Most bloggers want comments on their posts, and for good reason.

Comments are excellent gauges of reader engagement and great sources of future content ideas. They also have a positive impact on site ranking.

So why make it hard for people to comment on your blog?

Several years ago, I wrote a book, Words to Work By, and I have a Google alert set for that phrase. When I got a hit on a blog (“Jess Saying Hi” – it's no longer live), I wanted to make a comment. My observations would have added value to the original post (Jess was discussing things she had learned on her first post-college job) and provided an inbound link to my website – a win/win.

But the blog only allowed comments from readers who were willing to sign in using specific services. I wasn't signed up with any of those services.

If you want people to leave comments on your blog, make it easy for them. It’s fine to give them the option to use certain accounts to identify themselves, but don’t make it mandatory.

SpamCertainly screen posts on your blog for spam and bot comments. My personal policy is to moderate for spam and profanity (on the website I used to manage as a volunteer for my homeowners association, I also moderated for personal attacks – I call it my personal good neighbor policy). Depending on the nature of your blog and your business, you may want to have some additional guidelines, such as what backlinks you’ll allow.

Blogging for Business: Why and How to Create Blog Content that Works by Jacquelyn Lynn (cover)Just make it easy for your readers to make comments – if it’s too much effort, most readers will just give up and you both lose out.

 

For more tips on maximizing the power of blogging, get Blogging for Business: Why and How to Create Blog Content that Works.

What do you think? Join the conversation by commenting below. It's easy!

 

Jacquelyn Lynn
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