2 of my beauty bloggers friends were noticing yesterday how the number of comments left on their blog posts had decreased, whilst the number of visits had stayed the same. Why is that? What are they doing differently? What has changed? One thing led to another, this set my twitter timeline on fire and I found myself in the middle of a very passionate debate:
When bloggers experienced a decrease in comments is it because they've lost 'their touch' and not engaging their audience as they have in the past or could there other factors explaining the decrease of comments left
As a blog reader, do you personally feel you comment enough on the blog you read?
If not, what is preventing you from
commenting more?
And this is what you had to say on the topic:
Interesting, no?
So we have readers who don't feel their comment would bring valuable contribution to the debate, others put off by the dreaded 'captchas' and technicalities associated with posting comments, on top of everyone who feel that they are simply not enough hours in the day to comment as much as they would like to. The general consensus is that most of you feel they don't comment and wish they left more more comments on blog posts.
Where do I belong? In every category really. Since I have been reading blogs through Google reader, I find myself managing to read blogs very fast: Google reader makes it very easy for me to read, as its name suggests but it's definitely not intended to leave comments, which is my problem starts. I tend to 'star' the blogs which I prefer and would definitely comment on 'later' but am put off to click on the actual blog, and start the technical nightmare of commenting:
Like captchas was not bad enough (most of the blogs I follow - mine included - are on blogger) I find myself to press the 'send' button many times, cos the first time I pressed it it didn't send and having to wait everytime I pressed send for the confirmation from my blogger that message has successfully, confirmation which needs me to scroll up and down the page like a loonie. Even sometimes when I comment on my blog, I am having to log on again, press send, check to see if has been sent, a red button appear, I press send again, a second red button appear, then some weird stuff appears, asking me to preview (I don't want to preview the f*ckin thing god dammit, just send the wretched thing already, will you blogger, and then after the 4th time I pressed SEND I see that it had been sent ok. Needless to say that from now on, I always make sure to copy my comment before running the risk of losing in the process. Like everyone, I wish I had more time, but commenting was easier, then I would think I would spend more time commenting and make the most of it.
Time is definitely an issue and I feel some people (well I do anyway) after commenting on a certain amount of posts (let's say 10) get tired. So whilst they found your post a very interesting read, it might have come up at the wrong timing in their reading sequence: they are either reading from their phone (can you actually comment from a phone) or have already commented on other posts. So your post, however great it is, suffers that day from not being part of this selected few. This is my theory anyway. Whilst your content is amazing and comment worthy, people follow more and more blogs so your blog finds yourself in a big competition of hundreds of others popping up in your email / RSS reader / dashboard …
Also your devoted readers, inspired by their readings feel like they can bring more to the 'beauty pot' with starting their own blog as a result and find themselves to have less time to comment. Whilst I am writing all this non sense and it's 1.45am, I could have been commenting on all the blogs I've starred/favorited today, and promised myself to comment on. Sadly, I know I won't have reached my target and would have probably tweeted about your post rather than commenting on it directly.
And then you have this mismatch, as observed by jadlgw above, about the amount of comments she leaves (because she wants to and enjoys it) versus the amount of comments she gets on her blog posts. Is it fair to expect a 'satisfying' amount of comment, when you, yourself don't leave many comments? But then again, are you going to expect the girl behind Temptalia to go and comment on your blog? When would she find the time? You'd rather she kept the beauty world up to date, as it happens with the latest Mac collections rather than commenting on lots of blogs, right?
How many comments should we be expecting per blog post anyway? Whatever this desirable or expected number might be, we need to find ways to cheer ourselves up. If you are a blogger, and reading this and haven't already done so, I would strongly strongly urge you to subscribe some website which helps you tracking the amount of traffic your blog is generating. I only opened a free account to Google analytics a month ago, but if I hadn't opened an account at Sitemeter.com, I would have given up blogging a long time ago. Being able to see how many visits your blog is getting, even though it's not very much, allows to see that at least people are reading the fruit of your labour, even though the comments are not always there to show it.
Thank you so so so so so much to everyone who gave me their views on the topic. I feel it has opened my eyes. Will it stop me from being upset if a post dear to me doesn't trigger my idea of what a satisfying amount of comments is? Of course not but I am now reassured that we are all in the same boat, doing our thing, in a growing beauty blogging community.
Please cherish every comment you get, even if it's just a brief and simple one. I do. If you’re still upset, go follow @loulou699, she’ll cheer you up, in less time it would take you to decipher a captcha
33 comments:
So true! I treasure every comment I get...just to know that someone likes what I'm writing! (and that someone is actualy reading my posts)
This is a great post! I just figured out how to not have a captcha to post on my blog, thank goodness because they irritate me! I've always struggled with comments, how can I have so many views but little to none comments. But I guess it makes those comments I do get all that more special!
I agree with that 10 post thing. Coz once you start leaving loads of comments Blogger puts Captchas on everything and I honestly cannot for the life of me read them.
Really good post though it made me have more insight in thinking that people aren't reading what I write any more because I find that difficult to swallow, being that I put so much effort in and get less and less feedback but I know where my readers are coming from because I'm the exact same. I guess that makes me a hypocrite but there we go.
Better click send and try and read the Captcha ...
I read everyone's posts and I try and comment on all of them. Sometimes I don't comment because I cannot find the right words to say. I also feel like the posts that have 10 or more comments are just not worth commenting. I am not contributing anything of value, so why comment just to get lost in the mix. I personally appreciate every comment I get and wish I would get more feedback so I can improve on what the reader likes and wants to see. I know it's hard for me so I should take that into consideration for my readers.
Maybe if blogger had a 'like' button then people could just click that. I know I would be more inclined to do that. That would be an acknowledgement and it would be quick too. When you get no comments it's a bit disheartening but I understand about having no time or reading through reader making it very hard to comment.
Stacie @kawaiinailart
xoxox
I like Stacie's comment...
and I'll look into voting buttons for my blog. Part of why I love comments is just to know what my readers are enjoying and what they don't care about as much. There are a million things I'd like to write about, and if people aren't interested in some of them, I'm happy to skip!
This happens to me too Liloo! I comment on 10 posts or so and get tired. After all, you have to read the entire post to comment anyway!
I'd removed my captcha once I realise how annoying it was for ME to comment on other's blogs and then have to do a captcha. It's supposed to stop spam, but since Blogger is monitoring spam comments anyway, what do we need captcha for? It's better to prevent anonymous comments for this purpose, so you can reach the commenter if need be.
Thanks for a great survey Liloo! And I'll definitely get around to commenting more once my exams are done with!
By the way, if you wish to follow me (I'm already following you for a long time now) I'm on Twitter as @glamadazzle and my blog's at http://glamadazzle.blogspot.com/ :)
That's why I took the Captcha off my blog, and I have definitely seen an increase in comments lately x
I removed captcha before Christmas as I do find it annoying myself. I have made much more of an effort to reply to the comments that I do get. I try and comment on other blogs too. This is a great post :-)
Couldn't reply from my phone last night so have missed my place in your wall of fame! I definitely don't comment enough, but it's due to the fact I often read posts on my phone on the bus or my lunchbreak and can't post comments from it.
How do people feel about comments that have to be moderated? I took captchas off mine a while back but added moderation as I'd had a couple of nasty and spammy ones.
Great post though hun, really interesting!
I read around 60 blogs (a drop in the ocean I know!) but I rarely comment as I am not a blogger and feel like my comments aren't really considered valid. I also feel like a bit of a creepy weirdo chiming in with my opinion when everyone else seems to know each other. xx
The captchas can be annoying but they generally don't put me off. I agree that after commenting on a few I just can't be bothered to do it anymore, especially if i'm having a long catch up so i'll have more than 20 posts ready to be read, but maybe only 5 of them will get a comment on them.
I dont comment as much as i should do either but if im on phone it takes forever. I am always so grateful when people comment on my blog though. if i wanted to comment on every post i read it would take me forever. Some days i comment loads and other days not many at all.Hmmm lots to think about x
I love every comment I get, and I always try to comment on every post I read, even if its something small... When people comment on your post, it just shows that they read it, and not just scrolled through the pics.. I feel so depressed when no1 comments on mine Lol x
Such a great post! So much tothink about and a really good help :)
Love every comment and criticism. As long as the criticism isnt rude bitching, I really like to consider them. After all we all have freedom of speech and I find that very important.
Loove you booh :D
Love Lois, (Deutsch Kartoffel xD )
interesting post x thanks for displaying my cleavage worldwide lol
Really interesting post. I'm not sure if I'm alone in this but I don't get upset or feel a post I've written isn't good enough if I don't have comments. I don't blog to get validation from other people, I do it because I enjoy it and I want to provide helpful information to others. As long as I feel I have achieved that, it is enough for me.
Comments are lovely, but they are not everything. I would continue to blog even if I had no comments and no readers! I comment on posts that I really like, that resonate with me and are on products I am interested in. However, often posts are so well written with all the information I need to know i.e. price, release dates, dupes, that I don't feel the need to ask anything or comment. So in my view, often few or no comments is a sign that the post has been done well (I'm really talking about beauty blogs here). When I read a post on an unusual or original topic, I am far more likely to comment, like this post!
What does irritate me a bit though is when bloggers complain about having few or no comments and repeatedly ask for them, especially when they often don't comment themselves. If I want to comment I will, I don't need to be told to. x
@katxoxo yay :) let's treasure them all, even if person only leaves 'lovely colour'xx
@kimberleymarquez thank you. I hope this will have helped solved the mysterious discrepancies. I declare death to captchas, and maybe comments set on approval only for these bigger blogs who experience a fair amount of spam
@bicky lovely spending last night you virtually with you. you're right, our posts are good. The problem is that hundreds of others are good too :S
@froggiestyle73 "posts that have 10 or more comments are just not worth commenting" <--- I see where you're coming from, but this a little bit sad, how does the writer know you like it, if your 'commenting system' doesnt allow to show that in an easy manner
@stacie @mylipsbutbetter
Genius ideas you two. I definitely think this is the way forward.
@rizzie (glamadazzle) "since Blogger is monitoring spam comments anyway, what do we need captcha for?" <-- so true. You know, I'd actually pay 10 a year for blogger to identify my ip address or something, then i will never have to type that, ever. Now following you on twitter and on blogpost. Wow, your blog is very popular.
@bigfashionista yay :) little old me would love if this world had less captchas in it. Life is faffy enough. Perhaps have the blog set on 'approval only' for these blogs who have lots of traffic and more likelihood to receive spam from robots?
@bettina@beautyswot yay, death to all captchas. Thank you bettina :) x
@missy_ellie_uk thank you featuring on my wall of comments instead :) I did send the poll tweets wave rather late, so it's all my fault.
"comments that have to be moderated" <-- agree 500% and definitely the way to go for the popular bloggers who get lots of comments and more chances to get spam with that too x
@kirsty oh no, you shouldn't feel like a weirdo. all comments are welcome on all blogs. If you like a post, and if you have the time, any blogger would love your feedback even if it just said 'yes, i agree' or 'lovely nail colour'. this whole twitter debate and the poll thing made me appreciate even more the pure gold of comments x
@phibsterextraordinaire tell me about it. bloggers post so much and so often, you're forever spending your time clearing your reader and reading to make sure you don't miss any good stuff or whatever. I am really going to try to comment more, at least on the posts I've starred during the way and set some time to do that.
@nicoletta
yes lots to think about. we need to find ways to comment from our phone in an easily and the blogging world would be a much more happier place haha
@pinksweetz
oh my, yes. haha. it can be so depressing, especially on a fotd when you spent like ages, if only just to plough through all the photos and what not.
@lois thank you kleine kartoffel :)
@louise your cleavage was a much needed light relief after such a lenghty post. haha. thank you. I bet you work for the census as well. I've been thinking about you know
@lipstickluvvie
" I don't blog to get validation from other people" <-- I admire your work. I just cannot help myself from feeling upset if I don't get at least one comment, on a non-press release post.
"I would continue to blog even if I had no comments and no readers!" <-- wow, very commendable.
"What does irritate me a bit though is when bloggers complain about having few or no comments and repeatedly ask for them, especially when they often don't comment themselves" <-- amen. It's totally a 2 way thing. amen amen and amen again.
" If I want to comment I will, I don't need to be told to" <-- I couldn't agree more. Harass me to comment, and i would want to comment even less haha.
A relief to hear I'm not the only one who both cant find time to comment but also questions why I get less despite my blog getting more followers. I think I need to focus more on the reasons I started blogging in the first place - not for comments, just for me!
I don't mind hardly getting comments on my blog. I look to see if my post has been liked (have a tick box under each post). I also have a thing which shows the page views.
Great post and very useful, and I hope someone from blogger sees it and thinks of a way to comment that'll make our (blogging) lives easier! Thank you for including me in your poll sweetie. I have daily posts (well, usually I do) so I can't expect from my followers to comment in each and every post. So if I have less comments in some posts I don't mind.
xxx
Now this is a great post! I really appreciate evry single comment I get on my blog and I feel that since I started blogging I also leave more comments on other blogs. Although sometimes I can be too lazy/not have enough time or sometimes I just feel that writing "Great post." wouldn't really add anything to the post. I also don't have the captchas on my blog but I don't think they are too irritating (only a little bit). x Klara
Thanks for collating all that information and putting it into some kind of rational thought process! I really mind when people don't comment and hate the feeling of 'talking to myself', but I definitely don't comment on other blogs enough. I'm now setting aside an hour on Sunday evenings come what may to take the time to do it and contribute more to the blog community in general. I am always scraping for extra time, but can find that hour so will do it gladly. I love it when people comment, but I don't tend to engage much on my blog, preferring to do it on Twitter. So, that's also something I'll change imminently. I feel guilty for not making the contributions I should so am going to try very hard to rectify. Reading through this proves I need to do it more. I love reading other blogs; so inspiring, so I'm going to tackle those Catchpas head on and just do it! Thanks Tsunimee: as ever, you've put it all so beautifully.
Just wanted to add that for me comments do *validate* what I'm doing. It shows that people are interested enough to make the effort to comment and that on some level my blog is reaching them. I love that and don't mind saying so. I feel really proud and exceptionally lucky that people do bother to read, so I'd rather be honest and upfront and admit to feeling much, much happier when someone takes time to agree or disagree with me. When you blog to an audience, however big or small, feedback is crucial and personally it helps me tailor what I'm doing to what people want to read. *Doing it for myself* is a thing of the past - I want to get it right so that people enjoy what they read. What's wrong with that?
It always amazes me when I see posts with tons of comments, and most of the time I get big old goose eggs! (0 comments) I totally echo what britishbeautyblogger said above...I want response and feedback so I know I'm not blogging into a cavern.
By the way, I comment a lot. I guess because I'm just kind of chatty that way, and most things strike some sort of chord with me.
I really do not care if people comment or not as long as they are reading the posts. I love commenting because it lets the reader know I appreciate their work but it is not completely necessary for me to know people like my site. I always answer the comments I get on my blog and visit their site in return if the comment is not spam.
Fabulous post, Liloo. I don't normally comment, I'm a lurker, but for you.. :3 Not enough hours in the day and the cross variety of blogging sites/software doesn't help much and of course, the dreaded CAPTCHA and all the things you pointed out.
I've had 6 comments on my blog, total, since I started a new personal blog, but I don't really blog for comments and things, I blog to get things out of my system which is something I really need. It is a positive outlet for me. But it does make me smile when I have comments. One day, I'll try beauty blogging again maybe, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.
So very true, I have noticed that my blog is no more needed which makes me think whether I should stop blogging or keep going with it ... Very informative and thought provoking post.
I love comments and hate captchas because I comment a lot too on the blogs that I love and read, and they are so annoying, so you won't see them on my blog, never ever.
Muy buen aporte, me gustó mucho.
Saludos,
Celosias
I think comments and traffic in general are a collective thing for my own blog. But I make a point of regular blog reading and leaving comments if I have questions or have an opinion on something. Sometimes there isn't anything to say but I'm a regular reader of a blog they will find several comments from me over time.
I can understand why people don't want to leave a comment that says simply that it was a great post, or that they enjoyed it BUT as a blogger a) I read every single comment regardless of how many I get. I've never had huge numbers but I know that will be true even if I do, because each person has taken the time to leave one, I absolutely take the time to read them b) I don't expect every comment to be an erudite essay or insightful comment, sometimes just knowing someone has particularly enjoyed the post is all that's needed to make me feel great c) I often go and visit a blog to see who has left the comment and sometimes find myself commenting too, so there is reprocity, even if it's not 1:1 d) I can't remember what d was but great post, Liloo love.
I enjoy commenting!
Ever since I first went on the internet, before blogs and whatnot, I identified as a commenter :) .
But: I find a post that asks for comments/views on an issue, spend my time and energy composing a meaningful comment, go through captchas... only to get nothing in response.
Not once or twice (I could say 'Ok, there simply was nothing to say to further meaningful conversation') or just to me (I could say 'Ok, I haven't brought anything new to the discussion, but others did') - some blogs simply don't answer.
I comment on blogs which really do engage with readers' comments.
If they don't, I'll comment once or twice in a few months, when an especially interesting/well-crafted post comes along.
(In those cases my comments are pretty brief: 'Thank you for this, it was very interesting' - my version of 'omg lol nice post' - I appreciate the time spent on making that blog and I want the author to know that, but since there is no communication, no talking with the readers, just talking at them... that's what magazines are for.)
Otherwise it just feels like you went for a coffee, initiated by the other side, with someone who then ignores you :| .
* * *
Then there's tracking of the comments when people do answer - you either have to go back manually and maybe find something new, maybe not or you subscribe by email... and get swamped with a 100 'nice posts' until the response to your comment comes along.
* * *
Judging by this comment, you can see I really appreciate this article :D .
It's good to hear people's opinion on captchas - I didn't know they were such a hassle, especially for phone surfers!
I'll have to rethink them.
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