I have had some major ups and downs in my blogging life. There have been months when I’ve gotten more comments than I can keep up with, and other months when I feel like no one ever stopped by. When I first started out, I’d make a post and sit back to wait for people to comment, then feel frustrated when it didn’t happen. What I discovered is that there are REASONS some blogs get a hundred comments on one post when you get two! (For the record, I am NOT one of those blogs, but I’m happy with where I’m at for now.)
So what’s the magic trick? Why do they get great comments and tons of views when you don’t? I’m here to help you out with my top four reasons you’re not getting the interaction you want!
YOU DON’T PROMPT READERS TO RESPOND
This is one it took me a little while to figure out. You write a great post, see that people are viewing it, but no one is interacting with you. Why? A big reason is that you have to give them something to comment ON! While this applies more to discussion posts than reviews, it’s important to give readers something to respond to. I’ve had people tell me that, while they’d love to comment more, it’s hard because they don’t know what to say. Someone could be reading your post and nodding along, but don’t feel that they have anything to contribute. Sometimes something as simple as ending your post with a question can lead to more interaction and discussion in the comments!
YOU DON’T POST VERY OFTEN
While this probably doesn’t apply to the huge blogs out there (you know who they are), we little people have to keep the content flowing at least somewhat regularly in order to keep people interested. If I visit a blog five days in a row and never see anything new, I may just give up on looking. Not because I dislike that blog, but because I’m more interested in interacting with people I know will be around. While you certainly don’t need a schedule (I definitely don’t stick to one!), it is important to post with at least some regularity. If you’re posting a review every six days with no other real content, that may be the simplest solution to why you aren’t seeing more interaction.
BLOGGERS CAN’T FIND YOU
It happens all the time and I feel so upset! People comment on my blog and I have no way of finding them! Or I see someone I’d like to visit while on someone else’s blog, but run into the same issue. While a lot of blogs use different commenting platforms, most of them do have some way to let people find your blog if you just fill them out. For example, you can include your blog link in your Disqus profile so that I can see it when I click on your name. The same applies to WordPress, Blogger, and most others. But maybe you don’t want to create an account and you’d rather comment as a guest. That’s totally fine too, but why not include a link to your blog in your comment? I know that some people are worried that it’s annoying but I’m telling you as a blogger, I’d rather have an easy way to find you!
YOU DON’T BLOG HOP
In my experience, this is the number one reason interaction lags. When I ended up on an unintentional hiatus and stopped visiting other blogs, my blog views and comments went down drastically. You only get out of blogging what you put into it and, when it comes to interaction on your blog, that means that you have to make the effort to interact with others. Weekly memes and Bloglovin are just a couple great ways to find new people to interact with! And when people comment on your blog, respond and then go find their blog and say hi there! If you make time in your schedule, whether daily or weekly, to hop around and visit a few other blogs, I PROMISE more people will stop by to talk to you!
There you have it! Blogging truly is all about what you make it and if you want amazing interaction, you have to make the effort! Sadly, we can’t just pop a post up on the blog and wait for the views to pour in. But if you put in the work, there’s a good chance you’ll find some great friends along the way.
Does interaction matter to you?
What tips would you add to my list?
Let me know in the comments!
