Comment Etiquette
Treat your commenters as guests, because they ARE.
You'd never invite someone into your home and then leave them standing alone in the foyer. Don't do that with your commenters, either. Take a fresh look at your site:
- Is your site easy to navigate? Do you use tabs or pages to organize your content, or is everything jumbled up in your sidebar?
- Does your design reflect the content? Consider some design changes if you're using a stock template. It's simple to change fonts or your blog header or background images.
- Can visitors easily find your contact information?
Be sure your name is somewhere on your site.
Remember that not everyone who visits your site is a personal friend. First-time visitors will land on your site through a variety of sources (searches, blog hopping, etc). Nothing is more frustrating than having to go on a site safari to figure
out who the author is. (This is a personal pet peeve. I've started leaving sites that don't have a name anywhere.)
Respond to your visitors.
These folks are your guests and you should make them feel welcome and included. A great way to do this is to respond to their comments.
You don't necessarily have to respond to each comment individually, but it IS a gracious thing to do. At the very least, go back at the end of the day and leave one closing comment. Respond to any individual questions or suggestions, and thank your commenters for visiting.
Visitors who feel appreciated are more likely to return.
Visitors who feel appreciated are more likely to return.
Visit your visitors.
It's also gracious to visit the sites of the people who visit
you! They may have a similar interest, a quirky sense of humor, a compelling
story, pretty photos or something else that draws you to their site. It might
be somebody you want to follow on a regular basis.
Or not.
In either case, it's nice if you visit them once, leave a brief comment and thank them for visiting your blog.
If it IS somebody you're interested in
following, subscribe to the blog in Reader and keep up
with their posts. Who knows, you might end up becoming friends and sharing your communities!
Happy Blogging!
Susan
I appreciate your comments and feedback - please leave yours below!
This is great! Thanks, Susan, for helping this slow learner here! I had my FIRST UNKNOWN person to respond to a blog...Kinda felt strange, but in a good way!
ReplyDeleteHow fun, TK -- You have so many interests, you can find all sorts of connections!
DeleteOh yes, yes, yes! I often pray my little space in the blogosphere doesn't get too big where I can't find the time to connect with those who stop by. As I know God blessed me with it for the purpose of relationship building...and after 8 months in, we'll see what else He has in store ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat perspective, Nikki. The connections are what's so great about blogging! Thanks for stopping by today!
DeleteSuperb post, my sweet bloggity friend!
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Got 'r done in my little room at Tarheel! Thanks for giving me some direction. I think it's time to go back and crank out a few more!
DeleteLove you :)
Super advice. I love viewing visitors to our site as guests in our home. And You always set a beautiful example as a gracious hostess!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminders, Susan.
ReplyDeleteso many blogs -- so little time!
Jean Hall
Susan, you are such a gracious person. I love how you practice what you preach. Thank you for the lovely reminder.
ReplyDeleteSusan, Great tips on blog etiquette, and I try to practice them. I've gotten behind on responses lately; you've inspired me to do better. Do you have any helpful hints for following up on comments- I'm good about leaving them at other blogs, but I wish there was a quick way to check back and see if/how the blogger responded. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteSusan, these are great tips and good reminders...especially love your comment about treating those who comment as guests. Thanks! Hugs
ReplyDeleteThese are great suggestions Susan! I *try* to respond to comments on my blog in a timely manner, but I've been slack in checking out the blogs of the people who choose to visit. I'll be making a greater effort to do so - and to leave some comments on their blogs. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan - I am so glad I found your blog and thank you for commenting on mine. I am your newest follower here and trying to figure out to follow you on your other website. God bless
ReplyDeleteTracy
Hi Tracy! My inspirational blog is easy to follow - there's a subscription box at the top of the sidebar, right above my head: Subscribe to email updates.
DeleteDelivered right to your inbox!
Thank you for the comments, everyone! I've been moving kids the past couple of weeks and haven't followed my own advice on responding here :/
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post. More good info to come!
Susan - Such great tips. I am still in the process of learning the ins & outs of blogging & this post helped! Blessings & have a great day! ~ Jen
ReplyDeleteGlad you found the post helpful. Thanks for stopping by, Jen!
DeleteSusan, I'm loving this site. Thank you for all the great information. I have a comment on comments and hope this doesn't sound horrible. I struggle with the effort that can be put in to responding to comments when I've caught on many don't subscribe to comments or come back to you to see if you responded. I've tried to focus more on heading over to them to visit. Are there tools to use so they see your responses (like Disque)? I'm struggling in general with keeping up with it all but do want to create a sense of community on my blog. I'd love your input so I can work towards improving my space. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! So glad you're finding the site helpful.
DeleteI understand the issue you're having. Disqus is a great plug-in/widget that many bloggers use, and it's a great tool for keeping up with responses. The only issue is that the responders must set up an account with Disqus, and not all of them will.
How I keep track of the blogs I visit is this:
I use Feedly for all my blog subscriptions, and pull it up in it's own window.
Then I open tabs for each blog I visit. This keeps everything in one window, which is a lifesaver for me.
I usually read and comment in the morning, so I check back at the end of the day. Sometimes I'll check back the next morning, especially for my friends on the west coast and Australia.
Hope this helps!