Amethyst Engagement Ring by Sue Yeoman via CraftBlogUK Flickr group
I'm just coming back to blogging more consistently here at craft blog uk after finishing my work for Folksy last month (details here if you missed it!) and I'm finding there's a significant difference in engagement from when I was blogging much more regularly last year - even though I now have twice as many facebook and twitter fans. So what am I going to do to get more comments and more engagement with the crafty bloggers of the UK.... ?
I've shared a few of my ideas below, maybe you could help me with a few more...
No Comment!
Eeek nothing at all? This feels very demorilizing for a blogger (all that hard work... sob!) and it is often assumed to be a result of low traffic, but that's not necessarily true. It's all about engagement, you need to ask questions of your readers and write engaging content that makes people want to join in... easy huh! Well no, it's a lot of hard work and takes time to build up a loyal network of commenters.
Regular Posts
As my posts here at CBuk have dwindled over the past year so have the regular commenters that used to take part in discussions I started. I need to get writing and get out there and promote my blog posts. The traffic that I get to my blog is mostly from google but these visitors are not commenters. It's people from my networks that are most likely to join in the discussions - so that means more facebook, twitter and google+ time. Take a look at my article top 10 blog posts ideas for a bit of inspiration if you are suffering from bloggers block.
Themed Posts
Get involved in writing a post that many other bloggers take part in too, usually on a specific day. Wordless Wednesday, Folksy Friday, Handmade Monday, Flickr Friday to name just a few. This helps with comments as bloggers tend to hop from post to post to encourage reciprical comments, find forum threads where you can post your link and find others who are taking part. Or start your own and tell people about it in relevant forums and across your network.
Open up a Conversation / Discussion
Replying to comments is important to show readers you care about their thoughts and feedback. I use disqus for my comments as it allows me to reply to a particular comment.
Say Thankyou!
If time permits try and visit a commenters latest post (if they are a blogger) and leave a comment, not just a thank you, you need to read their post, this will help to build relationships with other bloggers. If they have a twitter or other network to post a thank you to then go and find them and say so, it gives you an opportunity to share your post again too!
@topcommenter - Thanks for the lovely comment on my post about making over your blog http://bit.ly/rcoV44What do you think - is that too spammy or would you be happy to receive a tweet like this?
Celebrate the Comments!
Over at Scoutie Girls blog they have a weekly 'constant comment' post - such a great idea, they take the best posts of the week and make a new post from them. This works so well, as you read through these best comments they act as teasers as you are enticed to read the full article which is also linked to beneath each highlighted comment. The idea that you may get a mention in a post is a great incentive to write a cracking comment, rather than just "great post" or "nice".
This is not going to be so successful when you are posting once or twice a week and only have a few comments, but it's a great idea and could be adapted to a monthly post, or to a 'comment of the week' instead.
These are just a few ideas - I would love to hear the lengths you have gone to for a few comments or maybe it doesn't bother you as long as the stats show people are visiting? Let me know ...leave a comment!!!
Submit your UK Craft Blog! x Hilary :) .