Like many others, we build websites for our clients. They come to us looking for much more than an attractive compilation of pictures, words, HTML and CSS. In fact, if someone isn’t interested in defining and presenting the value that they offer and then building and sustaining an online hub for content marketing, we often steer them away.
Yet, as focused as we attempt to be in engaging with the right customers, we frequently encounter something that always confounds me. After a website launch, when someone gets their first comment on a blog post, they reach out to us in a white knuckle panic about what to do about this “interaction”.
Relationships + opportunity begin with a comment on your blog.
To get to the root of this frequent experience, we need to back up a bit. For those who are confused or just in denial, blogging is more than just about publishing posts.
You should consider your post content as a position or point of view that you’ve considered worthy of sharing with others. And your blog posts provide the opportunity to leave the floor open for discussion, encouraging conversation and collaboration that will hopefully enhance or influence your reader’s way of thinking.
But it’s not just about the posts because the magic happens in the comments. It’s where connections are made and relationships are forged.
Why?
Because it’s all about a conversation, discussion, and collaboration. As a result, when people take the time to actually engage with what you’ve published, there is an unspoken obligation to reply—promptly and thoughtfully.
So don’t dismiss their effort. Publishing was the opening line. And you need to budget time to reply if someone actually listened to what you had to say and found it worthy of a response.
Silence is not an option.
If you don’t reply to a comment, you’re broadcasting to all of your current and future readers that there’s no reason for them to come back and invest in sharing their perspective or comment on your content. In fact, there’s no better way to convince someone that they’re wasting their time by commenting on your post than by ignoring them.
Let’s face it. In today’s overly distracted and way-too-much-to-do online environment, you’re really lucky to get any comments on a post. If you didn’t want to hear what people have to say about your content because it’s inconvenient to respond, then turn the commenting feature off on your blog. Or reconsider why you even have a blog.
What’s more, ignoring comments can be perceived as both rude and counter to the core function of a blog. For those seeking a simpler, less transparent and disconnected world, you can always go back to a static website that will never help you generate more leads, build brand value, or support your aspirations of becoming a thought leader in your domain of expertise.
How to reply to a blog comment + nurture a relationship
The conversation may start with a comment. But it certainly doesn’t have to end there. It’s time to view a blog comment as only the beginning—a doorway opening to opportunity.
And even if responding to a blog post comment can sometimes be a challenge, we offer these simple tips to keep you focused and inspired to follow up on a comment:
Don’t reply to a comment on another online platform like Twitter, Facebook or personal email—Login and do it on the post for everyone to see and share.
Don’t have someone else reply for you. If you wrote it and published it, stand behind it and recognize how it was received.
Don’t have some bot or software solution send a canned, generic reply that is off topic or vague.
Stay on the topic of the post.
Make your comment thoughtful and worth reading.
Further a conversation.
Be positive, interested, and encouraging.
If you disagree, be polite about it and don’t flame the commenter.
Spell correctly and use good punctuation and grammar.
Don’t use chat or texting language like lol, i, or u.
Don’t use spammy self promotion replies like “hire us” or “buy now”.
Provide the ability for someone to subscribe to the comment stream to come back to the conversation and stay engaged.
Enable the opportunity to share a great comment on social media.
Don’t provide overly personal information about you.
Invest in value.
When you get a comment on a post, make a point to respond promptly. Whether there are two or two-hundred comments, show your respect and appreciation by taking the time to respond to every single one. And always give thanks for the commenters effort and perspective!
Your turn.
Are you valuing discussion on your blog? Are you making time for the readers and contributors in your growing community? Share what’s working for you.
As president and creative director of TeamworksCom, Paul develops brand strategy, engineers content to express customer value and creates integrated online and content marketing solutions to help businesses succeed. Connect with Paul, send an Email, or just call 415.789.5830.
I wanted to be the first person to comment about comments. Good, pertinent post — comments are better than crickets. For all the time writers spend writing, readers spend reading (and benefiting), it’s so nice when one of those readers takes the time to give feedback, express an opinion or just say “Thanks!” So…thanks!
Yo Martha. Many thanks for the considered comment! Yes, comments are the highly valued validators that the content was worth the authors effort. I just wish I could get more of them more often. I’ll just have to keep trying my best to get there. Thanks again for your thoughts. 🙂
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Thanks so much for your comment. We hope that you found it useful.
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Nice content, I like your writing style. Thanks for sharing such informative content.
Oddly enough, I only actually came to this blog as a way of completing part of an online course that I’m doing.
But I think reading your guide to replying on blogs has given me more of an idea of how and what a blog can be useful for than any of the other research material that I’ve found.
I’m certainly not a follower of blogs and very rarely active in posting on any, but yours does have some excellent advice on making good structured posts that can be both informative and helpful.
Cheers!
Thanks Steve for your considered comment.
I’m glad that you found this post informative and helpful.
Best of luck with your course. 🙂
Hi Paul,
Thanks for sharing such a really helpful guide. I’m looking for this guide and landed here and literally this worth sharing. So now I’m going to sharing it and follow these tips.
Thanks for your comment Ayush. We are glad that you found this content valuable. Best to you!
Nice content, I like your writing style. Thanks for sharing such informative content. This will definitely help me to grow a good relationship with my fellow blogger friends.
Hi I have found this blog very interesting as I’m wanting to learn how to share a blog online for my course work and have been searching the network to see how you do it and find out how to answer blogs. I have never done anything like this at all and finding it very interesting.
Great Kathleen. We are thankful that you found this post useful. Best of luck with your studies. 🙂
I found this blog very informative. Respect for other’s opinion is a good starting point to grow a relationship. I would definitely use your tips on how to respond to comments.
The first relationship step is this reply. Thank you for your supportive comments. And I hope that you can share this with others too. Best to you. 🙂
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Blog comments that challenge the original blog author to explain something in more detail are particularly helpful.
Absolutely Nate. I agree and thanks for the comment.
Excellent article! Your thorough research and clear presentation of facts make this a must-read for anyone.
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These days you won’t see 50 comments below the post anymore. Guess the social media killed blog commenting. We do answer to each one of them, but I noticed that the majority of bloggers don’t. It’s ironic how some people just don’t realize the value of comments, but when they are reading other people’s blogs they scroll through to the very last one of them.
Very genuine content. As a reader, I often rely on the comment section to gauge the authenticity of the website and to gain different perspectives on the topic. Responding promptly and thoughtfully shows respect for readers and serves as a cost-free method for building relationships.
Thank you for the awesome writeup regarding commenting on blogs. The return traffic depends much on the outward appearance of the conversation, and believe this can be overlooked often times.
Absolutely right Garren.
TX for the positive comments.
Cheers!
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Great tips! This guide on replying to blog comments is very helpful for fostering engagement. Thanks for sharing!
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TeamWorks Communication offers such an innovative approach to teamwork and collaboration. The tools and strategies you provide are incredibly useful for organizations looking to improve communication and efficiency. It’s great to see a company that really understands the importance of fostering strong team dynamics. Keep up the amazing work.
Great research and study to write this wonder full blog. Keep it up.