I write a tech blog that gets about 5000 visitors a month. The blog is mostly concerned with specific solutions to technical problems encountered by IT professionals, which means that even though I rank well in Google for many of my blog posts the visitors are mostly one-off readers who take the solution I’ve written, fix their problem, and move on.
A few days ago I recieved a comment on one of the posts I wrote about 7 months ago thanking me for the tip. It was the first comment this blog post received though I knew it had received many hits before that. Many of my other blog posts are the same – lots of hits, few (or no) comments. It felt nice to receive a simple thanks for writing the post. Making money from blogging is all well and good but many bloggers get a bigger kick out of seeing comments being left by visitors.
The experience got me thinking about all those blog posts out there that people are reading and finding useful that still receive no comments at all by visitors. Unless you’re an A-list blogger with thousands of loyal subscribers it seems most blogs are read by shy folks who don’t want to be the first to write a comment. I guess it is just human nature to avoid being the first to speak up in a crowd of strangers.
I’ve decided on a new commenting policy for myself when I’m reading other blogs. From now on whenever I read a blog post that I enjoy but that has zero comments, even if there is nothing much more to say than “thanks, I enjoyed that” I am going to leave a comment on that blog post. I wrote the same idea on Twitter as well hoping others might feel the same.
Imagine if we all did this how encouraging it would be for more bloggers out there.
About Paul Cunningham
May I be the first to say… good point and good policy.
I just started messing with WordPress recently so I think there’s a lot I can learn from your blog.
Thanks for your comment BeatlesLane, and I hope you enjoy reading more posts on my blog in future!
I’m very happy when I see someone comment me too!!
How reassuring for this “wanna-be” blogger. See, I’m an information junkie who’s also lucky enough to get paid to do online research (among other things). I always find such great stuff “lurking” around the blogosphere (source credit – always!). I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own blog, but I want to learn a bit more about “doing it right” before I dive in. I’ve learned so much from bloggers like you, BUT I’ve held back from posting comments (in fact, this is my first!). It’s SO not like me to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself – ask anyone who knows me. Yet, I’ve been intimidated by the idea of speaking out online…acting like some shy dork who’s afraid to talk to the “cool” kids at school!
Reading this post was a big “DUH!” moment for me. After all. Who *doesn’t* like feedback on what they do? And how come I didn’t figure that out before now? How silly!
I’m loving this policy too, I have a similar issue with my own blog, although I use it more as a CV so I’m not too worried.
It might pay to make it publicly aware to the next level, a couple of previous colleagues of mine from Faraday Media created the “Spouse 2.0 Day” (http://spouse2.com). All they did was create a website to dedicate the day, contact a lot of online media editors, and use some existing connections they already had online to get the message out there.
However, I think I’ve seen “Blogger’s Day” somewhere before ….
yes. As relatively new blogger, any comment (not spam) makes my day. After I started my own blog, I also realized this point and began commenting a lot on other peoples’ blogs. I also get the same feeling when people link to a post. Thanks for reminding me of this.
Great articles & Nice a site?.
It’s a nice move, and one that I’m sure will be appreciated by those who write the stuff you comment on. I’m not sure it will take off with everyone – the nature of the internet is less about dialogue and more about consumption. Maybe it’s just a great litmus test of people’s nature (in which case, you’d be a polite person :).
I searched for “starting a Blog” a while back, found you, subscribed, and put off doing anyhting till last week. now that I have made a few posts, I’m rummaging through your blog posts like a baragin huneter at Macy’s basement.
Thanks for all the great info!
Good post. I think you make a very valid point. It is very important to leave a comment if you found that advise relevant. It also helps the blogger understand what was important and help them be more creative in the future and boost motivation as well.
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