Should you Disable Comments on your Blog?
There are many reasons for using blogs to support an online business and I’m a strong advocate of the practice. Blogs increase content, generate traffic and build audiences. Blogs can also be successful online businesses in themselves and many entrepreneurs either supplement their income or earn a direct living through blogging.
Yet when it comes to comments I often come across people who suggest that newly launched blogs, or ones with few active members, should disable comments on their posts. I disagree completely.
Attract Explorers and Their Feedback
Having little to no comments on your posts isn’t a crime, in fact there’s a certain appeal to having little feedback. Your site can be seen as a diamond in the rough, an undiscovered country that people quite often, myself included, find enticing. Being the first to comment on a new blog is a thrill and almost always leads to a social connection. I for one remember the excitement of my first post and enjoy leaving quality posts on other budding sites.
Remain Open to Discussion
Despite your intentions a blog with disabled comments implies finality – a kind of “this is my post and that’s it”. Inactive comments block users from sharing their opinions and may cause your otherwise wonderfully written blog to come off as stubborn or even snooty. People want to share their opinions and even if they don’t always post feedback they take comfort in knowing they are free to do so.
Don’t Miss Out
If you agree with the idea that comments should be disabled on start-up blogs, then you’re increasing your risk of missing out. What if you write a fantastic post and someone absolutely loves it? What if many people love it, tweet it, email it and talk about it yet no one can let you know that you rock? Leave the comments open and let your readers praise you; or curse you. Regardless of what they say, getting feedback and building an audience is what blogs are about. People will have opinions and you’re missing out if you’re not hearing them.
Comments Don’t Attract Readers, Content Does!
How often have you seen an article with a fantastic title and you just had to stop read it? Did you notice how many comments there were? Would you have skipped reading the article if you knew that there were 0 comments? Perhaps your thought was that this was a newly published article and you just scored some fresh tweeting material?
The fact is that people read articles for the content and not for the feedback. True, comments can often be just as interesting as the post itself, sometimes better, but that doesn’t mean that no comments means no readers. Don’t get discouraged if your readers aren’t active – the social butterflies will come but the strong silent types are just as important.
It’s Okay Not to Have Comments
Finally, there is nothing wrong with not having any comments on your post. It won’t stop the world from turning and it definitely won’t stop visitors from coming. Don’t focus on the numbers, running an online business is a busy job and there are a million and one other things that you could be doing instead of counting your feedback. Focus on important things such as the quality of your posts and the feedback will come with time.
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Whether it’s a new blog or one that has been around awhile, being able to comment opens the door for communication with other people. For businesses, it gives much needed feedback and helps the business understand it’s customer base. If you start getting a lot of negative comments, it’s good to know that you should change direction.
PS. I like this post.
Hi maddie,
Online businesses revolve around communication. Without a means of feedback you’re distancing yourself from interactive customers. Unless they’re spammers, people leave comments for a reason. Sifting through those comments, responding accordingly and addressing any issues is part of doing business.
P.S. Thank you!
For me, there is nothing wrong if you decide to disable comments on your blog if you think this will provide you with great benefits. As a matter of fact, you can even block some spammers who posts irrelevant comments. Thus, you should come up with the right decision first.
How you approach any part of your business is always up to you. It’s one of the benefits of running your own company. Your choices should however be educated ones. What would be the benefits of deactivating comments? You definitely save time by not needing to respond to feedback or sift through endless amounts of spam. On the other hand you lose content, customer input and a range of other things. Like you said, you need to come up with the right decision before committing to anything final. Thanks for your comments Liane!
Hi Chris,
For me, I’ve only closed comments on one post – and that was one where I wanted my readers to find other blogs to comment on and hopefully build community.
That said, I do have a blogging friend who closed her comments after three years due to the large amount of harsh/hateful comments she was receiving. Not only was it taking up time to filter through them, but I’m sure it took a toll on her mentally, as well. (I miss not being able to comment on her blog so I communicate with her on Facebook).
Due to the amount of spam I receive, I close comments on posts older than 90 days. Even with two spam filters, I still get hundreds of spam comments each week which I sometimes will go through to see if a real comment slipped through. Spam is one of the things we must deal with if comments are left open but for me, sifting through them is a small price to pay in order to receive “the real thing”.
Hi Barbara,
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. A general lack of respect often stems from people’s ability to hide behind pseudonyms and anonymous accounts. Still, if you’ve ever worked in retail you’ll understand that upset customers can often be just as determined in person. Dealing with issues is a large part of doing any type of business, online or off. As a bloggers we need to deal with such situations in our own ways.
Spam is definitely an issue. Spam filters are great but not always effective. The most difficult are spammers who skim your articles and leave passable comments that barely contribute to anything. I often catch myself hesitating over the spam button. There is always the option of installing a reCAPTCHA plugin but I find that they’re very impersonal and have their own drawbacks. Thank you for commenting!
Thanks Chris, I really got your point and understood all the information that you have said. We should really weigh all our options before coming up with our decision. Thank you d=for sharing to us your blogs because it really helps us with our work.
Hey Chris,
I agree with leaving comments open, especially if it’s a controversial topic, or written to provoke thought and feedback. I love connecting with my readers through their comments, and providing them a place to share and participate in my site.
Thanks for the great post, looking forward to your next!
Margie
Thanks Margie! There is a certain type of satisfaction that comes from communicating with people online. Whether your site is a large online retailer or a successful blog, the interactions you have with your readers can be both informative and fun. There are just so many really great and interesting people to interact with.
Personally speaking, I think that a blog which has comments closed is only half a blog. It’s really interesting to see the debate which a blog post can generate.
On my own blogs, I love to get reader feedback. It gives me a clue as to any points that have not been covered completely – or left out altogether. The comments section can also produce ideas for future blog posts.
I agree with you – new bloggers sometimes tend to turn off their comments because they’re worried that having post after post of empty feedback somehow decreases the value of their articles. It’s completely not true. They’re actually missing out on that potential person who will leave a response.
As for the actual content, no matter how hard I try to write a comprehensive post there’s always something that I miss. Having someone contribute actually completes the article and gives it value. Thank you for your great feedback!