{"id":5143,"date":"2012-08-22T04:49:58","date_gmt":"2012-08-22T12:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theedublogger.edublogs.org\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2014-04-22T18:38:41","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T02:38:41","slug":"6-tips-for-attracting-more-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theedublogger.com\/6-tips-for-attracting-more-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for Attracting More Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re often asked “How do you get more people to read and respond to blog posts?”<\/p>\n

Good question! \u00a0We all gain more out of blogging when we comment.<\/p>\n

Comments motivate, provide feedback and advice, challenge our\u00a0thoughts\u00a0and views, make us reflect on what we’re learning.<\/p>\n

The challenge is how do we attract more comments?<\/p>\n

Below’s my tips for\u00a0attracting\u00a0more\u00a0comments for personal educational blogging. \u00a0Check out Kathleen Morris’s tips for ‘Attracting blog comments’ on class and student blogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are yours? \u00a0Would love to read your tips in the comments below! \u00a0Or your thoughts on reasons why people don’t leave comments!<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Become a better blog citizen<\/h2>\n

\"\"Blogging is as much about reading other blogger\u2019s posts and commenting on posts as it is writing your own posts.<\/p>\n

Besides being a valuable source of ideas for writing your own posts it helps develops relationships with others.\u00a0\u00a0 Interaction with other bloggers and their readers, in comments, often leads to new readers of your blog.<\/p>\n

You can’t expect people to read and comment on your posts if you aren\u2019t doing the same on other people\u2019s blogs!<\/p>\n

Here’s how you do in 3 simple steps:<\/p>\n

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  1. Start reading other people’s blogs<\/strong> – make it time efficient by\u00a0setting up Google Reader<\/a>\u00a0or using FlipBoard<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Make an effort to write comments on other people’s blog posts<\/strong> –\u00a0Don\u2019t comment for comment sake. \u00a0Comment to share thoughts, expand on post comment and use subscribe to be notified of new comments if the option is included<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. Reply to comments on your own posts<\/strong> – replying to comments demonstrates you read and value their comments. It also builds relationships with your readers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    2. \u00a0Build your Personal Learning Network (PLN)<\/h2>\n

    Personal Learning networks are important for educational bloggers because:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Educators are more social than ever and more likely to use links shared by friends on social network sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ as their main source of blog posts worth reading.<\/li>\n
    2. Educators who are already connect online are more likely to read and respond in comments to your posts than work colleagues, friends and family who\u00a0aren’t\u00a0as connected.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Here is how you do it in 2 simple steps:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Enable social sharing on your posts<\/strong> – make it easier for readers to share your content on their social networks (we use AddThis Social Share plugin)<\/li>\n
      2. Build your PLN<\/strong> – learn how to here<\/a>, look at how you might use social networks like Facebook to interact\u00a0and make sure you include building relationships with educators on Twitter<\/a>. \u00a0Most educational bloggers tweet the link for their latest post (here’s an example<\/a>) and tweet other people’s post they’ve enjoyed reading.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

        3. \u00a0Write better blog posts<\/h2>\n

        Not every one who visits your blog post reads it. \u00a0Even if they do read –they often don\u2019t read it all. \u00a0Did you even read what I just wrote then? \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

        To keep your readers attention……<\/p>\n