Replying to Blog Comments

How to determine when to reply to comments

One way to encourage community on your blog is to reply to the comments left on your posts. It’s a great way to continue the conversation, answer questions, and show your reader that you really do read your comments. Other times, replying to comment is not the best use of your time. How do you know which to respond to and which to read and leave be?

Respond to comments when:

• A question is asked.  An answer is expected, so be sure to give one. Plus, other readers might have that same question and will be able to see your response and get the answer, too.
• The comment brings up another point you wanted to address in your post. We can’t cover everything in a single blog post, so this gives you a chance to add to the content without making your actual post be too long for most readers.
• Something compels you to reply. Whether it’s a comment that you read that makes you instantly want to continue the conversation or perhaps it’ a comment that you disagree with and you want to clarify your point.

Read but don’t respond when:

• There’s nothing left to say. I love any comment, even if it’s incredibly short because it shows that people are reading. But, when you get a comment that only reads “LOL,” what exactly is there left to say?
• The only thing left to say is “thank you.” This one is a personal preference, but when you post an announcement of some sort, like you are starting a new project or it’s your anniversary and you receive lots of “Congrats” comments, you either reply “Thank you!” to all of them or you can read, but show your appreciation in other ways, like returning a blog visit instead.
• Someone is obviously trying to cause drama. When you get a comment that really has nothing much to do with your post but simply is a troll trying to stir up trouble, remember that you are in no way obligated to play along and feed the fire.

Do you reply to your blog comments?

About our guest poster: Shell- known as @shellthings on Twitter- wrangles chaos and mayhem on a daily basis (otherwise known as raising three boys). When she’s not breaking up wrestling matches or ducking legos, she spills her thoughts on her blog, Things I Can’t Say, which is all about encouraging community and support among bloggers. In her free time (ha!), Shell is cofounder of Other Half Media and provides classes through How to Rock Your Blog- perfect for beginning bloggers.