One of the first things you’ll do when starting a new WordPress blog is to configure your Discussion settings. The Discussion settings will control how readers are able to comment on your blog posts, and will depend on which comment strategy you decide to take. Here are three comment strategies to consider for your WordPress blog.
Open Comments
Pros:
- low barrier to entry, your readers can submit comments quickly and easily without registering or having to wait for comment approval
- good for high traffic blogs with lots of comments
Cons:
- some spam or unsuitable comments will get posted before you or your moderators can review them. You will definitely want to enable the Akismet plugin for comment spam, and regularly review your reader comments for inappropriate materials
Moderated Comments
Pros:
- you approve each comment, or just the initial comment for any new user, so the chances of spam or inappropriate material getting posted are low
- helps new blogs stay free of spam which can drive readers away
Cons:
- higher administrative overhead
- can stifle the flow of discussion and result in fewer comments. Readers may not return if their comment is not promptly approved and/or responded to
No Comments
Pros:
- zero administrative overhead
- zero spam or inappropriate comments
Cons:
- prevents discussion from taking place on your blog posts, which may cause problems building a community of readers or peer blogs that communicate with each other openly
Each of these choices has its own merits, and you must decide which is appropriate for your own blog. It may seem that some options make no sense, such as having no comments at all. However this strategy works quite well for Seth Godin, who writes a very popular blog with a huge readership. As fellow Aussie Darren Rowse of Problogger points out here, by forcing readers to respond using their own blogs and websites Seth gains wider exposure and attracts even more traffic via those other sites. Could this strategy work for you too?
If you found this post useful please leave a comment below. To receive new blog posts automatically subscribe for free to the mailing list or RSS feed.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
well these strategies will work depending on the size of the blog…and preferences of the blogger.a newbie closing comment will be very counter productive and anti community (like you pointed out)
i would rather prefer to open comments no matter the size of the blog(i may be wrong about this )…if it grows to big ,i employ moderators.i love the conversation and feedback given in the comments
{ 1 trackback }