Why do some bloggers/readers comment and others don’t? Why does it appear that it’s the same collection of bloggers / readers who feel compelled to comment each time you publish a new article…like clockwork?!

Your blog’s statistics are made up of unique and returning visitors (easily tracked by IP Address) . Everyday. This never changes. You don’t have control over it. Your blog is available 24-7 to anyone…in any country. Think about it. You are a global. (That is cool, right?)

Yet, when I look over your blog stats, only a very small percentage are leaving comments. Why do you think this is?

How can we get more of your readers off the bench and into the game? After all, your blog is interactive…and far from a bulletin board!

I recently read an article that only 1% of blog readers actually participate. When you blend that with the 9% who contribute on rare occasions, this leaves 9 out of 10 readers not contributing at all.

But, what does not contributing mean? What if they became a fan of my Facebook Fan page? What if they…became an RSS subscriber? What if they…umm…bookmarked my blog to come back and read it when they had some down time at work?

I’d call that participation. Wouldn’t you? But, I don’t think that was what they meant. They were referring to comments.

Before we even get into this discussion, ask yourself, how often do you leave comments? If you don’t frequently leave comments, is it fair to ask others to? And what are some of the reasons you don’t? (You can see where this leading) Could some of the reasons you don’t leave comments be the same reasons as your readers? And what can you do about it?

Web Study: Readers Explain Why they Don’t Comment

I spent a few days searching for reasons why readers don’t comment. This is actually not the first time I’ve researched this. It’s definitely a recurring mystery throughout the blogosphere currently being discussed on many blogs, in many forums, and in many blog communities.

Some of the reasons are unusual.

Here’s a short list of what I came up with.

• Some of these concepts are a little too technical for my taste and not sure what I could contribute
• Commenting on your blog is going to expose me for being the goofy newbie!
• There’s an energy from your blog that seems too elitist. I don’t really know your crowd. Plus, they’re a little hostile.
• Who has the time?
• What does commenting really do for me again?
• 95% of comments are so sappy and complimentary. No thanks. I’m not a groupie.

What I Do To Reward Readers Who Participate in the Source Blogger Community

First of all, what should I do? Should I have contests? Should I single out those who comment the most? Nah, not my style.

If I feel you are truly wanting to make a difference in this community, I will let you know about it. Look back at my replies in other articles and you’ll see. I really take the time to respond to your comments. And no, I don’t thank EVERYONE for leaving a comment when I don’t have a valid reply.

I do use CommentLuv. Because I am trying to entice readers? Not really. Honestly, it’s because I like to keep track of what people are writing about. And yes, I click your “last article” links in CommentLuv to read your stuff too. (Why not?)

The main method I employ to entice commentators is pretty fundamental. I maintain the most dynamic content on the web.

Admit it. There are bloggers and there are bloggers who can really write. I’m not shy about it. This is Source Blogger. Compare my material with other blogs you know. I’m here to set the standard. Many bloggers have contacted me and said that my blog’s vocabulary is too scholarly… blah blah blah.  I should blog at an 8th. grade level. (8th. grade level?) I can’t do it. Blogging is a science. And yes, some of the concepts can be very analytical and complex. 8th. grade though? So, I should be writing for 13 year olds?

I write for mature, sophisticated bloggers. Bloggers like you. That’s my demographic. That’s why you comment here. And that’s why you are an appreciated member of the Source Blogger community.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is the best way to get readers to comment is to get them to comment simply because they enjoy what you offer them and because they want to. Sure, I’d like to have a higher percentage participate in conversations. Who wouldn’t?

In closing…pay close attention to what interests readers, not just what interests you. Spend a lot of time on other blogs reading comments and in social media. Start seeing trends of what creates more responses. Now write about it.

Blogs were never meant to be static pages without the potential for reader interaction. That’s always been part of the allure of creating a blog. I enjoy that connection and hope Google continues to encourage commenting as part of the overall approach to building PageRank and other SEO benefits. It is a great side benefit.

The exchange of thoughts, ideas, and feedback with your readers is how you are building a real community.

But, what if some of the activity associated in and around your social media operation and blogging takes on a negative tone? I think all of have seen the rash of recent articles about personal attacks and trolling. (Thank goodness you did not become a political blogger, right?!)

But, are these REALLY personal attacks…or simply differences of approach and/or opinion?

The Culture

If you are a blogger or active in social media circles, you’ll quickly learn “the ropes” about networking and interacting amongst the social circles out there. There is a preexisting etiquette.

We all aware of the value to this whole process of creating and cultivating these relationships. And yes, it does require some level of tact and social grace.  Hopefully, you’ll start to see your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blog congeal into one big, functional family unit.

During the course of a day, you can’t help but notice a lot of shiny, happy, dynamic people going about marketing their businesses, launching new products, and advising us of new blog updates. Eventually though, you’ll ask: “Why does this “online world” contrast so sharply from the dark, snarky, critical, “real world” as we know it? And where are all those people?

Oh, trust me, my friend, they are there!

The Blogosphere

When I discover a new blog in the realm of blogging tips, social media, internet marketing, SEO, etc. (all related content); I pay very close attention to the comment section. Why? Because commenting is less rehearsed. There is no prior preparation for how a reader responds.  It allows us an opportunity to see the blogger outside his/her comfort zone. I have a natural proclivity to gravitate toward the highly-intelligent, analytical bloggers.

Being in the Human Resources & Recruiting business, part of the hiring process is evaluating how candidates react to difficult or unusual questions. This demonstrates how a candidate responds to pressure and can adapt to sudden changes in environment. Like bloggers.

I enjoy seeing differences of opinion on issues. We, as people, need to constantly be exposed to new ideas and fresh thought. We need to have our system of beliefs challenged. The “status quo” has to be disputed.  It’s a natural part of our human existence to disagree and debate topics.

Spam… or Censorship?

Blogging, in itself, is about passion, expression, and creativity.

So, wouldn’t you expect our responses to be just as uninhibited?  Why then are so many bloggers complaining about their comments being edited or deleted? Is this about PR (Public Relations)?  The fear of losing authority? Are we afraid to acknowledge that we are not quite the “expert” we profess ourselves to be?

I’m aware there is a great deal of talent online. And they read blogs too. But, I’m not threatened by it. Are you? Stop cowering behind the WordPress delete button from your Admin page, and blaming Akismet, your natural spam filter. You felt challenged by a reader’s comment. And instead of addressing it, you buried it. Someone within your blog community may have benefited from that exchange. It’s sort of like when a Prosecutor buries evidence in a criminal case that would have had a bearing on the outcome of a  jury’s decision. They don’t get rewarded for doing that!

Listen, there are certainly instances where commenting goes too far and becomes abusive. It’s usually very evident and should not be tolerated. I’ll be the first to admit, I have no qualms about running that element from any of my blogs. But, this article was not created to recycle the blogosphere’s views on dealing with misbehavior or developing a commenting policy. I’m going well beyond that to a more prominent issue.

The question is…if we always emphatically agree on every issue, how are we really setting the boundaries of online quality? Do we have some personal responsibility to uphold the standards that is the craft of blogging? Of course we want to encourage all bloggers to succeed. But, being too supportive is counter-intuitive to this process. Isn’t it?

I have a voice. Do not silence me. Do not censor me. Just because a commentator shares a difference in style, approach, or opinion does make them evil or guilty of “trolling” and personal attacks. There IS a difference.

The bottom line is that if you can’t handle working with the public, you should not be blogging. Period.

How To Add Disqus To Your Blogger Template

If you are looking to add more professional looking and functional commenting system to your Blogger blog, take a look at Disqus.

Disqus is a universally-recognized commenting system that is extremely user friendly to any level of blogger.

Forget about all the CSS and HTML edits you see on other “how-to” sites. This is Source Blogger. We make implementing new ideas into your blog easy.

As a matter of fact, the whole changeover should take no more than 5 minutes.

Add Disqus to your Blogger blog

1. Go to the Disqus website and click get started button.

2. Add your Blogger blog details like: URL, your site’s name, and you’ll create a user ID. Simple.

3. Then click the done button and select the Blogger platform on the next page.

4. Download your exisiting blogger blog template (.xml file) onto your computer.

For this, login into your Blogger account and goto template > edit HTML

5. Then upload the downloaded template file to Disqus for auto addition of Disqus code in your template. You will get modified template code.

Disqus makes it easy. They integrate the code for you!

6. Go to Blogger > Edit HTML, make sure the Expand Widget Template option is checked and paste the modified template code in edit HTML template code area. Then click save changes button

7. Go to Settings > Comments and change the Comments Default for Posts to New Posts Do Not Have Comments. Your Blogger blog should now display Disqus comment box on single post pages.

You’ll love the new comment form. It’s much closer in form to the typical WordPress powered blogs. Comments are now neatly formatted and you can subscribe to RSS feed to follow up comments. Besides, users of Disqus can directly comment on your blog using their respective IDs for more connected approach.

You can moderate comment on blog by logging into your account at the Disqus website.

Give your Blogger comment box a Disqus makeover! Tell me how it worked for you!

I have a confession. I am a blog comment addict. I enjoy the whole interactive piece to blogging, networking with other bloggers,  and  impacting the blog’s existing comment community. I love it!

If you rarely leave comments on other blogs, you don’t know what you are missing!..(Besides truly failing to promote your “brand” and failing to gain authority in your given industry?)

When I have visited your blog, read your article(s) and left without leaving a comment – most of the time, there was something wrong. MOST of the time.

Let’s Take A Look At The 10 Painfully Honest Reasons I Visited Your Blog And Refused To Leave A Comment!

1) ‘Do-Follow’ Blogs

I hate to break it to you, but the concept means absolutely nothing to me as a commentator. I’m “moved” by content, not opportunity.

So, all of the CommentLuv, KeyWordLuv, “Rel=NoFollow tag-removing people,” it has no bearing or influence on why and where I comment. As a matter of fact, sites where bloggers are on a “back link strategy campaign” to seek out these type of blogs in order to leave their poorly-conceived comments seriously deteriorates the “interactive environment” of your blog, particularly in the comment quality.

This discourages me from leaving a comment.

p.s. – I am not really interested in being your blog’s top commentator either. So, that sidebar widget for that very purpose…why do you have it again?

2) “Thank You For Taking the Time To Comment” “Thanks!” “Appreciate It”

Wait, I just spend 10 minutes drafting  a comment that was discussing key points in your article; I even asked you a question. And that was your response?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a blogger is discounting the importance of engaging readers in the comments section.

Leaving comments is a natural part of the blogging equation – I appreciate your politeness…but no need to thank me.  Just simply read my comment thoroughly and respond accordingly.

I see that you are active in other social media outlets and blog communities – so why not bring the communication back to your own blog?!

3) Your Alexa Rank And Google PageRank Are Incredibly Awesome and Cool!

You would expect me to say that I am selective in choosing which blogs I comment on; that I have Dosh Dosh, Copy Blogger, Daily Blogging Tips, and ProBlogger on “speed dial” so I could be one of the first to leave a comment.

In theory, leaving a comment on a blog with this type of circulation and exposure makes sense…until you realize there were 276 comments on the last article they published. Therefore, the likelihood of your comment being noticed is like playing the lottery. Good luck with that! Plus, the whole “herd mentality” / groupie  concept is unappealing. Isn’t it?

Why am I waiting in this line anyway when there are thousands of other blogs with content equally as good, if not better, that would be more appreciative of my comment?

4) I’m a Nobody…or Not In Your Immediate Clique.

If I examine the trends in your comment responses and see that you only interact with the same small clique of friends, why would I want to leave a comment?

In addition, you were M.I.A. (Missing In Action) for days while others left thoughtful, prepared comments. It wasn’t until your buddy commented that you suddenly appeared – like magic!  Umm, hello? What about us? Were we not worthy?

But, in all fairness, how many times are you going to e-mail, tweet, and “comment bomb” Darren Rowse before it finally sinks in that he is not going to respond to you?

5) To Unlock The Comment Feature On Your Blog, I Have To Register?

Oh my goodness, as if we need another log-in ID and password to remember. This may be the only and last time I visit your blog. Why go through all this trouble?

6) Your Alexa Rank And Google PageRank Are Incredibly Awesome and Cool!

(Scrolls Up) Err, wait. Didn’t I say this already? OK, make this a Part II.

Google recently updated its PageRank valuation or you just topped the 70,000 mark in Alexa…so you decided to devote a w-h-o-l-e article about it!! Wow! Amazing!

Dude, no one cares….. But you! Trust me!

And that applies to how much money you made last month. There’s no need for pie charts and tables. Bring on the real content.

7) You Ranted And Raved – Were Extremely Negative And Insulting – And Used Foul Language

Every blogger has his/her own style that works for them, but I don’t want my name attached to a comment on a blog where professionalism and tact are in short supply. It does something to your reputation.

8] Blogspot.com / WordPress.com / Tumblr.com Users

This may be painful for some of you bloggers who have your blog platform within your site’s URL (meaning your blog is hosted as opposed to a self-hosted blog)… but I rarely, if ever, visit these blogs – never mind comment on them!

Why? Because these blogs are far more likely to disappear in the next month or so than a self-hosted, 250-600 article count, WordPress.ORG blog.

What good will my excellent comment be 2 months from now when you realized blogging was not for you and the blog is deleted? At least try and fool me by giving your site its own, unique domain.

9) I Am Unable To Subscribe To Comments

Why is this important? Because I don’t to wish to “blow off” either your reply, the response of another random visitor, or someone prominent in your blog’s community. I would look like a real jackass for just commenting irresponsibly. Wouldn’t I?

This is a very important feature. Did you even know that?

WordPress Users: Double-check you have a plugin for “subscribing to comments” and that it is enabled and functioning properly.

10) “Blogging Is A Journey” “Are You On The Path?” “The Road To Blogging Success”

(Gosh, some bloggers are going to cringe when they read this. Oh well. )

Over the past few months, I am starting to see this trend in article content…and it kinda sucks. It sort of makes it appear that you were at a loss for an original idea and had to really “reach” to meet your deadline.

I am all for intellectual thought. But, this subject matter is too spiritual, too philosophical, and has religious overtones. Most of the culprits are bloggers who come from either Malaysia, India, Or Indonesia.

By now, many of us have taken World Religion in college, with particular emphasis on  Buddhism and Hinduism,  and it is obvious that you are using similar ideals of  a “path” to “self-enlightment” and “blogging nirvana”.

No one is telling you that you cannot make this connection, but it sure keeps the commentators away – like me.

What are some of the reasons you typically decline to comment on a blog? Would you ever be the first to respond to an article?  Is your blog ‘Do-Follow’ enabled? Have you compared what your comment section was like before and after you made the switch to ‘Do-Follow?” Was there a difference in the amount and quality? Was there a reason mentioned for me not commenting that you disagree with?

I just thought of my #11! Failing to close articles effectively and/or failing to draw the reader in by asking him/her questions…or not demonstrating a genuine interest in his/her reply. In other words, not “calling to action”.

Article: How To Make Your Blogger Blog DoFollow / Removing the NoFollow Attribute

So you want to become of the ‘DoFollow Revolution and to remove the ‘NoFollow’ attribute from your Blogger Blogspot blog template? See the image to your right? The image is depicting how the attribute is set in most blog platforms: rel=”nofollow”

Becoming ‘DoFollow” should have an immediate impact on your blog’s activity – specifically commenting.

Providing backlinks for the benefit of other commentators is a noble practice. You will become more popular overnight. In addition, adding your blog to ‘DoFollow’ directories is free. The higher your site’s Google PageRank the more they will flock to your blog!

Here are the steps you need to take if you want to remove the NoFollow attribute from your Blogger template:

Note: If you have a WordPress blog you can install the NoFollow plugin design at www.michelem.org/wordpress-plugin-nofollow-free

As a precaution, consistent with any alteration you perform in the HTML section of your Blogger blog, back up your template. And always, always only follow tutorials from a reliable, trusted source.You will typically find many methods to make changes to your blog template, but some bad coding could paralyze your blog’s performance.

Note: If you ever want to make your blog NoFollow again you will want to remember which tags require the rel=’nofollow’ attribute so you should write them down before you remove the attribute.

1. Log into your Blogger.com account.

2. Click on the Layout tab (Update: Now Design Tab) from the Blogger.com Dashboard.

3. Click the Edit HTML link.

4. Click Download Full Template to make a backup of your existing template before making any changes to your HTML. You should do this each time you plan on tweaking the HTML code in case something goes wrong. Then you can easily upload your template before you made the changes and restore your blog if needed.
5. Click on the checkbox next to Expand Widget Templates.

The nofollow attributes are inside of the widgets/gadgets so you will not find them if you do not expand the widgets.

6. Using your Find feature on the browser through the Edit menu or pressing CTRL + F on your keyboard at the same time, search for the word nofollow.

You will find at least 2 instances of the NoFollow in the code.

Click on the picture below to make it larger so you can see what the nofollow attribute looks like in the HTML code.

7. Once you find the first instance of nofollow remove this: rel=’nofollow’ from the tag that starts with ‘

8. Click the Save Template button at the bottom right.

Remove the second NoFollow attribute (Optional):

By doing another search for nofollow you will find another instance of it. Just remove rel=’nofollow’ like you did above and click Save Template.

This is for backlinks. You can choose to delete the nofollow attribute or leave it.

If you delete this nofollow attribute you do it at your own risk. Backlinks are outside of your control and cannot be moderated because they come from other blogs. If someone links to a post of yours through a backlink, that backlink is on their blog and not yours. You do not have control over what they are writing and the backlink could come from a spammer’s site.

That’s it! Congratulations, your Blogger blog is now ‘DoFollow!’

Of course, there’s always a catch, right?

Your blog will now become irresistible to every purveyor of spam known to man. Sorry, no Akismet spam filter like the one that is equipped on WordPress blogs. You will spend a lot more editing each spam-ridden comment.