Comments are awesome. I love comments. They make me feel that blogging is worthwhile! It’s not much fun having a conversation if I’m the only one talking right?!*
But have you ever sat down and kicked your heels because you CAN’T figure out how to get more comments?
LET ME HELP! I’ve gone from having a blog with 5 comments maximum per post, to over 50 comments per post. It is awesome. (And I appreciate everyone’s comments so so much.) It didn’t “just happen”, though. I worked really hard.
So what’s the secret?!
Oh, oh, I’m so glad you asked, my botanical blogglings!** I have a most wonderful post for you.
* Although my voice and opinions are, of course, beautiful.
** I do not, in any way, think you are plants. I just like alliteration. Unless you are a plant, in that case, congratulations for being the most intelligent plant in the universe. I acknowledge your leafyness.
1. GO COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS
If I can only give you one tip, THIS IS IT, MY FINE FRIENDS. Go comment on other people’s blogs! Visit! Leave meaningful comments. Follow a ton of blogs. When you join in linkups, go and visit a dozen other blogs. JUST GO TALK TO PEOPLE. It works.
In 2013, I averaged about 5 comments a post. In 2014, I started commenting on a bunch of blogs. I followed. I commented regularly. I was a pesky barnacle with friendly things to say. Now in 2015, I average on 50 comments a post.
But pleasepleaseplease don’t just say “Cool post!” and leave a link to your blog. That’s not what I mean. It’s okay to leave a link to your blog, but make sure your comment is about THEIR blog. (Short comments are okay, too. You don’t need to leave epistles! Just be meaningful.) Also, when you follow a new blog, do tell the blogger! It’s totally fine to introduce yourself and your blog and leave links.
There are tons of blogs who do “Bloggers Commenting Back” which is basically I-comment-on-your-blog-and-you-comment-on-mine. It spreads the love and encourages conversation. IT IS AWESOME.
2. REPLY TO COMMENTS
This is really important because you acknowledge your audience! You’re saying, “Hey you! That’s a smart and intelligent thing you just said and I appreciate your opinion.” Everyone wants to be acknowledged.
It’s also furthering the conversation!
I, for one, have been really ticked off (totally curled into my corner of sadness) when I’ve commented faithfully on blogs and had the blogger ignore me. It’s like talking to a wall. Why would I bother?! I quit that blog and focused on talking to people who actually want to talk to me.
3. ASK QUESTIONS IN YOUR POSTS
You could just say “pie is the best, life is pie, there is only pie” and end your post there. OR, you could say “pie is the best, but chocolate cake is glorious too, ack, decisions…which do you prefer?” The latter invites discussion and comments!
People love having opinions! (HELLO. We are bloggers. Why else do we blog?!) They love to express these opinions. I get specific about my questions in my posts. I write a list of questions at the end of a post for people to reply to! If I can’t think of any “discussion questions” then I know my post is too one-sided.
4. CARE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE
This comes out in tone and phrasing of your post…and I think it’s important! I like to read blogs where I don’t feel like my opinions is going to be discarded instantly. And you can usually tell from the tone of the post. If the blogger has gone off on a discussion/rant and are constantly underlining how right they are and how perfect their opinion is, I know they’re not going to care about mine.
When you blog, make sure your audience feels welcome to speak their minds in the comments. Don’t write like you have the only opinion in the universe. (It helps if you present multiple opinions in your post, too, for readers to mull over.) Be genuine about wanting feedback or critisim or other opnions. You don’t have to agree with the commenters, but you do need to be respectful of their opinions. Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean you can be rude. NOT EVER.
5. HAVE A SIMPLE COMMENTING PLATFORM
This is REALLY important, peoples! There is nothing more frustrating than reading an awesome post and going to comment and realising…oh. I can’t because this commenting platform is weird/confusing/descends-from-martians.
The main thing you want is to have anyone and everyone be able to comment. You want a commenting platform that, ideally, doesn’t need you to sign in.
COMMENTING PLATFORMS TO AVOID:
- Google+ – This one is ridiculous because you can ONLY comment if you have a google+. Lots of people don’t! (I don’t.)
- Blogger – Oftentimes blogger is set so only blogger uses can comment. You can change this in your “comment settings” and have it so anyone can comment. (I totally recommend doing this if you’re on blogger.)
- Free WordPress –
this is the same as blogger, usually it only let’s WordPress users comment. If you have a blog that ends with wordpress.com, you’re limiting your commenters to wordpress users only. BAD IDEA! Lots of people are on blogger and still want to comment! [EDIT: Apparently I was mistaken for this and it’s not true! So IGNORE ME. ha. ha.]
BETTER PLATFORM OPTIONS:
- IntenseDebate – Installing this one is quite easy and there are great tutorials! It allows anyone to comment without signing in. YAY. Downfalls are, if you switch commenting platforms later on, you lose comments. (I lost all my ID comments when I went from blogger to wordpress self-hosted.)
- Disqus – Disqus is pretty darn awesome in appearance and fastness. Speedy! YAY. You can have an option to NOT sign in, too, but you have to switch that setting.
- WordPress self hosted – This is what I have and, obviously, it’s awesome. (Although, truthfully, I still have people tell me WP eats their comments or they disappear or whatnot, so it’s not perfect.) I love this one because you don’t have to sign in, and I’ve got it on a setting so that everyone gets emailed my replies. I also use commentluv so I can easily find commenter’s blogs and visit!
So there you have it…you know all my secrets.
It’s not hard! It does take a bucketload of work though. And, hey, it’s okay to fall behind or make mistakes or slack off. Just know: if you work hard, you’ll get the comments.
And there are always posts that are going to do better than others. Sometimes it doesn’t even make sense why some posts get comments and others don’t. JUST GO WITH IT. (Although if you ever find the secret to writing the perfect post, let me know. I want in on that.)
SO. like i said…discussion questions are important! can you add to my list?? on your blog, what do you do to get more comments?? which posts do you find to super-uber well? and which seem to sink? do believe in commenting-back? OH. and are you okay with being referred to as a plant? LET ME KNOW ALL.
Cait @ Paper Fury
…is currently feeling very proud and professional because she only used two gifs in this post instead of, like, 9428 of them, because she realises she probably uses too many. But, pfft. Over-gifing is liable to happen tomorrow so WATCH OUT. Also to everyone playing the game in yesterdays post, Cait plans to announce scores tomorrow! Currently she’s reading Snow Like Ashes.
You used a LOT of botanic/nature images in this post. *glances suspiciously at Cait*
‘Botanical blogglings’ is awesome alliteration! Why, thank you. I do like my leafiness, too. Also MILO. *grabby hands*
I find that the putting questions in a post solution doesn’t work. I have the questions, but I rarely ever have people stop and answer them. 🙁
Totally agree about the platform being a big thing (at least for me). I’ll be honest, using Blogger really put me off commenting on your posts. But look where we are now! 😀 The .wordpress.com allows non-wordpress users to comment… It has the same leave-your-site-url box as this type of wordpress, and even if it doesn’t connect to their blogger account, it allows ‘guest’ posting, which if url included will link to theirs.
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GOOD LEAFY REFERENCE IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. (Actually I probably shouldn't say because I, in fact, don't like gardening. But pfft, let's not dwell on that.) WordPress is just so so much smarter than blogger and I didn't know the freewordpress allowed any comments! YAY. A few years back it didn't and I had to sign up for a WP account just to comment. >-< I shall edit my post to include that, thanks, Alex!!
AWESOME POST. When I was a tiny sapling blogger (let’s just keep with the plants, shall we?) I didn’t get ANY comments whatsoever. Well, little wonder since I didn’t comment on anyone else’s blogs. I think 50 comments a post would be overwhelming – my 20 or so is quite a lovely number 😀 Although reviews generally tend to get less. Discussions and, strangely enough, life updates always get a lot of comments 🙂
*whispers* 50 comments IS kind of overwhelming, but that's another post in itself, hehe. And I don't want to confess that sometimes I fall off the planet blogging because I'm SO BEHIND in replying to comments but gah! I do love talking to everyone!!
YAYAYAY for this post! I started commenting on more blogs when I discovered Readers in Wonderland’s Bloggers Commenting Back feature as well. 🙂 Now I average around 20-ish comments per post which is fab. I suck at replying to comments, though. I tend to leave some pretty long comments on posts which take up a lot of time since I follow a LOT of blogs, and it’s been lessening my time to reply to comments. I AM SORRY IF I HAVE FAILED YOU. D: I should really have a system for commenting and replying and such.
But yes, I so agree that commenting platforms matter. Another thing to avoid is CAPTCHA. Ugh, that stuff is really annoying and it’s a huge turn-off. :/ I’m okay with commenting on blogger, if they have the name/link option, and I think you can comment on Free WordPress even if you don’t have a wordpress account. I’ve been getting some non-Wordpress commenters. 🙂 Google + is a pain, plus it’s visually unappealing. :/
WHY ARE YOU APOLOGISING TO ME??? I AM AN AWFUL COMMENTER AT TIMES, MYSELF!! After I reply to everyone's comments i rarely even get onto bloglovin'. 0_0 It can totally be overwhelming to keep up and I DO want to keep blogging fun. xDCaptcha is DEATH it just truly is. Gaaaah. Although I've noticed blogger has switched to ticking a box! YAY.
Thanks, Cait! This post definitely gave me some ideas for my blog. I just need to get around to posting on there…
Also, pie is great, but chocolate cake is also amazing. Which do you prefer?
I hate choosing between two of the most delicious delicacies on this planet…LE SIGH. Okay. I really would trade a million dollars for a really delicious crispy but moist pie. *ahem* WAIT. WHAT WERE WE TALKING ABOUT?! OH YES. COMMENTS. XD
Interesting post, Cait. I’m relatively new to blogging and information like this is useful. Thanks.
Yay, so glad it's helpful, Sam!
You mean there’s no great secret??? Just kidding hehe….
I get most on comment on Top Ten Tuesday because I visit so many blog posts then. And discussion post are the best for comment/blogger loving 😀
proud of you on the gifs too!
ME TOO!! My TTT posts are usually my highest page views and comments, which is quite exciting. x)
I definitely agree that the number one way to get comments on your blog is to comment on other blogs. Book blogging is tricky regarding comments – they don’t happen easily. Also, if you stop commenting on other blogs for whatever reason people will stop commenting on yours -even if they’ve been leaving comments for years. I speak from experience!
Yuuuuus, I completely agree! It's really hard. Like going on hiatus? It really kills the traffic/comments, which makes hiatus really unappealing but it's still needed!! IT'S HARD.
Another great post this week 🙂 Great job, Cait!
In November 2014, I started to follow more or less the same steps as you mentioned in this post. I installed IntenseDebate + CommentLuv, joined “Bloggers Commenting Back” and changed main core of my posts. And I went from zero comments to approximetaly 10-15 per post. So I definitely agree with everything you wrote because it does work 🙂
The only complain I have with some commenting platforms is that for some reason even though I always sign up for replies on a blog I commented, I never receive email with the reply from the blogger. So when I remember about commenting on some interesting post in day or two, I have to come back and check manually if blogger replied. I am not sure if it is problem with my email address or with platform itself (It usually happens with WordPress).
And what kind of posts do extra well on my blog? Let me think… Usually super passionate reviews (positive or negative) and some original features/ideas that I do from time to time instead of classic reviews.
Aw, thank you, Lucia! I AM BASICALLY FLAILING OVER YOU SAYING THAT. AWWW!! ^_^Do the reply emails go to your spam maybe?? I don't know because this does happen to me too. *sigh* Sometimes the blogger has to manually turn ON replies though. Like when I first moved to WP, I didn't have the replies turned on accidentally. (Wait, do you get replies from my blog??)Original features probably do best on my blog too! Actually, well, Top Ten Tuesday gets the most comments/stats, and they're quite fun to write. XD
I don’t get replies even from your blog :/ I have a suspicion that my email (for some unknown reason) blocks all emails from wordpress blogs. I am trying to solve it at help centre but so far there are no results…
Agh! I don't know why that's happening! Someone else told me they don't get replies anymore from me either…I checked my settings and it's the same?? But it totally could be my blog.:(
I avoid blogs that use Disqus and never leave a comment on them. When I saw THIS prompt from Disqus when I tried to leave a message I decided to avoid them!
Authorise DISQUS to use your account? This application will be able to:
Read Tweets from your timeline.
See who you follow, and follow new people.
Update your profile.
Post Tweets for you.
There is no way I’m allowing third parties access to my email, google or twitter accounts to start messing around and changing things!!!
Agh, yes, I hear ya. I felt the SAME way but eventually just signed up to Disqus anyway because I wanted to leave comments. It doesn't do any of that stuff but I agree it is scary signing over things like that. 0_0
This is awesome! I have to individually keep track of my favorite blogs (Bloglovin’ keeps exploding on me) but I love talking to bloggers who reply back, ya know? Also, chocolate cake. ALWAYS.
I love talking to bloggers who reply back too!!! Blogging is a CONVERSATION!! It's no fun to just ignore people, and, having been on the end of being ignored, it's sooooo disheartening.
I definitely don’t mind being referred to as a plant! ;D Great tips, Cait! I notice I get a LOT of comments on posts that I link up to, mostly Top Ten Tuesday. Other than that, I get a few comments here and there on other posts. I just have to keep getting myself out there – which is sometimes hard because LIFE. But I will not be disheartened! ;D
OKAY, I SHALL CALL YOU A PLANTLING FROM NOW ON. (Plantling is totally a word. It's the new bloggling.) Zomg, I do get a lot of comments on TTT posts, but I visit a lot of blogs. xD Life can totally put a dampner on this and I'm lucky because I work from home and can put in more hours blogging. *nods* Which I realise I'm very very lucky about.
I’m sure we’ll get it in thyme. *nods* We are, after all, intelligent plants. (Oh my, that was SUCH a horrible pun.) Personally, I find that link-ups and tags, and controversial-y (or at least debatable) issues have the most comments — basically anything interactive. But if, instead of putting one spin on an issue, you put twenty spins and come up with something that seems original-ish, I find those get more social shares. And the posts where the main objective is to be snarky don’t really work. (I still can’t always resist, though.)
Hmm, I don’t really agree with what you said about the commenting systems. I use Blogger (and disabled Blogger-only comments, thank goodness, and allowed anon comments), and it seems to work. And I’m pretty sure you can comment with a name and email for wordpress.com blogs, because I do that all the time. Whereas Disqus really got on my nerves until I gave up and got an account. I have the exact opposite problem on IntenseDebate; I signed up to check it out and save it as a further option, and now I can’t log out of the test account to comment on those blogs. However, the WP system is definitely awesome — possibly the most awesome — and so I applaud you for using it 😀 😀
AH AH AH HA YOU WIN, MY LITTLE BASIL BUSH. (Oooh! More alliteration. Remind me to call you Basil Bush from now on. Oh pfft, we all know I'll forget in like, 2 minutes.)Oh I can understand what you mean about linkups/tags and, to be honest, I just think bloggers should do what they want and enjoy. *shrugs* Sometimes I think things can get bland. But if you insert your voice/self into WHATEVER post you write, then it should always be interesting, right?! (Hopefully….)I didn't realise wordpress.com had changed their tune, so I'm editing my post to say that!! (When I signed up it couldn't, but DUH CAIT, that was like a few years ago.) One of the biggest reasons I left Blogger was because of its commenting platform. It used to kill comments all the time. 0_0 I guess basically you have to figure out what works for you as well, with commenting…but it's also good to listen to your followers and see what makes things easiest for them?
You also have a great voice in your writing! I think that helps to because your inviting and we all want to gab with you! I’m always so pleased to see how many comments are in your posts by the time I get around to reading (yea I can be slow)! I think the following and commenting is such good advice, and it’s something I need to do more of. I need to find more blogs to follow! And I do agree about bloggers who don’t comment back on their own posts, it makes it feel kind of worthless to comment if you don’t know you are even being heard. I always try to reply and go to their blog, but sometimes I’m not perfect at it either! Good work! You deserve all the comment love!
YAY THIS MAKES MY DAY. XD I think voice and attitude totally do matter in blogging…like the more welcoming we bloggers are, the more our readers get to know us and feel comfortable talking, right?! IT'S FUN. x)Finding blogs can be tricky….I had a lot of trial and error and have unfollowed blogs I just didn't connect with. I don't know if that's necessarily “nice”, but we do what we can, right?! And I totally fall off the wagon in replying/visiting blogs sometimes too! i think everyone deserves the comment love. XD
Thanks for the wonderful tips Cait….. I really need to get back into the swing of things and get commenting again.
I used to have my settings on Blogger set so that anyone could comment but the only extra people who ever commented where just spammers and it got to the point that there were much more spammy comments that normal ones so I had to limit the comments to registered users just to stop the spam….. haven’t had a spammy comment since. I’ll try opening it back up again but if the spam starts again I will have to limit them again though…… it sucks!
Ugh, spam SUCKS. I actually found (when I was on blogger) if I moderated comments on posts older than 14 days, I'd usually catch like 98% of the spam comments. For some reason they'd prey on older posts?? That was really handy! I love WP because it catches like ALL the spam comments. In my 5 months here, I've only spammed 2 comments. XD (Although I have had to fish actual people out of spam because WP can get a bit enthusiastic. -_-)
Great post Cait! It’s FULL of beautiful tips to ensure maximum comment production!
I agree with all of them – and I’ve got to say I’m guilty on the linky part. Whenever I join a meme I almost always forget to visit other blogs who are also participating in the linky (which is bad because the few times I have I’ve ended up making some great blogging friends!).
(Also: I shall embrace my leafyness).
ALL WE NEED IS THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH SO WE HAVE ENDLESS TIME TO DO ALL THIS, RIGHT?!! I probably should've mentioned having enough TIME to do it all is a big factor. Oops! >_<*whispers* I don't always comment around when I'm blogging either, so don't worry. 😉 WE ALL FORGET.
I recently did an interview style review of Red Queen, and that got me a boatload of comments I wasn’t expecting, haha.
I hadn’t realized that it’s hard for non-wordpress users to comment, so I guess I’ll have to look into self-hosting after my blogiversary. (Do you have any recommendations?)
I’ve also noticed that being more interactive in the blogging community has gotten me a lot more comments and follows. I guess I just have to keep on trying!
oh that's so exciting!!! It's awesome when a post unexpectedly explodes with awesome, right?! Good on you!!(I actually have no idea how to self-host, ha! My brother-in-law did it for me. -_- I really want to ask him to do a post for me, at some point, and explain how to do it!)
By the way, I nominated you for the addictive blog award if you’re interested! Just click the commentluv link.
Ooh THANK YOU I SHALL CHECK IT OUT ASAP!
Great post with awesome tips! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great post! Sometimes I am frustrated because I will get a lot of hits, but very few comments. I do find though that I get more comments on my discussions or top ten lists. I think that is probably because I typically ask questions at the end of the post. Also, there is not usually that much to say with book reviews especially if you aren’t interested in the book.
And it's a LOT easier to think up a comment for a discussion/list post than a review, right?! Especially if one hasn't read the book being reviewed. (I find this on my blog ALL the time, to the point where I haven't wanted to do reviews…but…I kinda am a review blog, so I shall persist. xD)
What a fantastic post! I’m going to pin it and like it and save it EVERYWHERE. So that I can come back later when I’m still wondering why I still get a maximum 3 comments per post.
I always comment back, unless I absolutely cannot come up with a decent response, but I need to check on my comment form to make sure non-Blogger people can comment. But you’re not on Blogger anymore, and you comment, so it should be ok…
Also, I will gladly be a botanical bloggling. I love plants. 🙂 In fact, I need to go find some minions so that they can refer to me as “Your Leafiness.” It has a nice ring to it.
Awwww. #daymadeI still have a Blogger profile though, so I won't count. 😉 I think I have a profile for EVERY comment platform! Which I don't necessarily recommend, but that's just what I did so I would be able to comment everywhere. I LOVE the ring of “your Leafiness”. DUDE. YES. JUST YES.
Your 2nd point is so important to me. It’s one of the few “rules” about blogging I have for myself. I really like commenting on other people’s blogs, but sometimes it’s just a matter of time constraints as far as being able to comment far and wide, but I always try and make time to reply to comments on my blog, particularly since I’m trying to start a discussion! Questions definitely help too.
Oh time constraints are a HUGE deal! And sometimes, if we just don't have the time to do it, that's okay too. I think basically how much time/work you put into your blog is probably what you'll reap. *nods* I've been so so lucky to have a lot of time to blog lately. I think replying is uber important, particularly if it emails replies to the commenters.
Great post and these tips are great! Just like you when I started blogging I didn’t get a lot of comments, I promoted my posts and sometiems replied to comments, but I didn’t really interact with people or visited them back. Only about a year ago I started becoming more serious about my blog and starting commenting on other blogs and commenting back and that really helped with getting more comments on my own blog. And it’s so much fun commenting on other blogs, I didn’t realize I missed being part of the community like that until I started commenting more.
I think I picked up the question thing from your blog, I already used question in my Lola’s Ramblings posts, but now I try to end almost every post with a question now and while some bloggers already know what to say and just reply to the post I do think that asking a question helps for those who are not sure what to comment. And indeed it’s a lot of effort, but it’s totally worth it!
I was awful with “promoting” my blog when I started to try getting more comments. >_< I left a few “great post here's my blog” comments and I'M SO EMBARRASSED NOW. lol But I quickly learnt. It's all a process. *nods* It is soooo good being part of the blogging community. I LOVE IT. I can't believe I missed out on this friendship and awesomeness for so many years by never following other blogs or commenting. Everyone is awesome. :')
I’m okay with being referred to as a plant as long as it’s the RIGHT plant, y’know?
Great post, it frustrates me SO MUCH when I can’t leave a comment because the comment form sucks. I was actually going to write about it in a post myself, because it stops me from leaving comments sometimes and that blows. I realize it’s usually not the blogger’s fault, but I hate when I have to comment with G+, because I have a separate account for my blog. Since so many blogs use that one comment form where you can only sign in with G+ or a couple of options I’ve never even heard of, I kind of resigned myself to the fact and just stay logged in with my blog account. Recently I stumbled upon a blog that didn’t allow comments at all in a link up.
I generally like how Disqus works, but often you have to sign in, which is annoying, and for a while ALL of my comments got marked as spam for NO REASON, so every comment I left on a blog that uses Disqus just disappeared. Needless to say I’m not the biggest fan. But the ABSOLUTE WORST thing is when you write a lengthy comment and hit send and then a site error or a lousy internet connection makes everything disappear. I try to remember to copy before I hit send, but I can’t tell you how often it’s happened to me. The best option really is Name/URL and from what I’ve seen I think it’s usually possible for blogs that aren’t self-hosted too, so I wish more people would use it! And comment luv = actual love, because it’s such a great idea.
And I totally get what you mean about replying. It kind of bums me out when a blogger never replies to my comments. It even sometimes deters me from leaving comments in the first place when I see a blogger never replies to a single one of their comments. I know different people just view it differently, and I understand how it can get overwhelming when you get tons of comments, but most of the time people don’t get so many comments that they can’t reply ever. For me it’s just sort of the polite thing to do. I do comment back 98% of the time. I used to feel ambiguous about it, because I don’t want people to feel obligated to comment on my blog when they don’t really care about the content, and I didn’t want to comment on posts that didn’t interest me, but recently I’ve discovered that it brings much more advantages than disadvantages. I usually find awesome blogs (and people) I didn’t know before, and I like stopping by blogs that start to look familiar. It makes me search out interesting content I wouldn’t otherwise have discovered! Also, I don’t really view commenting as something bothersome like some people do. I’m naturally communicative and usually have an opinion, so my comments tend to be on the ridiculously long side haha
So shall I call you a Basil Bush? Is that okay?OH YES YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE ABOUT IT TOO. I think it's a big issue and sometimes people don't even realise that their comment form and it's issues are what's stopping people from leaving comments. I get soooo many more comments now that I have WP and not blogger.And I never ever understand why blogs (or tumblrs I guess) do linkups?! If you don't have a comment platform what's the point?! (I guess maybe page views…but STILL.) And yes, it's a setting on Disqus to have the ability NOT to sign in, so that's up to the blogger host to switch it. Which can be a pain if they haven't. -_- I signed up to just about EVERY blogging commenting platform…except for G+. I hate that too much. I will not cave! (Although it means I can't ever comment on youtube which sucks a bit.)I admit! Sometimes I bomb out on commenting. Sometimes I won't reply for an entire post but MOSTLY I try and always reply to all my comments!! (Well, when the post is a week old or whatnot, I might not.) It can be a time thing though! Sometimes it's hard to squeeze in answering/replying/reading blogs AND then having time to actually write posts. *collapses*
You know, I was thinking more along the lines of the Fernleaf Fiddleneck, the Dwarf Weeping Larch Tree or the Black Bat flower. (Yes, I totally just Googled cool plants. :D)
I think I will! Yeah, maybe page views… Though I don’t even really get the point of those. Comments is where the love is. 😀 I have G+, because I have a gmail e-mail (they just send the least ads), and I do use it to comment on YouTube, but I don’t use G+ for my blog other than linking to it in my profile. I just can’t get into it. Yeah, I get that when you have tons of comments and post a lot – it can really cut into your time! Mostly, blogs don’t have THAT many comments though. And I don’t even mind when someone replies ages later, so long as they do it at some point. Then again, I went to an old post of mine yesterday and realized I totally forgot to reply to comments, because I thought I already had. Oops.
(Small side note since we’re on the subject: I don’t seem to get an e-mail when you reply to comments anymore? I waited to see whether it was just a temporary thing, but it’s been happening for a while now, so I thought I’d let you know!)
How do you have it set so that everyone who comments gets an email with your reply?
I'm preeeetty sure if you go into “settings” On your blog there's a “comment reply notifications” setting and then you can just click around and set it how you like. I have mine set to reply when anyone comments (so if someone else replies to your comment and not just me, HOPEFULLY you still get an email. Which can be cool because it means lots of us can have conversations together! YAY.)
Cool post!
…ahahaa no seriously. This was super informative, Cait. I’m always blown away by how many comments you get here. 0_0 it’s like…whoa. You’re a super star, girlie
Aw, thanks, Katie. 😉 HA. It just takes work, seriously, that's all. Work and time and lots and lots of typing. XD
Do Ents count as botanical blogglings? Thanks for this lovely post. I will definitely try some of these tips. I always try to reply to everybody’s comment on blog (actually, you inspired me to do that because no matter how many comments you always try to reply to everybody and visit people’s blogs) and it seems to make for a awesome conversation and you get to know people better. (-:
I think they should. I mean, come one! ENTS. That's like the ultimate Botanical…Thing. WELL YAY FOR REPLYING, YOU ARE CLEARLY AN AWESOME BLOGGER. It took me like years to work out this stuff, so I want to share it!!
I’m at the point in my blogging where I get 5 comments. 😛 I’ve been blogging for about a year, so hopefully it’ll grow soon. I do basically all the things listed above lol.
When I was at WordPress.com, my comment system was different. It was name, email, website if you had one, and then the comment. Hm..
And, btw, I haven’t gotten comment reply email notifications lately. :/
It does definitely take time!! And I think the more blogs you get around to helps. *nods* Like last year, at the beginning anyway, I was commenting on soooo many blogs. I don't really have time to comment on as much atm, but things kind of snowball, which is nice. ^_^Ugh, that's not right. *dashes to check settings* Do they go to your spam maybe?
This helps a lot, thanks. I didn’t know that the free WordPress only allows other WordPress users to comment. I know that it’s insanely hard to comment on Blogger, but I didn’t know WordPress was the same way. I’ll look into getting a self-hosted WordPress.
And now I need to find more blogs to follow… (:
ACTUALLY WAIT. I THINK I WAS WRONG. I've been told it's different, so I'm going to update my post to say so!! If you want to check how hard/easy (or just what it's like) for commenters on your blog, just sign out and see how it looks?
This was a great post, so here we go!
As a person who comments I definitely agree that it is important that the blogger “takes care” of its reader. Answering back, even if it’s just the shortest message. As you said, how much fun is it to constantly talk to somebody who doesn’t talk back? You can’t both have the cake and eat it. Sad but true.
When wrighting comments I think it’s important to really think things through before you wright. Sure – what a great post – can be encouraging, but if I had a blog I would really appreciate someone telling me WHY is this post so freaking awesome?
As a blogger, please do not use the smallest, tiniest, brightest font you’re able to get your hands on. I don’t think that this happens here, but too many bloggers do this mistake and it had made me leave all to many great blogs just because they give me headaches.
Finally, I really wish every blog had this thing where you get an email when the blogger answers you. It’s a great thing and if you follow a lot of blogs, it really helps not having to go back, but most of all REMEMBER all the posts you comment on.
That’s my little piece of blueberry pie. And a big thank you to you Cait! It wasn’t until I found your blog and started commenting that I discovered have exceptionally fun it can be to be a commenter! =) Really appreciate your blog. Great content, great person!
*has the cake and eats it* BUT YES. I THINK YOU'RE TOTALLY CORRECT THERE. And the “taking care” of our readers is important and…polite! It's just all round nice, I think. It shows we appreciate the time and effort it takes our readers to comment, right?Agh, small or weird or curly fonts murder me. -_- I just…nope. I usually bomb out because I can't even read it.Oh AGREED. That's a big reason, when I was on blogger, that I switched to IntenseDebate because I felt it was a waste of time replying to comments and knowing 99% of people wouldn't read it! I like that WP sends email notifications. (Although apparently it doesn't always? I hope this gets emailed to you!)I SO APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, GABBY!! THEY ARE AMAZING AND WONDERFUL.
Comments are probably the best thing that has come out of blogging for me so far. For the first month or so of blogging I was scared to comment on other blogs, so I didn’t. However, once I started, it ended up being so much fun, and I started to get more comments on my blog as well. It’s something that’s helped me become “friends” with other bloggers, and make blogging so much more fun. The trick is to comment regularly on some of your favorite blogs, because that’s what forms relationships. If you just scatter your comments and don’t comment regularly on specific blogs, you can’t form friendships. “Make new friends, but keep the old” definitely applies to blogging. Replying back is pretty important, too, but I’m really bad at doing that. It’s not that I don’t comment back-it’s just that I don’t do so PROMPTLY. I have to work on that.
It is a big scary to take the commenting plunge at first, right?! I get worried that I'll say something really DUMB. (Erm, I still worry about that now, actually, ha!) I have soooo many blogging friends and it's so so nice. ^_^ I love the blogging community, too!! EVERYONE IS NICE. And I think they're all very welcoming once they get to know you, too.
You know, Cait, you’re the perfect person to impart this advice. I’m a fairly new follower, but I can already see that you do all of these things SO well. You make YOUR visitors feel so welcome and appreciated–so that we keep coming back! Also, your posts are kinda sorta awesome. That helps too.
Awww, THANK YOU, ALLY. This is like my #1 goal: to definitely make people WANT to comment because I want to talk to you guys and get to know you and just…generally be friends. ^_^ THAT is what blogging is for me. ZOMG YOUR COMMENT IS MAKING ME FLAIL LIKE A STRANGE WILD CUCUMBER. THANK YOU, ALLY!! *tackle hugs*
It’s so sweet of you to share all this! Thank you~ I try to comment and reply to comments as much as I can but sometimes time just runs away from me :S Something weird with blogger is when I reply, I receive the email notification about the reply. I don’t think the original commentor gets it. It’s frustrating sometimes but I’m not sure how to fix that. I heard about plugins (is that what they’re called?) but I’ve also heard they can be problematic and eat up comments……
Can’t wait for my test score 😉 How are you enjoying SLA? I’m only a couple pages in but hoping to finish it in the next couple of days. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
OH I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND. Time runs from me too, and I don't even always reply and I suck at reading all the blogs and just generally SUCK sometimes. So don't feel bad. 😉 I don't know if you can have plugins for Blogger? I think (but I could be wrong) plugins are only for wordpress??(OMG I LOVED SNOW LIKE ASHES. It was beautiful and I loved the culture, although I think I shipped the wrong ship. HEh. Woops. xD)
Yes! I sometimes struggle with comments, and I mean leaving them and replying to them. I’ve got about two weeks worth on the blog and just – I want to, I do, I get distracted, but I’m getting back on it all now, for sure. But yes, visiting, replying, commenting, socialising, saying hi, they all make a difference, and that’s how you get to meet people. I used to do it loads and just.. stopped. Such a bad bad blogger. I’m considering making our comment system Intense Debate, I just need to check it out first, properly. Yes yes yes, a great post 🙂
You’re right when you say it takes a lot of work! I more or less came to the same conclusions that you did, and commenting on other people’s blogs is definitely the best way to get it done. Unfortunately, I really don’t have the time to start following a ton of blogs right now, but I suppose it all depends on where you want to be. I’m okay with just having a few comments right now; maybe some other time I’ll start focusing on reaching out more.
It does depend on where you want to be and how fast you want to get there. *nods* And also TIME. like we can have the best intentions of the world, but it does depend if we have the time to do something about it, right?!
I wish I knew the secret. I try to comment back, reply to comments, ask questions, etc. But still… crickets.
When I started blogging, things were different. I did all the same things, and I got way more comments. Now, I’m not sure what’s changed. Maybe there are just too many blogs out there. Oversaturation? Maybe.
I also know that I’ve gotten super picky in recent years. So I tend not to like the books that everyone else likes… and I’m kind of vocal about it. Maybe I’ve just pissed off too many other bloggers with my opinions! LOL… Who knows?
Oh, I feel the pain. I DO. Sometimes, I think, it depends on the season too? Like I find when the Americans are having summer holidays I sometimes get less comments because people are holidaying? And just after Christmas I find I get way MORE comments because I guess everyone's cooped up in America with snow storms. XD (Most of my followers are American!) And saturation can be an issue. I guess we have to try and offer something really individualised on our blogs, right?! (I'm still working on this. >_<)
*whispers* I would have loved 9428 gifs
I get way more comments now than I did the first year or so of blogging, and that’s because I try to hop around and leave more comments on other blogs. I’m trying to be better at replying on my blog, but I’m in my last few months of school and THINGS ARE INSANE so I’ve fallen a little behind. Once I finish in July, I hope to get better 🙂
*whispers* You are clearly my favourite.Oh time is a HUGE issue, right?! And we can only do what we can do. *nods*
Thanks so much for the tip about Blogger comments! I didn’t realize you could go in and have it so anyone could comment!!
You\’re welcome!! I\’M SO GLAD IT\’S HELPFUL!!
At the beginning when I started writing in my blog I didn’t expect someone to read actually, much less comment. I started writing in the expectancy of changing life, but with the hopes that my blog was found without any promotion. One day I receive my first comment & actually felt really happy & remembered why I created my blog: To make people smile. I want to feel like a friend to people, that they can talk to me when they need someone & know that not only them have struggles in life, if not we all do.
For comments, my favorite platform is disqus, I find it more fun & personal idk why. Thanks for sharing this tips!
Mafer, Euphoric Wanderlust x
Yesss, me too!! I want to make friends, not just throw my opinions into a silent void! I think it's more exciting to blog and exchange thoughts/opinions with others. xD Disqus looks really really nice on blogs too. And IDK, maybe I'm shallow, but I think blogs should look nice too. ^_^
That was super helpful! I didn’t know that you couldn’t comment on google comments if you up didn’t have a google account. Thank you so much for this post! Helped a lot, and I love your blog!
Glad it was useful!! I have like accounts for EVERY commenting platform (except G+ because I think they're pushy and I refuse to conform *dons Divergentness*) just so I can talk to everyone! XD
I use blogger because it seemed the easiest to set up and learn to use. Maybe I’ll transition to wordpress eventually, but *shrugs* we’ll see. I think all the points you made make a lot of sense – and I’ve been trying to follow the first two, at least, for a while now. But following too many blogs floods my inbox and I can’t read them all and then I feel guilty. 🙁
I only just recently started following yours, by the way. Thought you’d like to know. 😉
Any posts that do really well on my blog are ones I share in my two facebook writing groups. Free promotion. xD They do even better if I stick a discussion question both in the blog post and then in the facebook shared post. My top post has been a book review. As you said, there doesn’t seem to be a logic to this system.
I think blogger IS the easiest. I was terrified of wordpress for so so long…aaaand wordpress isn't free, so yes, there's that. >_< Ack, I know how you feel about following TOO many blogs. There needs to be balance, totally, and you often don't have to comment on EVERY post, right? Just the ones that interest you. That helps cut down too!!BUT HELLOW. *waves* IT'S REALLY NICE TO “MEET” YOU OFFICIALLY, ANNIKA. 😉
I definitely agree 😀 commenting on other peoples blogs helps you get more comments in return ^^! And even if it doesn’t always get them to comment back it’s still feels like a nice thing to do. I love to let people know I read their posts ^^
It's a nice way to acknowledge that we appreciate our readers, right?! I totally think it's a fabulous thing to do!!
Hi, I’m a new reader of your blog, and I really enjoyed this post. As a non-blogger, I love commenting on blogs, because it gives me a chance to interact with the bookish community. I often get discouraged, though, because many bloggers don’t respond, or they only respond to blogger friends. It’s hard to have a one-sided discussion with someone! I have gotten to know a few bloggers over the past few months who ALWAYS respond, and I truly appreciate how welcoming they’ve been to me. I know people get busy, but when bloggers never reply to comments, I get the impression that they’re only interested in their own thoughts and words and that readers are numbers to them.
Totally okay being referred to as a plant, by the way. 🙂
HELLO MARAIA!! *waves* It's nice to “officially” meet you!! And I LOVE THIS COMMENT A LOT. And that is so so true….it kind of is a huge deal for non-bloggers because otherwise commenting really can feel like shouting at a brick wall, right?! Which is totally disappointing. I think replying is really nice, also, because it's an acknowledgement that the blogger has enjoyed reading the commenter's opinions/thoughts. One-sided discussions are so unfun. *hugs my planty Maraia friend*
Exactly! Thanks for replying. 🙂
I think commenting (true comments, not the generic ones like you said) on other blogs is vital. It is THE way to let people find your blog. I also think social media is an important aspect to have, because you can promote your posts there too. Twitter is a must-have for promotional purpose and it’s fun to get to know other bloggers.
I also think it’s a good thing to stay true to yourself. If you post things you like to read & what makes you happy, you will show that to your reader and they will like you for it 🙂
EXACTLY. And I always want to visit the blog of someone who's left a really thought-provoking comment because they sound like really intelligent, fun and fabulous human beans and I want to talk more!! Twitter is golden for promo. Facebook? Bleh. Not so much. >_<
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME AND PERFECT POST. THANK YOU CAIT FOR SHARING YOUR AMAZING WISDOM. And I totally agree. TOTALLY. (Especially on #2… *makes tragic sad face at the world of people who ignore my comments, and curls up in a corner to be sad and alone* ALWAYS REPLY, PEOPLE.) The rest of your ideas are awesome too. ^_^
And my blog is wordpress, but anybody can post with an email address… does that count? BECAUSE I’M THE SAME. I hate when I can’t comment somewhere, or when it’s really confusing/hard to do so… which is mostly why I hate blogger. -_-
AND I LOVE THE THING WHERE WE GET EMAILS WHEN YOU REPLY TO COMMENTS, BUT IT STOPPED WORKING FOR ME. D: I DON’T GET A NOTIFICATION ANYMORE SAYING THAT BRILLIANT CAIT SPOKE TO ME IN REPLY AND IT MAKES ME SAD AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. O_O
You have the bestest posts. ^_^ *huggles your blog*
REPLYING IS JUST THE NICEST THING TO DO, YES. EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THIS FACT. (Although time totally gets in the way sometimes, so I acknowledge that too!! I sometimes don't get to reply to everyone because I get so busy. *Sigh*) And omg, yes, I was wrong about free wordpress.com and I've changed that in my post! HA. I feel like a donkey, but yes YOU ARE right and I am very wrong. xDBlogger is just…not nice to non-blogger commenters. OMG. THAT IS REALLY NOT OKAY. I'M GOING TO GO CHECK MY SETTINGS. LEMME KNOW IF YOU GET A REPLY TO THIS.
Well that’s understandable when one gets a zillion comments like you do. XD But when it’s only a few… it’s not that hard!! And nooo I didn’t get an email about this… I just obsessively checked the post. 😛 I USED TO GET THEM. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. O_O
“You don’t have to agree with the commenters, but you do need to be respectful of their opinions. Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean you can be rude. NOT EVER.” This is the best thing tbh and it’s saddening that not everyone follows this unspoken “rule”. Kindness isn’t a privilege, it’s a necessity when you want to become friends with people and want people to respect you. Oh, lol! I didn’t know that people expect to have reply comments on my blog in the comment section. I do sometimes comment back (well, not right now at least since I’ve been sort of on a hiatus ever since last September), but I do comment back on some comments. I’m sort of a rambler and talker, even if an awkward one, so I’ve noticed that if I write all the things I’m thinking and replying in my head when reading y’all’s comments, it’ll take away precious time when I could use it to comment on your blogs. So it’s very rare when I do reply, but, often, if I have important things to say, I take the convo to twitter or talk about it on their blog when posting my comment 🙂 Anyhow, the “cool post” comments I JUST *shakes head* yeah lol. I can’t even comment on that because *eyeroll* I love commenting back though! But that’s one of the reasons why I don’t blog that much right now, because I WANT to comment back but it often takes so much time–hours of commenting–so I’d much rather just read something that I see on twitter and then maybe talk to that person on twitter? Rather than leave a comment. That’s my policy lately, because lots of school stuff and work and thesis labs and if I had to blog regularly too and comment, I’d probaby burn out faster than you could read this comment. Which I’m betting is real fast lol. Anyway, twitter is my fav for spreading the word right now since that’s where I spend most of my time regarding social media. Loved this post Cait! <3
It totally bugs me when people just think that “Oh this is the internet so I can be mean and rude and who even cares?” WELL THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE BEHIND THE TYPING. GAH! SOMEONE WITH FEELINGS! Kindness is so totally a necessity and you are obviously awesome and fabulous and we should, like, continually say this so the world remembers it. xDI think time is a BIG deal!! Like if one has to choose between replying to comments on their own blog, or visiting OTHER people's blogs? I definitely say visit other people's blogs. *nods* I like to do both, but hey TIME DOESN'T GROW ON TREES. Unfortunately. *grumbles* We gotta do what we can do.
Commenting back has definitely been the most successful tool on my blog. When I first started blogging, I didn’t realize the importance of being a presence in the blog-o-sphere. Now, I totally do. I think you summed it up when you said that you need to work hard at building your audience.
I always feel like my comments aren’t witty enough or adding something new to the conversation, so sometimes I don’t comment. However, I’m trying to get over that! I CAN THINK UP HALF-DECENT COMMENTS!!! tehe
Great post!
When I first started blogging I didn't even KNOW other people would read it. HA. I was a completely deluded cucumber. (Why was I even blogging?! I DON'T KNOW. MY SISTER TOLD ME TO.) the first time I had a stranger comment I was totally freaking out with excitement. XD I haven't stopped flailing. ;-)OH THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. Sometimes I feel like my comments are two buckets full of lame, but then, maybe people would prefer my lame ramblings to nothing?! WHO KNOWS. hehe.
Thanks for this post, Cait! Lots of good advice 🙂 I definitely agree with #5- there have been quite a few instances where I read a wonderful post that I would like to comment on but then I can’t because the comment system is confusing. And for #3, I have found that sometimes asking questions in a post works to prompt a discussion and get more comments, but sometimes it doesn’t. It really depends.
I also agree that replying to comments is important, because it’s nice acknowledge your followers, and to be acknowledged 🙂
Anyways, excellent post! 🙂
~Haley @ My Addiction: Books
It definitely does depend on the discussion…also if people have a lot of thoughts about THAT particular topic, right? Some topics are more prone for long discussions than others for sure. XD
Yes, yes, yes, to this post Cait! I completely agree with you. Commenting on other blogs is such an important part of blogging – especially if you expect to be getting any comments in return. If you never comment on anyone’s blog, how are they supposed to know your blog even exists, you know? (And, them not knowing you exist = no comment from them.) Not only is commenting on other people’s blogs vital, but so is replying to comments.
And ugh…the Blogger and Google + commenting systems are my worst nightmares. (*shudders in horror)* WordPress.com and Intense Database are a bit better, but self-hosted is by far the best platform, with Disquis a little bit behind.
Thanks for sharing, and fabulous advice! ♥
EXACTLY!! The exiting thing is important!! WHen I started blogging I had no idea how to get comments, it totally took me like 2.5 years to figure out that if I TALK to people they'll talk back. *headdesk*Disqus is okay if the blogger has the setting checked that anyone can comment, but most don't have that. So it's STILL a struggle. -_-
YES CAIT.
I’ve been wondering this for about forever. Let me just say that your number of comments is LITERAL GOALS. I try commenting as much as I can and it is one of the most fun things ever <3
For me, I really love discussions. I know that reviews can be difficult to comment on but discussions is where the words really start flowing! I also really agree about the questions part. If there's something I can answer, then BOOM. 3k word comment right there. Well, not actually… but still
OMG. XD I SO THINK EVERYONE CAN GET A LOT OF COMMENTS, AND I HOPE YOU DO, TOO, NOVA!! I think a lot of it is time, too (which I probs should've mentioned in the post, eh?!) Like if one has a lot of time it's quicker to build a blog up!
I interrupt all these lovely comments about a very thought provoking post which I enjoyed to inform you, Cait, that I was reading Shakespeare the other day for school and discovered that ‘caitiff” means villain or scoundrel. Hopefully this information can be easily incorporated into you idea of your self worth and mischief.
Oh. my. gosh.MY LIFE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN CHANGED.EVERYONE MAY NOW REFER TO /ME/ AS CAITIFF.
And there’s all sorts of great puns : “If she’s called Cait, she’s a Caitiff” etc.
Hi Cait!
Nice post, and thanks for the tips! I’ll definitely be using them in the future! Q for you: Where/how did you turn on the setting that everyone gets an email when you reply to their comments? I’ve been tearing my hair out about this, as I reply and I don’t think anyone gets a notification.
Thanks again for such an informative, interesting post!
For me it's when I go into “settings” on my dashboard and then there's an option about “comment reply notification”. Unlesssss this is part of Jetpack. Do you have jetpack? (Also I'm sure someone would've done a tutorial if you want to google!!)
This post is absolutely wonderful, Cait girly! You wouldn’t believe it, but I have often been tempted to write a post like that because I share several of your points about keeping a vibrant blog – only sometimes I am not very consistent because. . . well of life and school and stuff, and that makes me feel bad so I feel like I’d better just shut up instead of giving a chance for others to judge me later on – because like you said, I often fall behind on my blogging-social connections, take a long time to answer my blogging friends’ comments (and randomly sometimes miss one or two, Bahhhh! *sobs* or forget to check out my new followers’ websites). Dear me! It’s a lot of work, but yes, totally worth it when I think of the long-term friendships and connections I have been able to make through my blog. Two of my best friends found my blog when I was relatively a new blogger, and they have been such a blessing!
BUT YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED ME, CAIT! 😀 I love how you are so interactive with your audience. . . like you always try to respond to the comments we leave you – though they *are* quite a lot – and also often share the love and comment on our blogs and follow too sometimes – super sweet! I always try to make it a priority to respond to the comments on my blog, and with my favourite bloggers – well, I try to comment regularly. For me it often works like a conversation – I comment, you comment ;). But I am not very good at commenting on ALL the blogs’ of the people who leave me comments even when I don’t normally follow them.
I need to try and do that more!
But I have a question, how do you manage keeping up the post-content of your blog without being taken up with all the “office work” of commenting back on comments and doing connections and leaving notes on other peoples’ posts. I find that such a challenge sometimes!
OH YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE A POST LIKE THIS, JOY!! Everyone needs to know this stuff. xD I didn't for, like, years, and I've wasted a lot of blogging time really really wanting more comments with no clue how to get them. >_< And yes, time is a big factor too! I think, basically, what time we put in depends on what benefits we reap. *shrugs* And that differs for everyone! IT IS A LOT OF WORK. And sometimes I totally fall off the wagon and don't reply or visit blogs or…or anything. I JUST COLLAPSE. So I think we all just need to do what we can do and have fun with it. ;-)Conversations are such a HUGE part of blogging, in my opinion. It makes it fun!! Discussions are only interesting if more than one person is talking, right?!! 🙂 Omg, this comment is the sweetest, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOY!!!!*whispers* Okay, truthfully…sometimes I DON'T keep up! I do have a lot of time to blog, probably more than the average person, and I see it (a lot of the time) as a bit of a profession. Like, I'd like to be a professional blogger someday and I'd also view my blog as a platform for hopefully *fingers crossed* when I get published someday. So it is a big priority for me. But yeah, gah, sometimes I take days off just to catch up. And I DON'T always reply to every comment. I do what I can do and try to have fun with it and it works….mostly. XD >_<
I am just fine with being referred to as a plant. Just out of curiosity, what type of plants are we? Do we vary? Am I some boring, ugly weed, or a beautiful flower? Just for future reference, obviously.
I agree with all your points. I really do. Of course, I also think that you have a very unique and inviting style of blogging, which is going to help, no matter what else you do. BUT if you wrote amazing posts AND didn’t bother to acknowledge anyone else, then yeah, it would kind of be for nothing.
Now, I have honestly wanted to ask you this for a LONG time, and since you brought it up… HOW do you respond and comment back to all the comments!? I mean, there are posts that you have hundreds of comments on, and I know it takes me hours just to get to 20 or so! So I mean, I need your secrets, of course 😉
I DON'T KNOW. Shall I call you, a Spruce Tree? Maybe a Basil Bush? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS. Awwww, I AM UNIQUE. *flails like a strange yet wild cucumber* And I totally think approaching blogging with a more friendly tone really helps. (Your blog, for instance, rocks to the utmost extreme.)Zomg. Sometimes I DON'T get around to responding to everyone. Sometimes I whinge to my sister that I'm 100 comments behind. *gulps* So, well, blogging is like a big priority for me and I definitely have more time than the average person to do loads of it. Aaaand, sometimes I don't visit everyone's blogs as well as reply back. Sometimes I pick? AND I TAKE DAYS OFF. hehe.
Yes! I totally agree with you. It’s so important to comment on other blogs, reply to comments, comment back and to ask questions! Making the reader feel like their opinion is worthy is always a good way of getting more comments. Lovely post Cait!
It's reeeally nice to know that a blogger values your opinion, right?! I LIKE IT. I really like replies. xD
Ahh! This list is perfect! It’s everything I’ve been trying to implement (I’m just terrible at remembering to check bloglovin’ … forget for a week and it takes a day or two of reading to catch up, and then I’m so anxious to get all the reading done that I often forget to comment – major fail). Incidentally, commenting also helps boost traffic to your website (potential clicks from both the blogger and other commenters if your comment is particularly helpful or interesting), as well as creates links back to your site therefore potentially helping your Google rating. /ramble
There are plenty of people who will tell you they have the secret for writing the perfect post – ignore them, because what you do here is ace and the people who read your blog do so because they love your voice and connect with your content.
Also, if I’m a plant, can I please be a Cherry Blossom Tree? They’re my favourite is all, and I don’t want to be a daisy and be all jealous or anything.
xx
(I'm awful at remembering to check bloglovin' too!! SO DON'T FEEL BAD. hehe) Omg, I didn't know that about the Google rating, so that is AWESOME. (I'm really hopeless on the SEO front and stuff.)And, I agree. There is no “perfect way to blog”, there's just being YOU and being an individual and enjoying yourself. Readers can tell when the blogger likes blogging. xDDUDE, YES. I HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS A CHERRY BLOSSOM TREE AND NOT A DAISY.
I DIDN’T KNOW THAT ABOUT FREE WORDPRESS! How come MV can leave a comment? Obviously, my monumental idiocy shows up.
I agree, however, I’ve spent every single day of my first two years of blogging obsessing why I do not get comments. And it struck me. I don’t leave comments myself. What a fool.
This is awesome, as per usual. And I LOVE CHOCOLATE CAKE. ESPECIALLY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE.
OMG. I was wrong about free-wordpress! I've been told a few times and I changed it! heeh. But it depends if you have an account. Like, even when I was on blogger alone, I had a WP account anyway just so I could leave comments. HA! I was the same! I obsessed about comments and I always replied…until I realised that LEAVING comments is the fastest and best way to get comments. xD
Also the asking of questions for discussion at the end of posts. I’m adapting that thank you very much!
It is quite handy to add them. xD hehe
These are really good advice! Lately, I’ve been getting fewer comments than I used to, and I can’t figure out why – especially because I go to extends to comment on other people’s blogs, and I always respond to my comments! I don’t ask very many questions though, maybe I should start doing that.
Anyway, thanks for the advice!
The questions helps WONDERS, trust me!! I find when I get to the end of a post sometimes my brain goes “huh what do I say” so the discussion questions totally prompt readers. XD
I think Google is the worst commenting platform, though. It just loves to eat my comment up.
And this is such great advice, Cait! Now if only I had the energy to do all the things you said. I’d love to, but I know that when I start college, I’ll basically have no time. So haha, appreciate me while I’m still not a sleep-deprived zombie! I don’t want to go to school at all. *sighs* I just want to blog forever! Oh, the wishes I make.
ERGH. YES. That's a big part of the reason I ditched Blogger for WordPress. XDAhh, engery. I HEAR YA. It is a real struggle and time is a big thing for doing this! Dooon't be a sleep-deprived zombie. SLEEP IS GOOD.
THANK YOU for recommending that people don’t use Google Plus as a comment platform. A lot of my favorite blogs switched to that and I can’t comment on their fabulous posts anymore because I don’t have a Google Plus and don’t want to get one! (Which is probably stubborn of me, but I refuse.) I try to reply to all comments, though I am pretty slow on doing so…I should probably work on that. Great post Cait!
I find it so so awkward when I'm doing a linkup or whatever and returning visits and…someone has google+. I usually tweet and say their post was great, but it's still very frustrating. I AM STUBBORN ABOUT GOOGLE+ TOO. I don't really know why?! It's too demanding?? heha(I'm slow replying to comments too most of the time. 😉
Great post. I’ve had a few blogs where I followed for a little while, left comments here and there and they never responded or even came back to my blog for a visit. I get it when it’s a large blog that gets hundreds of comments, but I was only 1 of a couple of people commenting and it irked me.
I didn’t realize you could automatically set your wordpress to send emails when you reply to comments. Will have to figure out how to do that.
Also, I’m totally going to share this on my blog 🙂
Yes, that totally makes sense for 100+ comments. *nods* I don't even always get round to all of my answering, which is a bit shameful of me, I know. BUT! At the end of the day, we do what we can do, right?!Aww! I appreciate the share!
Great advice. My Top Ten Tuesday posts tend to get the most comments. It’s probably because I read and comment on a ton of Top Ten Tuesdays every week. I love reading those things.
Getting followers is a lot harder than getting comments. Do you have any tips to help with that?
ME TOO!! I try to visit a ton of TTT posts (which I'm about to do after I reply to comments on this post. xD) and yes, I totally understand the struggle for followers and really my advice is probably just the same as for comments. BUT, it could make an interesting post too… You're so inspiring. 😉
If I’m a plant, then I hope that I’m a cactus. Thanks. 🙂
OKAY, I SHALL CALL YOU CACTI.
Well I can totally see why you get so many comments! And I just wanted to leave one myself and let you know that I love your blog (posts)! 😀 I recently started a new blog and I’ll probably try some of your “get more comments” tips soon but right now I’m focusing on content….because I didn’t plan before I “launched” my blog 😛 Anyway, in response to your other questions – the “discussion posts” on my book blog always get way more comments than other posts. I totally believe in commenting back. And this is the first time I’ve been referred to as a plant..but I think its cool. So! Have a nice day! 🙂
HELLO, RACHANA!! *waves wildly* I appreciate this comment so so much. LIKE I SERIOUSLY FLAILED FOR A MOMENT THERE.. xD Good content is also so so important, so I admire you for that! GOOD LUCK. I shall pop over to your blog directly. 😉
So, I *was* going to comment on the awesomeness of this post, and how true it was (for some reason when I first started blogging I thought comments would magically appear by the Magic Commenting Fairy. Pfft, silly me) but then I read: “she realises she probably uses too many”.
WHAT.
WHAT.
TOO MANY GIFS?
NO SUCH THING, CAIT.
OH GOOD. BECAUSE I LOVE GIFS AN AWFUL LOT AND SOMETIMES I JUST EXPLODE WITH GIFS ALL OVER THE PLACE, WHICH I'M NOT SORRY FOR, THOUGH. xD
I get way less comments than I used to and I’m 900000% sure that it’s because a) I suck at commenting on other people’s blogs (yours is one of the few that I regularly comment on these days), and b) I don’t even reply to comments on MY blog half the time. And it’s not because I don’t love getting comments and because I don’t care about my commenters. It’s that I’ve turned into the most forgetful person on the planet, and about 80% of the time, I check my email on my phone rather than my laptop. So I read the email saying I have a new comment, and think “Oh, I know exactly how I’ll reply to that!”. And then a week passes, and I go to write a blog post, and think “……………crap.”
So yeah. If you ever comment and I don’t reply? It’s not because I don’t adore your comments. It’s because I fail at life.
Pfft, you don't fail at life. XD YOU ARE FABULOUS. I feel like if a person has to choose between replying to comments or reading/commenting on blogs…I'd go for the latter. *shrugs* But we do what we can do right?! AND I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS ON MY BLOG, BTW.
This post was extremely helpful! Thank you as always!
However, I need HELP. I have two blogs one is through word press and one through blogger. Can I use disqus with both of these? How do I set it up? Also with my blog through blogger I think it’s through Google +, how do I change this? I’m so confused? Would be great if you could do a post on this or even just nudge me in the right direction 🙂
Thanks 🙂 Angelica x
All of these tips are so true, Cait! I’ve come from humble beginnings, too, as in I would have none comment at all, until I get sometimes up to 30 comments per post. In order to make yourself known you need to go out there as well and MAKE yourself known. You will need to market yourself, reach out to other people and things like that. It’s the only way to get your name out there, at least, the one that I find most effective and give you friends along the way 😉
Exactly! People aren't going to talk to you if you're an uptight stranger, right? I always LOVE talking to the bloggers who are friendly and act like you're ol' buds even before you've known them a week. XD It makes me feel special! I aspire to be like that. FRIENDS ARE SOOOO GOOD.
I really loved IntenseDebate when I was over on Blogger. That was the biggest hurdle to overcome when I moved to a WP self-hosted site in September. I switched over to Disqus then and was able to get my comments exported from ID into Disqus. The formatting all weird, but most of the comments came over.
I created a signature for myself that I can copy and paste into Comments. That way if someone doesn’t have CommentLuv or something similar to find my blog, they can just click on the link in my signature. 🙂
Terri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
Gah, so jealous of your comments making the move! MINE DIED. I don't know what I did wrong because I followed the tutorials and had my web-designing-bro-in-law take a look but nope. I suspect I broke something majorly. Yes! Signatures are good!! I often use one too. xD
I recently discovered the beauty of disquis and I’m so happy I did!
And 10 points for your Nene gif!
Thanks for the good advice. I do try commenting on blogs that I follow and thinking about that, I see what you mean. I am less likely to comment on a post if the author of it leaves little room for discussion. Right now I am not doing super well comment-wise because I haven’t been doing much commenting myself. But I have noticed that when I am commenting regularly, I get more comments on my posts! I also had to switch over from the blogger default commenting system because friends and family were telling me they were trying to comment but it wouldn’t let them! I ended up choosing Intense Debate. Is that really true?! If you switch from ID you lose your comments?! That’s discouraging! They let me keep the comments from before I switched to them! That’s so weird.
Well, the switching-from-ID-and-losing-comments was what happened to me, but I JUST read someone else who did it and they didn't lose theirs! SO IGNORE ME. XD I obviously did something epically wrong when I made the move from blogger to WP. My bad. 😉 But yes! I constantly had people telling me they couldn't comment on the blogger commenting platform. I think I've only had 2 people report problems with wordpress, so it's definitely more awesome. xD
I think Blogger is okay, as long as you have it in the open-to-everyone settings. In this case, there isn’t much different to Free WordPress: It depends on the blogger. I think it’s better to stick to the commenting system of the Platform you use, because it’s technically easier to move. Though it wouldn’t mean to lose the comments. As far as I know, it is possible to save all IntenseDebate comments, as long as you import the comments back, just before you move to WordPress, or wherever, then you should be actually able to keep all the comments… well, as far as I know. I once tested Disqus and IntenseDebate and I was able to re-import the comments after I wasn’t too happy about the way they worked (I don’t like the Blogger Comments, but it’s easier to handle).
Oh, thanks for the compliments, yet I’m probably not the most intelligent plant in the universe, since me thinks yours truly is it. You should add, that you need to have a constant blogging (Not blogging breaks for weeks, because the people will forget you) and an interesting style to gain comments. Writing slightly weird stuff and ruling the world is something that works very well (You know, you’re not the only one…).
It SHOULD be possible to move the ID comments to WordPress…I don't know what went wrong on mine! The export was fine, but the import failed. I suspect I did something wrong…gah! Frustrating!I think people should choose what commenting platform THEY like best and what they think'll serve their readers best. *nods*
My comments have dropped recently. Fingers crossed I’ll get back on track!
OH YES I AM CROSSING MY FINGERS FOR YOU!! I find it goes up and down depending on what holidays are happening, too.
I’m going to be a little piece a poop and only bring to your attention that I DON’T GET EMAILED YOUR REPLIES. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just me 🙁 Or my email.
Oh yes comment on everything. Also Twitter is fun too 🙂
WHY IS MY BLOG MEAN? THAT IS SO UNFAIR. I fiddled with my settings again but it SAYS it's sending replies?!!
This is such a wonderful post Cait, I’ve been asked this before on how all the comments come and it definitely comes with getting involved with other bloggers! Commenting is so much fun, but it’s also hard work at times. I’ll definitely be sharing your post!
Talking = more talking! XD It's not particularly hard, I reckon, but it does take a boat load of time. Gaaah. Sometimes I fail at this because of lack of blogging time, but we do what we can do, right?!
The only thing that I don’t really take the time to do is comment on blogs and it’s usually because I either have nothing intelligent or worthy of discussion to add or I’m in a rush to go out and do something. Sometimes I sit down and make the effort to comment on as many blogs as I can (should I have something appropriate to say) but I know that I could try harder.
Thanks for the tips!
Glad you found them handy!! It DOES take a lot of time to comment on blogs…and I think the more you do it, the easier it gets? When I started leaving lots of comments, I got worried I was saying completely dumb stuff. Buuuut, any comment is better than no comment right?! >_< I HOPE.
Love this post Cait! Super helpful tips that I will be using XD (well more as a refresher considering you have told me all these things before haha) I have had a couple people asking me about getting more comments on posts so I will be telling those people about this post 😀
I will say though that one comment platform that frustrates me extremely (and I now just avoid if a blog has it) is Disqus. I tried to give it a chance but after about 4 times on a couple different blogs it refused to post my comments and kept erasing them… So I’ve given up on that one 🙁 All the other platforms are great though! (Including the Free WordPress one actually. 😛 ) Disqus just angers me haha
Ugh, that's an awful experience with disqus!! I had an difficult time with it until I signed up and made an account. I don't use it, but I find that having the account just makes commenting 948025 times easier and it's worth it. xDI didn't know that about freewordpress but like a million people have corrected me so I fixed it in the post! GAH MY BAD THERE. XD
Yes, yes, yes to all of this! (Hi…visiting from samanthafabris.com and after I check out your blog, I’m sure I’m going to become a new follower!)
I’ve got a blog entry in draft form about several of these pieces of advice. But, I’m venting and complaining in mine and not being positive. Thanks for turning my complaints into a positive blog!
HELLO, ERIN!! *waves wildly* Awww, I'm excited to have you as a follower. YAY. Welcome to the crazy! Oh I totally understand the need to vent occasionally, and sometimes vents are rather fun to write, eh?! But a few positives are also AWESOME. I definitely want to read your version someday. ^-^
This blog post was fresh air!!Every time I comment on some blog post I do really like and I don’t have any answers well…That’s the time when I usually say “Goodbye,my dear!” After all,comments are one of the reasons why we write posts,so it’s nice and really really really appreciated when bloggers answer to the comments!I totally feel you!
*hi fives* Totally agree. And I love getting comments on my posts, which is a big reason why I'm spurred to leave lots of comments, because I know how awesome it is to get them. XD
Awesome post! I’ll admit I don’t get too many comments on my blog, but lately, I’ve been trying to add the discussion questions at the end. So hopefully, that’ll help. 🙂
Also, I don’t mind being a plant. But I want to be a palm tree. Or maybe a hibiscus flower.
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
I think you'd be a fantastic hibiscus flower. I SHALL CALL YOU HIBISCUS. Or Hib for short. *nods* OR Iscus? ANYWAY. I'm glad it was useful!! I think you're totally on the right track. XD Different things work for different people though, so try ANY THING and ALL THE THINGS! you want and see what fits you. 😉
Great post Cait!I always love when blogging geniuses like you take pity on newbies like me and give us some blogging advice:)
I personally think that having a good communication with readers is important in getting comments.I am not a pro in this department or something,but I think I am doing good for a three month old blogger.
Anyway,thanks for the tips,your highness!
*gives genius hair toss* I JUST AM FABULOUS LIKE THAT.haha, I'm juuuust kidding. 😉 But I am glad it's a little useful! YAY. Oh you are spot on though, communication is key! And I think being approachable is such a good first step. Omg, you've only been blogging for 3 months?! It took me THREE YEARS to figure out how to leave comments and be an approachable blogger. YOU are the genius. 😉
Hey Cait! 🙂
I just wanted to let you know that I am favoriting this! This was awesome advice so for a newbie blogger like myself, this really helps. What has aggravated me is the fact that, like you said, when you kindly go and comment on someone’s blog and they don’t comment back on yours. It’s super rude, so I’ve taken your advice and I’ll stay away from said mean bloggers. 😉
Thanks for sharing this girl!
<3 Keionda
OH YAY! I'm so so glad it was helpful! And I know most bloggers don't TRY to be mean by ignoring, but gah, yes, it happens, right? I found that after a few weeks of commenting and never ever getting any response? THAT'S when I quit trying on that blog. Life is short! There are so many more friendly people to meet! YAY. XD
My number of comments totally varies, so I have no idea which kinds of posts get more and which don’t. XD I guess it just depends on the moods of the people commenting. Although, YES, replies are a huuuge plus for me! I love that you take the time to respond to each and every person who comments, no matter how many you get and how short the comment is. I need to figure out a way to change the Blogger commenting platform I have so the replying system is simpler. Right now I’m doing the annoying “@Cait [my comment here]” thing, which I think others don’t always see, so I have to fix that.
(Also, pie. Pie all the way. Apple, chocolate chip, pumpkin, lemonade, all of it. Except for pecan, because that is an abomination.)
I haven't ever had pecan pie BUT I WILL TRUST YOU. I want chocolate chip pie though. I do. I do. I can never tell which posts are going to explode and which are going to flop either!! GAH! IT'S A RISK EVERY TIME. lol Except for reviews, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get less comments on them.
Ooh, you’re reading Snow Like Ashes? I really want to read that one as well! Also, I love this post! A lot of these I did figure out myself. I usually get about ten comments now, and that makes me really happy! Every post has a question at the end of it, I always reply and try to comment back or comment around as well when I have the time. I was a little worried that when I went away and had some prescheduled posts coming up that they would be ignored because I wouldn’t be around to comment on them. But it wasn’t true – and that’s when I realized that I truly did have some faithful followers and blogger friends, Makes me so happeh! 😀
<3
Ooh, you’re reading Snow Like Ashes? I really want to read that one as well! Also, I love this post! A lot of these I did figure out myself. I usually get about ten comments now, and that makes me really happy! Every post has a question at the end of it, I always reply and try to comment back or comment around as well when I have the time. I was a little worried that when I went away and had some prescheduled posts coming up that they would be ignored because I wouldn’t be around to comment on them. But it wasn’t true – and that’s when I realized that I truly did have some faithful followers and blogger friends, Makes me so happeh! 😀
<3
The faithful followers are AMAZING. I'm always kind of incredulous when people like my posts still. XD IT FEELS REALLY GOOD TO GET COMMENTS. Snow Likes Ashes was phenomenal. I need Ice Like Fire ASAP!!
Ooh, you’re reading Snow Like Ashes? I really want to read that one as well! Also, I love this post! A lot of these I did figure out myself. I usually get about ten comments now, and that makes me really happy! Every post has a question at the end of it, I always reply and try to comment back or comment around as well when I have the time. I was a little worried that when I went away and had some prescheduled posts coming up that they would be ignored because I wouldn’t be around to comment on them. But it wasn’t true – and that’s when I realized that I truly did have some faithful followers and blogger friends, Makes me so happeh! 😀
<3
Ooh, you’re reading Snow Like Ashes? I really want to read that one as well! Also, I love this post! A lot of these I did figure out myself. I usually get about ten comments now, and that makes me really happy! Every post has a question at the end of it, I always reply and try to comment back or comment around as well when I have the time. I was a little worried that when I went away and had some prescheduled posts coming up that they would be ignored because I wouldn’t be around to comment on them. But it wasn’t true – and that’s when I realized that I truly did have some faithful followers and blogger friends, Makes me so happeh! 😀
<3
Okay I did not know about the only registered users thing on Blogger, THANK YOU!! I have changed that now so I expect 50 comments on my posts from now on… hehe just kidding!
YAY I AM GLAD IT HELPED!! You will totally get 572039 comments now, AMIRITE?!! XD lol
Thanks for the awesome post, Cait! I will totally be using this advice for my new blog.
YAAAY! So glad it was useful!
Wow! I’m dealing with some serious blogger envy here. 😛 Just kidding, but 179 comments is pretty amazing, and it reminds me that I really ought to reach out more. Thanks so much for sharing!
IT WORKS TRUST ME!! Not all at once, but with work, it sooooo makes the comments happen. XD
Honestly, I’ve always ended your numerous comments lol. Thanks for sharing some tips about how to do it. ^ ^ I’ve heard of most of these and I think also consistency of posts has something to do with it too. Since I’ve started blogging more consistently, I’ve gotten more comments. I tend to get the most on how-to posts and character interviews, but they’re still at a low number. Then again only beginning this year have I started doing a solid schedule so hopefully the comments will go up. *crosses fingers* Thanks again for the advice!
Stori Tori’s Blog
Yes, definitely! Consistency is great! And reaching out and talking to other bloggers does wonders, absolutely. xD I also find linkups works great for my comments! If I do a Top Ten Tuesday posts my comments will explode, hehe.
“I was a pesky barnacle with friendly things to say.” – Love this! Also, it’s no wonder you get so many comments- your blog is amazing and you have loads of great things to say! I like to reply to people’s comments, too.
I’m fine with being referred to as a ‘botanical blogling’. May I commend you on your awesome alliteration. Also, plants are cool. They photosynthesize. And give us food and air.
Great post!
Elly xx
AWWWW. :') I'm literally grinning like a Cheshire cat here. THANK YOU, ELLY. And plants do rock. They are rocking little green things. Love 'em.
Hope I’m not late to the party Cait (hehe) I love commenting for the social fun of it (tickles my love bones) but at times all you get is silence and the omnious chirping of crickets Funny? Not at all but thanks to your post I’ve learnt a few more secrets cant wait to put them on permanent employment… goot to find lots of visitors to this post feels the same so I’m in safe hands and yeah chocolate is my favorite with a little cream
I’m glad it was helpful for you, James!! HUZZAH. I think it all takes time too *nods* and consistency is key as well. (Chocolate is always the right answer, always. 😂)
This was so helpful! I get on average 2-3 comments per post, but I do get nice tidy numbers of page views(an average of 30-100).
I’d love to comment on lots of blogs, but I’m so busy that I don’t know where I’ll find time to do so, because when I write a comment, it takes me about 10-20 minutes, because I want to express my opinions, but in a nice way, and be friendly, and yeah lol.
Time IS a definite problem. *nods* I find networking/blogging can take, like, HOURS and sometimes you just don’t have that sort of time, right?!? When I find some helpful hints for getting more done faster I’ll let you know. I’m still searching. 😛 😂
(And omg that is serious comment dedication! I do comment fastly *nods* Or else I would be typing comments 24 HOURS A DAY. 😂 But good on you for putting so much care into it!)
This blog networking does take a huge chunk of time. I wish there were like 47576 hours just for that!
I am always amazed with what you’ve done with your blog. Will keep these tips in mind. I do realize the comments sections on both my blog has gone stale sadly.
Publishing is so easy compared to all the work later. (not at all great at that, time to be)
FYI I do see a comment form below.
Awww, thank you! I’m glad all my hard work is paying off. 😂 And omG YES. The networking is so much harder than actually coming up with good content. hehe.
You said we don’t have to leave epistle-length comments – I can’t help it! It just HAPPENS! Like, every time…
Hi Cait!
Than you EVER so much for this amazing post! I have been trying to get comments for a while… yeah not happening. So thanks again! You made really good points, that made me think and got me excited. Maybe I can get ONE comment next time!! *jumps up and down excitedly*
I guess I better introduce myself since I am going to follow your blog as soon as I post this!
I’m 15, I love reading ,writing, singing, rambling, roving, imagining and dying over books. Um… I dunno want to know anything else?
~E
AKA Your Friend in the Yellow Shirt
P.S. you can refer to me as a plant, I don’t mind! 😀
P.P.S Although my name is Esther I do like to be called E. Your friend in the yellow shirt Is also exceptable
P.P.P.S. gosh, I have a lot of post scripts. *sheepish grin * sorry! Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you would mind popping over to my blog and ( critically PLEASE!!) Critique my blog! If you have time, that is. Thanks!
Aww, hello Esther! AND WELCOME TO THE MADNESS OF PAPER FURY. *shares welcome cake with you* And I hope these tips work for you. :’) And dying over books is like my part time career tbh, so we are twins on this. *hi fives*
I can call you E IN THE YELLOW SHIRT.
And of course I’ll definitely visit your blog. 😉 I do have a few tips and the biggest one is I think white background with black text (preferably a text like Times Roman or something super clear like that) is the easiest for the eyes to handle on a blog! Anything else can get rather hard to to read.😜
Your style is unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from.
Many thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this web site.
Thanks for this!
Thanks, Cait!
This post definitely gave me some ideas for my blog. I just need to get around to posting on there…
I used to have my settings on Blogger set so that anyone could comment but the only extra people who ever commented were just spammers and it got to the point that there were much more spammy comments than normal ones so I had to limit the comments to registered users just to stop the spam….. haven’t had a spammy comment since. I’ll try opening it back up again but if the spam starts again I will have to limit them again though…… it sucks!
Great post and thanks for the tips!
, have been really ticked off (totally curled into my corner of sadness) when I’ve commented faithfully on blogs and had the blogger ignore me. It’s like talking to a wall. Why would I bother?! I quit that blog and focused on talking to people who actually want to talk to me.