See the whole series starting with the first post
Everybody allows comments on their Blog, right? Well, no. I know of a few that don’t.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but I suggest that you do not shut down comments. Why? Allow me to elucidate:
- Comments keeps energy high
No matter how entertaining and informative your writing is, unless you have regularly scheduled Guest Bloggers, all of your posts will begin so sound alike. Allowing comments brings in new voices to your Blog. - Comments allow the reader to participate
As your Blog “ages” you will acquire a fair number of “constant readers” as Stephen King likes to call them. These faithful visitors come back again and again because of your writing skills, the topics you choose, and the way you handle them. Eventually, however, because of your inspiration, they will want to contribute. Comments are the first and easiest way they can do so. - Comments bring readers back
With most of the hosted Blog services a reader has the ability to subscribe not only to the Blog, but to an individual content string, the comments of a particular post, for instance. As a faithful and serious Blogger, you know that return visits are a real kick in the stats. - Comments improve your status with the big three
Finally, as it is with trackbacks (pingbacks), participation by readers is noted by the big three search engines, Google, Yahoo! and Bing, as well as the smaller SEs. The more activity noted for a Blog, the more likely it is to be presented high on a search list. Our goal is the first page of the SE results. We never want to appear more than three pages in of the results.
Agreed that this is a kind of backward argument. I would guess that most of you would not consider turning off comments, and indeed you would need to do that manually as most hosted Blog Services turn it on by default.
Keep your comments alive and well. You might even consider having a friend or two “prime the pump” with controversial statements once your readership starts to climb.
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There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio... and isn't it time you experienced some of them?
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