Quick Way To Increase Comments
You may have more readers who view your blog content in RSS than you may realize. Up until recently, I know that was true for me. My FeedBurner numbers have increased a lot in the past month but I never really took the time to see what my own content looked like in a RSS. The results were interesting. Quickly, I saw a few things I could do to makes things a little better for my RSS readers and subscribers.
The above screen shot shows what the bottom of my post looks like in Google Reader. One of the things the jumped out when viewing my feed in Google Reader was the fact that it is difficult for a RSS subscriber to add a comment to my blog post. To correct this problem, I am adding a new graphic directly below my signature on my posts. Below is the graphic I created:
The graphic will automatically hyperlink RSS subscribers to my comment form. This will allow for quick and easy access for RSS readers and subscribers to add their feedback by dropping a comment on my post. I really enjoy reading my comments from my readers and feel that if I make it just a little easier for them to drop one, I might get a little more.
PS Yesterday I learned a lot about my readers and had the privilege of collecting some really amazing feedback. I just want to quickly note that starting today, I am taking everything I have learned from the feedback delivery by my readers and will be applying it instantly. Thanks again to everyone who provided feedback for me.
PSS I am going to practice what I preach and start using the scheduled post feature included in Wordpress. From now on, I am going to post one article per day at 12:00 A.M. CST.
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15 comments
I too learned a lot from the feedback on your post yesterday.
There was some interesting insight as to why people do or do not comment on posts.
There was on statement that especially stood out at me and made me take notice about some of my posts on my blogs, and that was if I am posting as though I am teaching something, then I’m not really welcoming much participation or discussion.
Thanks for sticking with this Garry, I’ve learned a lot from your site, even though I still have a long way to go, you sure have shortened the learning curve.
I can definitely see how you would have a concern with comments too. I have reader a lot of your personal blog today and also reader some of The Micro Experiment and I have to say it almost seems like poker for you is to blogging for me.
The two and two aren’t very related… but then again they are…
Here is an update to the post. Below is a screen shot with the new graphic included in Google Reader:
A few things that stand out from this article that I noticed and think that are of common sense and everyone should do on their blogs :
1) An analysis of your blog in a RSS reader. It’s good that you did this Garry, now people can comment easier on your blog.
P.S : Feedburner has something similar to what you did but with no graphics, it’s just the text.
2) Letting your readers know your posting schedule is great, because this way people will know when to expect fresh content.
3) Taking the time to read their feedbacks and respond back.
A good article from Garry, again.
Keep up the good work Garry.
Regards,
CristianR.
Your post is really helpful. I’m actually trying to increase my comments on my blog and you write some good tips. For example, my RSS feeds do not fit well in my RSS reader, so I assume some of my subscribers are annoyed with this. I’ll repair that.
@ CristianR
Thanks for sending me the awesome comment! Sometimes, I think it is easy to forget the simple things… and I think the simple things are what can get the best results sometimes.
@ FMX,
I am glad that you found this article helpful. That is awesome! I have taken a screen shot of your feed from my Google Reader:
Here are a few things that might help you even further, if you would like my feedback.
1.) See where it says admin? You can change that to your name or Internet handle by going to:
http://fmx.kokiwi.com/wp-admin/profile.php and filling out your profile completely. There is also an option called, “Display Name”. If you put in a display name it will make your feed look more personal and inviting.
2.) Because you enjoy sharing YouTube videos with your readers, it might look more appealing to capture a screen shot of the video and include that into your post as a .JPEG image. As you can see, in Google Reader the video player does not load up and I am only left with an unattractive URL string that will link to the actual YouTube page of the video. If you were to take a screen shot of the video during play such as in this example:
You will make things look more appealing. In this example, I took a screen shot and made the screen shot hyperlink to the YouTube video page. I love these videos of the jumps, but unless I have something visual to create an interest, I am less likely to view the video from my Google Reader by clicking on the included link.
After watching a few of these videos that you have found and included in your feed, I really like your RSS Feed and have subscribed. However, not many people are like me and don’t invest the time into investigating like I have done.
3.) If you notice this URL string:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZsiLRc8AB8&eurl=http://fmx.kokiwi.com/
eurl=http://fmx.kokiwi.com/ < - - - gives you credit for the referral and people can find your site listed in a section below the YouTube Video as a referring site. When you link to a YouTube video from your blog make sure you add that last string to the end of the URL so that you can get credit for the link.
See example below:
Making these few changes will help make your feed more attractive to your readers which will then hopefully increase the level of interaction between your readers and yourself. Additionally, including YouTube videos into your blog posts will help you gain more traffic if you add the correct referral string to the linking URL.
Gary, this is a great tip, and i think i’m going to copy you and do the same thing..
But i have a question.
How do you add this to your post? did you add it to your template, or do you just paste the code in at the end of your post? do you use a variable for the URL?
How about a little more on the mechanics of how you do this for us tards ?
Randy,
I was looking and can’t find a plugin… so you’re going to have to do some manual grunt work each time you write a post.
At the bottom of my post, I include the graphic and hyperlink the graphic to what will SOON TO BE my post URL.
Example:
As you were in the process of writing this post:
http://success.grownupgeek.com/index.php/2007/12/27/how-to-run-contest/
the URL string or permalink did not exist. However, when you title your post, you already know what your URL string will be:
/how-to-run-content/
From there, I simply hyperlink my graphic to:
http://success.grownupgeek.com/index.php/2007/12/27/how-to-run-contest/#respond
the #respond added to the URL will automatically jump readers to the comment form, totally bypassing everything else. It is quick and very inviting and allows RSS readers to quickly drop a comment and move on about their day.
If you have trouble knowing what your post permalink URL will be, that is no problem, you can go ahead and publish your post, then view it live, copy the posted URL after the fact, then go back and edit your post to include the graphic and link it to your #respond URL.
To help you better understand what I am talking about, below is a video I did for you:
Hope all this helps.
Haha Garry, if you read any of The Micro Experiment I apologize, those are at times the ramblings of a desperate man.
I still love poker though, but right now I kind of treat her like she’s the ex girlfriend that slept with my best friend.
Ha Ha… no problem man… we all have our moments and games can be quite a bit of fun and very addictive… [cough] just like blogging… LOL!!!
I really like your personal blog, you really spill the beans on quite a bit of stuff and find you to be a very interesting and very likable person. I think your posts will help many people you target.
Keep up the great work man!
[...] my Blog reading this morning I came across a post at Garry Conn dot com about increasing comments using your RSS Feed. This was right after I had watched a video at [...]
I like this idea, Gary. You’re inviting your readers to engage with you. Sometimes, you might want to end your posts that way as well, throw a problem out and ask how readers have solved it. You have great content and a very helpful blog. Thanks for continuing.
Thanks for the comments Garry. I am pretty much an open book as can see from old posts, and will see from future posts.
I am really enjoying the direction my blog has taken, and I think that it is important to have at least one site within your portfolio that you sort of treat like your baby. You nurture it and take care of it giving it much more attention than its redheaded step-brothers.
CaryDarling.Com for me is that domain. Not because it is my own name, I’ve had that domain for years and never really did much with it. I guess more importantly right now it truly reflects me in my current state.
Wow! This is my read of the day
Great blog you got running here!
-Mike
Thanks for posting a comment on my blog it is good to get feedback. Also found this post interesting about getting comments and RSS feeds good advice I will look to follow
[...] Quick Way to Increase Comments – Many blogs have seen a decline in comments as feed aggregators have gained popularity. Garry Conn has some great advice on how to encourage your readers to comment. [...]
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