5. Reply to Your Comments to Keep the Conversation Going
If you ignore all your comments, you’ll let the conversation dwindle off, so reply to your audience to keep the conversation going. If readers see that you care enough to reply to comments people leave on your posts, they’ll be more encouraged to leave a comment as well. Just like you don’t want to blog out to an empty void, people don’t want to comment to an empty void either. Answer any questions you receive, and thank people for commenting. If you’re getting too many comments to reply to individually, wait a day or two and then comment thanking all of your readers for their insightful comments.
6. Make it as Easy as Possible to Comment
Make sure that your comment box is located directly below your blog post/social sharing icons/call-to-action, rather than placing it below the comments so that the user would have to scroll way down to find it. Also, remove any barriers to commenting, such as requiring people to log in. The fields for name, email, and comment are all you really need.
7. Comment on Other Blogs
Make insightful comments on other relevant or industry blogs. Don’t just comment with a simple “Thanks for this great article!” Actually add value to the conversation. This way, the blog author may visit your site to return the favor. This should also help you get more traffic, and possibly even more inbound links, to your blog.
8. Create Blog Posts Around Top Comments
If someone leaves a spectacular and insightful comment around that blog post, use that comment as inspiration for your next blog post. Open with a snippet from that comment, with a link to that reader’s website, and then follow with your opinion. Then reach out to that reader via email to let them know that their comment inspired you! This offers you the opportunity to provide your top commenters with recognition, so that they keep coming back to participate.
9. Ask for Feedback on Social Media Channels
Instead of just tweeting and Facebook sharing your article with the typical format of “Title – Link, ” ask for feedback. “Title – Link – Would love your thoughts, please comment” is a type of tweet or update that once again shows that you care about what your audience thinks, rather than just promoting your own point of view.