Comments - Are They Suitable for Your Blog?

"All blogs should allow comments, or it's not a blog."

This seems to be a common view, and while I can understand the thought behind it, I must say I don't agree. Comments do not necessarily make a website a blog, nor does a lack of the comment option make it not a blog.

A blog is defined by its ability to be updated quicker and more easily than the typical multi-page website. It is up to the author to choose whether or not he or she wants to make the comment option available to others.

Choosing whether or not to allow them is a decision that should be made based on a number of things:

What would you prefer?

Some people would rather not allow others to comment on their posts, whether it be because they're less sociable than the average blogger, or another of many possible reasons.

Do you have the time?

Managing comments can often be time consuming, especially if you receive a lot of them. Some bloggers have several blogs to manage and/or lead busy lives, and just don't have the time to read, reply, and keep the spam at bay.

What is the nature of the blog?

Depending on the topic of the blog and the "voice" in which the posts are written, it may seem pointless for readers to comment. A couple examples of this would be product descriptions and movie summaries in which no opinion is presented, and none are asked for.

How big is your audience?

Some bloggers feel a sort of embarrassment when they see "0 comments" next to many of their posts. If you are one of those people, it's understandable, and if it is bothersome, disable comments until you build your audience. If you love writing, you shouldn't allow yourself to be discouraged by a lack of feedback. (In my eyes, it should drive you to try harder.)

On the other hand, some (few) blogs have a very large audience and get hundreds of comments within a matter of hours. Some bloggers just can't handle that much activity and are forced to disable them in order to get other things done. (This can go along with the amount of time available.)

What is your strategy?

It's not uncommon for bloggers to have a website that is more than just a blog. They have created forums, chat rooms, etc, and some bloggers have found it better to disable comments on their posts in order to encourage discussion in the various communities they run.

Sometimes choosing between allowing and not allowing comments can make or break a blog, and should be thought over thoroughly before making a final decision.

Also, changing your mind once you've developed a loyal audience could cause you to lose your readers, so take caution in doing so. I would suggest asking for their thoughts beforehand (unless there is unavoidable and unwanted quarreling happening before announcing such an act).

So, comments or not, what's your choice?

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Comments

[Bob Younce at the Writing Journey]

I prefer, obviously, to have comments.

My blog, though, is more personable by it's nature. It's a blog about me, and about my journey as a writer. It's about me, and the writer friends I'm making. So, I've got a relatively active comment situation.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that I've got the two comment kings, Brett Legree of Six Weeks and James from Men with Pens as readers. Those guys can't seem to shut up ;)

Seriously, I think that shutting down comments robs readers of the opportunity to interact with the blogger, or at least with one another.

Can a blog be successful without comments? Of course. Does closing comments hurt? I think so. I know I spend a heck of lot less time at sites with closed comments than I do sites where they're not.

[chris]

Hi Raivyn,
Excellent post! In my travels around the blogosphere, I've seen not so exciting blogs that have tons of commentors, and then there's the really interesting ones, with great alexa rank and high number of visitors, etc that get hardly any comments, so I don't think people should feel discouraged if they don't get a lot of comments. I do think that blogs that offer advice or information should probably enable comments (like mine) as people do want to leave a question from time to time and it's good to be able to answer them or clarify a point you made in your post.

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