I wanted to take a few minutes to throw together a post that would give newbie bloggers a few helpful blogging tips to increase blog comments on their own personal blogs or business related blogs. There are plenty of helpful blogging tips out there that list excellent WordPress plugins that can increase your blog comments by adding functionality to your WordPress blog that promotes user interaction.
An example of a WordPress plugin that helps increase comments on your blog is Thank Me Later, this plugin will send a very personal email (based on how you set it up) to any first time commentators that left a comment on your blog. Now as great as these plugins are not everyone has the time or knowledge needed to install plugins on their blog, I decided to create a quick list of ways to increase blog comments without using a WordPress plugin.
5 Ways to Increase Blog Comments
1. Comment
It might take a little extra effort and certainly adds more time to your daily blogging duties, but leaving comments is an excellent plugin free way to increase comments on your blog. In addition to being an excellent way to increase comments it is also an excellent way to receive backlinks from Do Follow blogs and build relationships.
2. Relationships
Building relationships is another excellent option available to bloggers to increase comments without any additional WordPress plugins, using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook aids in making networking with others simple.
3. Link It
Providing a link that makes it nice and simple for a visitor to leave a comment, as you can see I just did it with the text to the left “leave a comment”. Many of you might have noticed this in just about every blog post that I write, I do this in order to make leaving a comment on my blog as simple as possible. Decide on whatever text you want to use to link to the comments section of your post and link it to the post link followed by /#comments.
Example: http://www.extremejohn.com/ufc-105-predictions/#comments
4. Engage
If you write your blog posts as if your standing in front of a crowd and reading from a sheet of paper chances are you won’t be getting many comments, let your guests know that you want their comments and engage them in a way that invites them to comment. If you use this in conjunction with #3 on the list I bet you will be pleasantly surprised with the results, give it a try.
5. Interact
If you have made the decision on your blog to take comments and you plan on using any of the tips to getting more comments above than your going to have to do one more step, and that’s interact with your contributors. There is no sense linking it, asking for it by engaging your readers than leaving them out there to talk amongst themselves. If you plan on building a community your going to need to be an active part of that community, I try to respond to every single comment here on Extreme John on a daily basis, all though difficult at times it seems to flow well here.
I hope you find one of the blogging tips posted above useful, if you did take a moment to leave a comment and share any additional tips that you might have in regards to increasing blog comments without plugins. If your interested in tips for new bloggers or better yet blogging tips from someone that has no right doing blogging tips, take a second and subscribe to my rss feed or follow me on Twitter @extremejohn
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
More wise words O great one
I’ve often seen you link to the “leave a comment” section in your blog posts, maybe I will start doing it myself from now on. I do find commenting more time consuming these days, specially since my blog has gained more popularity, but, I do comment as much as I can..
Karen @ Blazing Minds´s last blog ..Take Control and Download Your Photos with an Eye-Fi
@Karen @ Blazing Minds, I’ve never actually heard of linking to the comments in the middle of a post like that before. I really like that concept and think that it could dramatically improve the rate of commenting especially when you consider the number of people who will be able to follow that link in RSS readers or in the email inbox.
Nicholas Cardot@How to Blog´s last blog ..Thanksgiving Day $50 Giveaway Extravaganza
@Nicholas Cardot@How to Blog, it pays pretty big Nick and if nothing else it’s just a little more convenience for your readers.
@Karen @ Blazing Minds, you should def. do it Karen. I honestly suggest that any blog looking to gain comments link to the comment section within the post. The results are excellent.
@Karen @ Blazing Minds,
Exactly
Taranfx´s last blog ..Try New Google Search [Caffeine]
Great tips for newbie bloggers, EJ!
Regarding the #comment link, you could actually just write #comment in the URL field in WordPress, no need to include the URL. That will just scroll the user down to the area. But if you want the extra pageview that your current “leave a comment” link gives (also because it opens in a new window), then you should probably stick to your own way
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..iPhone Free Week: Introduction To A Week With HTC Tattoo (Android)
@Klaus @ TechPatio, I am a little too lazy for that, all though your right. I prefer my aLinks combo that I have going on, it also makes it easier for me to increase or decrease how many times the link is linked within a post. If my comments are low blogwide for the week or day I might kick that up to two links instead of one.
Words of wisdom, haha. No plugin needed here John. You are absolutely right. I still do not see what is the excuse of everyone else who do not follow these simple but effective ways to increase comments and interact with the community. Go figure
DiTesco´s last blog ..Make Money With Google – Increase Your Earning Potential With Ad Planner
@DiTesco, everyone is looking for a little something different out of their blog, so I try not to worry too much about what and why because it would take too much guess work for me. haha
As usual- great insight John. It’s all about focusing on others first. If we interact and care it’s just natural for others to interact and care too. A natural way to blog.
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I especially love the ability that twitter gives us to interact. It’s one more way to reach our audience. I know I ‘m “wrong” – but Facebook just isn’t as much fun to me. I honestly get confused with the amount of apps and options there are. I tend to log in there like 2 times a week. But twitter is all day for me 24/7. Can you tell I love twitter
I know many even non newbies that could learn from this article.
Eren Mckay´s last blog ..Thanksgiving crafts to make and online kids activities
@Eren Mckay, there’s nothing wrong with preferring Twitter to Facebook or vise versa. I go through my stages with each one of them, disliking it at times and liking it at other times.
I always appreciate your positive vibe Erin thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Another thing that can help get comments is to ask for the comment. At the end of the post put something like, Have more questions? Ask here (with here being a link to leave a comment.) Or alot of people put “Like this post, Leave a comment below.”
Alicia@harry potter toys´s last blog ..NECA Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 7 Inch Action Figure Harry Potter
@Alicia@harry potter toys, great point. You have to be willing to ask for the comment, especially on topics that might not excite your reader enough to want to contribute.
I think you hit the nail on the head with these suggestions. In one way or another, I do them all and it’s great for increasing comments and building up a community. One simple think that really works well for me is just asking a question. What do you think, etc. That always seems to get responses.
Mike from Daily Shot Of Coffee´s last blog ..Caffeinated London Broil
@Mike from Daily Shot Of Coffee, that is an excellent way to increase the discussion on any blog, talk about it “with” instead of “at”.
I wrote an article on one of my blogs about specific linking (including a link to a specific post when leaving comments) and I still think it’s the best way to take advantage of the commenting form. Especially if you start linking to posts relevant to the post you’ve commented on.
Awesome article. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Corey Freeman´s last blog ..How to Align the Search Box and the Navigation in Headway
@Corey Freeman, hi Corey and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, I will have to cruise through your blog and say hello as well.
I would agree linking the leave a comment is a big game changer for me here.
I also get an email and a response back from you whenever I comment. Very nice.
Steve´s last blog ..Why Should You Choose Vista Print for Your Business Cards
@Steve, I try to keep it personal, I won’t lie it’s getting a little more difficult (or challenging) as the site continues to grow. It’s still a blast.
Great tips John! I especially love the link to the comment section…. something Mike should have told me about a year ago! He is fired!
Can’t wait to try it and see how it works for me.
Stiletto Sports Jen´s last blog ..College Game Day Key Matchups & Recipes: Ohio State vs. Michigan
@Stiletto Sports Jen, he didn’t have those skills until I gave them to him. He might tell you otherwise, but trust me it’s true and he knows it.
The only thing I don’t agree with though is the emailing of a thank you after. It’s a great idea —and helps make sure you give love back if you can’t get around to commenting right away—but for me personally, it’s another email I have to open! And if you leave a few comments and get multiple emails…….turns me off from commenting. Except on your blog of course cuz i Heart u too much!
Stiletto Sports Jen´s last blog ..College Game Day Key Matchups & Recipes: Ohio State vs. Michigan
@Stiletto Sports Jen, awww thanks Jenn. I really need to go through my stuff and see what plugins might be firing off emails, I hate emailing my visitors with the exception of saying thank you for leaving a comment the first time someone comments.
Completely true John, I so lots of blogs with out plugins everyday, and they have good nomber of high value comments, I was asking my self who come they can do it! but now I know the answer to my question!
Hesham @FamousBloggers´s last blog ..How To Build Your Own Custom Search Engine?
Very useful tips for the newbie indeed. I think some people skip the fundamentals and go straight to monetizing their site or other more advanced stuff and forget to work on the elements of a site that will build a community of readers rather than a ‘click-and-run’ visitor.
Regards,
Karl
Karl Foxley@SEO Company´s last blog ..BlogEngage Can Make You A Better Blogger (And Bring You Lots Of Visitors)!
@Karl Foxley@SEO Company, hey Karl thanks for taking the time to leave a comment I appreciate that.
I would have to agree with you, everyone rushes to monetize when I personally feel you can learn so much more by stepping away from the money bag for a moment. It makes bloggers challenge themselves.
These are really good tips for the new bloggers out there, and sometimes we have to be reminded sometimes. Thanks Greg Ellison
Greg Ellison´s last blog ..A better way to find ClickBank Products
Its a very nice way of sending a personal message for commenting for the first time. But it should be sent only once and not to be repeated. I think building relationship will help you more in the blog world than rather just commenting its my personal belief, it may differ.
Sandesh Mascarenhas´s last blog ..Watch TV on iPhone/iPod Touch using 3G/Wi-Fi
@Sandesh Mascarenhas, it’s always about building relationships, leaving comments is one thing. Having a solid core and base for discussion begins with an excellent community which is only built through relationship building.
TechPatio placed a comment about creating #comment in the URL field to make it scroll down to the comment section on the same page instead of redirecting and opening another page. Does it make any differnce with regards to your traffic ranking by opening another page?? Why would you use one over the other?
@SafariDave, If you put the full URL and tell it to open in a new page, you get another pageview (=more ad impressions, and better “pages per visitor”-stats, though not by much, of course). I don’t know if you just put the full URL and add #comment to the end WITHOUT opening it in a new window/tab, if it does a new page opening or if it just scrolls down – would be easily to test though
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Survey: 33% Of All Laptops Break Within 3 Years
@Klaus @ TechPatio, thank you Klaus I fell behind yesterday and didn’t get a chance to respond to everyone’s comments.
Right on point as always.
These are great tips. I tell my readers often that comments are like the life blood of a successful blog. They reveal the relationship between the readers and the author.
And they don’t just happen by chance. As you mentioned, you have to be actively engaging with people and working to build genuine relationships with them. You have to be inviting discussion, feedback and personal experiences. You have to be responsive.
At first it’s difficult to get people to start commenting, but once you get the ball rolling then it’s really quite simple to get the snowball effect going at your site. You can watch the conversations and discussion grow as you develop yourself, your blog, and your relationships.
Nicholas Cardot@How to Blog´s last blog ..Thanksgiving Day $50 Giveaway Extravaganza
@Nicholas Cardot@How to Blog, I really hope that some of the bloggers that read this article take a moment to read your comment, especially new bloggers.
Always on the bullseye Nick thank you.
Personally, I really liked the one-time thank you email after I commented here that first time. It made me want to come back [here I am again].
I have found by interacting on other blogs and within my own comments that I have received more comments. Of course, I have to say something worthy of a comment in the first place. That doesn’t always happen. 
Anne´s last blog ..Small Talk Six ~ Thanksgiving Edition
@Anne, I seem to have the same problem, but from time to time I strike blogging gold. This post is a good one, I will have 20 crap ones to follow haha.
I’m happy that you opened your email and decided to come back you have already contributed in a great way here, and in a short time. There’s a great group of new bloggers and even a few pro bloggers that contribute here, it’s nice it seems there is always learning.
Good tips. I especially like the leave comment link tip. I never thought about this before but it makes perfect sense.
Tycoon Blogger@promote your blog´s last blog ..Check out my shiny new blog engage vote button
@Tycoon Blogger@promote your blog, let me know if you implement it how it works out for you Dan.
I still believe commenting on other blogs is the crucial way to get comments. Plugins just attracts bloggers (and even spammers) but don’t keep them coming back next time.
Phaoloo´s last blog ..Auslogics Antivirus: Comprehensive Anti-virus And Anti-spyware Protection
@Phaoloo, networking is key.
One great work for increase blog commenting is by replying people comment and helping their problem.
I am using disqus comment form on my blog and now my blog commentator increase before
chandan@work at home´s last blog ..Work at home business opportunities with twitter
Excellent tips, John. I particularly like the “leave appropriate comments on other blogs”. Like I’m doing right now
TechChunks@7 Tips on How to Increase Comments on your Blog Post´s last blog ..How to Remove (Fix) iPhone Worm – ‘iKee’
Nice tips John, very useful for newbies and other bloggers. One could always use new ways to get comments and build their community.
George Serradinho´s last blog ..Firefox Plugins to Increase Blogging Productivity (Series 1)
@George Serradinho, thank you George.
Good tips. Only thing to add is that even nofollow links have their benefits, especially with long tail terms. So, leaving a comment on blogs with comment luv is good too (even when nofollowed).
Anne @ b6s.net´s last blog ..Automatic Backlink Building Software Hype
@Anne @ b6s.net, that’s an excellent point Anne and I also think it’s important to add the potential clicks from commenting, even if it is on no do follow blogs.
Great Tips. Very helpful for 1st timers. Keep up the great work!
Michelle´s last blog ..Fat Burning Techniques – Using Cardiovascular Techniques for Optimum Fat Burning
@Michelle, thank you for taking the time to comment I appreciate the feedback and you stopping by
I mainly just try to respond to comments. I read them anyway as I moderate them so as I publish I just comment back. I normally don’t get a response but it keeps ME involved.
dwippy@dofollow blog list´s last blog ..Blogs with Top Commentators
@dwippy@dofollow blog list, staying involoved is whats important it will pay off it always does.
At the top of the list of important things to do on your blog to increase commenting I’d say would be interaction with commenters.. Showing appreciation for comments, etc makes people want to continue to comment, to come back again and say more.. this is definitely something you’re pretty good at doing
Hard Rocking South African@Music Judge´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
@Hard Rocking South African@Music Judge, exactly and very well put my friend.
I’ve returned to your blog because of all of the above pointers. I was initially impressed at how you take the time to reply to just about every comment made. Kudos to you, brother!
John Uy´s last blog ..I was Wrong to Doubt you Pacquiao
@John Uy, thank you for taking the time to comment and take notice. I appreciate that, I enjoy the interaction with everyone here it’s a nice stress reliever.
Hi john,
Really awesome tips to increase commenting on the blog without using plugins but Thank me later is a plugin.
Anyways this post is really informative.
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..7 Ways To Get More Comments On Your Blog
@Surender Sharma, happy you found something informative. Thank you for commenting.
Thanks John! we run a comedy blog where comments (captions) are the lifeblood of the website, so we’ll definitely put your advice into our workday to get some more people to participate. We cant understand why the site hasnt really hit yet, and we’re hoping your advice will be the extra push we need to get it airborne. Thanks again for your help!
@Clutch, I hope putting the tips to use helps you grow your comments and your blog. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting thank you.
You are getting better and better at blogging John. Your articles are original and very helpful. I never read anything like this one before and I am pretty sure people will copy, rephrase it one way or the other.
ZXT´s last blog ..Be My Guest Blogger
@ZXT, well thanks Z I appreciate the kind words. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it won’t be copied a few times over, hopefully a few of them are nice enough to show some link luv back at me right? Haha.
This is a blueprint for success.
No plugin can do what you do, John. Interaction is one big key to making people want to comment. And the reward of getting a backlink helps, too. It’s a shame you need a plugin for dofollow, though, because every blog would benefit from more relevant comments.
Keith@Norman Rockwell Art´s last blog ..Nov 29, Santa’s Workshop by Norman Rockwell from 12/14/1922 Clintonville Gazette
Yeah I agree with all tactic you mention above. Encourage people to make a comment and answer their comment have some personal touch that people love about. However, the effect from do follow plugin also big enough. I know some bloggers who refuse to make comment to Nofollow blog.
Ruri @ Free article submission´s last blog ..Relax Away the Day in Bondi
i used to work for a fashion company where 1/2 of my day was spent writing on other blogs in the form of fake comments. my boss would come in and say “google emoda and see what comes up on blogs, make sure you combat all the negative ones, just sound like a happy customer”. needless to say it was awful and i eventually quit. the truth is, if you produce a quality product and perform with quality service, you wont need to worry about anyone else.
first of all,there have so many people come from different country,for example,me .i come from China.Not the every body can use English to leave the message ,they even can not read any words,but they can understand something from the pictures ,the original links or somewhere.if they want to know what’s you want to tell them know ,they need spend time to check the dictionary .so ,i think it’s too hard to leave a English comment here.
and secondly,the frequency you update is too high .we are so excited of that .maybe cause that we forget to comments..:)..
and finally, i feel that everybody will think that NO body will reply the comment that i leave here..and maybe nobody care the comment i leaved .this is not a personal blog ,and it’s a public place.it’s too serious to discussion some thing like “how do you feel this project?”
and here is not a kind of SNS website (Social Networking Services).
so nobody think that’s necessary to comment here..
but .from now on ,i know that ,there still have some one care of the comment which have wealth of information.
am i right?
Antikeylogger
anti keylogger
I must agree, great tips. Not just having comments on a blog but engaging/interacting with your readers is the best way to have a comments box.
Bianca´s last blog ..gallery9-300×199
@Bianca, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment Bianca. Everyone is looking for something different with their blog, those who want some action should look to interact
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