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Neil Patel

25 Smart Ways To Increase Your Blog Comments

Neil Patel

Everyone loves comments.

Valuable comments can generate qualified visitors and leads for you. For example, I generated $25,000 from 249 comments in a single month.

Commenting on industry blogs where your ideal clients and ideal readers hang out is your best shot.

And, you know how it feels when your content languishes for weeks without comments. It’s like being broke.

You spend a lot of hours on your post and you finally publish it. The search engine and social network campaigns drive traffic. Then, you wait for people to read and leave valuable comments. At the end of the day or week, you feel disappointed, because it seems as if no one really cares.

It’s painful. I’ve been there. But, it can change. That’s why I have written this in-depth article to guide you.

Comments may not be a good metric by which to measure the success of your blog but, as Jeff Goins agrees, they are at least one form of search engine currency for bloggers and other content marketers. You want your post to be a social bookmark for others to come back to.

Let’s explore the 25 ways that you can generate more of those valuable comments for your blog posts and improve your search traffic through user experience:

1. Ask open-ended questions (or request)

According to Media College, an open-ended question tends to prompt more engagement – i.e., comments. In other words, you’re giving the recipients the opportunity to express themselves and give a meaningful and complete answer. Active dialogue in comments can result in guest post opportunities.

 

One of the major reasons why a blog doesn’t generate a decent amount of comments is asking close-ended questions. Close-ended questions can only be answered with either “yes” or “no” or with a direct response that doesn’t leave anywhere else to go.

Open-ended questions can have a significant impact on the number of comments that your blog posts generate.

They are not only useful in surveys. In fact, you can use them to equally good effect in your content, especially in your content’s conclusion.

For example, below we have two examples of closed questions:

Question 1: Do you like traveling?

Answer: Yes (or No)

Question 2: What is your favorite color?

Answer: Red (or green)

On the other hand, an open-ended question can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” or a direct answer.

Here are examples of open-ended questions:

Question 1: How do you drive traffic to your blog?

Answer: I research blogs that receive a lot of visitors. Then, I’ll study their popular posts and pitch a guest post. My best strategies for driving traffic are guest blogging and long-tail search traffic.

Do open-ended questions (or requests) lead to more comments? Yes, they do. Ramsay Taplin, founder of Blog Tyrant, uses this approach. In his recent blog post, here’s the question that he asked:

And, guess how many comments he’s generated so far, for that particular blog post? 67 comments. Not bad!

2. Write a top list post

Do you want to improve your search traffic, user experience, reduce bounce rate and generate powerful comments on your blog posts?

Then, consider writing top list posts. Most people struggle to gain traction online when first launching their blogs until they discover this content marketing strategy.

For example, Michael Dunlop, founder of Popup Domination has written over 100 top list posts that have been viewed by millions of people. In fact, he gets over 100,000 visitors a month from these “top list” articles and his blog is one of the top-earning blogs online. The goal is to become a social bookmark where readers go back to use your information and link back to your page.

How do you create “top list” articles?

Add the keyword that people are searching for in your headline.

Don’t try to sound like an English professor. No one cares how big your vocabulary is. Search users want to get relevant information as quickly as possible. Who is going to search for “eliminate blogging nightmares?” This headline will not attract search traffic:

Top 10 Ways to Eliminate Blogging Nightmares

But, you can use this one:

Top 10 Ways to Build A Successful Blog

Note: From experience, I can say that in-depth top list articles perform better in the search engines, as well as on social media platforms to drive traffic. But, instead of writing a “top 10” list, make it 15+ and your chances of generating more targeted traffic and comments will improve.

For example, Brian Dean’s earlier post on 17 Powerful Backlink Sources, published on December 4th, 2014, generated 1,456 comments.

The article is 2000+ words and contains accurate data points as well as screenshots. Other top list posts that have generated a lot of comments, within a short time, are:

3. Do some expert/influencer name-dropping

Do you want to motivate influencers to share your content, maybe even guest post? If so, mention them in the body of your content.

Name-dropping is the practice of mentioning the names of famous expert bloggers in your content. An article of mine that generated over 120 comments used this strategy.  In it, I mentioned and linked to over 50 top influencers in content marketing.

The reason why you should mention famous bloggers and social media influencers more and not celebrities such as Obama, Jay Z and the rest, is simple: Celebrities don’t always read blogs.

And, they don’t have blogs of their own. They are on social networks to drive traffic to their brand. Yes, they may have a corporate or personal site, but they seldom visit or update it. So, the chances of getting your posts cited or recommended to their network are pretty slim.

But, if you mention an expert who runs a popular and active blog, you’ll not only motivate the person to visit your blog and leave a comment, but you can earn trustworthy links back to your content pages.

Adam Connell, CEO of Blogging Wizard, really knows how to name-drop in his content.

In his recent post that generated over 40 comments, this is how he mentioned Glen Long (a pro blogger) in his post:

In order to successfully name-drop a pro blogger and increase your chances of getting them to link back to your blog or social media site and comment, follow these simple tips:

Another example: I mentioned Ramsay Taplin of Blogtyrant.com in a recent blog post, and he was motivated to write a comment. Of course, I replied to him to keep the conversation going.

4. Use video in your content

This strategy may not be for everyone. But, if you can embed a relevant video in your blog posts, you’ll ultimately increase interest, because people will remember 70% of what they see and hear.

Did you know that 75% of executives told Forbes that they watch work-related videos online and that 65% visit the marketer’s site after watching the video?

Additionally, video could help your SEO. If you want your site’s pages to appear on the first page of Google, you should add video to them.

Over the years, as blogging became extremely useful for acquiring leads and increasing sales, smart bloggers learned that combining different media to connect with readers can work wonders, prevent bounce rate and build social media sites to drive traffic.

Get this: the shorter the video, the longer it holds the viewer’s attention.

When using videos to improve the value of your blog posts or articles, make them short, relevant and powerful.

Several authority blogs are built on this concept, especially those that feature embedded videos in their posts. Marie Forleo is one of the top social media influencers and a cheerful digital marketer. Her posts generate over 100 comments and sometimes even as many as 300 comments. She has her media site machine down to drive traffic.

Here’s some proof that adding videos to your blog posts works and is not just a fluke: Social Triggers’ founder Derek Halpern spends thousands of dollars to create powerful and interesting marketing videos that he then often embeds in his posts.

On a good day, he can generate over 100 comments. See the embedded video excerpt below.

5. Actively comment everywhere

Being everywhere is a simple yet effective way to increase comments on your blog. Define your target audience, conduct a competitive audience analysis and be consistent with your content strategy.

The “being everywhere” strategy cuts across several media site marketing platforms and tactics to reach your ideal audience and get the social bookmark.

The truth of the matter is that if you spend quality time making thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs, the law of reciprocity takes effect.

Not only will the blog owner visit your blog, read your content and leave a comment, but the community of fans and readers who follow and respect that blogger will follow suit.

If you’re looking for blogs you can follow in order to implement this strategy, just head over to Google and search for your subject + leave comment (e.g. blogging tips + leave comments).

Note: If you want the blog owners to notice your comment, visit your blog and leave a comment, avoid typing a worthless comment such as “Great article!”

Instead, make your comment count. First, read the article and understand it. Then, write a comment of not less than 100 words. If you’re knowledgeable or skilled in the topic under discussion, contribute and appreciate the writer. Or, simply contribute and then ask a question.

6. Stir up conversation

Communication is a powerful way to drive traffic or become a social bookmark. A study conducted by Hart Research Associates revealed that 93% of employers value good communication skills more than the candidate’s major in college.

Yes, content marketing requires good communication to get search engine results that convert.

Don’t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood – Dr. John Lund.

Dr. Lund notes that people will interpret conversations according to three components:

  1. 55% of the interpretation is based on facial expressions and body language.
  2. 37% is based on tone of voice.
  3. 8% is based on the actual words used in the conversation.

As a blogger, these three components still apply to your online conversations, because you have a voice and you write articles all the time. If you have the chance to create videos, then be very careful about your body language and tone of voice, because many people will base their opinions about you on these aspects of your delivery.

When you write content for your blog, stir up a conversation by making it easier for the readers and customers to not misunderstand you.

Stirring up a conversation is somewhat like concluding your piece of content with an open-ended question, except for the fact that the conversation has already been going on in your previous posts.

Your content and website help form a culture of sorts. Your target audience and customers are already familiar with your style of communication, becoming a social bookmark for many as a reliable resource. Consequently, they’ll be more likely to scroll down and write a valuable comment according to the culture that you’ve built with them over time.

Does it work? Of course it works. Spencer Haws knows exactly how to build a community that loves to communicate. This is how he ended his recent post:

Now, take a look at the number of comments for two blog posts that were barely 60 days old:

7. Respond to comments

Is it worth your time to respond to blog comments?

Think of responding to comments as creating a chain reaction: when you spend 2 – 3 minutes to read and respond to comments, you’ll have more text on your web page.

And, the more text you have on your page, the more organic long-tail traffic you’ll ultimately get. I’ve responded to 50,696 comments on QuickSprout alone (more on the other blogs where I regularly contribute) and will continue to do so.

Why? Because it’s worth it.

You should probably respond to every comment on your blog.

When you respond to comments, you’re telling your audience that you care about them and appreciate the time they spent to read your words and write a comment in response.

8. Use the CommentLuv plugin

Have you heard of the CommentLuv WordPress Plugin?

It’s powerful enough to send floods of visitors and comments to your blog posts and it only takes a few minutes to set up on your media site.

What the CommentLuv plugin does: First, it motivates your readers to leave a valuable comment, because the tool will pull their recent post and display it beneath their comment.

It will look similar to this:

Earlier, I told you that “being everywhere” is important. If you want to use a single comment to build your brand as well as funnel visitors to your web pages, then comment on these 1,000 DoFollow CommentLuv Blogs.

Sometimes, people decide not to comment on a blog post, simply because they don’t see any search engine or social network benefit attached to it.

But, since CommentLuv is popular in the internet marketing industry, blog readers know that when they write a comment, they’ll get a dofollow backlink, as well as more qualified traffic and they’ll gradually grow their blogs.

After you set up the plugin, your prospects and customers will happily fill out your comment form, all because of the CommentLuv icon.

9. Make a promise in your headline

You can increase traffic on your blog posts, if you make a promise in your headline that you fulfill in the body. After all, we all know the saying: “Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep.”

“Human destiny rests on a promise.”

Politicians, sports leaders, business coaches and consultants all routinely make promises. Sometimes, they keep those promises and other times, they don’t.

As someone who writes content and who wants people to respond to what you write, you can write headlines that make a promise to those readers. False promises result in higher bounce rate and search engine lag.

A promise prompts people to read and find out if you can keep that promise. See how Jeff Goins made a promise in his blog post headline and got 45 comments in 2 days:

Every headline, in fact, makes some kind of promise to the reader.

Simple tips to make a headline promise that increases comments:

Another influential blogger who uses promises to engage readers and garner comments on his blog posts is Chris Ducker.

10. Write about your failure or sad story

Dare to share your sad story. It’ll captivate your audience.

The science of emotions tells us that elements of sadness in our stories prompt a connected, empathetic response. Kulwant Nagi shared a sad story of how his first niche site failed. His blog is pretty new, but the post still managed to generate over 30 comments.

The brain processes the emotional responses — joy, anger or sadness — that we experience in reading any content. So, on occasion, put aside rational ideas and write emotional content – especially when you’ve lived through painful or difficult life situations.

Failure is an integral part of success. Most successful blogs were built after the founder suffered and struggled for several years.

How to make sure your sad-story blog post attracts decent comments:

11. Hit a nerve: be controversial

One of the biggest controversies I’ve ever witnessed was the Hong Kong democracy debate, which saw prolonged street protests. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Hong Kong citizens were actively involved in it.

For a second, imagine the effect of this controversy on a piece of content that you create. Just imagine 100 powerful influencers arguing, conversing and doing all they can to be heard.

A few tips for creating top-notch controversial content:

12. Have a strong opinion

Don’t be deceived: Your opinions count — at least to an extent. Don’t ignore your own opinions, especially when you’re building an audience.

Being consistent will cause people to trust your opinion more. They’ll like you and recommend your content. Consistency will boost your engagement – and in turn could lift your brand by 300%.

For example, you could share social media, SEO, blogging, content marketing and link building trends for 2016. Of course, you should know exactly what you’re talking about, if you write this kind of post.

But, if it doesn’t happen exactly as you predicted, no worries — as long as you backed up your strong opinions. Stand tall. Do it again. Remember that your readers want to know what you think about a particular topic.

13. Use attention-grabbing headlines

The headline is and will always be the most important element of your copy because see mainly that in the search engine results. It’s what prompts your reader to click your link and read your content in the first place.

However, there is a difference between attention-grabbing headlines and pushy headlines. 80% of people may read your headline, while only 20% go on to read the entire post or article.

Pushy headlines tend to deceive, even if the content that follows is completely transparent and honest. That’s why neutral headlines generate more engagement on social media platforms.

I’ve written “neutral” headlines that generated more comments than pushy headlines. These days, I spend more time understanding and engaging my readers – which has made it easier to write for them and not to them.

Examples of attention-grabbing headlines that aren’t pushy are:

Remember that 36% of your readers prefer headlines with numbers in them. Our brain is wired to love top list articles.

That’s why Pat Flynn’s blog post on 5 Books From 2014 That I’ve Read More Than Once is still very popular today, and has generated over 1,200 useful, detailed comments.

14. Give immense value to others

How do you measure your content’s value to other people? Well, it may not be easy, but you can simply gauge the level of satisfaction your readers derive from reading a piece of content on your site. When your blog readers (customers) are satisfied, they’re more likely to recommend your blog, products and services to others. You are getting the social bookmark that builds loyal traffic.

You don’t add value — you simply give it.

For example, if your readers enjoy your content and appreciate you for helping them out, then you’ve impacted their lives in a very special way.

That way, when people read it, they’ll quit searching for answers pertaining to that topic. They’ll simply take action. That’s value.

For example: In one of my blog posts where I shared how I generated 518,399 visitors and 16,394 leads from hosting 77 webinars, we found that by removing the bios of the presenters, it increased our conversion rate by 19.3%. I also shared how you can sell during the webinars by first educating people, leaving room for questions and then making a unique offer to the attendees. This is still a powerful strategy today.

 

15. Ask people to comment

According to Warren Berger, “while we’re all hungry for better answers, we first need to ask the right questions.” You’re doing yourself a great disservice if you hold back, for whatever reason.

If you’re a beginner, it may be difficult to start generating a lot of comments on your blog posts. There are several reasons:

The only way out is to ask people to comment on your posts. If you’re honest and passionate about your work, then others will see that and reward you with valuable comments.

Most experts still ask their readers to comment, because it works. After all, as the Bible says, “Ask and ye shall receive.”

You don’t have to use the word “please” in your request for comments.  But, if you’re humble about it, that would work. Mary Jaksch, Editor-in-Chief of Write To Done, regularly asks for comment in her posts. And, she does it professionally.

Her blog posts generate lots of comments. Just by asking her readers to comment, she got over 80 comments. Take a closer look:

16. Share a case study

A case study is simply a written analysis of a particular project or “case,” providing a thorough, in-depth description of what was done in order to help readers make better decisions in similar situations.

I love to write case studies, because the case study is one of the 15 types of content that generate more targeted traffic and sales. The key elements of a case study are shown in the image below:

If you want to write a case study, follow these simple guidelines:

Do case studies generate comments and traffic? Yes, they absolutely do. In my post on how to build a million dollar business from your personal brand, I shared my journey to $116,319.85 with my personal brand. I wrote about the mistakes I made and how I got my ultimate results.

In simple terms, you share what you did, how you did it and the results that you achieved, within a certain period of time. An effective case study is usually time-bound, not a never-ending experiment.

My buddy, Brian Dean, writes only case studies. And, so far, his blog has been growing at an amazing speed. Take a look at his recent post where he shared how he generated 36,282 readers and 1,000 email subscribers:

Note: Whether you failed or succeeded in any experiment, don’t hold back. Just share it openly and let it motivate others to take action. Use data points, link out to authority sites and capture screenshots to back up your facts.

Some case studies that have generated lots of useful comments are:

17. Publish a Series article

If you have a great idea that will benefit your target audience, you can create a series of articles that you’ll publish one at a time. In the same way viewers eagerly anticipate the next episode of their favorite show, your blog readers will await Part 2 of your post. It also keeps social networks active in between posts.

At KISSmetrics, we published the science of social timing in three parts. Here are the stats:

The Science of Social Timing: Timing and Blogging – Part 3

The Science of Social Timing: Timing and Email Marketing – Part 2

The Science of Social Timing: Social Networks – Part 1

Looking at the content above, if we hadn’t written Part 2 and Part 3, we wouldn’t have generated an additional 329 (166 + 163) comments. And, that’s not even counting all of the tweets, likes and links that the subsequent posts generated.

Darren Rowse uses this tactic to increase comments on his Digital Photography School blog. One of his posts on Macro Photography for Beginners – Part 1 gained 47 useful comments from real photographers.

Part 2 generated over 40 comments and hundreds of social shares.

In summary, write a series article if your topic is wide and you have a lot to talk about (e.g. social media marketing, web traffic, public speaking).

18. Email your subscribers

Derek Halpern was right: If you’re not building your email list, you’re making a huge mistake.

Your email list is the most important aspect of your online business, especially when it’s your #1 marketing tool. Work hard to grow your email list to 5 digits and beyond, because it’s a goldmine that will generate more traffic, sales and engagement for your online business. Email marketing converts better than social media leads and display advertising combined.

However, for your emails to be successful, you must learn how to write email subject lines that will increase your open rates by 203%. That way, you’ll be certain that you’ll generate visitors to your blog post and ultimately increase your blog comments and increase guest post oppotunities.

Email marketing is powerful. For example, in September of 2014, QuickSprout received 103,592 visitors through the emails I sent to list subscribers. Optimize your content to increase your click-through rate.

Whenever you publish a useful blog post, send the link to your email subscribers and ask them to come check it out. I usually get a lot of comments from my email list subscribers, even before other users.

If you want to increase your email list, then make your opt-in box prominent on your blog – or use the Plugmatter plugin to add an opt-in box above-the-fold.

Successful bloggers and digital marketers put email marketing at the forefront of their business. No wonder they’re power influencers and millionaires.

David Risley, founder of Blog Marketing Academy, goes the extra mile with a professional landing page design and uses lead boxes to capture email leads, because it’s the most important thing to his online business.

19. Write with more passion

One of the vital traits of a creative writer is passion.

According to Steve Jobs, “People with passion can change the world.”

Passion is simply an “intense emotion” towards a particular subject or adventure. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group and several other franchises, once said, “The best advice I could give anyone is to spend your time working on whatever you’re passionate about.”

“Passion is contagious.” If you can transfer intense emotion to your content, nothing will stand in the way between your readers and comments. They’ll gladly read your blog posts and choose to comment, because they want to share that passion.

As a blogger, you could develop an idea into a useful blog post or simply take an idea from someone and make it better. Don’t hesitate to guest post either. Just like H. G. Wells advised:

 

Chris Ducker is a passionate blogger. He’s authored several books related to outsourcing and achieving financial freedom, even as a blogger. The reason: hundreds of people share his blog posts and trust his judgement in the virtual business sector.

Simple tips to write with more passion:

20. Revive the archives

You can also increase the comments on your blog when you revive the archives. The archive is the collection of your older blog content. Your blog archives play an important role in this digital age.

If you published a particular post in 2017 and discovered that only few people noticed it, you may need to give it another chance on your blog homepage.

Maybe the topic wasn’t trending at the time it was first published. Or, maybe you only had a handful of blog readers at the time. But now, you can leverage the post to garner some fresh comments.

However, make it clear at the beginning of the post that it was first published some time ago (e.g. 2017). That way, you’ll establish yourself as an authority and improve your reputation online. Blog readers want to know the truth and they should get it.

The republished post above has over 110 comments. But, in the archives at YouMoz, it had less than 30 comments.

21. Stand out from the norm

What does it mean to stand out from the crowd? Well, it means different things to different bloggers. For me, I like to go the extra mile to make my blog posts extra lengthy in a useful way. Do something different. Your blog audience will appreciate it.

If I come across a highly popular topic that needs to “come alive,” I’ll research that topic extensively and write an article of 3,000 – 10,000 words, with data points, screenshots and relevant images.

In fact, before I launched NeilPatel.com, my plan was to make it the best blog out there. A blog that stands out. I think I’m on track to achieve the goal, as long as I remain consistent with my schedule and content strategy.

My typical post is 4,000 words long — many posts are evenlonger.

When you see a successful blog with thousands of loyal readers and hundreds of comments and social shares, then you know that blogger has consistently produced excellent and impactful content.

For example, Tim Ferriss, author of the classic book The 4-Hour Work Week, went overboard. Instead of interviewing an internet marketer in one of his podcast episodes, like everyone else does, he interviewed the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the topic of psychological warfare.

Take a look at the number of comments that podcast episode got:

The comments were highly useful and exciting, because Tim’s community of readers was surprised. The readers didn’t expect a celebrity of this caliber to open up that much to Tim Ferriss.

Consider this valuable comment from a fan:

A few tips to help you stand out from the crowd:

22. Be unexpected

When you do something unexpected for your blog readers, they’ll gladly share your work with other people and will happily leave you comments. Gifts and kind smiles can make a whole lot of difference.

Johnny B. Truant is a master communicator who does the unexpected for his loyal audience. He gives away his high quality Kindle books.

As a result of this, he gets lots of reviews on Amazon – check out how many reviews one of his Kindle books has generated already:

 

Here are some of the unexpected things you can do for your readers that would encourage them to comment – the best choice will depend on your niche:

23. Share your income reports

Although I don’t share income reports on my blog, my friend Pat Flynn does and he almost always achieves significant results.

More than anything else, by sharing your income report, you’ll establish authority and generate repeat readers who will come back to know how much you’ve made in subsequent months.

Note: If you do decide to share your income reports, make sure that you write about the mistakes you made and the lessons you learned, as well as your successes. Don’t brag, because no matter how much income you’re making, someone else with fewer skills and connections is making much more.

Use your income reports to motivate others. Build them up. Tell them that if you can make it, they can, too. All it takes is the right mindset, a clear road map and hard work. Success is not for lazy people.

24. Interview an influential person

You can also increase the comments on your blog posts by interviewing an influential person or expert in your field. For example, you could interview a popular expert who has achieved tremendous success online. The power of influence can create a dramatic increase in your blog comments, social shares and referral traffic.

Your readers will definitely be interested enough to share their world view. Again, Tim Ferriss is a masterful interviewer. That’s one of the reasons his blog posts are read by millions of people every month with thousands of comments left by those readers.

Another example: Marie Forleo, founder of B-School, recently interviewed Scott Harrison. The post generated 167 comments and readers were excited to share the post and join the course.

25. Host a contest

And finally, you can increase the comments on your blog by hosting a contest. A contest is simply a competition to find the best among many. According to Julie Neidlinger, a contest is usually a good idea, especially when you’re launching a new product or announcing a new event.

When you host a contest, you’re simply looking for the top contestants who have made a difference.

 

Conclusion

Throughout this article, I’ve shown you step-by-step instructions for how to increase comments on your blog posts.

You’ve seen countless authority bloggers who successfully follow these same strategies.

There’s no doubt that these 25 smart ways for getting more comments are proven to work and they’ll work for you. But, you have to be consistent and be willing to learn and adjust your approach along the way. Make blogging a part of your content marketing strategy and don’t expect overnight results.

If I was able to generate $25,000 with 249 comments, you can, too. Of course, you may not get the same results I did, but you’ll certainly improve your online business, generate qualified leads and ultimately get more search traffic, as a result of engagements that come through blog comments.

What other strategies have you used to increase your blog comments?

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