Banking on Your Blogging

Getting blog comments on your site is always a good indication that the blog reader is involved in what it is you are posting about. Good, bad or indifferent, this is a good barometer that your blog posting is not a wasted effort. The interactivity of your readers is even more important if you are running a home business blog.

Through their comments you can get valuable feedback to help you become one of the most popular blogs in your selected niche.

Now that we have established the importance of the participation of any site visitors to your blog, just how do we go about increasing this needed and wanted interactivity?

Here are 7 suggestions to keep in mind to help increase the number of comments you get on your blog.

Spice Up Your Blog Entries

Don’t be afraid to stir up your readers with a controversial blog entry. Postings like this stimulate both the intellect and the emotions so you should expect plenty of reactions. Remember the more interactive your site becomes the more traffic it tends to attract.

You Don’t Ask You Don’t Get

Always remember to ask for feedback or suggestions from your readers. Actively invite or encourage them to participate. In this way you are simply reminding them to leave comments and that it is OK. Try to make this a habit.

Acknowledge Comments

If the comment warrants a response always reply and don’t take criticism personally since it is only going to help you improve upon your blogging.

At the least be sure to thank people for their comments.

Personalize Your Responses

When replying to comments remember to use the commentators name to create more of a sense on familiarity with them. You now seem more like you are speaking directly to them, which by the way you are.

Post Consistently

It stands to reason that the more you post on your site the more reactions you are going to initiate from your blog readers. Maintaining a consistent blog posting schedule is important for keeping people returning, and of course commenting as well.

Monitor and Respond Regularly

Do your best at monitoring and responding to comments in a timely fashion whenever possible.

A Simple Thank You

As we mentioned above if nothing more thank your readers for their comments and let them know you appreciate each and every one. This type of positive reinforcement will encourage them to leave more.

Receiving blog comments not only indicate how well you have stimulated your blog reader but also gives you the opportunity to receive valuable feedback. Any comments responding to your blog posting by site visitors will usually indicate their satisfaction or lack thereof. Their reactions or preferences are especially critical if you operate a home business blog since it is now tied to your income. By incorporating the 7 suggestions we discussed above on a consistent basis your site should eventually become one of the more popular blogs in your niche. What is your ‘take’ on this?

Blog posting consistency is one thing all bloggers need to maintain in order to attract and retain traffic. Another variable involved concerning posting is the frequency of which fresh blog entries appear on a site. There is little doubt that in the early stages of blog building the frequency of posting is a major factor in the growth rate of a site. In order to attract any blog traffic you must have posts on your site for readers to view. Obviously in the very early stages you need to build up an ‘inventory’ of content therefore your posting must be more frequent. Once a blog has begun to attract a regular flow of traffic however is posting frequency still a factor?

Here is a discussion comparing the pros and cons between posting schedules concerning their frequencies and how readers and content may be affected.

1 - Frequency/Quantity

Strengths

a) Continuously fresh content is being posted to the blog.

b) The more frequent the blog entries the more frequently search engines will ‘crawl’ your site. This normally results in a higher search engine ranking.

c) The more entries that are posted the more likely the content will be shorter in length and therefore easier and quicker to read.

Weakness

a) It stands to reason that the more frequent the posting the less research and depth the material will contain leading to a decrease in content quality or originality.

b) Posting quite frequently can also lead to a tendency to run short on relevant material. This may create ‘temporary’ circumstances when content is not relative to the theme of the blog.

c) Once again the ‘rush’ to post an entry may result in content that contains information with as much depth as you would expect to find in a comment left on a blog. When your aim is to make money blogging your posts should be more useful to the reader since you expect them to spend money at your site.

2 - Length/Quality

Strengths

a) When posting infrequently blog entries tend to be longer in length and contain more comprehensive quality content. This is especially helpful when your intentions are to make money blogging since readers can see more of an investment of your efforts and contributions. This tends to have a more positive influence on their purchasing decisions.

b) With more time between entries there is generally more insight included in the content due to the time invested in developing it.

c) Posting less frequently to your blog may in fact be more appealing to many readers who have hectic schedules. This gives readers more ‘breathing’ room between their visits allowing them to keep pace with any new updates.

Weakness

a) Many who visit blogs tend to rush through what they read due to eye strain, time schedules, multi-tasking or other reasons. As a result of this readers may lack an appreciation for any additional research or depth a post may offer since they may prefer a ‘lighter’ and quicker read.

b) By posting less there will be fewer visits by search engines which can result in a decrease in blog traffic due to lower search engine rankings.

c) If a post appears longer in length after an initially scanning it, some visitors may opt to skip over it completely. This is not unusual especially on the internet where people tend to ’scan’ content more than they actually read it.

Although a frequent blog posting schedule is needed in the very early stages of its development that may not be the case once the site is established. There appears to be some merit to posting infrequent blog entries as long as content quality remains high. Once your site establishes a regular flow of blog traffic these readers place more importance on quality than quantity. Frequency seems to be of more importance early in the blog building stage to simply attract ‘attention’ but quality tends to better sustain the popularity of the site. In the end it all comes down to what your readers have become accustomed to but one thing does remain consistent, your content must be worth their time.

Popular blogs get that way for a reason and looking around on the internet it appears this popularity stems from a particular style of blog posting. Now I am not referring to the frequency of their blog entries but actually something more subtle than that. Most every successful blog displays an ability to communicate effectively with their readers.

Of course it is always a good start to strive towards making sure that any blog entries posted to your site contains some type of interesting or useful information. This is a great way to attract readers but it is just a start! The way you ‘deliver’ your information is what compels the blog reader to RETURN!

Here are 3 ‘ingredients’ that only you as an individual can add to your blog posting that will make it stand out and attract a ‘hungry’ mob looking for more.

Communicate Your Thoughts

Being able to convey your thoughts in a clear manner is critical. You do not want your readers misunderstanding you or worse NOT understanding you at all. The last thing you want to do is to make readers struggle just to try and understand what it is you are saying. If you manage a business blog you want to be especially sure you communicate clearly since your income is at stake as well!

Any successful blog presents its content in a way that is more like a casual conversation. Using short sentences and paragraphs without the use of an extensive vocabulary is highly effective at ‘easily’ communicating your thoughts. This is a practice you should strive to follow whether you run a business blog or are just pursuing a passion. In either case you want to be understood!

Insight

Your blog posting should also include any opinions or experience you can share with the reader on the topic. Yes readers are interested in your point of view so share it with them when the opportunity presents itself.

When you stop to consider it, many of our opinions are formed by the opinions of others, so let yours be known. If the blog reader has an opinion they can ‘fire’ back at you by leaving a comment.

Make Points Quickly

Most blog entries are relatively short in length and therefore (usually) get to the point of their post quickly. Do not post blog entries that read like suspense novels by leaving readers ‘hanging’ until the end. Let people know where you are going with the topic as early on in the content as possible.

Most of the popular blogs you see all display an ability to communicate even the most ‘generic’ news in a way that appeals to the blog reader. It is not always WHAT they say in their blog entries but HOW they say it that makes them so popular! The 3 ‘ingredients’ we spoke of above are something that can ONLY be supplied by the individual blogger, and this is what makes the site so unique. Paying more attention to ‘how’ you deliver your messages and ‘adding’ a little more of the ‘element of you’ will help to keep readers returning.