Comments play a vital role in fostering vibrant discussions within the blogosphere. They are the lifeblood of meaningful engagement, adding depth and diversity of perspectives to any topic.
But recently, commenting on blogs seems to be going in the wrong direction.
My recent blog post, ‘What Kind Of Comments Are The Best To Leave On Blog Posts?‘ got many of you discussing various types of comments, but more importantly, the non-engaging comments that sadly seem to have become more popular than comments that spark valuable engagement, discussions and conversations.
If you haven’t read the post, please do and add your voice to the various debates.
Today, I have the pleasure of presenting two captivating blog posts penned by talented bloggers about the subject of comments.
These insightful pieces delve into the diverse range of comments they receive on their blogs, offering a glimpse into their personal perspectives and emotional experiences.
The first is from blogger and writer Brenda, who blogs at Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops. Click the following link to read Brenda’s post and join the discussions her post has sparked.
I urge those of you who enjoy engagement, discussions and conversations on blog posts to read both posts and add your thoughts to the discussions that Brenda and Erika have ignited on their posts.
I’m closing comments off here so that comments can be left on the posts I’m promoting today.
A big thank you to Brenda and Erika for taking the courage to open up about leaving comments – a subject many bloggers shy away from.
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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.
What kind of comments do you leave on blog posts?
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.
Are your comments engaging?
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.
Is it no longer trendy to leave comments on blogs?
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.
The other day, I came across a wonderfully written blog post after clicking a link on Mastodon. But the trouble was that I seemed to be the first visitor to that blog, even though the post had been published in May 2023. But it didn’t end there.
Don’t do this with your blog.
I always find it sad to discover a well-written blog post over a few months old that has captivated me but generated no comments or likes. It’s like it’s been cut adrift, floating around in the deepest, darkest part of the blogging world, where few venture.
Yet there are blog posts I lose interest in after only reading the first few lines that have hundreds of likes and lots of comments.
Not all of those likes will have been generated by people who read the post, and I call many of the comments dead-end comments that fail to ignite any proper discussion.
What are the clues to an unwelcoming blog?
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the blogger whose post I’d found via Mastodon. I wondered how they feel when they see other badly written posts that have generated lots of likes and comments.
Of course, just because a post has no comments and nobody has clicked the like button doesn’t mean nobody has read it, but how must that blogger feel when they see that their post hasn’t generated any engagement? Do they feel sad or cheated, or do they not care because they wrote and published the post just for themselves?
Looking more closely at the rest of the blog where I found the post, I did find some clues as to why nobody seems to be visiting and engaging with it.
For a start, none of the 15 posts had been categorised. They were all uncategorised. One of the posts was password-protected, so you could not see the contents unless you knew the password. And there was no information about how to obtain the password.
None of the posts had tags attached, meaning they would not appear on any search results page.
Although there was a ‘Contact the Blogger’ page, the ‘About the Blogger’ page contained only a photo. Who is this person? Where in the world are they located? What do they blog about? What are their interests? Why do they want you to read and follow their blog? All you can do is guess the answers to these questions.
Their first post was published in January 2019, meaning, on average, they only publish 4 blog posts a year. Not a lot, you may think, but I’ve seen blogs that publish one post every three months do well.
Imagine my delight when I checked the other 14 posts and found one with a single comment. Somebody had discovered this blog before I had. Somebody had visited, looked around, liked what they had found, and left a lovely comment. But this blog was lifeless, like an uninhabited planet; there was no response to the comment. Whoever was here three years before I arrived had left empty-handed.
The overall look of the blog was clean and simple. No fancy menus or widgets to click, so it was more of a place where visitors could hang out and engage. Yet, the sheer fact that there seemed to be nobody there had probably put visitors off from following and engaging.
I tried contacting the blog’s owner, but my words bounced back as an echo in this deserted, uninviting place. Maybe they only check in to their blog every three months. We’ll wait and see, but I think I’ll prepare my spaceship and visit another new blog where I hope I find some inhabitants who want to engage with more than just themselves.
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Unfollowing blogs. It’s something many bloggers don’t like talking about and is something many fear.
However, unfollowing blogs is a great way to free up time. Your WordPress reader and email box (if you subscribe to new post notifications) become a little more uncluttered from stuff that no longer interests you, and you get back some time you’d have otherwise wasted.
Are These The 7 Main Reasons Why Your Blog Is Losing Readers?
Have you unfollowed or not followed a blog for any of these reasons?
1. No ‘About Me’ page or one that hasn’t been updated
Did you know that the ‘About Me’ page is one of the most visited pages of a blog? Go on, check your stats. You may be surprised by how many visits that page has had.
One of the first things I look for when visiting a new blog is an ‘About me’ page. If there isn’t one, it takes more than 30 seconds to find, or the contents of it are not interesting, then I won’t follow.
Likewise, if there is an ‘About Me’ page that hasn’t been updated for many years, I’ll also not follow.
Of course, if you don’t have an ‘about me’ page then you could be missing out on hundreds of new visitors and followers every month.
Don’t have an ‘About Me’ page or don’t know what to put on one?
From time to time, we all encounter problems with broken links on our blogs.
Broken links are no good to anyone and can spoil the enjoyment of reading blog posts and pages that contain them. The ‘404 – Page Not Found‘ message is one of the most frustrating messages readers come across.
If I find a broken link, I’ll notify the blog owner of it. If it doesn’t get fixed and there are many other broken links on the blog (including those in the email notifications I get from WordPress), I will unfollow the blog
Check the links on your blog’s home and ‘About Me’ pages at least every couple of months to ensure they’re still working. If they’re not, fix them immediately.
Don’t lose followers by not fixing broken links on your blog.
I’ve mentioned this many times before, but if somebody has taken the time to read any of your posts and leaves a comment, then how are they going to feel if you ignore them?
Would you ask somebody around for dinner and ignore everything they had to say? No!
So never ignore or take readers for granted.
If bloggers do not respond to comments, I will unfollow them or stop leaving comments if the content is still of interest.
4. Unfriendly and uninviting blogs
Would you shop on a website that’s not easy to use or navigate around? Probably not.
Do you find the layout of my blog or my blog posts messy? Are they not particularly nice to look at or hard to read? I hope not.
Now, ask yourself the same question about your blog. Does it look inviting and friendly? Is it easy to navigate around? Are all the links working? Is the menu too top-heavy and over-cluttered?
If my first impression of a blog is any of what I’ve mentioned in the above paragraph, then I’m not going to waste my time trying to find posts I may be interested in reading.
Likewise, if a blog I’m following becomes over-cluttered, unfriendly, no longer easy to get around or takes too long to download, then I’ll unfollow it.
So ensure you keep up with your blog’s housekeeping. Keep your blog an inviting and friendly place to hang out on and make all your blog posts engaging.
5. Out of sight, out of mind
One of the first things every blogger should decide is how often they are going to publish posts. If you choose to publish posts three times a week, then stick to that schedule. However, do not, without warning, change your posting schedule or not publish anything for a couple of months.
There’s nothing wrong with changing how often you publish blog posts and informing your readers why you’re doing it, but try and stick to the same schedule. If your readers expect a blog post once a week, they will probably not stick around if you don’t publish anything for months. Out of sight, out of mind.
Every six months, I check for blogs I follow who haven’t published any new content for at least six months. I’ll unfollow those blogs because it’s likely they’ve either abandoned their blog and will not publish any new posts.
If your readers expect a new blog post from you once a month and don’t get anything for six months, then you’re going to lose followers.
6. Uninteresting content
I’ve followed many blogs by mistake. In the early days, I fell into the trap of following every blogger who followed me. Have you fallen into that trap?
Then again, and this is something I think many bloggers don’t like talking about, I’ve unfollowed blogs because the content they are publishing no longer interests me.
Doesn’t it make sense to spend the precious time you have reading content that interests you rather than read content that doesn’t interest you simply because the blogger who publishes it follows you?
And I have no problem with people unfollowing me if my content no longer interests them. However, I take a different view of people unfollowing my blog simply because I don’t follow them.
I follow many bloggers who don’t follow me. Why? Because they publish engaging content I am interested in and which motivates me to leave comments.
Never be afraid to unfollow a blog you’re no longer interested in. It will free up valuable time, which you can put to better use, such as writing or reading and commenting on the remaining blogs you follow.
Do you have any annoying popups on your blog? Do they keep popping up because they don’t give readers the chance to say ‘no thank you’ to what you’re trying to offer them? Or do they not go away unless I do subscribe to your newsletter? What if I don’t want to subscribe? Will I keep seeing that annoying popup?
Then I’ve probably unfollowed your blog.
I don’t mind discrete popups that do not cover the post I’m reading, but when my reading is interrupted by the same popup every time I visit, then I’ll unfollow.
Get rid of annoying popups. If you do need them on your blog, chose a design that is discrete and one that does not interrupt the enjoyment of reading.
Do You Know How To Unfollow A Blog?
The simplest way to unfollow a blog is to click on the ‘Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of the WordPress email notification you get when a new post is published.
Where to find the unsubscribe button on a WordPress email notification
WordPress.Com users and those choosing not to receive email notifications can use the following methods.
1. Click the ‘follow’ button that appears in the bottom righthand corner of a blog you’re following. It appears when scrolling up on the device you’re using.
The Following button on a WordPress blog
The ‘following’ message will change to ‘follow‘ when you click it.
You’ve now unfollowed the blog.
2. Click the ‘Reader’ button (situated next to ‘My Sites’ in the top left corner of your blog).
A list of newly published blog posts from the blogs you follow will display.
If the blog you want to unfollow is listed, click on the toggle menu button next to the post.
Where to find the toggle button
To unfollow the blog, click on ‘Following Site’ in the new mini-window that opens.
The Following Site button
You’ve now unfollowed the blog.
3. Click the ‘Manage’ button (situated near Followed Sites).
The Manage sites button
You’ll now see a new page that lists all the blogs you follow.
Find the blog you want to unfollow in the list and click the ‘following’ button next to it.
The Following Blog button
You’ve now unfollowed the blog.
Does WordPress notify bloggers you’ve unfollowed?
No.
Of course, nobody wants anyone to unfollow their blog, but do consider unfollowing some of those blogs you never visit anymore. All they’re doing is cluttering up your WordPress Reader and email box.
Let’s wrap it up.
Unfollowing blogs you’re no longer interested in frees up your WordPress Reader, email box and time.
Rather than wasting time reading and following blogs you’re not interested in, use that time to write or read the blogs that motivate you to leave comments on.
It’s easy to unfollow blogs on WordPress. Follow my guide in this post.
WordPress does not notify any bloggers you’ve unfollowed.
Don’t want to lose followers? Then make sure your blog is inviting, easy to navigate around, has an updated ‘about me’ page and is a friendly place to hang out on.
Never ignore or take your readers for granted. Consider unfollowing bloggers that do not respond to your comments.
If you’re going to change your blogging schedule, inform your readers about it.
Don’t leave long gaps between publishing posts. Stick to your schedule. Once a month – great. Once a month, but don’t publish your next post for six months – not good. Out of sight, could mean out of mind.
Join the disussion
Do you unfollow blogs? If so, what are the main reasons why you unfollow them? If you’ve never unfollowed a blog, why not?
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