Imagine having a blog where nobody wants to engage. It’s a thought that’s hard to fathom. After all, what’s the point of writing and publishing blog posts if there’s no one to interact with?

Light blue image with the words 'Blogging Simplified: Engagement. Am I Doing It Right?' in white text
How do you engage with your readers and other bloggers?

As bloggers, we can spark curiosity and questions in our readers, even when publishing informative posts. And that’s where the actual engagement begins. It’s our responsibility to set the stage for meaningful interactions. One way to do this is by asking open-ended questions at the end of your posts or inviting readers to share their thoughts or experiences related to the post’s topic. It can encourage more in-depth and meaningful discussions.

Those bloggers who blog to make money will only care a little about the interaction. For them, making a living out of blogging is more important. Good for them if they are successful, but take your readers seriously, especially if they want to engage with you. Consider removing the comments section from your blog if you’re going to refrain from engaging or responding to questions.

What’s the right way to engage with readers? Is there a right way?

I’ve always craved engagement, but over the ten years I’ve been blogging, the type of engagement I crave has changed.

I’ve become more of a ‘discussion’ blogger. By that, I mean a blogger who likes to discuss the subject of a post rather than just leaving a comment that only confirms I visited. It’s about sparking a conversation, sharing different perspectives, and learning from each other. This type of engagement is more valuable than a simple ‘I agree’ comment, as it adds depth and richness to the post’s content.

Over the past year, I’ve made a conscious effort to reduce the number of non-engaging comments on my blog, a decision I’m proud of. I’ve aimed to break free from the cycle of leaving comments solely to prove a visit or just for the sake of doing so.

This shift has decreased the overall number of comments I get but has made me feel like a more thoughtful and influential blogger. It’s not about the number of comments but the quality of the interactions. This change has helped my personal growth in writing and blogging.

Should we always try to engage? No!

Of course, just because I don’t leave a comment on a blog post does not mean I’ve not read it. Likewise, I know many people read my posts but want to avoid engaging. There’s nothing wrong with that. These silent readers are still part of the blogging community; their support is as important as active engagement. So, let’s recognise their presence and continue to create content that resonates with them.

If you’re new to blogging, leaving an engaging comment every once in a while is far more beneficial than leaving short, non-engaging comments on every post you read in an attempt to get noticed.

Are you approving spam comments without realising it?

Imagine my concern when I came across this comments section on a recently read post.

Image showing three spam comments in the comments section of a blog post
Never approve these types of comments

I was appalled to see these comments and could not understand why they’d been approved. Given that the blog’s posts would probably be full of these types of comments, I also decided not to follow it.

Spam comments not only detract from the quality of a blog but also discourage meaningful interactions. Let’s keep the blogging community free from such spam and focus on producing meaningful engagement. Your thoughts and ideas are too valuable to be drowned out by spam.

Other examples of spam comments.

Image showing spam comments on a WordPress blog
Image showing spam comments on a WordPress blog

Some may look genuine, but they’re not. Spammers and spambots are getting cleverer at fooling us into approving their comments, so beware.

Thank you

I want to express my deep appreciation to all of you who support and interact with me here. Your engagement is not just a number on a screen but a vibrant testament to the joys and value of blogging. I especially want to acknowledge those who actively interact with me, as your contributions are the lifeblood of my blog.

Remember, it’s not just about the numbers but the profound connections we build through interactions. For instance, when a reader shares a personal experience related to a blog post or when we engage in a thoughtful debate about a controversial topic, these are the types of interactions that genuinely enrich the blogging community.

Let’s wrap it up.

This post delves into the importance of engaging with readers and other bloggers, offering insightful strategies to spark meaningful interactions.

Avoid leaving short, non-engaging comments on all the posts you read. Instead, leave a thoughtful comment every now and again.

Don’t leave a comment just to leave a comment or prove you’ve visited.

Never feel obligated to comment because they always comment on your posts.

There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to engage. Some readers are more comfortable reading a post without saying anything.

Take your readers seriously by responding to or acknowledging their comments.

Never approve spam comments. Mark them as spam and delete them.

Consider closing comments off if you do not want to engage with your readers or respond to any questions.

If you crave engagement, ask open-ended questions at the end of your posts or invite readers to share details of their experiences with the subject you’ve discussed in the post.

Do you enjoy engaging with your readers and other bloggers? What type of commenter are you? How do you deal with spam comments and the spammers? Share your knowledge and ideas in the comments section.

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70 responses to “Blogging Simplified: Engagement. Am I Doing It Right?”

  1. Debbie avatar

    I too like engaging with readers Hugh and like the term ‘discussion blogger’ and your suggestions are spot on in my opinion. You have so much experience and good advice it’s wonderful that you share it with your readers. Thanks again!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you, Debbie. I enjoy sharing all of this stuff. If it helps just one person, then I know my job is done.

  2. Did You Miss Any Of These? Monthly Round-Up - June 2024 avatar

    […] Blogging Simplified: Engagement. Am I Doing It Right? […]

  3. Torie Adams avatar

    I’ve had some of those comments (verbatim) in the three weeks since I started my most recent blog. Back in 2014 when I started my longest blog, I remember most comments were people saying something spammy. I ignored them and quickly had far fewer comments on my site. But it freed up my time and bandwidth to actually talk to people who wanted to be real, and I made some great friends (including one who is no longer with us).

    As you said, having meaningful conversations with people was what led to strong bonds. I’m glad this type of engagement is still a thing in 2024, sometimes it feels like it’s gone from WordPress.

    And yes, great reminder, I absolutely need to ask more questions at the end of my posts. I’m so bad at that. 😅

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’m thrilled to hear that you have also managed to decrease the number of short, non-engaging comments from the posts on your blog. You’re right that not having to deal with those comments frees up time. I would much rather deal with those who leave engaging comments that prove they’ve read my posts. I’m sorry that one of your online engaging friends is no longer with us. Did you ever get the chance to meet them in person?

      Some bloggers claim that the art of engagement is dead in the blogging world, but I beg to differ. Yes, some blogs are full of non-engaging comments, but I’m pleased that some bloggers still want to engage and discuss the contents of posts. I much rather spend my time engaging with them.

  4. Brenda avatar

    Hi Hugh. Great Post, as always. I agree about engagement and meaningful comments- it’s how we have meaningful conversations online. I wonder if modern society, with fast social media, makes it more difficult for people to take the time to leave meaningful comments. Taking time to reflect, think about what we read, means we’re more likely to respond with ‘decent’ comments. We can spend so much time online, we should want to build relationships rather than seeing how many times we can say “great” or offer s simple happy face 😄. I know we’re all different, but as social animals, don’t we crave engagement?

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I agree, Brenda. I’ve seen posts from bloggers who leave short non-engaging comments on all the posts they read, who say that they don’t have time to leave engaging comments. It’s a no wonder then that the comments sections of their own blogs are full of boring short non-engaging comments. They seem to concentrate more on writing and publishing lots of poor quality posts as if their blog is some kind of a factory.

  5. BookerTalk avatar

    I don’t see the point of leaving a comment if all you have to say is “nice post” or something equally banal. Every comment takes time to type and I’d rather use the time to say something substantive. Maybe the people who don’t say anything meaningful have more time on their hands than I do

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      From what those people say, many say that don’t have time to leave meaningful engaging comments. That’s probably because they’re spending too much time proving they’ve visited all the blogs they follow by leaving short non-engaging comments. If only they spent that time leaving a genuine engaging comment once in a while, it would make all the difference.

  6. Debbie D. avatar

    It’s not about the number of comments but the quality of the interactions.

    You are so right, Hugh!

    I love to engage with commenters (even if it takes me a few days to respond) and also try to reciprocate by visiting their sites as much as possible. Sometimes, time does get away from me though, and I will do a like and share to X instead.

    Akismet has been doing a great job putting bogus comments into the spam folder. There used to be occasional false positives, but it has improved a lot in the last year.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Providing comments are responded to then it doesn’t matter how long it takes to respond to them, Debbie. After all, life can sometimes get in the way.

      I do visit the sites of those who do leave meaningful engaging comments, but I will only follow if their content is of interest to me and I know I can leave engaging comments. I’m not a fan of following blogs that I know I’ll probably won’t visit again. I used to follow over 500 blogs, many because they followed me, and became very overwhelmed by it all. Now I’m down to around 70, which I can manage without feeling too overwhelmed.

      Yes, Akismet has been doing a brilliant job. When WordPress updated it last year, there were many doubters saying it would not be long before all that spam returned. How wrong they were.

  7. Michelle (Boomer Eco Crusader) avatar

    I love engaging with other bloggers through comments. I try to take time to leave a thoughtful comment to engage in discussion. When I don’t have time to do that, I’ll simply leave a “like” to let the blogger know I was there.

    Is it just me or have spam comments increased in recent months? I seem to always be deleting them.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’ve not witnessed a huge rise in the number of visible spam comments, Michelle. However, spammers are getting cleverer at trying to fool us into approving their comments.

  8. Liesbet @ Roaming About avatar

    Leaving comments after reading a blog is another example of quality versus quantity and I’m with you that I’d rather receive less comments that are meaningful, than heaps of “empty” ones. The same goes for followers. I’d rather have less of them that actually read the posts than ones who just click the “like” button without actually checking the story and photos out.

    I think less people read my blog these days, but when they leave a comment I can tell that they care and are curious about our lifestyle and experiences. Like you demonstrate with each visit to Roaming About, Hugh. There rarely is “small talk” to approve. It’s a win-win situation that way.

    I have traveling friends who blog and have turned the comment section off for two reasons: because of the incredible amount of spam they receive and because they never really took the time to respond to comments.

    Some of us, nomads, just share stories and experiences for friends and family and that’s where it stops. They don’t care about interactions or discussions and therefore, I feel, they blog for different reasons. I just go with the flow and am happy to interact and answer questions when those opportunities arise. But sometimes I’m so busy that I have to postpone these interactions. Yet, I will never ignore or discard them, because I value and respect readers of my blog.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You’ve covered a lot of different scenarios towards comments in your comment, Liesbet.

      I couldn’t agree more with you, Liesbet, on the significance of meaningful comments. It’s disheartening to hear that some bloggers use the ‘like’ button as a generic show of support, even without reading the post. This practice undermines the value of genuine engagement and is one of the most peculiar aspects of blogging I’ve come across.

      When I leave a comment, I make a point to express my genuine appreciation for the post by providing specific details about what I enjoyed. Brief, non-engaging comments can leave the author questioning whether the commenter truly read the post, which is why I rarely leave them.

      Spam can be a problem, but I’m delighted that whatever WordPress did last year to eliminate most of the visible spam I see is much welcomed. I see 5-10 spam comments a week, if that. It used to be hundreds a week.

      There is no problem with delaying responses to comments. The problem is only when comments are never responded to unless they are short comments, in which case all I can do is click ‘like.’ I hate doing that, so I’m doing all I can to stop non-engagement comments from being left. It’s working, but I still get a few, although I don’t mind them so much on my Wordless Wednesday posts.

      1. Liesbet @ Roaming About avatar

        Yeah, sometimes people have nothing to say (including me), so they leave a quick appreciative comment to show they liked the photo or the blog post. I always try to add a few extra words for you, though, because I know you hate the quick and non-committal “nice photo” or “great post”. Plus, by adding a few words, I prove I’m not a spammer or bot. :)

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          I don’t mind the odd short comment. It’s when it’s the same bloggers always leaving those short non-engaging comments that I dislike. I see them all over the world of blogging. Same people leaving the same short non-engaging comments. If only they used up all of that time leaving all those short comments on leaving one meaningful engaging comment once in awhile. It would make such a big difference.

  9. Kay Castaneda avatar

    Hi Hugh, I don’t believe I’ve read any of your blog posts before. I was led here by DJKayeWriter.com. I like your post and learned so much today. The following quote of yours caught my attention. “There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to engage. Some readers are more comfortable reading a post without saying anything.”

    I follow several blogs and try to read what they post. So many things prevent me from commenting. I’m just too tired, stressed, ill, overworked that day or any number of things. On my good days, I leave a reply but only if I can write more than good post or like it. I love to read the comments from other people also. Thanks.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Hi Kay,

      Thank you for reading this post and for leaving a comment. Welcome to Hugh’s Views And News.

      I’m delighted that you got something out of this post. I don’t know why some bloggers believe they have to comment on every post they read to prove they visited. Some seem obliged to do so because the blogger leaves comments on their posts or they fear upsetting somebody for not commenting.

      Reading the comments sections has given me many ideas for future blog posts. It can be a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration.

      1. Kay Castaneda avatar

        Thanks, Hugh. I’ll be visiting your blog often. I noticed you cover some topics that I need help with, so I plan to read them soon. 😊

  10.  avatar
    Anonymous

    Hugh, this is such a smart, genuine, to the point post covering the engagement essentials. Most do it wrong because they have no clue that they are not doing it right. Bloggers typically want to get traffic and income through a comment as prime drivers; mistakes follow, because they mainly want to get something, give little value and wind up in the spam or trash folders more often than not.

    Excellent job with this post.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you.

      We all start by leaving short, non-engaging, spammy comments. But then we go on to find out that genuine, engaging comments work much better because those reading them know that we’re the type of blogger who not only engages with those who leave comments but also engages on other blogs. I also believe that leaving somebody a short, non-engaging comment on a post they’ve spent hours or even days working on isn’t very respectful of that blogger’s work.

  11. Mac's Opinion avatar

    I always leave a conclusion part in all of my posts and I encourage readers to post their comments with their thoughts about the post or if they have any similar experiences with the topic of the post. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be working.

    All of those spam comments, I had the exact same ones in the spam folder. They are so obvious to spot. Especially when you see the exact same comment made by different usernames. LOL!

    Great post Hugh. 🍻

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Have you tried asking questions at the beginning of a post? Getting readers hooked is also the key to keeping them reading. I’ve also found that some readers can be discouraged from leaving comments if they have to sign in to comment or leave their email addresses and contact details. Make it as easy as possible for readers to engage.

      I also leave at least a couple of engaging comments on other blogs a few times daily. Not only does that make it likely they’ll visit your blog, but other people seeing your engaging comments may also visit, although it’s no guarantee that they will visit, and, of course, not everyone will find the content we publish interesting enough to follow and engage.

      1. Mac's Opinion avatar

        I might start adding something at the beginning of the post. Never had this issue in the past.

  12. Suzanne@PictureRetirement avatar

    Hugh, I agree that WP has done a great job eliminating spam comments. I get few these days – most of them are obvious and worded similarly to your examples (low hanging fruit). Thanks for the reminder to purge new ‘followers’ who aren’t legitimate. I have been remiss about that lately. I will be reading your post on that subject next. Thanks for including the link.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’ve just updated that post, Suzanne. I also plan on resharing it, given that many don’t know how to unsubscribe fake followers and spambots from their blogs. Wouldn’t it be great if WordPress found a way to unsubscribe spammers and fake followers from our blogs without us having to do it? Hopefully, one day, it’ll happen.

      1. Suzanne@PictureRetirement avatar

        Hugh, you inspired me to do a bit of housekeeping. Deleting as we speak! Thanks

Feel free to leave a comment. Engagement helps keep blogs alive and forms community.

I’m Hugh

Welcome to my blog. I’m delighted to have you here. This is the place to discover tips on blogging and WordPress, flash fiction, photography, and more. I enjoy engaging with my readers, so please feel free to explore, join discussions, and contact me. I’m happy to assist! Find out more about me and my blog by clicking the ‘Meet Hugh’ button.

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