I haven’t been blogging for very long, but I have been following a lot of other writer’s blogs for a while now. One of the things I’ve noticed is that writer’s blogs don’t seem to generate much in the way of comments. I’ve seen some blog articles that were well-written and provocative—posts that should have generated a vigorous discussion, but don’t. For the most part, you’ll see zero to two or three comments per blog post on many sites. Sometimes there are more, but those are the exceptions.
Before I began blogging, I just assumed those blogs must not have much of a following. In some cases, I thought maybe the blogger doesn’t post often enough to keep traffic coming back to check in. Why would a post that should explode a comment section just sit there and fizzle? I’m not talking about those few blogs where you have to register and submit hair and blood samples before you can comment. I can see where a complicated registration process would put off commenters.
This sort of thing can be discouraging. Ultimately, if your posts don’t generate any real evidence of interest, how do you know you’re reaching anyone? Do you go by the number of people who subscribe to your blog? Do you measure your progress and impact by page views? Page views are nice, but what do they really say except that people saw it and didn’t care enough to comment? Your article is sitting there like a piece of gum on the sidewalk. If it hasn’t been mushed, it’s because everyone saw it and stepped over or around it.
One of the things that I think must make a huge difference is that people who follow a blog do not have the same sense of community as those who regularly spar in a Facebook group. By way of example, a blogger today posted an excellent and thought-provoking piece on whether sex is necessary in novels, particularly, action-type novels. He then posted a link to the piece in a Facebook group. The subject touched off a discussion thread in the Facebook group consisting of 442 comments. The well-written and provocative blog article reaped 8 comments (as of the time I write this).
I think this will continue until blogs can develop that same sense of community among readers. It seems to me that Indies Unlimited is doing pretty well, considering it is a very young blog. I don’t know what the standard for success is or should be, but I look around and think to myself, Seems like everything might be going okay after all.
Feel free to leave a comment if you have one to spare.
To tell you the truth, anytime you can say what you want is worth it!
Brother, can you spare a comment? For you Stephen, of course. 🙂
Aw, thanks for stopping by guys!
For some reason, it "feels lonely" commenting on a blog.
That's my spare comment lol 🙂
Not sure why, but I'm certainly someone who comments a lot more on FB (and Twitter) than I do on blogs. Maybe it's because they are more 'immediate'? However, I will try to comment on blogs more often (this one included, of course!), as I think it's an important part of blogging, for both the writer and the reader.
Nancy and Katheryn,I think you are both right – the lack of immediate feedback certainly takes away from the sense of conversation one gets in a FB group, and that is a big part of the fun of social media. Often, blog comments have to await moderation and even once the comment is posted, it often does not generate a response from other commenters.
I use my blog as a type of diary for myself and a way to share info. I don't get many comments, but that doesn't really bother me. I think that people may read it and just don't feel the need, or have time, to comment.