hey Ramsay!

    Congratulations on that awesome milestone!

    I really like the value you share here on your blog. I’m always happy to leave my 2cents and engage with other bloggers in the comments.

    I’m going to take your one tip of ‘closing comments’ after 30 days. I haven’t done that yet. That might help with the insane amount of spam comments I’m currently getting every hour!

    Thank you for all of the value you have shared, so far.

    Keep up the great work brotha!

    Cheers! 😀

    1. Thanks so much.

      Yeah, not everyone agrees with that tip but I just really got tired of managing huge amounts of spam so it seems to kill two birds with one stone.

    2. How does closing replies after 30 days reduce spam? That would be nice but first I’d like to figure out how to get more comments.

  2. Jennifer Waddle on October 9, 2017

    Hey, Ramsay,

    Thank you for another wonderful post! You truly have kept your promise to connect with us. That’s amazing, considering the following you have. Thank you so much.

    I am having trouble getting comments! If you have a sec, take a look at my latest post. Always open to suggestions.

    Jennifer
    https://www.jenniferwaddleonline.com/never-ask-me-to-bake-a-cake-a-creative-girls-saving-grace/

    1. Hey Jennifer.

      I’d recommend making your content width no greater than about 700px. Currently it is very wide and most people have trouble reading along.

      I’d also make your comments font size much bigger as it’s a bit hard to read.

      Hope that helps.

      1. It sure does. Thanks!

  3. Dirk "Diggy" on October 9, 2017

    Ramsaaaay,
    congrats on the milestone and nice to see that you’re still going strong with BT!

    We gotta meetup one of these days, I wanna buy you a beer.

    Do you travel outside AU at all?

    1. Mate!

      Long time no chat!

      I’ll be in India, Singapore later this year I think. And then maybe to the UK in June next year. Could do a meet up somewhere?

      1. Sajjad Anik on October 11, 2017

        Ya sure. Do it in Indonesia. A mastermind type of thing. That would be awesome. as indonesia has easy visa processing option now, there is no chance i am gonna miss it due to visa related problems.

  4. Sajjad Serpmind on October 9, 2017

    Awesome post. I thought it would something about some WordPress plugins or how blog comments influence Google ranking. But I really liked the engagement stuff you mentioned. Glad to hear that you care about your readers and reply to each comment. Missed your blog posts.

    1. Thanks so much for stopping by!

  5. Thanks and a tip of the hat to you as well. I learn, I share with others, then I return to help where and when I can.

    I found article comments in my niche hard to come by. I used to have a lot but they are rare now. That being said, I have started a free Facebook private group for my website and I have 11k members and it’s an active group. It seems like for some niches, they like groups or perhaps…a different type of community.

    Thanks for all you do and tell your cat I said hi.

    1. Hey Chris.

      Really appreciate you stopping along. As I said, you’ve been a really big part of this community and it’s always nice seeing your avatar pop up at the end of the articles.

      Here’s to more and more success.

  6. I can’t help but feel slightly envious of your success Ramsay, but a stronger feeling is one of accord.
    I think it is very difficult to gain any kind of traction online, I know this from working with the web, and IT for over 20 years; people seem to be so jaded and reluctant to participate these days.
    I congratulate you sincerely mate, I think you are doing your bit to educate and inform people about the reality of working with a Blog in 2017. Cheers!

    1. Thank you, Mike.

      I really do try my best to take it as seriously as possible as I know there are a lot of people out there who are looking to craft a new career online as the world changes and the employment market looks a bit dicey.

      Here’s hoping it does some good.

  7. Kristen Raney on October 9, 2017

    Congratulations on your huge milestone!!

    Some bloggers I read are saying that comments don’t really matter anymore. Do you think it matters more depending on your niche?

    I like the point you raise that more people are commenting on social media than they are on blogs. I’m finding that to be true. 75% of my comments are from reciprocation groups. I’m not sure if I should bother anymore, but at the same time, I like that it gives my blog some social proof.

    1. Hey Kristen. In what context do they mean that they don’t matter anymore?

      1. I think the idea is that because comments aren’t an ongoing conversation on most blogs that there’s no point in generating fake conversation. Ramsay, your blog seems to be an exception to the rule. Although take that with a grain of salt because I mostly read home and garden blogs, so it could be that the topics in my niche don’t inspire a ton of comments.

  8. Laura Routh on October 9, 2017

    Ramsay, first of all, a big “You’re Welcome” and a “Thank You” for including me in that list above! I don’t leave comments many places these days. But because I appreciate your genuineness—it really shines through, you know—I enjoy leaving them here. I’m about two year old, now. 🙂

    I haven’t been encouraging comments on my website lately. It’s not that I don’t want them; it’s just that I’m still building my blog and don’t know exactly what it is, yet. It started out to be a natural health and beauty blog until I learned about climate change. I’m also trying to figure out how freelance writing and creating an Etsy store fit into the picture. But it’s time for the owl to earn a living. So, my blog will have to be a long-term project.

    As far as responding to comments, I need to learn to not over-answer. I did that in the beginning. I have one faithful commenter, and he’s a poet (Davy D, davydblog.com). Instead of trying so hard to become a famous blogger by leaving comments everywhere, I decided to have fun; his blog isn’t even in my niche. But, now, I find myself writing poetry on the side in addition to writing about the environment. Watching how beautifully Davy handles his comments ( and you too!) has been an excellent learning experience.

    So, basically, I need to build a larger email list to get comments and go back to asking for them in my blog posts, which have mostly turned into a news-link series that I’m addicted to writing but does nothing for my SEO. And I definitely know who to turn to when I’m ready to work on that :).

    One final point, though, is that I need to invest more time in learning about the Squarespace comment interface because it seems to feel awkward for commenters. I have it set to anonymous at the moment, which doesn’t appear to allow for people with blogs to include their branding information. But if I set it to the alternate setting, it seems to require a Squarespace account. I need to put more energy into this or contact Squarespace. They’re very helpful, by the way.

    I look forward to reading everyone’s comments here tomorrow! I do eventually want them. Thank you, Ramsay, for creating such a warm and meaningful community.

    1. Thanks Laura.

      That Squarespace setting requiring an account seems odd. That would certainly put off a lot of people, I think.

      1. Laura Routh on October 9, 2017

        It may or may not be true. I just need to check it out. Thanks, Ramsay.

  9. Hi Ramsay. That number is amazing. Been reading your blog for a few months now. It’s true that getting comments and more engagement is harder now because people have so many choices on where to share their ideas and opinions. Thank you for sharing these tips. Learned something new today! Yes, would also appreciate if you could take a look at my site (www.daysinwonderland.com) and let me know what I could improve on in terms how to get more people commenting. Thank you 🙂

    1. Hey Izzy!

      I think you should fill out your About page more with some stories about you and how you got interested in it all. Show some photos and experiences and let people know what it is about music and the industry that you like and will be talking about. You might also consider adding a photo and short bio to you sidebar to increase engagement.

      I’d also consider losing that top banner ad and making your header a bit smaller as it takes up a fair bit of room before the fold.

      Hope that helps!

      1. Thank you so much, Ramsay. Appreciate your feedback. 🙂

  10. Another inspirational post. Congratulations, Ramsay!

    1. Thank you so much. Glad it was useful.

  11. Love the analytics. I hope your readers understand milestones. Mine was finding you, R, and taking advice. Bluehost, genesis, studiopress. I’m glad to know others find the same qualities.

    1. Thanks David. So happy it has been helpful in some small way.

      1. Small is so relative, but impact is big. 20,000 comments are testimony. The hardest thing for bloggers is moving from online engagement to an off line gathering. The back page columnist for Time Magazine called his millions of readers to gather for a Hollywood march. He reported one person showing up and made it sound funny.

        My daily reach goes out to over one hundred cities in twenty countries, including half the states in America. Along with comments, I’d like to read a post about the scope of Blog Tyrant around the world. Like how many hits do you get from the major population centers of China and India.

        1. Good point.

          Just quickly, USA is about 50% of traffic, India 15%, UK 5% and the rest very varied.

          1. Thanks Ramsay, I’ve got one reader in China and I keep thinking, ‘Don’t you have a friend to send a link to?’

  12. Chuck Bartok on October 9, 2017

    Fantastic…
    We have a small narrow niche of interest and a narrow demographic, but we have enjoyed over 10,000 comments (actually 10,162 as of tonight) on one series this year.
    Actually thinking about publishing the comments someday.
    It is funny when commenter say they “love” the comment section.
    Your advice and blog are very informative, thank you

    1. Thanks Chuck. I think one disadvantage of closing comments after 30 days is that some articles can’t accumulate big amounts. Congrats on the success!

      1. Chuck Bartok on October 9, 2017

        We leave them open and have NO SPAM…
        I have trashed a couple, maybe total 10 in this year.
        We like they continue to tier since dialogs between commenter develop.
        This past summer there was a rendezvous of readers in the Midwest form 13 states…
        The only connection was the website.

  13. I’m happy just to get one. LOL. But to be honest even on facebook page, which has the easiest comment function, I rarely see people comment.

    1. Hey Gwen. Have you tried doing any promotions, asking people to comment, having rewards, etc.?

  14. I was skeptical of blogs teaching how to blog, yours has delivered in a lot of ways and to your point about commenting has been as much about you the blogger as it is about what you blog I think a lot of us feel some connection to you. We are all happy for you.

    About my blog, well it is months in-just 50 subscribers, 1000 views a month I send emails out when I have something to say…

    Rome was not built in a day and I hardly have a product..any advice would be great.

    All the best Ramsay!

    1. Hey Seth.

      This is really a personal feeling but I’d consider changing your theme. It’s really hard to tell from those snippets what the blog is about and you can’t see much of the content featured without clicking around. It’s also quite dark and the horizontal length is not really how people read.

      I’d go super simple, white background, no noise for a while and see how it converts. Maybe consider adding a photo and some personal background so people have someone to latch on to.

      Hope helps.

  15. Congrats on getting 20,000 comments on your blog. That is incredible. I just started blogging 7 months ago, and still have a ton to learn. I’m having trouble getting comments to my site and would love if you could check it out and give me tips on how to up my numbers. Thanks and again congrats!

    1. Love your blog! I love the one about succulents!

      Couple of quick tips:

      1. I’d ditch that huge header and instead get something more distinctive and branded to your site as the first thing people see.

      2. There’s no way to comment on articles without clicking through to the post and scrolling to the bottom.

      3. Sidebar is too busy – move the subscribe form up to right underneath your sidebar bio and maybe instead of “enjoy your stay” have a quick little pitch about subscribing.

      4. Remove the Twitter, categories, etc. from the sidebar and instead feature some of your most popular stuff.

      Hope helps!

  16. Michael Pozdnev on October 10, 2017

    Congratulations, Ramsay, with this great achievement!

    Here are my stats: 5 articles and 678 comments.
    135 comments and 5.4k shares averagely on each of my blog posts.

    The main secret – all of my articles say very thoroughly HOW to do something and contain personal and very emotional stories.

    1. Ahmad Imran on October 10, 2017

      Michael, I have read some of your articles, really love to read your in-depth write-ups. Keep up the good work, there are some silent admirers of your work 🙂 Cheers.

    2. I love your stuff mate! Always read it.

  17. Darius Gaynor on October 10, 2017

    Thank you for writing this good post! I got great tips in your comment sections and some people reached out to me. Never stop blogging!

    1. Thanks mate! Appreciate all your comments.

  18. Robin Khokhar on October 10, 2017

    Hi Ramsay,
    I appreciate for writing this post. And I will completely agree with you that our comments count too and we must comment too.
    So, Thanks for the wonderful post.

    1. Thanks Robin.

  19. Ahmad Imran on October 10, 2017

    Ramsay, first of all a massive thank you for a mention.

    The credit goes to you for establishing a good blog and an engaged community where commenting is useful and beneficial. I must say that your blog is one of the very few where I actually like to read a few comments and also leaving one as well.

    You are very right, sometimes, it is more value and information in the comments as opposed to the article itself.

    I am slightly surprised that I don’t see you much in comments on other blogs. I might be completely wrong for which I apologise. But having such an engaged readership that still comments on your articles is a great sign. Something that every blogger craves for 🙂

    I would like to increase comments on my blog and I think it is a common question for many of the bloggers. Have a think about writing a small guide or detailed article on a few tactics and strategies to get more engaged readers who leave comments. I recently tried to do something by inviting Ryan Biddulph (BloggingfromParadise) and seeking his advice on the same matter.

    All in all, great article as ever, keep up the great work, respect. Have a lovely rest of the week.

    1. Thanks mate. That’s a really good idea. And you’re right, I don’t comment as much as I used to. I probably should get back into it a bit more.

  20. I hardly see a grateful and appreciative blogger of your kind. Anyway I want to blog and i must say your posts has been helpful in guiding me towards that. I wish you could be my mentor though.

    1. Thanks Seth. I’m glad the blog has been helpful.

  21. Vishal Ostwal on October 10, 2017

    I had first commented on the Blog Tyrant Facebook page, right?

    That was about three years ago.

    Time flies.

    To be honest, Blog Tyrant feels like home. It’s where I discuss what I have to say, and get to hear some genuine advice from you.

    It isn’t the same everywhere – I don’t always get replies. You value the ‘Tyrant Troops.’ You make us feel special and keep us glued together like a family.

    So you definitely deserve these 20,000 comments (and lots more). I feel grateful to have you a friend and mentor, Ramsay. You’ve been a great company all this while.

    More power to you.

    God bless you,
    Vishal

    PS. That mention! Yesterday I was feeling low, as I have been working hard without expecting outcomes since a while. Such tiny things keep the hope alive.

    1. Thanks mate. You’ve been an integral part of this site for a while now. It’s always nice seeing your avatar pop up. Thank you.

  22. Lisa Sicard on October 10, 2017

    Hi Ramsay, how long did it take to generate that amount of comments? I’m at 16,000 (and at least 1/2 are mine) but it took about 6 years.
    I too love comments and have made many friends via comments on the blog 🙂 That’s a cool side benefit!
    I love your idea of closing them after 30 days, I may do that as well. Maybe 60?
    Thanks for the tips on this one. You got me thinking again……

    1. Yeah I’ve missed out on a lot by closing them so soon. So it’s a bit of a balancing act.

  23. This is awesome, I’m only about 1000 in 6 years and about 1/3 are mine, not sure how to get more comments. I have always struggled with that.

    1. Hey Edin.

      I’m not sure comments would be all the useful for your stuff – especially as visual things have a good spread on insta and pinterest. Might just be best focusing on those?

  24. Interesting post. I want to look now how many comments I’ve had. I was expecting gimmicks but I am happy to have found a lot of good value. I have noticed that I get more interaction on social media than blog comments these days. Thank you for validating that. I had sort of stopped worrying about it. And also I stopped directly asking all the time for comments which adds I think.. I didn’t even know you could close comments after 30 days. Interesting idea. I have a super narrow focus on my blog (Ironman Triathlon) but I am always eager to get feedback from others. I’d love it if you took a look http://www.amysaysso.com

    1. Hey Amy! Are you aware that the “articles” link goes to a blank page?

  25. Andrea Torti on October 10, 2017

    Absolutely – I think readers and commenters “make” a blog as much as its owner does: blogging is a two-way road!

    1. Agreed!

  26. Hi Ramsay
    I googled wordpress comment plugins and there were a lot of results (too many to choose from really) to find one that addresses your highlighting issue. Only disqus said “Sort discussion by oldest, newest, and best comments”, but didn’t see anything about highlighting. I would have thought a comment plugin that does this was available? ?
    Anyway, got to say I like your posts. I have learnt heaps. I am interested to start a blog and joined a couple of weeks ago because of your “how to build a successful blog” ebook. See, it works. 🙂
    Thanks
    Cambo

    1. Perhaps we should make that plugin?! I’m going to look into it.

  27. Congrats! That’s big. Your blog have been very helpful to me as I’ve started my blogs.

    1. Thanks so much!

  28. Hi Ramsay!

    We haven’t met yet, but I have used your blog to help with launching mine. I’ve been churning out content consistently since I launched in July. Aside from rabidly re-sharing my new posts on social media, I am completely stumped on getting people to engage on my posts.
    I once got really excited about some new comment notifications, only to realize they were pingbacks to where I had linked one post to another.
    Seeing as my blog is mostly wine reviews, what would be a good call to action after a review? I’ve just been inviting them to use my link to save on trying the wine I talked about.
    Thanks again, and talk to you soon!

    1. Hi Shay.

      I would probably think about ways you could get people to leave their own reviews of the wines as a way to get more comments. Maybe adding a star rating system or something?

  29. First of all congrats for the number and everything it signifies! It is truly inspirational, even as it is, yet alone considering your posting frequency.

    Seeing this and being part of the process was a pleasure. Thanks for the mention! I’m glad to be involved in this community!

    I never really managed to create the following I was dreaming of, and focused my attention elsewhere. It’s never too late, I hope.

    Providing tons of value, adding personality, building evergreen resources, networking, and encouraging interaction… This is where my focus should go. I hope to one day post my comment here, sharing similar success.

    Here is to the next 20k, and even more trophies under your belt!

    Always a fan,
    Slavko

    1. Thanks man. Change “fan” to “friend”.

      1. 🙂 Indeed. It means a lot to me btw!

  30. Hi Ramsay. Congrats on cracking 20,000! That’s awesome. I started my blog, Healthy Blog Stop, in January of this year and have received an astonishing…2 comments. Definitely wouldn’t mind some feedback if you have a second. The website is http://www.healthyblogstop.com. Thanks a bunch!

    1. Hey Jeremy.

      Great content.

      Two things:

      1. Think about adding a way for people to leave comments straight from the top of the article.

      2. Secondly, I’d make your titles a lot bigger and reduce the size of your header. The idea is always to focus on the single post content so people hone in on that.

      Hope helps.

  31. Anyaogu Ikechukwu on October 10, 2017

    Hello Ramsey

    Its good news that you have crossed more than 20k comments. And I believe the comments you have approved have positively affected your blog.

    However, I am targeting to increasing my audience engagement to blog comment.

    Thanks for sharing

    1. Thanks for stopping by.

  32. Hey Ramsey,

    Great blog post, as always! Really thought-provoking and inspiring stuff in this one. This post is very captivating to me, because getting engagement from my (admittedly small) audience is something I’ve been struggling with.

    Would you happen to have any tips for me?

    1. Hey Sander.

      You’ve got some great content but it took me a while to find it. Perhaps consider making your homepage a feature of your best content instead of the About information, and maybe feature your best articles instead of the Blog Introduction as that page can really be summarized in the about section.

      Hope helps.

  33. Hi Ramsey,
    another inspirational post as usual and congrats on getting almost 20,000 comments on your blog.

    I been reading your blog for a few months now and I really loved it.

    I’ve started blogging three months ago and I’m having trouble getting comments to my blog. I would love if you could check it out and give me any advice on how to get some, even if I know that is too early. (or isn’t it?)

    My blog is about beauty tips, healthy diet and health through alternative therapies. It is in Greek, but you can take a look to get a general idea (if you can).

    Thank you in advance and keep the great work!

    1. Ramsay, sorry to become your godmother! 🙂

      1. Hi Dimitra.

        Your layout and everything looks really nice. I’d consider using less stock photos and maybe using your own photos as that will help people to become more loyal and interested in yourself.

        Hope that helps.

  34. Physician on FIRE on October 10, 2017

    20,001?

    I used to freak out when I would get a notification of an actual, non-spammy comment. “This is the real deal, people. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a comment drill!”

    It’s become more common now, with some of my more controversial posts garnering closer to 100 comments (including mine, of course). I love all the interaction, but I’ll admit to having more time to write when my blog was a lonely place.

    Cheers!
    -PoF

    1. Did you change anything else to get more comments other than writing on more controversial topics?

      1. Physician on FIRE on October 11, 2017

        For the most part, I think they came naturally and fairly linearly with the growth of the readership.

        It’s like when a lecturer asks someone in the crowd to share an idea or a story. At first, it’s “Bueller… Bueller…” but once one person chimes in, a few more follow, and then everyone feels comfortable opening up.

        People tend not to comment on new blogs, but I love doing it. I know how exciting it can be (or was for me, anyway) to get that notification.

        Cheers!
        -PoF

        1. Thanks for sharing!

  35. Janis Gioia on October 10, 2017

    Hi Ramsay,

    I love your blog. Thank you for a great post.

    I have a new blog and get a few comments. My website addresses children’s mental health and ways to comfort anxious children. I often wonder if people are hesitant to leave comments where everyone can see them. Mental health is such a private matter.

    I often get emails from readers, instead. I reply to every comment and email. I think developing relationships and trust with our readers is very important.

    I am not selling anything, my website isn’t monetized.

    I am honored that people tell me that my website has helped their anxious child. From emails I have also learned that some of my readers are from a different audience than I am writing for.

    For example, with a website banner of a teddy bear in a parachute and a rainbow and clouds, I wouldn’t expect to get emails from geriatric social workers who say they are using my website to help them reach Alzheimer’s patients. I am surprised when I receive an email from a parent who uses my website to help with an adult child with depression, or a teen who is suicidal.

    While I would like more comments, and I suppose that looks better to readers of the blog, I am happy that they reach out to me in email., even if no one but me sees that. Maybe more people get emails than comments. I don’t know many bloggers, so I don’t know. Thank you again. ~Jan

    1. Hey Jan.

      Thanks for all the work you do. As a former very anxious child, I wish more of that information was out there.

      One suggestion I’d make is to perhaps emphasize in your articles that commenting can be anonymous, and leaving/sharing a story could really help someone else out there who is going through the same thing.

      Similarly, if someone disagrees with you and has a better/different method then that’s always good to learn as well.

      Anyway, great work!

      1. Janis Gioia on October 13, 2017

        Hi Ramsay,

        I’m sorry you were anxious as a child. I was too. That’s part of the reason I became a special education teacher.

        There wasn’t much information out there years ago, and while there’s more now, it’s not always reader friendly. I hope to change all that.

        Anxiety in children is increasing at an alarming rate, and untreated anxiety leads to a lot of negative outcomes for kids.

        Your suggestions are good ones and I will try them.

        Thank you for your input and for taking the time to look at my website.

  36. Shreya Dhar on October 11, 2017

    Thank you for sharing these valuable 7 tips on how to get the maximum audience engagement for a blog. This post will serve as a handy guide for developing engaging content for a blog. Looking forward to your next helpful post.

    1. Thank you.

  37. It means much for us that you keep posting good content.

    Keep it up!

    1. Thank you! Keep commenting and I’ll keep posting!

  38. Another fantastic blog. As you’ve already said, this is one of the only blogs on the internet where I enjoy the comments section *almost* as much as the content itself. You’ve built something really special here.

    P.S. Love the pride logo! Just spotted it.

    1. Bit late to the party with the logo but wanted to get on board!

  39. Advokat firma on October 12, 2017

    Good read Ramsey! – Cheers!

    1. Thanks.

  40. It suddenly occurred to me while reading your post that if it’s harder to get comments now than before, it also means that giving them is a golden opportunity for the savvy to extend their influence.

    Thanks for prompting the little gray cells!

    1. Bruce, I had not thought of that…

  41. Deji Okufi on October 12, 2017

    Okay so have been struggling with getting comments on my blog.

    I also have a pressing issue, this is probably not where to say this but is there anything like “reader’s fatigue”. I used to be an avid reader, could read ten thousand word articles without batting an eyelid. But these days, I struggle mightily to finish reading one thousand word articles.
    This has also affected my writing, I’m unable to write for long and the little I write seems like a Herculean task, hence I haven’t been consistent since I started blogging earlier this year.
    Please do you have any suggestions?

    1. I know the feeling well.

      I think it’s a balance – you need to take breaks and focus on some lighter things for a while, but you also have to keep working so need to find a way to write and read even when you don’t want to.

      Don’t be too hard on yourself.

  42. Hi Ramsay,
    Our non-profit web-based platform was in hiatus for a year as there was so little development. Now I am planning a come back and more hopeful. This time I have some offers planned for those who sign up. The biggest issue is visibility of the offer itself. Unless I pay bunches on FB ads there is no visibility. We have free google ads but there is so much competition in the topic area that its almost pointless. Should we invest in SEO? Is that the only way? I am just putting it out there in case you have any suggestions. Any feedback will be great.

    Many thanks!!

    1. Hi Sangitha.

      Unfortunately that kind of advice might fall a little out of the scope of a comment response. Generally I think everyone should work on SEO, even just the basics, but it’s not always the best time spend.

      I highly recommend reading ViperChill for some other more in-depth strategies.

      1. Thank you for the lead Ramsay! I appreciate it.

  43. Filip Zafirovski on October 12, 2017

    Great article Ramsay!

    I want to ask you.

    How much did it take you to reach this number of blog comments?

    Kind regards,
    Filip

    1. Do you mean how long did it take? About 6 years.

  44. Hey Ramsay,
    A great and useful post for a blogger like me. These 7 steps really rock. I also like your kindness nature. It’s really nice to see engagement with readers and helping them. I usually used to comment on niche blogs and like to keep footprint on those blogs, so other members from that blog(the commenter)come to my blog and leave their valuable comment on my site. I like another way of introducing blogger on your post. Keep writing the great post and helping people like me.

    1. Thank you. That means a lot. I’ll do my best.

  45. Cyrus Jackson on October 14, 2017

    Congrats Ramsey: this is a big milestone you just achieved.

    Your blog have been really helpful in my blogging journey which speaks volume of the engagement level on your blog.

    Comments are really awesome as they give social proof.

    I hope to build a community similar to your blog in the future.

  46. Thanks for sharing! I admire how you’ve built a community and I like the approach you take where YOU offer value back to your readers. I’m headed back to my posts and seeing where I can rephrase the last lines for a stronger, more valuable call to action.

  47. Arvind Kumar on October 31, 2017

    Hi Ramsay,

    Great acheivement….your post really inspires me and I would really like to work hard in future to reach this milestone….comments really helps in increasing our network and sharing thoughts with other…!!

    Thanks for sharing,
    Arvind

  48. Tea Solutions on November 7, 2017

    Hey Ramsay.

    Thanks for a great and inspirational read. This is one premium piece of content right here.

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