The Comment Conundrum | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

I have no idea if I spelled conundrum right, or heck, if I even used it properly.  Meh.

Okay- so my issue:  I don't seem to get a lot of comments from my readers.  Oddly enough, my traffic isn't bad, and I even get messages on Facebook, or comments on my personal wall when I link to posts or I even get emails from readers that say "Oh I really liked this post," etc. etc.  but not as many comments.  I'd think it would take more effort to post a comment on my wall or email me than it'd be to write a comment, but I'm interested to see if y'all have seen the same phenomenon? 

I use Intense Debate and since I'm logged in and all that jazz I wonder if that's part of why people would rather tweet/fb/email than comment?  I get some people don't like to comment at all, but for the ones that contact me, I'm totally confused as to why they'd rather email than comment (and it's usually not personal information they share, just general feedback, ideas).

Thoughts?

I don't get a tremendous response in terms of comments either.  I think it may have to do with the call to action like Miss T suggested: give them a little push by asking them to participate or do something at the end of a post. 

I really don't care for manual submission form personally since I don't use cookies at work and have to keep re-keying all the info every time I go to a different blog.  Of course everyone is going to have their own preference and you can by no means satisfy everyone so just try a few different systems to see which works best I guess.

Some comments I have seen on blogs just make no sense, and it seems like people are just commenting for the sake of getting a linkback or because they like to see their name up there.  I'd much rather get a couple relevant, well thought out responses than a bunch of stupid unrelated spammy comments or responses that just don't seem to fit into the whole conversation.

As other have said, asking your readers to comment at the end can bring results.  Something simple as "what do you think" or "what was your experience" gives people direction in what to do next.

The other thing is the type of article.  If I have more of a personal story I'll get more comments as opposed to an informative article.

Oh, I also hate having to go through hoops to comment.

Any suggestions on a specific comment forum to utilize?  I use Blogger and don't like the generic one.  I've never heard of Intense Debate until I read this thread.  I am experimenting with Disqus right now, but having some trouble.

I want a comment plug in that doesn't require users to jump thru hoops each time, preferably one that allows them to use their Wordpress sign-in (automatically).

I've been searching for a good plug in for half the day without much luck.  Any help would be appreciated.

Doughroller said:

All of that said, it may also be worth asking why comments are important in the first place.  I know we all like discussion on our sites, but what's your ultimate goal?  And will more comments on your blog help you reach that goal?

Good point.  Many successful blogs in terms of revenue don't have many comments. 

I would like a healthy mix of money and community on my site.