There’s something which has been playing on my mind. We’ve read here and elsewhere about keeping content fresh, making it personal and keeping it unique. All sound advise. We’ve been encouraged not to churn out bland content or mindless drivel that is merely a clone of other stuff that is repeated endlessly across the web. These are wise tips because to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t touch mind-numbingly-bland piffle with a barge pole, even if you offered me the finest pint of creamy dark stout to do so.
But I’ve been thinking about the relational aspect of blogging. When I say ‘blogging’ I know that not all of the visitors to this site are bloggers, so please see ‘blogging’ as synonymous with any web-based shenanigans.
One of the biggest turn-offs in the blogging world (hope you’re coping with the synonym-switching) is the feeling that your comments, views, presence and participation are banging against a brick wall. I.e. your response to a post, article, launch or whatever seemingly enters a black hole. You know what I mean – you’ve read a post and responded to it, all the while drawing on your experience, intelligence and if appropriate, humour, and you hear nothing back. It is as if your contribution is ignored, meaningless, disregarded like a used teabag. Sure, it sits there on the site as a comment, if the author approves it, but that is far as it goes.
Listen, I’m not one to hold a grudge. I probably, I mean certainly, haven’t responded to every comment or email from my readers. In fact, I’ll say I definitely haven’t, and this is inevitable with a popular site coupled with the indeterminable nature of life as we know it. Work, kid’s bath-times, important football games and whatnot, you know the drill. But I value my readers, whoever they are, and try to engage with them.
Whoever they are?
That’s right, whoever. Unless they’re some spammer called ‘Ed’ who chucks nonsense in Mandarin at every other post of mine. My readers include business owners, ‘mommy bloggers’, published authors, typical anybodies who enjoy writing as a hobby and even, God forbid, the occasional adolescent. In short, they are all sorts, some of which I wouldn’t naturally associate with or stumble upon if it wasn’t for their visit.
As far as possible I try to engage with every comment by every reader on every post. In the past I would reply by email, these days I reply inline and sometimes by email. I also attempt to visit the site of every commentator. Note the careful use of the word attempt, because I know it isn’t always possible. And don’t get me wrong, if I get one of those awful “great post!” or “nice one!” link-hungry comments that basically say, I don’t really give a damn about what you wrote, but I’m after link love and web-cred, then I’ll probably ignore it. But I genuinely try to engage with my readers. I’ve visited blogs in the past that seem to thrive on an elite coterie of die-hard readers. There’s isn’t anything wrong with that, cliques have a place and bloggers can do what they like, but I love the dynamic nature of sites like this one, where the variety amongst visitors and commentators is immense. So I endeavour to fuel my site, provoke discussion and build relationships by actively responding to any input it receives.
Am I spouting a loud of nonsense here or are you with me on this, that responding, engaging and building relationships with readers is key to the health of a site?
Hi Mo!
I absolutely agree with you wholeheartedly here. I try to make every effort to respond, especially when it’s the first time someone new goes out of their way to comment. And what better way to network with others than to take a moment to visit their blogs?
I do the same thing on my blog and on Twitter. There’s an endless supply of people to engage and connect with if you just give it a try. Yes, it can be time consuming – so set a time limit or give yourself a quota: engage with 4-5 new people every day. You’ll be amazed at the results.
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..Are you motivated enough to take your blog to the next level? =-.
Kiesha, glad you agree. And wholeheartedly too! The best thing about this is that you genuinely do develop relationships with the readers, even if a lot of that consists of banter and ideas-exchange.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
Totally with you, man. I have a rant post I keep putting off about those bloggers who never, ever engage with their commenters. Your readers are the life blood of your blog. Ignore them and you will be running the chance of loosing them. I know I won’t return to blogs where you never or nearly never see the author commenting and engaging. I know you’re busy, but for pity’s sake…take 10 mins and do a one off response to the top X comments based on content or need for a reply. Makes you look better and keeps people like me from avoiding your blog because we think you’re stuck up
.-= Gurl´s last blog ..Three book series I can read over and over, plus one =-.
You’re bang on the money there Gurl. When I first started blogging I didn’t understand why people don’t respond. I know they will often have their reasons, I hope they do anyway. But over time I have simply learned to build up a network of people who are engaging, and if a blog, however much you like it, does not respond or make any attempt to engage, then simply move on.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I would feel like an idiot if I didn’t respond to comments (other than Ed the spammer). When someone talks to me in person, I acknowledge them in some way. I think it’s only right that I show the same courtesy online. Otherwise, why would anyone want to keep talking with me?
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..How to Host a Winning Blog Contest =-.
Exactly, and you’ve touched on something there – that the coutesy and social skills that you would apply in the “real” world still apply here. Well, as long as you’re not dealing with Ed.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I’m with you on this. I look forward to hearing from writers when I comment on their posts. It’s not a big deal if they don’t, but it’s really cool if they do. If, as a writer, I didn’t want to be bothered with responding, I would probably just turn comments off.
Good point. I’ve done that a few times myself, and have known others who have had too much on to really do much more than post, so turned the comments off. It’s kind of like an unofficial signal!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
Hey Mad Dog,
I agree. It’s funny cause I just finished up a video blurp at my blog that involved a book written by Brian Solis called ENGAGE. It is deep. Very deep. Probably too deep for the first half of the book, but man, the second half is completely devoted to tools and insights on how to better Engage your viewers/readers/customers.
Brandon
Interesting mate, I’ll pop over late to check out that video.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I tend to think of the comments in a post as part of the article. After all, the post author’s point of view is only one of many. I especially like it when other people disagree with the author. My favorite posts tend to be those in which a conversation takes place.
I have seen this work to dramatic effect in tech posts. For example, I was trying to do something fairly technical (programming for blackberry) a few months ago, and came across a blog post in which the author was wrong. I found the answer I needed in a correction made by one of the readers!
Now, you probably won’t get too many people disagreeing with you on this topic as it is human nature to want someone to pay attention to you, and commentators are human (well, most of them anyway). But, that does not mean that there can’t be a conversation.
That is just my point of view. Have a great day!
.-= mark´s last blog ..Iron Man, Backgammon, and You =-.
The favourite posts I’ve done have been the ones where not only are the comments lively, but they bounce of each other and people even come back to reply to replies and so on.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
The entire point of blogging is the back and forth dialogue. Without it, you might as well just have a stagnant web page. Your customers need to hear from you so that you can show you are human, a brand of you, not just some website with an opinion. If you don’t keep the conversation going then no one else is going to keep it going either.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
.-= Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last blog ..5 Confidence-Building Tips to Increase the Closing Rate of Your Sales Letters =-.
Spot on, and there is nothing worse than sites that have that stagnant, unused feel, as if they are nothing more than the author’s monologues.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I’m working very hard on this right now and I’ll say it’s definitely working. I’ve seen people who turn the comments off too and it just makes no sense. That tells me you know everything and have no respect for my opinion or what I have to say.
.-= Mike Roosa´s last blog ..I’m Giving Away The Farm — Read This If You Like Free Stuff =-.
I agree with you there. Once or twice I have been tempted to turn off comments for a while because I was simply blogged out and up to my neck in work and business, but I’d rather hold the posts back until I’m ready to engage again than churn posts out without responding to them.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I have to agree with you on this blog. I try to do the same thing on my Twitter as well as my blog. There’s a countless amount of people to engage and connect with as long as you try. I am amazed that you actually take the time to atleast try and respond to everyone, you don’t see that often. May i ask, about how long does it generally take you to do all your replies?
.-= Dominic Belfiori´s last blog ..Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page =-.
To be honest, not that long. Well, not noticeably long anyway. I tend to them as they come in, or let’s say I posted on Monday, then I’ll pick them up after work, then first thing in the morning, then over lunch on Tuesday, which works out to be in little 10 minutes bursts. Or something like that! It takes a while if you let them build up, and I guess it’s harder to be motivated to reply to them when that happens.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
Hi Mo,
I couldn’t agree more that you’re engaging your readers by responding back to their comments and I particularly think Mark from icebluebanana brings up a good point – that you frequently learn from other comments more than just the article. It’s the knowledgebase of the hive that we can take advantage of.
However, I will say that I got a couple of emails today from bloggers who responded to a comment I left on their site last week, which I think is a pretty poor response rate. I didn’t even remember what I had written or read on their site that made me comment by then!
If you are going to respond to comments on your site, it should be done in a timely matter – not 4-5 days or a week later, IMHO.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Absolutely, I always try to respond that day, if not the day after. The number of times that I’ve had replies weeks later is countless, and like you say, impossible to remember the context!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
I think the very nature of this comment thread is simply reiterating the poignant facts laid out in the article and I love it. Theory in action! The Infopreneur seems to indirectly have become a hub for a gamut of bloggers and marketers and I think that’s fantastic, all engaging with one another – indirectly collaborating to help all.
Great post Mo
.-= Alex´s last blog ..How to Write A Review that Sells! =-.
Theory in action indeed, perfectly put. Gamut of bloggers huh? What a great phrase, I’ll have to take note of that one!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
You’re absolutely right here. Engaging with your readers on a consistent basis and letting them know you care about what they have to say and have commented on is vital to your sites growth. Without readers your site is just nothing. With readers your site can be everything.
It takes people to make it work so make your readers feel as if they’re number one.
What does everyone think?
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Having No Money Can Make All The Difference =-.
And when you comment on a post and are made to feel like your participation matters, it’s immensely affirming. Not that affirmation is everything, but it’s a crucial part of the site’s health.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.
You know my thoughts on this already James
The relational aspect of blogging is one of the beautiful things about it – it’s so different from slapping a website up and expecting people to help themselves with no interaction from the author.
I said on my own blog that the sites I visit most, and the ones that draw me in most, are the ones with the strongest communities around them – I just love that, and I think it’s essential if you want to build a successful site.
Keep up the good work!
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Creating compelling content that ranks well in search engines =-.
It’s funny, I’ve visited (and quickly stopped visiting) blogs in the past where you get the feeling that the author is simply chucking content up and expecting the world to lap it all up, while they do nothing to respond or encourage participation.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Fury of the Porcelain Gods =-.