I have said more than once that I love feedback on what I do, and the same goes for everyone who runs a blog.
You write what you do, because you feel passionately about it and you want your voice to be heard.
So, when someone takes the time to post a comment, you know you’re being listened to. As long as it’s a constructive comment then it has a positive effect on your work.
It motivates you and lets you know that people out there are listening.
Constructive doesn’t have to mean positive
A constructive comment is one that helps you develop your ideas, without being bad mannered or offensive.
A good constructive comment can help you improve your site or blog posts in ways that you may not have thought of. That’s why I always ask for feedback on most of my posts, so that I can find out the value of what I’ve written.
We can all help each other in anything if we put our mind to it.
You are all helping me by responding to my posts, and in turn I can help you with the things you feel are important for your blogging, and know which direction to take for my next blog article.
Is the feedback function positive or negative?
There are some that argue that commenting has given us back ‘freedom of speech’ and a chance to question our opinions of things, and no doubt a blog can generate a lively discussion on an emotive subject.
It’s also easy to find blogs that think differently to you, that comments obstruct what the author is trying to say.
By commenting on what has been said, perhaps you are intruding on the writer’s freedom of speech and not exercising your own. By writing your comment you are imposing your own view, rather than paying attention to the view set down by the blog owner.
There is also an argument that by not accepting comments, you will speed up the time it takes to load a page on your blog, and you have less text for your readers to wade through when they visit your site.
But, surely we are providing a service, and in providing a service we should pay attention to that much-used phrase ‘the customer is always right?’
If I go to a restaurant and don’t get the food I ordered I am going to say something. I am going to expect the staff to sort the problem out for me the best way they can, with courtesy on both sides. That’s what gives me a good experience in a restaurant, and makes me go back again (that, and the quality of the food, of course!)
The point is, by writing blog articles, and providing people with information to help them in whatever way they need, we are putting ourselves in a position where people have the right to comment.
That’s the whole point of ‘freedom of speech’, isn’t it?
We all have that right.
Comments help you build a community on your blog.
Many people will comment on more than just one of your posts, and you get to know them as time goes on. They become part of your online community. They pass the word around to other communities and your reputation grows. They are there for you when you post questions to help your site progress.
So, I’d like to thank all those who respond to my request for feedback on my blog. Long may constructive comments continue!
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You are correct in that all comments are valuable. Some of my best work comes from negative or critical comments. How do you know that you can do a better job of writing something unless somebody tells you.. Good post Andrew.
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..blogReaction Introduces Revenue Sharing on Free Blogging Platform =-.
Aaron,
Exactly! Feedback is cricual if you want to progress and get better.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Advice´s last blog ..Blogging Advice- Top 10 Errors In Blogging =-.
Thanks for sharing this Andrew. I completely agree with. Comment, whether it’s good or bad, can really help you improve on your work. It’s also a good way to be part of online community and can spread good words about you if you get a lot of good comments from people. So make sure to provide good and quality content to get good and quality comments as well.
Kind regards,
Gary
Gary,
Getting comments is a great way to build a community and build on-line relationships.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Advice´s last blog ..Blogging Advice- Top 10 Errors In Blogging =-.
But isn’t it strange that some blogs don’t accept comments, and I’ve seen so many of them (and they’re not niche sites). I see their traffic rank are well, but still lack community interaction. perhaps they’re really up for the cash and not the reputation and I respect them for that. But with feedbacks, I actually like contents that end in questions, it’s so inviting that I would want to have the answer for his/her question, not just to say that I know it, but just to share and to appreciate the entry, knowing that I’ve reached the end of his/her article (which actually means I did enjoy reading it) 🙂
Jason,
Yeah – I don’t understand blogs that don’t accept comments.
It is as if they don’t want people to have a different opinion to them.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Advice´s last blog ..Blogging Advice- Top 10 Errors In Blogging =-.
Andrew
This is the hardest part after the technology learning curve…putting yourself out there to be criticized!
Without feedback though, how would you even know if anyone was interested. If you put yourself out there to be criticized then you can take each piece of feedback and tweak your offering to make it better.
The other thing is that after you get some momentum you become less likely to take the negative stuff personally and start to see it for what it really is…a chance to improve
Thanks
Mark
.-= Mark´s last blog ..Free Report For Marketing Beginners =-.
Mark,
Exactly – over time your confidence grows.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Income Blogging Guide Week 1- Inspiration =-.
This is oh so true, why comment on a blog if there is no added value to the blog itself? Just a waste of time from both the posters aspect and the blog owner. I love your blog and have bookmarked it and look forward to seeing future posts. 🙂
Thanks, Lori.
Great to see you here and hope to see you again, real soon.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Income Blogging Guide Week 1- Inspiration =-.
Hello Andrew, just stopping by to let you know that I really enjoy reading your blog. I hope, eventually, that I will make some money with my blog. Thanks for sharing all these information.
Best regards,
.-= Nathalie´s last blog ..PICTURES OF THE BARCELO MAYA BEACH RESORT =-.
Nathalie,
I hope you make money from your blog as well – good luck!
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Income Blogging Guide Week 1- Inspiration =-.
Leaving valuable comments is very important! I’ve seen people who just comment for links, well thats bad!
I find that constructive criticism, even if it leans toward the negative side, can actually be beneficial in seeing something from your visitor’s eyes that you may not have realized is a problem. I have had some that have led me to change things on my site for the better.
Kristi,
Totally agree. A little constructive criticism goes a long way.
Only a fool would ignore it.
Andrew
P.S. I like that…my new quote:
“Only a fool ignores constructive criticism”
Andrew Rondeau July 2010
Blog comments is very important for blogs, infact is backbone of blogs. Blog Comments are what separates a blog from a static website because comment make blog to look fresh in the eye of search machine. Moreover, it is very important for commentator to leave a good comment when response to a blog post.
Andrew
I think that this post should be a pro forma for anyone wanting to encourage people to leave a comment on their site.
There are lots of blogs out there with dire warnings about not tolerating dodgy comments, make you reluctant to comment just in case it is judged dodgy.
Thanks for your invite to comment.
Keith,
Thanks for visiting and taking the time out to comment.
I welcome all comments (of course, not spamming ones) and do my best to reply to the vast majority of them, as well.
Andrew
Comments on blogs are not really anything new. Newspapers have always had “Letters to the Editor” sections. The big differences are the ease of use and the speed of response.
I have seen blogs from A List bloggers that have eliminated comments. The rationale was that responses can be done using Twitter/Facebook/etc. or by writing your own blog post. While there is a time for each of these, without the comments the conversation becomes scattered and nearly impossible to follow.
Bill,
I’m not yet ready to turn off comments and simply use Facebook/Twitter.
Perhaps one day…but I like you…like to see the flow of conversation.
Andrew