Eliciting Blog Comments Via Site Design And Content Options

[EGOL]

I am looking for a few effective ways to increase the number of meaningful comments that are left on a blog.

I would like to share some blog design and content ideas that might kick up the number of meaningful comments. I don't know if they will work... but I'd love to hear your thoughts about them. I'll lead with a few ideas that might work. I'd like to hear what you think of them and more importantly if you have additional ideas that might be more effective!

Post your Pic
Do you think that if you show your face on the blog that it will increase the number of comments? I don't think it will hurt... but would YOU be more inclined to post on a blog where the owner is visible instead of in the background?

Invite Comments
If you have - right beneath your photo - a short invitation for visitor comments how do you think that will work? What should that message say?

Anchor Text to the Comment Form
When a post has no comments some blogging programs will link to the comment form with the anchor text of...
"No Comments" - I think that this sounds like comments are not allowed..... or "0 Comments" - not very inviting. What could these be replaced with? "Please comment!" "Comments Invited" "Paying $20 per comment!". The last one is a joke but what words do you think will be effective?

Text on the Comment Form Page
Inviting text above the space where visitors type a comment might help visitors submit their thoughts instead of abandoning. Is there something better than "Please type your comment below."? What should the button say? "Submit Comment"

Can you think of anything else that is related to design or content that might increase comments. These are low labor ways to get more comments.

Thanks!

[Respree]

Post your Pic

I'm of the opinion that a photograph (over a period of time) helps to build a bond with the person on the other side of the fence. I can't say I read blogs much, but think I would be more inclined to comment on a blog that had a picture, than not. Oddly, there are people who I've 'known' online for years, yet haven't a clue what they look like (you know who you are). Somehow, although there is comraderie, there remains a sense of mysticism (as if they're hiding something).

I don't think it will hurt...

I don't think it will hurt either. I think in the worse case, it won't help. To me, there's only upside potential about being straightforward who the information is coming from. In my view, it creates better credibility.

Invite Comments

"I'd love to hear any intelligent thoughts you may have on _[subject]_" Hopefully, the word 'intelligent' will attract desirable comments. It's also is a subtle way of saying, if you have something stupid to say (or something that only you will find amusement in), I'd rather you not say it here.

If you have - right beneath your photo - a short invitation for visitor comments how do you think that will work? What should that message say?

I think one invitation is enough. No need to beat a dead horse.

This post has been edited by Respree: Aug 1 2007, 11:41 PM

[AbleReach]

Anchor Text to the Comment Form
When a post has no comments some blogging programs will link to the comment form with the anchor text of...
"No Comments" - I think that this sounds like comments are not allowed..... or "0 Comments" - not very inviting. What could these be replaced with? "Please comment!" "Comments Invited" "Paying $20 per comment!". The last one is a joke but what words do you think will be effective?

Good point. I like the idea of "Comments are Welcome" or "Comments Invited."

A lot of time the first few rounds of a thing get it working, and "working" isn't enough in the long run. Thinking through how you want to connect is an ongoing process that will evolve as the interface and technology evolve and vice versa.

Good thoughts here, EGOL!

[A.N.Onym]

I used to play with words "Discuss the post" and similar ones. As well as using "Say it" for the comment button. Haven't tracked anything, though.

As far as a photo, it might make sense, but there are few blogs that use photos. You'd think there'd be more photos if they worked?

On a related note, I am now currently running a poll aptly titled "Why you don't (or wouldn't) link to Improve the Web?" It'd be interesting to learn the results and compare to this thread.

[EGOL]

Thanks for the great replies

Garrick, I like the "intelligent" comments idea... I sure don't want BS posted. lol And, if there are multiple invitations it might make me sound like a beggar

Elizabeth, I like the "Comments are Welcome" phrase... I might use that one. As for the few rounds of getting it working... I do that all of the time. Sometimes it takes more than a few rounds because I am wrong a lot and have to try again - but I am usually pretty good about keeping what is right.

A.N.Onym, I sent in comment to your poll. Let us know when you wrap it up. I think it will be interesting.

Thanks to all for your ideas!

Would love to hear from others if you have anything to share!

This post has been edited by EGOL: Aug 1 2007, 11:12 PM

[AbleReach]

Elizabeth, I like the "Comments are Welcome" phrase... I might use that one. As for the few rounds of getting it working... I do that all of the time. Sometimes it takes more than a few rounds because I am wrong a lot and have to try again - but I am usually pretty good about keeping what is right.

YW

I often get comments about my green thumb. This sounds odd to me because I kill 90% of what I try to grow, the first time I try to grow it. I do my best to repeat what works and notice what killed off the dead ones, and I try to find other people's observations about the same. "How to" info is more common and often isn't as insightful -- sort of like choosing "enable comments" doesn't take into consideration user behavior.

[AbleReach]

While looking for something else, I found a post by Shankar Ganesh titled Top 5 ways to display your RSS Feed Subscription Link on your blog. Depending on the style of your blog, some would work for comments. I'm partial to the custom sticky note.

This post has been edited by AbleReach: Aug 3 2007, 11:21 PM

[SEOigloo]

Hi Egol,
Your question about how to invite comments made me think of how many ways there would actually be to phrase this. I like Elizabeth's 'Comments Welcome', too. Here are some of the variations on this that came popping into my head:

Speak Up, Please
State Your Case
Speak Your Mind
What have you to say for yourself?
I'm waiting to hear from you on this
What do you think about this?
What's your opinion?
I'm listening
I want to know what you think
Your thoughts go here:
Write me back!
Tell it like it is


Some of these might be a little strange. I actually think "what have you to say for yourself" is funny and would work well for a blog with a humorous tone. The question would be, do these more personalized statements veer too far away from the familiar word 'comments' at this point in the fairly new age of blogging?

I don't know, but I do like it when people take the time to personalize those rote things. I was on a dog training site the other day and saw that they'd changed the button on their search bar to say "Go Fetch!". I thought that was really clever. It showed care and personality. Blogs and websites that do this always get my attention.

Good luck, Egol!
Miriam

[EGOL]

Thank you for the links Elizabeth. I really like that sticky note too and think that it can be used in a variety of ways. It might be most effective if used periodically rather than continuously.

Miriam, that is a great list of ways to invite comments. I bet that on the right blog they would be highly effective. "What do you think about this?" is excellent. A blogger could try a number of these and see what gets the most new commentors, although that might be hard to separate from content. Thanks for taking time to compose those.

[JohnMu]

How about ending your blog posting with a general question?

The question is included in the RSS feed, it can help to get people to come to the site, out of their RSS reader, and to make a comment. I am subscribed to a few feeds that do this on a regular basis and it is really magnetic, eg:

http://www.parenthacks.com/2007/06/avoid-locking-y.html

What better way to jump-start a discussion? Exciting or controversial content is also a way to do it, but a community is hard to build if all the conversations are built around polarized opinions.

How could you be pulled in from your RSS reader to reply to a blog posting?

John

[yannis]

If I can subscribe through a feed for the comments, I am more inclined to leave a comment. Most blogs miss this one.


Yannis

PS I like the sticky note to draw attention as well as ending the post with a question.

[AbleReach]

http://www.parenthacks.com/ ends most blog posts with links that feel like an invitation to get stuff done or talk about it. Posts feel natural and useful, and succinct. I like the regular "Links for year-month-day"

This short post caught my eye. Like the tone of the site, the post doesn't try to be impressive or comprehensive, just helpful and informative. I think this helps readers feel like peers(?) who are welcome to chime in.

The 12 comments that follow are like a little informal/helpful conversation.

Frozen yogurt tubes stand in for ice cream treats

From Sara:

I wouldn't normally buy yogurt in tubes, but I picked some up the other day and noticed a suggestion to freeze them. Sold! I now keep "frozen yogurt" tubes in the freezer for a healthier treat than ice cream.

Popping a frozen yogurt tube into a lunchbox keeps things cool till the lunch bell rings, and the yogurt's ready to eat by then, too.

Aside - here's the WP plugin Subscribe to Comments.
I notice that parenthacks.com has a "Remember personal info?" box people can check when filling in their name, etc., before commenting. Is there a handy dandy plugin that would let me do that, too?

This post has been edited by AbleReach: Aug 4 2007, 11:43 AM

[AbleReach]

Here's an idea. Occasionally write posts that reference specific comments. Within the post, link those specific comments and mention the writer by name - nice if it's a regular visitor. You'd need to have a date-time type link for that comment, and a comments template that adds a predictable same-page link for each comment would be nice, too. <a name="comment1"></a> for the first comment, <a name="comment2"></a> for the second, etc, would be easy to remember. I haven't looked - maybe this is already in standard templates?

A Parent Hacks version of a comment-referencing post might be the ten tips style post - Ten Tips for Tasty Snacks, drawing on reader comments from a variety of posts.

This post has been edited by AbleReach: Aug 4 2007, 11:54 AM

[EGOL]

These are great ideas. Thanks! I especially like the idea of ending with a question.

This thread is going a lot farther than I expected. Thank you!

[AbleReach]

This thread is going a lot farther than I expected. Thank you!

And thank you, too!

I'm using WP to build a neighborhood business & stuff-to-do directory. I'm getting lots of ideas, between thinking about this thread on comments and a Website Hospital thread's question about how dating sites can become community destinations.

[JohnMu]

I think Parent Hacks does really well with regards to comments because, as Elisabeth said, it treats readers as peers and goes out of the way to ask for the readers comments. It's not an "expert" blog, where some expert gives a speech on a certain topic -- it's something that all readers could have done. I imagine some of their posts are kept minimal on purpose to attract reader comments. The blog posts are seeds for brain-storming sessions - and if you read some of the pages, you can see that the readers really get into it and provide a lot of the value in the comments, not in the blog posting.

Of course this works on a parenting blog pretty well since in a way, all parents fight with the same problems and don't have an instruction manual that tells them how to solve things. That will definitely not work on all blogs - however, if you are writing for readers, aren't you assuming that they will be somewhat on the same level? Instead of putting everything into your posting, let your readers contribute some of the important information (which gives them recognition and motivates them to contribute in the future as well).

Oh, and something very basic - make sure it's easy for new visitors to post comments. Is registration through a third-party site, entering a captcha, email verification, collecting a user's full information, etc really necessary for a blog comment?

John