My blogging friend Brenda, who blogs at Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops, publishes a series of blog posts where she introduces a new blogger and shares some wonderful blogging tips.
In her recent post, Brenda talks about using prompts to get ideas for blog posts, especially when we struggle to find something to write about. She mentions the daily WordPress prompt, which asks a question bloggers can respond to in a blog post.
I won’t go into all the details of Brenda’s excellent advice, but it got me thinking about the subject of comments.
I left a comment on Brenda’s post, which sparked a conversation with another blogger, Laura, who blogs at Keeping It Creative.
The following screenshot is just a small part of the conversation Laura, Brenda, and I had about the subject of comments.
Our conversation got me thinking about the overall subject of comments and how I’ve noticed a big difference in the comments being left on blogs.
When I first started blogging, the majority of bloggers had conversations and discussions in the comments section with each other about the subject of the post. But over time, that trend seems to be dwindling which had me asking the question –
‘What has happened to the art of conversation and discussion in the comments section of blogs?’
Gone are the days when many readers left comments that not only proved they’d read the post but also gave feedback that opened discussion and conversation.
Now, it seems, some bloggers leave comments with little, if any, way of responding to them other than with a ‘Thank you.’ Comments such as –
- ‘I enjoyed this.’
- ‘Wonderful.’
- ‘This is a great read.’
- ‘Well done.’
- ‘Great interview.’
- ‘You did a great job.’
- ‘Another great story.’
- ‘Great authors and books.’
- ‘Great post.’
- ‘Thanks for sharing this.’
Or worse, a comment that includes nothing but emojis.
Yes, some of those comments sound encouraging, but as Laura said in her comment, ‘Sometimes a comment is so generic, it feels like the person leaving the comment never read the post.’
None of the above comments mention anything about the contents of the post.
Why do people leave short, non-engaging comments?
There are probably some genuine reasons for leaving non-engaging comments all over the blogging world, but what are they?
I hope some of the reasons will be left in the comments section of this post. I’m interested in knowing.
Some bloggers claim they don’t have the time to leave longer, engaging comments because they don’t have the time to leave them. Some have too many other blogs to visit. Some rush around the blogging world because they only have so much time to visit and comment on as many posts as possible.
But in contrast, if they didn’t feel obliged to visit these blogs to leave short, non-engaging comments, they could free up some time to leave a few engaging comments that open up discussion and conversation.
Then I got this comment from Janice, who blogs at Mostly Blogging.Com.
I was shocked by what Janice told me. Is it really no longer trendy to leave comments on blogs? Are readers only wanting information, not a community?
The other side of the blogging coin.
It’s not only some of those visiting posts at fault for leaving short, non-engaging comments. Some bloggers respond to engaging comments that clearly show they want to discuss the contents of a post by saying nothing more than a ‘Thank you.’ They instantly cut off engaging with their audience.
What are engaging comments?
- They contain information that proves the post has been read.
- They are written in an engaging, friendly manner.
- They are at least a couple of sentences long.
- They indicate that you want to discuss the contents of a post further with who wrote the post.
- Include any questions about the contents of a post.
And let me reassure you that you should never feel guilty for not leaving a comment or feel obliged to leave one on any blog. There is nothing wrong with clicking the ‘like’ button and moving on after reading a post if you’ve nothing of value to add.
I don’t enjoy having to reply to any comment with just a ‘thank you.’ I want to get into a discussion or conversation about the contents of my posts and what made whoever left a comment say what they said.
For example –
- Why did they think the post was good?
- What was it that made them enjoy reading the post?
- Why was it a great read, story or interview?
- Was it the way the post was written or some of the answers given? If so, which ones?
- Did the post strike a cord? Why?
- What parts did they like/dislike the most?
- Was it something new they learned? If so, what, and how will they use the new information?
I’ve stopped leaving comments on blogs unless I’ve something of value to add.
And I never feel guilty for not leaving a comment.
I don’t need to prove I’ve visited a blog.
I don’t need to make anyone think I’ve read their post.
I don’t feel obliged to follow and read posts on a blog simply because that blogger follows me and leaves me comments.
And nor should you.
So, what has happened to the art of conversation and discussion in the blogging world? Is it dead, or have I, as a blogger who enjoys discussion and conversation, become a minority in the blogging world? Is it no longer trendy to leave comments? Join the discussion and conversation by letting me know what you think in the comments section.
My post, This Is Why It’s Important To Leave The Right Comments On Blogs: 9 Ways, may also help you to improve the types of comments you’re leaving.
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Hugh's Views & News 
Great article! I agree that meaningful comments that engage with the content and add value to the discussion are the most valuable. It’s important to show genuine interest and appreciation for the blogger’s work. Looking forward to implementing these tips in my own commenting practices!
Yes, I completely agree with you. Readers and bloggers who engage with me (and others) rather than just say ‘great post’ or ‘I like this’ are far more important to me and I’ll give them more of my time.
I agree with the points you mentioned above. To be honest, I came across this blog post while searching blogs in my niche for blog commenting but got intrigued by the quality of knowledge you shared here. Yes, often, people just comment for the sake of it and don’t put in any effort in reading the blog post or even adding any value while commenting.
A comment on a blog post must add some kind of value. It can be a doubt, an extension to the post itself, or should spark a discussion or conversation. It helps the blog admin, the reader, and the commenter too.
Comments on blog posts do add value, but too many short comments have the opposite affect and blogs can get ranked lower by SEOs if the commenting section is full of short comments that add no value.
However, engaging comments with lots of discussion between the author and the commentator are seen by SEO as the blog being active so they will rank those blogs containing those types of comments higher.
Thanks for visiting. I’m glad to hear that SEO directed you towards my post.
That was very interesting to read, Hugh. I tend to leave comments if the article has inspired me to do so or if I’ve learnt something new, and certainly did after reading your article. I also didn’t know it was trendy not to leave a comment, very curious trend.
Thank you.
I’m not sure about the comment saying it’s trendy to no longer leave comments on blogs.’ However, if they’re referring to those short, non-engaging, spammy comments, then I like that trend to not leave those types of comments.
Hey Hugh, I was on holiday when this was first published. I hit “like” when I read a blog because I appreciate the author’s time and I appreciate it but only after I have read it. Comments. The short, meaningless comments you have listed do not illicit a response from me other than to “like” it. My blog is based on a hobby, I used to share it with social media. I don’t anymore – because of comments. I had an expectation that private groups of hobby enthusiasts would read and comment on the post. No. My posts could not garner a “like” and the social media comments often turned hostile (this is a hobby people!). It was clear they did not read the post.
I enjoy reading comments in blogs as much as the post itself and if I am not redundant, I’ll add a meaningful comment or at least I hope so.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Danny.
I’m sorry you received some hostile comments. Unfortunately, whenever we put our views online, we risk trolls leaving their unwanted comments. However, please do not allow the experience of those hostile comments from stopping you to continue leaving comments. I’m certainly glad to see your comment here.
Never allow the trolls to win. Ignore the attention they crave.
Thank you for apologizing for the bad behavior of others. I believe incivility is a byproduct of the people trying to make a living via blogging, or as an influencer, or maybe they simply believe to many conspiracy theories which has made its mark on them. By being a troll, this is their way of drawing attention to themselves. Clearly, they have never read your blog.
And I hope they never do read my blog, Danny. I need to put up a big sign, ‘Trolls Not Welcome.’
“sometimes it seems they haven’t even read the post” well yes, these are spam comments. Spam comments are left for a variety of reasons, but 99 percent are automated. “Ah but we are using Akismet” , well Akismet is reasonable ( if not expensive for most as most sites are classified commercial ) but it really doesn’t catch all spam.
I’m a bit of an anti spam fanatic ( and full disclosure author of a competitor to Akismet)
Well, there is spam, and then there are comments that look like spam but are from genuine bloggers.
I agree that Akismet does not always catch spam, but lately something magical has happened in that for the last two to three weeks, I’ve had hardly any spam going into my blog’s spam folder. It used to be hundreds every day, but over the last weeks I’ve only had 8 spam comments and one genuine comment being marked as spam (which I marked as not spam). So it seems that Akismet has had some kind of upgrade (which I’m very grateful for).