So you have spent hours of your precious time to brainstorm, create, layout and optimize a virtual blog masterpiece. You post it in anticipation of the undoubtedly overwhelming response you know you’ll receive. And then…

Crickets….

I think we all have been there. Done that.

As a blogger, engagement is your number one goal, and it’s easy to become discouraged if you feel like nobody is relating to what you’ve written.

Here are a few practical things you can do:

1. Make it compelling

This may seem like a no-brainer – but perhaps your content isn’t interesting. Here are three helpful pointers to keep in mind before you write – or if you aren’t receiving much feedback:

• Is your content useful? Know your readers and their problems. And help solve those problems.
• Is your content nice to look at?  Aesthetics are important. Add colorful images to illustrate your topic, create a catchy headline and format it to make it more readable.

2. Make ‘em feel it!

Stirring up emotion is, by far, the best way to get someone’s attention. TV has practiced this for decades. There is nothing like a good love story or tear jerker. (even if it is a Folgers commercial) If you have a strong opinion about a topic – voice it!  Or, if you have a touching story to tell, don’t hold back. Inspire people, get them fired up, or make them cry. Bottom line – make them feel something. And those emotions can compel comments

3. Ask a question

No, do not openly beg for comments. But it can be helpful to ask a question pertaining to the blog itself. It could be something as simple as asking readers what their favorite part oft he blog was or to share experiences they’ve had relative to the topic. Or if you offer advice in a blog  – ask what take-aways they will try or if they have any tips to add. When in doubt, a call to action is a good choice.

4. Make it easy

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a huge fan of CAPTCHA. So, if you don’t need to use it, don’t. Or if you have to use CAPTCHA for some reason, please do what you can to make it legible. Reader attention spans are short as it is…and spending extra time trying to make sense of the letters can be annoying and could end up in reader abandonment. I understand if it’s necessary to capture reader data through a registration page, however it’s a best practice to make that as simple as possible, too.

Also – be sure your social media links are readily available on your blog page. If a reader shares your blog post, they may make a comment on it via their Twitter or LinkedIn posts.

5. Do unto others…

Blogging follows suit with social media etiquette. Just as following others on Twitter could result in follow backs – so it is with blog posts. Read other blogs – and leave comments. If commenting is important to you, it is most certainly important to other bloggers, too. And, if they see you showing up and responding to their posts, those authors will be more likely to reciprocate.

Another point to remember:  join the discussion on your own blog. Be sure you respond to others’ comments as quickly as possible.

Yes, it takes work to build up and engage faithful blog readers. Is it worth the effort? YES! You put a lot of hard work into writing on a regular basis. Make the most of it. You deserve it!

Back to you:

What tactics have you used that worked to engage readers and compel comments?