We all know how to get people to our site. Twitter, Facebook, and word of mouth drive the traffic and we get excited…

Till we look at the stats and realize people aren’t staying on our site, nor are they returning. The question now is, how do we keep them coming back for more?

I’m seeing a lot of blog owners with great content but few comments or signs of life (mine included!) and I’ve been doing some research. While some people set up forums and create vibrant communities centered around their niche, most of the great bloggers are saying “Get Personal!”

In his 31 Days To A Better Blog series, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net stresses the importance of a personal connection with your readers, specifically, those who’ve taken time to leave you a comment.

Reply to their comment on the site, via email, or both!

Most blogging software makes this easy for the site owner, in that it requires a visitor to leave a valid email address when they post a comment, thus leaving you a way to contact them. WordPress goes even further and allows you to reply to a comment right on the site.

And then, there’s the Comment Email Responder plugin for WordPress which allows you to do both at the same time. That’s right! When you click an icon to reply to the comment, your reply shows on the site and is emailed to the person who originally commented on your post.

Thanking people for taking time to share their opinion or comment is a good way to show you’re human and you care about your readers. When the next person visits they’ll see you’re making an effort to connect, instead of sitting back and waiting for the comments to roll in.

Discussion builds community.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead! Take your blog to the next level by connecting with the readers you love and appreciate.

Create a Community by Replying to Comments

Comment Email Responder