A Jackob Nielsen study has shown that 90% of online community users read or observe content without engaging with it, 9% of users contribute a little and 1% actively contribute.

So if 1 in every 100 readers comment on your blog then understanding ways to encourage more interactivity on your site is essential.

10 ways to increase comments on your blog

1. Invite comments – inviting people to comment upon your post triggers a response to some extent, and although by its nature a blog is about interacting and leaving comments, you need to keep in mind that new readers might be unfamiliar with blogging and don’t always know about comments or how to use them.
2. Ask Questions – asking specific questions in posts helps to encourage commenting. Adding questions in your titles or headings is particularly effective as you plant the question in your readers minds from the very start of your post.
3. Be Open Ended – If you say everything there is to be said on a topic you are less likely to elicit responses and opinions from your readers, as it will already be covered. It is a balancing act, you don’t want to leave too much unsaid but leave room for your readers to be experts too.
4. Interact with comments left – If you are going to engage with your comments section then why would anyone else? If someone leaves a comment make sure you interact with them. Of course this gets harder as your blog grows but it is essential in those early days. Comments create value, a culture of interactivity and gives the impression to your readers that you value their contributions. Over time your readers will start to take over, answering questions and creating a community, which is when you can be slightly less active, but don’t ignore them!
5. Set boundaries – it is important to set rules for your comments section, so that your readers know what is acceptable and what is not, and enables you to remove comments which are too personal, abusive, insulting or defamatory. Keeping a well managed and moderated comments section that is free of spam and trolls helps to stimulate the trust between you and your readers, which really determines the success of your blog as an open interactive community.
6. Be humble – People are attracted to humility and are more likely to respond to it than a post that has explained everything. Don’t be afraid to show your own weaknesses and gaps in your knowledge, as this is where your community will support you, fill those gaps and strengthen what you do.
7. Be gracious – There will be times when you get something wrong, maybe spellings or grammar, the basis of your argument or some other aspect of your blogging, and when someone leaves a comment highlighting that it is easy to respond in the defensive. A gracious approach to comments where you admit your mistake can bring out the readers who don’t contribute or engage with you, it will make them feel a little more secure in leaving comments.
8. Be controversial? – This doesn’t always work, but there is nothing like a good controversial opinion to stimulate a reaction. Bear in mind however, that controversy can also putt off those readers who are the less vocal elements of your community.
9. ‘Reward’ Comments – Drawing attention to your readers by acknowledging their contributions is a great away of drawing the attention of other readers to make use of the comments section. There are lots of ways you can reward good comments by simply flagging them as a ‘good comment’ or highlighting them in future blog posts.
10. Make it easy to comment ­– the essence of blogging is interactivity, therefore you don’t want to ask your readers to jump through the hoops of signing up or logging in before they can leave their opinion. Moderate comments by all means, registration is a just another hurdle for your readers to engage with you, so it’s important then to keep your comments section as simple and easy to use as possible.