Tip #7 – Comments are Gold – Treat Them That Way!

When readers post a comment to your blog it is like they have dropped a gold nugget in your lap, and you should treat it as such! A reader’s comment means that someone came to your blog, read your post, and was then moved to comment. That means you did your job perfectly!

So what do you do next? Some people believe that the blogger should not enter into discussions with commentators because you already said your piece in the post. I disagree entirely! This would be the same as you striking up a conversation with someone who then asks you a follow up question. Would you walk away or answer the question? Answer it!

I always answer readers questions whenever I see them. They took the time and effort to ask, which probably means they will take the time and effort to come back looking for the answer later on. In fact, they may just read something else while they are there!

The second most frequent question is what should you do if a commentator leaves a negative post on your blog – remove it or respond to it. Truthfully, I have done both. I have had people make hurtful or undermining comments on my blog in the past, and I deleted them primarily because they were not intended to create discussion – they were intended to hurt someone.

On the other hand, a reader posted negative comments anonymously on my blog a month ago that had nothing to do with the original topic of the post. I chose to let his comments stand because the commentator had genuine questions about what I had said and written in the past.

While these comments were intended to be hurtful at their core, it illustrated to my other readers that I have a tolerance for people who disagree with me. In fact, many of my regular readers rallied in my defense, making it unnecessary for me to defend myself at all. That single post was the most commented ever on my blog, and my blog stats doubled that day as readers notified their friends that I was getting “dissed” on my own blog. In a way, this one person who dislike me so actually did me a service by adding content to my blog!

Next Tip – Keep Your Content Fresh