What motivates you to comment on blogs?

[stacilayne]

I've been blogging for about 5 years now, but I'm still not sure what entices people to comment. My blogs are totally from my own personal standpoint, talking about everything from the celebrities I interview for a living, to the concerts I go to, my photography, makeup tips, fashion finds, etc. It's entertainment related, but very hard to categorize.

When I had my MySpace blog, I’d get anywhere from 10 to 20 comments per post. Now? Pffft! But I still think I needed to make the move to Wordpress because MySpace is unprofessional, and the community isn't growing. It was the same people posting on my blog all the time, after awhile. (And only two of them followed me outside of MySpace.)

When I see a blog with no comments, I am less-apt to return. Yet, I have people (totally unexpected people, not just my friends) tell me they read my blog all the time. But who's gonna know? Ultimately, I'd like to be paid to blog, so if perspective employers see my personal blog as "successful" then so much the better. That's why I'm hoping to get more subscribers and comments, so I'm asking around for tips and tricks.

I'm not sure if I am a typical commenter. I only remember to go to my friend's blogs, and blogs I like, if I am subscribed and get email reminders. I made sure my own blog has that. I like blogs that embed videos and links, and are visual, so I make sure mine has plenty going on in that regard, too. Aside from that, I will comment if I want to be supportive — for instance, I will say something on my friend's blogs if they don't have many comments.

If they are already successful and have dozens of opinions expressed, then I am less likely to chime in. Also, I seldom post to disagree — if I don't have something nice to say, then I don't say it at all. I probably won't comment on a blog if I have to log in, and I do hate CAPTCHA's. If I have to keep typing in CAPTCHA's, then I probably won't return.

Anyway, I'd love to know what makes other people more or less likely to leave comments, and also if you are a successful blogger with lots of followers, I'd like to know what you did to find new readers.

Thanks,

Staci

[Virginia]

There are several professional blogs that I read regularly; either on the blog page or their Twitter feed (or both; I use Tweetdeck for managing our Twitter account at work and it's very helpful), but I don't read any blogs that aren't related to my work. It's common practice in my industry for peers to follow and retweet one another; and there are circles of bloggers with similar interests that link to one another on their blog pages.

I have never commented on a blog, but I have DM'd a couple of times through Twitter; and I retweet regularly. Hope this helps!