Blog Comments

[KristineS]

For those of you who blog, do you respond to comments right there on the blog, or do you respond by some other means? I usually try to respond to questions right on the blog as I figure there may be people other than the person who asked the question who would like to know the answer. I will also follow up via e-mail if the question is complicated.

What do the rest of you do?

[vangogh]

I always respond on the blog. Most of the time that means a reply to the comment itself, though sometimes if there's enough to say I'll turn my response into a full post answering the question. There are times when people ask me a coding question that needs more of a response than a comment, but doesn't warrant another post. It's usually helping someone with a specific problem on a specific site or page. In those cases I'll offer a quick reply to the comment about where the problem probably is and then invite the person to email me the code if they need more help. I generally won't email the person first.

[KristineS]

I've done the same thing with turning the answer to a comment into a new post. Sometimes a comment points out something you missed addressing or leads you in a new direction and that leads to a great post.

[vangogh]

I've done it with my blog and I've turned a comment I was going to leave for someone else into a post too. One of the nice things with turning a comment on your blog into a post is you can mention the person who left the comment (usually I link directly to their comment). It shows your readers you're paying attention to them and I think they appreciate being thanked for inspiring the post. I also think it leads to more people commenting and better comments as well.

[KristineS]

I definitely agree that acknowledgment is a good thing. The more you let readers know you're listening to what they say, the more they'll be likely to say something.

Plus, if you can build off a comment, it saves you from having to come up with a new idea for a post. That's always a good thing. :)

[vangogh]

Yeah I like when a comment leads to a post idea. I think most writers go through times where the ideas aren't flowing as readily as we'd like. It's nice when you have a mechanism to supply some. I try to have several systems in place to help feed me ideas or things I can turn into ideas for posts. It's one reason I'm subscribed to so many blogs. It's also why I read some of the books I read and why I continue to read certain magazines every month. They all help stimulate ideas.

I think acknowledging readers is one way to connect with them. Replying to their comments is an obvious way to connect. It turns me off to see blogs with lots of comments by readers and none in reply from the author. Turning a comment into a blog post and thanking the person who fed you the idea is just another step toward connecting.

[KristineS]

Strangely enough, or maybe not so strange, I've started using social media for inspiration. It's much the same thing as what you're doing, only I've found the blog posts as links on Twitter, or a comment on Facebook or something. You can find a lot of inspiration just by reading what questions people are asking and reading the items to which they are linking.

Connection is key. You have to acknowledge people who make a substantive comment. Maybe not all the time, but enough so people know you're listening and aware of what they're saying.

[vangogh]

Oh yeah. I haven't done it so much myself, but I see people doing it all the time. In some ways it's no different than me scanning my feedreader for ideas. Searching for questions is good. So is asking questions if you have enough followers who'll respond. I see people all the time asking a quick question and then compiling the answers they get into a post.

[KristineS]

Asking questions can be fun. Often I'll get a response that leads to a blog post.

My biggest issue is ideas right now. With three blogs to keep current, even if you're only writing one post a week for each, it's tough to keep the flow of ideas going. Plus, there's also the issue of deciding which posts go on which blog. That can get dicey when they're all in the same basic niche.

[vangogh]

I've always found that the flow of ideas runs fast at times and dries up at other times. I think the key to keeping it flowing as often as possible is to develop several sources of inspiration and get better at recognizing what makes for a good post. I find series can help. If you can approach a topic from several angles and tie them together or if you can take on something that requires a lot to cover fully so you can break it up into several posts it helps to keep you going for a few weeks.

Have something always at hand to collect ideas and thoughts. A small notebook, a smart phone, anything really, and record every idea no matter how silly they might seem at the moment. Many of those ideas will be better than you think or sometimes several seen together lead to new and better ideas.

I also think occasional period of actively brainstorming new ideas helps. Again most of the idea you'll never use, but it helps exercise your brain so it can more easily gather ideas all the time.

And why the flow starts to dry up don't let it stop you from writing. Just pick an idea from your collection and go with it, even if you aren't enthused about the idea.Pushing through will get the waters flowing again. You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go out and grab it. Inspiration comes when you're actively creating.

[KristineS]

I'm with you. Sometimes I can bang out four or five posts at a time so I have a reserve. Other times I can't get a paragraph out that I like. I agree that multiple sources of inspiration are a good thing. Series or round-up posts are also fun. I do a round-up post every Friday for our embroidery blog where I link to and discuss posts from other bloggers in the industry. It's actually turned into something people look forward to reading.

[vangogh]

Having that every week post like the roundup is good and it frees you from having to find one more idea for the week. I know you don't like forcing writing when it's not coming, but I think it's necessary to get through those times when you aren't feeling inspired. Sometimes I just need to write out one or two posts that I don't like before finding my way into inspiration and I often find a way to rework the posts I didn't like sometime later. If you wait for inspiration to come back you find yourself not writing anything for awhile.

The lack of occasional inspiration is also why I break the process of creating a post into several steps. When the inspiration to write isn't there for a day I can still edit drafts, or make notes and do some research for other posts. That way I can always be moving forward with some aspect of the blog.

[KristineS]

Yeah, I know you and I have had the inspiration discussion several times. I agree with what you're saying, but I also think that each writer has to find the style that works best for them. I also think it makes a difference for what you're writing. A personal blog that's just for fun doesn't need a regular post schedule and can be updated whenever. A blog that's for a business, or is intended to grow into something that could be a business needs a more disciplined schedule and maybe a bit more push on posts.

[vangogh]

I also think that each writer has to find the style that works best for them.

I completely agree, however the waiting for inspiration argument comes across to me more like an excuse to not try than anything else. True not every blog needs to be updated every day or on a regular schedule. If we're talking a personal blog that's there just to share some thoughts when you feel like it, then sure wait for the inspiration. If you're talking about a blog that's for business or even a personal one you where hope to build a following and audience you can't wait for inspiration to write. Obviously each person has to decide which kind of blog they want to write for themselves.

The thing with inspiration is it mainly comes when you actively work to encourage its arrival. Sometimes circumstances happen to create that encouraging environment, but you don't need to wait for circumstances. You can do more to actively bring inspiration in general and to the point where it's close by whenever you want to write and comes calling when you want.

[KHooten]

I personally try to reply to the comments right there on my blog, however like you guys have already stated I too like to reply with an e-mail or with a new post if the question is too in depth.

[vangogh]

I think that's fairly common. At some point what you want to say is longer than what's typical for a blog comment and it's worth posting some other way. Of course I have seen some comments that were longer than the post they were commenting on.

[ReganP]

This is a great discussion, I have a question though. Do you find that many people see your reply comment? I was reading a few articles about this last week and it seems many people are concerned that after their readers comment they don't check the subscribe to comments box, so they won't actually see your response, which is why some people respond via email. But, on the other hand, if you only respond via email other readers will just think you didn't answer their question so they might be less likely to engage. Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

[vangogh]

If people check the subscribe to comments they should get an email letting them know there's been a reply. Plenty of people have come back to my blog to carry on a conversation. Not everyone checks the box though. I know I always don't. If you're commenting on a popular blog you can be inundated with emails telling you about replies.

If you require some kind of registration you might find people come back in general and can be alerted to more comments, however requiring registration probably leads to less comments in the first place, since many people won't want to register to comment.

One of the reasons I reply to comments isn't so much to have a conversation going with the one person, but to show other people I will reply to their comments and I won't ignore them. I think that leads to more people commenting a first time. I know when I've visited blogs and see lots of comments with no reply from the blogger I assume why bother commenting and it sends a message that the blogger doesn't really care about his or her audience.

[KristineS]

I've had some people come back and reply to a comment that I made in response to a comment they had made on one of the blogs I write. Other people never acknowledge that there was a response. If they're interested in a response, I think they'll check the subscribe to comments box, or include in the comment some other way that you can get in touch with them. That's been my experience anyway.

Totally agree with Vangogh about the replies being as much to let other potential commentators know you will reply as it is about replying to whatever question was asked or comment made. If you, as the blogger, reply to those who take the time to express their opinions, it inspires more people to interact which is really the name of the game.

[AccountantSalary]

I respond to all comments on the blog -- WordPress is set up to do that conveniently and informs the commenter automatically that a response exists. It keeps people coming back to the blog, and it also makes it easy to find and refer to my previous responses.

[vangogh]

WP does make it easy to know about and reply to comments. It can get hard to keep up if you get a lot of comments. I'm not there yet, but it wouldn't take much to get there. Ideally I'll find a way to get more of my commenters interacting with each other so they can keep a conversation going. Then I can jump in periodically without having to reply to everything.