One of the most important things you can do after you have published your post is reply to the readers who have graciously left a comment on what you wrote. Unfortunately, it’s also something that many people don’t do, or do well enough. Maybe it’s because they get a lot of comments, and maybe they just don’t care. But let me tell you, it’s crucial you keep up with your readers the best you can.
Replying to comments is one of the greatest ways to build a community on your blog. It encourages more discussion, and it gives you a chance to get to know your readers, and for your readers to get to know you.
But over time as your blog grows, it becomes harder to keep up with all the readers who comment on your articles. So, you are going from replying to a small handful of comments to dozens and dozens every time. How can you keep up?
I do my best to keep up with any comment I get on my posts. I mean, it’s the least I can do. Sometimes I miss a few, and sometimes I don’t do a great job of keeping conversation flowing. But, I do try my best. And you should to, regardless of blog size.
I have been thinking about more ways to better keep up with replying to the comments I get here. I would usually wait a a day or two after the post has been published and then reply to them, but that’s just not smart! By that time, the discussion has always died out.
The purpose of replying to comments is not just so you look like a nice blogger, but so you keep conversation flowing and readers interested. So, I looked at my approach to doing it and decided I was all wrong.
I want to share with you some of my new strategies for replying to blog comments, and I hope you can take a look at them and figure out how to implement them into your own flow.
1. Schedule it With Similar Activities
I have been trying to make replying to comments one of the first things I do when I get ready for work. Since I schedule all of my posts to publish while I’m asleep, I wake up to new comments everyday.
Once I get ready to work, I decide to reply to comments when I reply to emails I also receive overnight. Grouping these two activities together really makes it easier since they’re so similar.
But go crazy with it. Reply to comments when you respond to tweets on Twitter, or when you’re reading others’ blogs and commenting there.
2. Have Fun!
Don’t make replying to comments a chore, make them enjoyable. As a blogger, you probably don’t get as much interaction with other people anyway (I kid, I kid), so use this time to get social and talk to your dedicated readers!
But the moment you start making it feel like you’re actually doing work instead of having fun, the less you will actually want to do it. So don’t force yourself to do it, just make it as enjoyable as possible!
3. Encourage Reader-to-Reader Interaction
A lazy way to take care of your comments is to get readers to reply to them for you! You still will want to get involved in discussions (and this may actually get you involved more than ever), but it’s still nice to see how strong of a community you will have.
4. Use Your Smart Phone
This is something I can’t believe I never thought of doing before. For many popular smart phone models like the iPhone, Blackberry, Droid and probably many others, you can find an application that will allow you to connect to your blog and manage some things.
Even if there’s no official application for your phone, you can still login to your blog through your phone’s browser and reply that way.
I am starting to do this with my BlackBerry and I find it very efficient since I get an alert every time I get a new comment and I can just reply to it once I see it.
How do You Manage Comments?
Maybe you have a blog that gets a few comments, or maybe you get dozens a post. I want to know, how do you keep up with them all? Even with the tips I suggested, it can still be tough to keep up with all of your blog comments.
So I want to know what you do, because I know I could still be better at it myself!
The Discussion
Leave a Comment Read Again?I reply to my readers comment as soon as I receive it. If I stay away from my PC I use my mobile to reply them.
That’s a god habit! Do you get a lot of comments to reply to?
Great post! This topic is exactly why I stick around Blogussion. Alex does an awesome job responding to his community!
Alex,
A very interesting read. I comment on a number of blogs and so it was very interesting to read your points.
“I would usually wait a a day or two after the post has been published and then reply to them, but that’s just not smart! By that time, the discussion has always died out.”
Ditto! I totally agree with this statement. It is true. The discussion does die down. There is just a huge effect of replying instantly (or as soon as possible), as the conversation is recent.
And once people comment, some of them actually expect a reply from the blog owner.
For Example: In the post ‘Why You Should Run Multiple Blogs for 3 Simple Reasons’ you asked a question ‘What do eggs have to do with the topic of this post?’ and I replied in the comments, but did not see a reply from you. No biggie, but could you please tell why did you select eggs lol
Kindest,
Nabeel
Really great tips Alex,
Yeah! Replying to all comments on your blog is a better way to engage your community and make the readers know you care.
The above tips are really great tips and I never thought of them before.
Thanks so much for the great tips,
-Onibalusi
I will admit that I find it a bit annoying when I see a blog with 30 (or even more comments) and the writer has not responded to anyone. It gives the feel that the writers is talking at his/her audience rather than talking with them.
Following the advice in this post is important for so many other reasons as well. For example, I respond to every comment (at least I think I do… I may miss the occasional one) and in the process I learn a LOT from my audience. Recently I have been asking for advice in my posts so that I can learn more and the advice has been stellar. I also believes it shows that I see everyone as equal and I;m in the process to learn as much as I am to share (rather than talking AT everyone with no intention of learning from them).
Replying to comments is huge!
For first time commentators or anyone that is not regular, if I leave a significant reply to a question they had or I have an idea for them I also shoot them a little email to let them know I left a comment for them.
I know there are plugins that do this… but the personal email takes 30 seconds to write, plus you add a quick link to the comment. It is so much better to get a personal response. If I get auto-responses I don’t read them and I generally think less of the blogger.
So staying personal is the most important part of replying to comments in my mind. Do what is natural in every other kind of communication. Otherwise you are replying just for the sake of replying and might as well be talking to a wall.
Hey Alex,
Another awesome Post. Some great there.
I reply to all the comments on my posts and i think it’s best way to engage your community.
.
Thanks for sharing this great Post. Awesome work alex
~Dev
Yup, first thing in the morning I check my email, deal with that and then scoot over to my dashboard to reply to the overnight comments. Nobody ever has to wait more than 24 hours for me to reply and usually it’s a lot less than that since I check late afternoon or early evening before bed and will reply to any new comments.
I like replying to comments. I usually make a quick visit to the blogs of new visitors and leave them a comment too. My way of saying thank you and giving them a reason to come back.
Alex, replying to my comments has not only created a great community on my blog, but also has made me some friends, and got me invites to guest post.
I do it simply because I really appreciate when people take the time to comment, and like you said, replying is the least I can do.
Dude, you gotta reply this one.
Awesome!
(Nf said?)
To be honest, it’s not too hard for me to respond to my comments. Why? Because I don’t get very much to be honest.
I may get 2 or 3 a week at the most and that’s it. It’s kind of depressing really. What I really don’t get is I have two sites, one of which has a fair bit of traffic, but people never really comment, I do my best to encourage reader participation, but it seems everyones tongue is tied. Maybe it’s because of the nature of my sites, which are more news and guides based?
Regardless, great tips for when maybe one day I’ve a ton of comments to reply to! :p
I try to batch them in the afternoon after I’m off work and before I start up my freelance work. It actually works quite well because after a long day at work I’m usually drained. By starting with comments it peps me back up so when I get into my freelance work I can rock it.
Nice Alex. I’m amazed at the speed at which some of the comments I leave are approved and replied to on some of the blogs I visit. I’m certain they must have a system in place to be so quick.
Lucky me! I have only few comments daily to manage, the rest of its are under Akismet’s wrath!
Great post, thanks! I just wish I had more time to reply to them.
Well, i haven’t reach such extend yet. Right now, replying to my blog comments are still bearable… but i ought to get myself prepare when time comes.
For me, at the extend of what i am doing, I for every e-mail i receive about a new comment, i will instantly shoot up a reply. This ensure that I will not tend to forget it if i were to hold onto it and reply it some other day.
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I can be quite forgetful, you see.
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Nonetheless, we learn as we progress and improve as we progress. there is no two way about it. When the time eventually comes, you will have to adapt and suit yourself to every situation that may arise. It really depends on how determine and persistent you are. If you are determine to reply every comment that you receive, one way or another, i am sure you will be able to do it…=)
well maybe missing out on here or there if it gets really HUGE… i am sure there are many ways to make up for it to your loyal readers. =)
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cheers have a nice day.
Replying to your Blog COmments is an important way of building the readers trust. It is like trying to show them that you care for their comments. You are right, Sometimes the number of comments gets to large to handle but it is a must to be able to set aside some amount of time to handle those comments. Great post mate
Ha-ha. Use your smart phone he says
. Good idea 
. Too bad my phone is Sony Ericsson T100, one of the first models of Sony Ericsson.
Mmmmm 
By the way the image of this post looks like chocolate
I am so happy whenever to see new comments on my blog, i guess there is always smile on my face too seeing this new comments.
Because of my blog’s niche, my comments are obvious, whether my post helps or just a feedback, i appreciate them all!
Good points. Sometimes I wonder if it’s necessary, but I agree with your points that replying to comments is important for building community.
Thanks for the strategies for actually doing it. It is so true that anything is easier to stay on top of if you address it as it comes up instead of putting it off until later.
Since my blog has not attract many visitors yet, for now replying comments is not a big problem for me. But i know some big blog with a hundred new comments per day, their have to spend additional time to reply it. This article help inspire them to reply comments. However, replying comments is not that hard.
I once read somewhere that ‘comments’ are a blogger’s ‘paycheck’ – and couldn’t agree more. I make it point to reply to every comment I get.
Since, I run a multi-author (RevenueSharing) blog, I use the ‘My Comments Manager’ wp-plugin to handle the comments made to my posts.
Great post – I get frustrated when I see bloggers not replying to their comments, especially if the comments are asking questions that never get answered. On my own blog I try to reply to comments but to be honest I haven’t been keeping up with them very well. It does help to schedule a time every day or every couple days to go through the comments and reply.
Well, I never reply to comments, probably because most posts I receive are spam or things like: great blog, great post blah blah. Those kind of things people post only to get a backlink.
Hi Alex.
Great post. This is really topical for me right now. It’s awesome how much effort you do put into replying to comments though.
My blog is just starting to get to a stage where I am getting more comments. It’s still pretty easy for me at the moment because every time I get a comment I see it as confirmation that my readership is growing.
I posted a new post earlier today and I got a comment within about 20 minutes, which I was really excited about. It encourages me to keep writing when I get readers taking the time to actually contribute.
I’ve started my blog recently. It’s just getting some views. I reply to comments as long as they are posted. If I’m on a vacation, I reply when I come back
But if your take a long vacation, it’s better to make announcement in your blog that you’re in vacation, so commentator will not confuse when their find the comment is not replied yet.
Excellent Post i like your style.
How do I make people comment on my posts? I mean the blog maybe interesting but they just “Facebook like” the post and not comment on it.
It amazes me how many of the really big bloggers don’t respond to any of their comments. It’s almost they have ‘gone the other way’ and think “I have 200 comments – how can I respond to them all – so I won’t respond to any”.
It’s a hard line between responding to none and just a few when you receive that many comments.
Great post for all bloggers that have the ambition to create more of a community of their blog. I agree that it’s crucial to answer comments at once to keep the discussion going but not necessarily for all types of posts. When I write a post about a current event I make sure to answer all comments immediately but on other subjects I don’t think its that important. This post for instance, it doesn’t really have a “news value” so I would not consider it as important to answer straight away. So a tip is to categorize your post in such a way that you feel obliged to answer the ones where you can expect a discussion straight away.
It comes absolutely satisfactorily by enhanced contents.
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