I used to be of the opinion that people just visiting your blog was enough. Since getting more involved in social media and reading others blogs, I have come to realize that people who leave the comments are the one really engaging you. They are truly interested in what you have to say and want to get to know you better. This is a good thing! Why? Well since you asked, I’ll tell you.
Nielsen’s latest study finds that 90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing) with only 9% of users contributing ‘a little’ and 1% actively contributing.
So that means that 1% of your audience is actually reading your blog and taking the time to comment. 
I have learned several different ways to get more comments from internet research and from asking my social media friends how they did it. Here are four ways I think help to get more readers to leave comments on your post.
1. Invite Comments~ Sounds simple right? I’ve noticed that when I specifically invite comments at the end of a post, people comment in higher numbers than when I don’t. To some degree this confuses me as most of my readers know that they can leave comments on any post – but I guess inviting a comment triggers a response to some extent. I think people feel more welcomed when you actually ask for the comment.
2. Be Open Ended~ When you post on your blog you might feel the need to say everything there is to know about a particular subject but this is not necessarily the correct way to blog. If you want people to comment, leaving the topic open for more discussion is a good way to do it. While you don’t want to leave specific details out of your post, you should leave it open to comments by not covering the whole topic in full.
3. Be Humble~ Readers respond well when you show weakness. I believe it shows them that you are real. It also makes them want to tell of their experience on the topic and maybe give you advice if they feel you need it. People are attracted to humility and are more likely to respond to it than a post written in a tone of someone who might harshly respond to their comments. So show your weak side, your blog will benefit.
4. Make it easy to leave a comment~ This has to be the best of the four I have mentioned. Just yesterday I was trying to comment on several different blogs and it was virtually impossible to respond via mobile. Now in the age of the smart phone, tablet etc, how do you expect people to be able to react to your posts if the only way you let them is by desk top computer? I have to say it was frustrating for me and I left the sites without posting. Keep your comments section as simple and as easy to use as possible.
The blogging world is increasing in size everyday. New bloggers are coming in. Even though I’ve been blogging for two years now, I get new information from other bloggers everyday that helps me be a better blogger.
Let me know if you have any other ways to get people to leave comments. I’m sure I have left out a few (maybe on purpose so you would comment) Any advice you leave will help others to gain your knowledge of the blogging world.
I don’t receive many comments and the comments I do receive generally come from the readers, which I greatly appreciate, but like most bloggers I definitely would like more. I am going to implement a few of your tips on my future posts and I will see how it goes.**fingers crossed**
Jae Mac, I’m Just Sayin’…(Damn!)
I hate captchas. I don’t know how many times I have types a comment on a blog only to be unable to post it because I couldn’t navigate the last step. People would be well served to eliminate those sorts of roadblocks to social engagement. Thanks for the good info. SW
Thanks Stephen. I agree with you. It is very annoying! I was beyond frustrating yesterday when I was trying to comment and I hit road block after road block which was what prompted this post. Thanks for your comment
I kind of understand why site owners have put things like Captcha in place, because the amount of spam that gets posted is horrendous!
I work for a tutoring business and Captcha was implemented because a lot of comments we received were from robots posting ads for things like Viagra, Penis Enlargement and Online Pharmacies to name a few.
I don’t see these attacks as a good thing, especially as we work with children – it would be unprofessional to have such tasteless comments online.
We have, however, been toying with things like ‘moderation before publication’ and other ‘hidden’ security measures, but strict moderation would eat away at our teaching time.
I totally understand the argument, because I too hate road blocks, but how else do you stop rogue posters?
Opinion is OK, relative comment also good, but inappropriate adult spam is not.
Thanks Jae! Let me know how it works out for you. I will be making my way over to your blog and seeing when I can sneak a comment in
I’ll have to try the other 3 since I usually invite comments.
Let me know how it works for you
Thanks for commenting
I’ve recently discovered complaining about not getting any comments, gets you a lot of comments…
Hilarious!!! I will have to check that post out
Hi Debbie, Nice post. yes, of course, the most obvious is to ask for comments.
The other thing I need to do better is reply to those who do comment, and reply quicker.
Yes I sometimes have problems with that too. I am slowly working on it though. Thanks for commenting
Had to stop by. Great suggestions. As a newer blogger this has been very elusive. I do notice an increase in comments when I am actively commenting on other blogs.
YES!!! That is the one that has worked most for me as well. Since I have started to visit others blogs and leave comments, they have returned the favor. Thanks for commenting
The stats really help with perspective. Great tips, and I like the humility one. The one that I try and try to get across, but find very few doing is getting rid of the captcha headaches. There are times my eyes can’t catch that blurry picture, and I will plug it in about 5 times before it goes…very frustrating. Since I’m part of that 1% of actively contributing, I don’t give up, but the notion of making things as easy as possible to comment could do a lot for you. Great post!
Couldn’t agree more with you. There is nothing more frustrating when you are trying to leave a comment to have to try to figure out what the symbols are a dozen times before you get it right. Makes me just want to leave!
I am very thankful for that 1%! I love these tips. Thanks for posting this!
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