A lot of talk goes on about the important of comments for a blog, some argue they’re important while others completely turn them off. Personally I think they’re have an important role in building an audience. It’s no secret that people flock together; if they see something is popular they’ll check it out and often get involved themselves.

A lot of the seasoned Bloggers know this and go to great lengths to encourage comments sometimes posting purely to gain comments, as John Chow openly admits. Of course the incentive of a prize is the driving force behind it and it’s another master stroke on his part. Johns not the first to do this but no doubt he’s been one of the most successful.

In my experience if someone sees a post with replies they’re far more likely to read it and the comments that follow than a post with 0 comments. People (usually) like to get involved and a direct question to your readers is a great way to get a response. Ask for your reader’s opinions at the end of a post, not only will it encourage readers to reply but it’s an excellent way to get feedback and hear new ideas, after all they are the reason your site exists at all!

Next I’d like to speak about some Bloggers who will plant fake comments to encourage others to reply. It’s a shady practice but it is effective in most cases.

I avoid doing this because I believe quality content will get the attention it deserves. It’s not unethical by any means but by my own standards it’s deceiving people and I don’t agree with it.

You should be aware that if your readers ever find out you’re planting comments the fallout can be pretty severe and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take. I believe in complete transparency with the goings on at my Blog; I might not give exact details on more sensitive data but I will never manipulate the truth. I have no doubt that this will have a negative impact in the short term, traffic wise, but I believe in the long run my visitors will turn into regular readers for it.

In summary, comments play an important role and effort should go into gaining them. It is possible to get a result from planting comments but be aware of the risks, your readers won’t respect you for it should they find out.

Do you plant comments in your posts to encourage others to follow?
How important are comments to you?
What methods do you use to encourage replies?