After my very first succes on Digg, I faced the next big challenge. The post that hit the frontpage now includes 37 comments (including some of myself). All authors of the comment would like their comment to be replied on, I would at least. How can you do this effectively is my next big challenge.
Bloggers like Darren Rowse from Problogger, receive hundreds of comments on a daily basis I guess, as he runs multiple blogs. How on earth, would he be able to manage all those comments?
Darren proves the importance of comments on blogs, in the following video;
Posted at Problogger.net: The Power of Commenting On Other Blogs
Well, first of all, Darren is a professional blogger. It’s his job, so he should have plenty of time for his comments. But he also needs to write his posts, for some blogs and he tends to have a social life too! Darren not only likes to receive comments, he also proves the fact that comments (you write on other blogs) are good for your blog in this video.
If someone spends time to write a comment on your blog, he or she would like a nice reply (that could lead to a great discussion). Once you get over 100 comments a day, how do you manage all this? It sounds like a mission impossible to me though…
Key tasks to think about once you get comments more than you can handle;
- - Moderate all comments before publishing, or just leave the anti-spam to filter?
- - Hire/ask another blogger to help you moderating/replying the comments?
- - Reply on all comments, or filter and reply to the more interesting ones?
These tips should work for lots of bloggers, but I’m still wondering how Darren is doing all this…
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about coen jacobs
My blog called “TheItalianVoice” is quite new, but it’s getting more comments since my start. When I get more than 1 comment per time (I mean for example in the same day when I’m not at home), I tend to reply to everybody, but using the same window to avoid that people have to scroll down all the comments and look for the one which is dedicated to them, I find it more practical for readers and for me too.
Have a nice time and greetings from Italy!
As a professional blogger I had to decide what policy I’d set for managing lots of comments on my 2 blogs
I settled for :
1. Moderate all comments before publishing - otherwise my blog would look unprofessional because even using akismet some spam gets through
2. I realised that its impossible to reply on all comments - I am more likely to reply to regular commenters/subscribers and the more detailed random interesting comments
I could get another blogger or an assistant to help me moderate but I decided that was a bad idea because I’d loose my connection with readers and not be able to converse/learn from them which is one of the best parts of blogging
I believe my most commented post was close to 80 and I average about 35 a day on both my blogs combined.
I tend to reply only to comments that warrant one. If a question was asked or a counter point that disagreed with your post topic then I reply. If the comment supports your point or is just providing 2cents, I leave it be. It’s impossible to reply to each one ALL the time and I think most people commenting realize this.
That being said when I first started, I replied privately to ALL comments. It was important for my that my audience knew I was invested in my blog and that I was a “real” person that cared about my topic and image.
Right now, I don’t moderate my comments, but I do categorize comments I receive; some categories receive replies and some don’t. I actually just wrote a post about my little system this morning.
Once I start getting more comments, I’m open to the idea of moderating, but I don’t like the idea of handing off the task. I like being as hands-on as possible with my blogs!
@Neerav, I’m willing to moderate the first comment a reader writes on my blog, after that it will be published right away.
It sure is impossible to reply on all comments, imagine yourself doing that with over 100 comments each day. It will be a fulltime job!
@Roni, so you’re a selective replyer too? Interesting as most bloggers seem to do so.
@Sarah, how exactly do you categorize your comment? Do you do this in a external system, of in your mind, of with some kind of plugin perhaps?
@Coen
I wish I had a plugin, but unfortunately my PHP skills are remedial. Right now, I don’t get overloaded with comments, so I categorize them as I read them, taking mental (and sometimes written) notes on how I’d like to respond. I also only respond to comments once a day; my daily to-do list has “Check and respond to comments” on it, and once I’ve checked it off (normally in the afternoon), I don’t return to comments until the next day.