commenting failure

10 reasons why your blog is suffering from commenting failure

When was the last time you received a comment on your blog?

Whereas I bet you’ve had lots of comments via social media recently. It was probably because social media offer real-time commenting, responses that are published immediately without the need to be moderated.

We live in a world where people expect things to happen straight away. One of the reasons why blogs suffer from commenting failure is because readers hate having to wait for their comments to eventually show up later.

However, if you are a blogger that still values getting comments, here are some other things for you to consider:

1. You’re not popular enough

There’s nothing more infuriating than reading a blog that is not particularly well written, only to find it has literally hundreds of blog comments.

This may come across as a bit of a blow, especially when you compare the quality of each blog. Why is this ‘drivel’ so popular? What did they do to get this large following? What do they say that attracts such an audience?

However, it’s no good comparing yourself with these ‘water-cooler blogs’. Stop and think whether you want to produce similar content. Is their readership suitable for you? Could you lower your expectations to write about their chosen subjects? These blogs aren’t classified as a commenting failure because their posts are written specifically for their kind of reader.

2. Nobody can relate to what you’ve written

These ‘water-cooler blogs’ have become popular because they offer content their readers can easily understand and relate to. Their success is because they are purposely not very intellectual.

A reader needs to have an affinity with your post before they feel compelled to leave a comment. They need to sense your empathy; you understand their problems or you have had similar experiences to them. This doesn’t have to be trivialised, the conversation merely needs to be converted so you can communicate effectively with your readers.

A blog that provides stories tends not to be a commenting failure. Offer entertaining content using similar words your readers normally use. This combined with short, snappy and exciting sentences will make the content much easier to read, understand and relatable.

3. There’s nothing more your readers can add

Any blogger worth their salt will want to write a post that provides as much information as possible, to make it worth while to read.

However, doing this may not be in your favour. Even if your posts contain much valuable content, sometimes it’s worth leaving out a few things. Avoid including absolutely everything so your post is so perfect nothing extra can be added.

By leaving ‘holes’ in your work, you are inviting your readers to step in to fill them. This is how to prevent your blog from being a commenting failure. Your audience is permitted to have their say, show their own expertise and even challenge you. All this contributes to exciting discussions, which are important in blog comments.

4. You haven’t asked for any comments

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Give your readers a relevant reminder to leave a comment at the bottom of your posts.

This is a very simple thing that most bloggers forget to do. Extend your blog’s contents with an open-ended question that carefully suggests some points your readers could consider. Provoke them with something controversial that might encourage an answer.

Or merely ask for help. Sometimes this is irresistible to a reader who wants to correct you. Allow them to provide their own examples to enhance the blog post’s content to make it more exciting and valuable, and your blog won’t be a commenting failure.

5. Your readers prefer a passive experience

Some nervous readers find it very daunting to leave a comment. Up to 90% of your readers would much prefer to only read your post. Their excuse is they could be pressed for time. They may be reading your post in an inconvenient place, or from a mobile device.

Of the 10% that do pluck up the courage to leave a comment, only 1% may do it regularly. With these low statistics, you may find it easier to build a relationship with these readers, which will certainly help prevent commenting failure.

The more comfortable your readers are with you as their chosen and favourite blogger, the more likely they are to leave a comment. Make them feel special as part of your ‘tribe’ or ‘community’. This will encourage them to return to contribute again and again.

6. It’s the wrong time of year!

No, this isn’t a stupid fact. It’s been proven that readers are much more likely to comment in the winter-time than during the summer.

This is probably because during the summer they are more likely to be out and about enjoying the good weather, reading your posts via their tablets and smart phones. They may be easily distracted by what’s going on around them, and haven’t the time or inclination to leave a comment.

Whereas in the winter they are tucked up at home with their laptop on their knee, which has a much better facility for commenting. Their life has slowed down somewhat, and they may be more in the mood to have their say.

7. Mobile devices hinder blog comments

Leaving comments on tablets and smart phones can be too difficult for some readers. The auto correct or predictive text makes stupid suggestions, and the keywords are twitchy and unusable.

There’s nothing more annoying than when you’ve written a good comment, after you’ve ticked all the boxes to connect to confirm you’re not a spammer or robot, you go to publish your comment and the system freezes.

When you’ve poured your heart and soul into a comment, it’s disheartening when something goes wrong and you lose everything. The answer to avoid this commenting failure is to copy the comment before publishing to keep it safe.

8. There are too many obstacles before you write your comment

I’m amazed at how many hurdles a commenter has to go through to leave a comment. Unfortunately commenting ‘bots’ have made it necessary to install systems such as CAPTCHA onto your blog.

Another hindrance is logging into a social platform before submitting your comment. They all require you to remember a password, but once you’ve found and successfully entered it, the desire to comment has probably evaporated.

Of course spam prevention is necessary to combat commenting failure, however the process should be made simpler so it’s easier to use and less likely to crash.

9. The comment box cannot be found easily

If the comment box is located underneath of a lot of existing comments, you may have to scroll down to find it. Sometimes this can dissolve the instantaneousness of creating a comment, especially if you see much better comments from other readers on the way.

However, it is a good idea to read these other comments before you have your say. This way you won’t repeat anything, get the wrong gist, miss out on a particular argument or write something stupid or inappropriate.

Any other distractions away from the comment box, such as a digital marketing promotion or a newsletter sign-up, contribute towards another commenting failure.

10. Your readers prefer to comment on social media

Many readers prefer to use social media for commenting. This is because the system is easier to use, the response is instant, and there is no moderation or spam filters to negotiate.

However, because the process is open to all, your comments will be subject to spammers and trolls to ruin the experience. Any uninvited or unwanted contributions may cause the discussion to stray way from the original subject.

And comments on social media are more ethereal and have less longevity. Whereas blog comments are associated with the original blog post, and are permanently available to be read as long as the blog is live.

Now it’s your turn to share a commenting failure

Let us know what commenting failure stops you from receiving comments on your blog. Is it the position of the comment box, the process to log in, the disaster of losing everything if the system freezes?

Are you too scared and prefer to read rather than comment? Is it because you don’t have anything worth while to say, or you worry others will think what you write is useless or stupid?

These are all very common problems when it comes to leaving blog comments. Find the comment box and let us know what you think. After all, that is what a blog post is for – to comment on!

Alice Dec 2023 paper background
Alice Elliott

Alice Elliott (aka the award winning Fairy Blog Mother) has been helping bloggers understand about blogging for two decades.

She has also been scrutinising the benefits of commenting on blogs and social media for both individuals and businesses for a decade.

She offers web design with empathetic encouragement and understanding.

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