Blog Settings – Comments

overview of comments

show or hide comments

This enables and disables the commenting feature on Blogger.
You have two options:

1. Show – Allows new comments to be made, and allows visitors to view comments
2. Hide – Disables comments from being viewed by guests

For example, if you have 3,000 comments on your blog and you change the setting to Hide, you will not delete the comments, but hide them from view. You can always change the setting back to Show and make all the comments viewable again.

who can comment

This setting allows you to pick and choose who can comment on your blog. You get three choices here.

1. Only Registered Users – This is anyone with an active Blogger account. They will be able to post comments on your blog.
2. Anyone – No restrictions
3. Only Members of This Blog – Only members of your “team” can view this blog. Please see the video on permissions to set-up your team blog properly.

comments default for posts

You can set individual posts to have comments or not. You can make it impossible to comment on certain posts if you want (This can be changed EVERY TIME you post a new entry, this simply sets the default.) You have two choices.

1. New Posts Have Comments – This sets the default to new posts (and effects “mobile blogging”) to allow comments by default.
2. New Posts Do Not Have Comments – This sets new posts to not allow comments unless you explicitly allow them.

Remember, this is only the default setting. While posting a new blog entry you can always click on “Post Options” and set “Reader Comments” to something else.

backlinks

Backlinks are interesting. They, in my opinion are of little use. Where most “backlink” trackers track the referring website’s information, backlinks in blogger act a little different.
A back link is any link from a Blogger post that has another blog posts link in the “link field,” and has been indexed or seen by “Blog Search”

(As per Googles help files it is based on the “link:<URL>” operator for BlogSearch.)
You have 2 options for “backlinks”.

1. Show – This will run the “link:someblog.blogspot.com” query in the background and will display the results in the Backlink field of your post.
2. Hide – This will prevent the “link:someblog.blogspot.com” query from running and will not show Backlinks on your blog.

If you have Backlinks set to “Show” the following settings will be in effect, other wise they are useless.

You have 2 options for “Backlinks Default for Posts”.

1. New Posts Have Backlinks – Enable backlink tracking for new posts by default.
2. New Posts Do Not Have Backlinks – Disable backlink tracking for new posts by default.

Remember, you can change this setting at anytime when creating a new post. Simply click “Post Options” and you will be able to manage backlinks.

This is generated on the fly when viewing posts. It is similar to running a search like “link:someblog.blogspot.com” and posting the findings under “Backlinks” each time you view a post. So by disabling this you are not loosing any data.

comment form message

This simply allows you to change the default “all comments will not appear until approved by the blog author” text in the Comment Form. Set anything you would like here. Most HTML is acceptable.

show comments in a popup window

Set this to Yes or No.

If you choose yes your comment box will show up in a popup window over the top of your blog.

If you choose no your comment box will show up in the same window in place of your blog.

Some popup blockers will cause problems if you set this to “Yes.” In essence disabling comments on your blog for users with these programs enabled.

enable comment moderation

Comment moderation allows you to have complete control over which comments end up on your blog. By default comments are not moderated meaning comments are instantly added to your blog after they are posted.

If you set comment moderation to Yes, you will be asked to enter a notification email address. Every time you get a comment an email will be delivered to this address asking you to ether “ok” or “discard” the comment.

Set yes to moderate all comments.
Set no to have comments automatically accepted.

Please note, if you get a lot of comments, you will receive a lot of emails from Blogger.

show word verification for comments

This enables bloggers CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) system that displays a picture of text and numbers that a human must enter before they successfully submit a comment to your site. (You know, that annoying box of text we all have to type 50 times? ) This is to (in theory) assure that only human beings, and not an automated spamming programs can post comments to your blog. These can be very annoying, but I would recommend setting this to “Yes” or enabled to help prevent spam from hitting your blog.

show profile images on comments

This is pretty straight forward. This allows other blogger’s profile pictures for Blogger (See Blogger 2.0 profile videos to see how to set this) to be displayed on next to their comments on your blog. Meaning instead of a list of comments, you will have an image of the poster, with the text instead.

comment notification

Our last setting on the Comment section of the settings tab.

If you wish to be notified every time someone comments on your blog (even if you do not have moderate comments enabled) you can type the email address here that you wish to have notified here.

If you get lots of comments this can be really annoying, but for new blogs I would recommend turning it on so you can keep tabs on comments you get.

In the future, the most successful real estate agents will dominate communities with the help of the Internet. Success will not be based on the size of a marketing budget, but on the level of the relationship. There is no easier or more effective way to build relationships than with the help of the Internet. Consider Active Rain.

Here are 21 reasons why you can dominate a community with a blog.

Communication

The tool that makes a community website stand-out is its ability to allow potential home buyers and sellers to easily communicate with you and each other. Blogging software including Wordpress and Blogger, the free website tool from Google, gives everyone in the community the opportunity to participate by making comments and posting to your blog. And as you know, communication creates customers.

Ease of Use

Building and maintaining a community website couldn’t be easier. If you know how to get on the Internet and make your way around a word processor, this will be a piece of cake. Honest

Fun

At first I thought building a community website was going to be work, but I quickly found myself enraptured with every article I created. If you enjoy writing and creating value, you’re going to love the time you put into your community blog.

R.O.I.

If you’re talking in terms of money, you can not find a better return on your investment. Why? Because the cost to create and host your community website is completely free. That;s right, it’s free. You can’t say that about postcards, TV, print advertising or radio.

Relationship Building Capability

A community website is all about building relationships with the people in the community. It allows you to easily communicate with homeowners through your articles, the comments section on your site, email and even over the telephone. A community website done properly is a hive of activity with you at the center.

Pass-Along / Send to a Friend

How many times have you come across a great website or article and forwarded it on to a neighbor or friend because you thought they would find it interesting? How many times have you done that with a real estate postcard or print ad?

Ability to Know What Your Neighbors Are Thinking

Wouldn’t it be nice to know what your neighbors are thinking when it comes to their thoughts on home pricing, home selling or the value of their home? It’s easy to do with a simple poll on your community site. All you have to do is ask.

Demonstrate Your Technical Marketing Skills

You don’t have to persuade homeowners in the community how you use the Internet to sell homes, show them on your community site. Use things like slides hows, Google maps, narrated video tours, full property websites with Postlets, printable brochures and more … all of which you create yourself. Let your site do the selling for you.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a psychological principle used in selling every day. If I help you succeed, you will want to help me succeed in return. Use your community blog to promote the people in the community you’re farming. They won’t forget you when the time comes to sell their home.

Time to Market

If you’ve ever produced a postcard campaign you know the value of getting your information out to the community quickly before the situation changes. With a community website you can get your information out in less than an hour. That’s fast.

Free Page Ranking

Advertising is expensive. PR is free. The local media is much more likely to do a PR piece on your community website than they are on your real estate business. And every time someone goes to your site it’s another opportunity to sell them on your service.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO stands for search engine optimization. When you create a community website, search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL are very likely to push your community site to the top of the search results page. That means when a potential home buyer looks for information about your community, they are very likely to find your community site. Real estate websites can’t compete. This is a huge bonus.

Sell Advertising Space on your Community Website

This may be something you’ve never considered, but it’s worth looking into. Once you’re community site is up and running with the majority of neighbors subscribing to it, you can easily sell advertising space. Hint: Don’t sell ad space to another real estate agent, no matter how much they offer to pay you.

Ease of sending home buyers and sellers to your website

Homeowners don’t read postcards and jump to their computer and go to your website. It’s too much effort. It’s much easier to click a link to your website once their on your community blog. It’s as simple as clicking their mouse button.

Longevity

TV spots and radio ads last for a few seconds. Newspaper ads, postcards and real estate reports might last for a day. Magazine ads last for a week to a month but an ad on the web lasts forever. When you have your own community website you can advertise your homes until they sell.

Marketing Costs

If you’ve ever attempted a postcard campaign you know it can be expensive. You must pay for the copy and design, paper stock, printing, postage and the mailing list. TV, radio, newspaper and magazine ads can be even more expensive. The cost to create and publish a community website on the other hand is absolutely free. Here are some ways you can get the word out and market your community blog.

Reaching Home Buyers

When you farm a community with postcards and real estate reports you’re only reaching potential home sellers. When you build a community website with Google Blogger you’re not only farming for home sellers in that community, but home buyers who are interested in moving into that community. If you want to target home buyers for a community, create a website about that community

Status

Traditional farming techniques position you as a salesperson. When you host a community website and take the opportunity to share home selling tips and home improvement ideas along with real estate reports and home listings you’ll quickly be viewed as the real estate authority in that community. Home buyers and sellers would rather work with real estate experts than salespeople. Become the expert.

Interest level in Your Marketing Piece

The majority of neighbors are not interested in receiving a postcard about a home you just sold? They are however interested in learning about an up-coming neighborhood meeting or event, a crime alert, the status of a hot community issue, the local real estate trends and home improvement tips. When you farm a neighborhood with a community website you are giving your target market what they want, including real estate related topics.

Tracking

The extent to which you can track a postcard campaign is limited to how many postcards were delivered and how many people responded. The things you can track with a community website and blog are limitless. For example:

* How many people looked at your community blog?
* Who looked at your the community blog?
* What pages of your blog received the most attention?
* What pages of your blog received the least attention?
* Where did your community blog visitors coming from?
* What time of day did they visit your community blog?
* What topics did they comment on?
* What was their opinion on each topic?
* Did they tell-a- friend about your community blog?
* How did they find your community blog?
* When are they planning to sell their house?
* Who requested a home valuation?
* Who requested a real estate report?
* Who followed the link to your real estate website?
* And much, much more

How could you use that information to sell homes?

Branding Opportunities

As I mentioned earlier, if you want to brand yourself and your company you have to get in front of your prospects frequently, and frequently can be expensive especially with postcards, reports, print ads and radio/TV spots. On the other hand you can get in front of your prospects as frequently as you like at no cost to you with your community blog. Best of all, you’ll be branding yourself as the community real estate expert rather than just a real estate salesperson looking for business.

What in the world is a blog and why would I want one? This is the burning question millions of people are asking themselves everyday. Sometimes three and four times a day. If you’re one of those people, relief is on the way.

To start, a blog is nothing more than a website on steroids. It looks like a website, it acts like a website but it is so much more. The two biggest differences between a blog and a web site are the blogs capacity to allow people to communicate with the author easily and the cost. Web sites cost money and blogs are free. You’ve got to like that.

In the past, blogs had a reputation for being nothing more than on-line journals. People wrote their thoughts to a blog and posted them on the Internet using a very simple text application. Since that time humans have become much more creative with how they use their blog. And with a little help from technology companies like Google, blogs can do so much more than just text.

How are people using blogs today?
There are currently tens of millions of blogs on the Internet today with thousands more going up every hour. People are using blogs to:

Journal their thoughts and ideas
Record their dreams
Post their photography
Create an interactive community where people can collaborate on their projects
Promote family reunions
Position themselves as experts in their field
Write books and have their material critiqued by interested readers
Sell their products and services
Promote themselves and their projects
Survey their readers
As a substitute for newsletters and bulletins
Sell sex. You knew that was coming
And a million other things.

With a blog you can do virtually everything you can do with a website. The difference is you can do it by yourself and you can do it for free. It’s that easy, thanks to tools like Blogger from Google.

The most amazing aspect of a blog is that you can create a web presence that would have cost you thousands of dollars just a few years ago. And I’m talking about a web presence that is loaded with technology. Here are just a few of the things you can do to jazz up your blog.

Blogging Software
When you’re ready to create your blog, the first thing you must do is set up an account with a blog hosting company. The two biggest blog platforms are Wordpress and Google Blogger. I use them both. But when it comes to ease of use and cost, nothing comes close to Blogger. Blogger is completely free and it does not require a technician to set it up. Once you get your free Blogger account you have a blog on the Internet in less than four minutes.

Video
With your blog you can do amazing things. For example, Google makes it easy for you to add video to your Google Blogger blog. If you have a digital camera, all you have to do is upload your video to your computer, edit it using the free Movie Maker software on your Windows operating system and upload it to Google Video. You can even upload it right from your blog.

Slide Shows
This is my mom’s favorite thing to do. She uses slide shows on her blog and sends them to her children and friends. The new slide show software is fantastic and it’s free. Your photos look more like a slide video than they do a slide show. They include music, voice over and more.

Credit Cards
In the past it was a hassle to accept credit cards on your website. Today, thanks to Paypal, you can accept credit cards on your blog with no start-up cost, no merchant cost and no monthly fee. All you pay is 30 cents per transaction and 3% of the sale. It’s so simple you can do it yourself.

Maps and Directions
Do you want to create a map to direct people to your business? If so, Google Maps is the answer. With Google Maps you can create both a map and written directions to your business from anywhere in the world. Once you create your map it’s just a matter of adding it to your blog.

Games
After cartoons, games are the second most common reasons people visit blogs and websites. Google offers another service know as Google Gadgets and it is loaded with games like Tetris, Chess, Sudoko, Frogger and many others that you can add to your blog to encourage visitors. It’s addictive.

I’ve only scratched the surface with what you can do with a blog. If you have a computer with an Internet connection and the ability to read and type, you can create a web presence that will make you proud. Give it a try.

Blogger is a fantastic stand-alone blogging platform. But when you consider the more than 20,000 addons available from Google, it becomes outstanding.

Google and other service providers offer some of the most useful and interesting add-ons you can imagine. And the vast majority are free and simple to use. Let’s take a look at how you can use them to enhance the value of your blog.

Where to find Google Blogger Addons

The mother lode of Blogger Addons can be found on the Google Gadgets website. To find this site, go to Google and search for ‘Google Gadgets For Your Webpage.’ You do not want to go to ‘Google Desktop Gadgets,’ because you won’t be able to use those gadgets on your blog. As of today, there are 22,119 gadgets available with more being added every day. Here are some of my favorites.

Fun & Games

Games and humor are two of the top reasons that visitors come back to the same blog and you can add tons of both with Google Gadgets.

Games include PacMan, Bowling, Tetris, Checkers, Hangman and virtually every other game you remember playing at the arcade. With respect to humor, you can add cartoons like Garfield, 9 to 5, SpongeBob, Bloom County and the Cartoon of the Day. Google offers dozens of gadgets to add lighthearted and comical information to your blog. Some of my favorites are Funny Cat Photos, the Bart Simpson Phrase of the Day (what does that tell you about your author?), Horoscopes and This Day In History. Your biggest problem will not be finding engaging gadgets for your blog, but knowing when to stop adding them.

News

On a more serious note, you can find gadgets that have to do with the news. These are some of the more common gadgets on both websites and blogs.

When people come to your Blogger blog they can see a gadgets that shows the local weather, breaking news, tropical storm warnings and even traffic reports in major cities. These are great gadgets to add if your blog is targeted to a local audience.

Tools

If you want to offer your visitors useful tools, you won’t be disappointed with Google Gadgets. Many of my blogs are populated with these gadgets and I find myself going to them regularly.

This is a great place to find calendars, world clocks, dictionaries, driving directions and maps. You can create and add a video message to your blog with one gadget in as little as a minute. The list of useful tools you can add to your Blogger blog is amazing.

Communication and Technology

For those of you who enjoy the more technical side of the Internet, these gadgets are for you. Add a gadget that gives instant access to Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM Messenger, Hotmail and your Gmail account on your blog. You can add a Desktop Chat gadget and communicate with readers while they’re visiting your blog. I’ve seen this tool used on some of the better customer service sites and it’s great.

If you’re interested in space, Google has a gadget that shows images from the Hubble telescope, NOAA satellite images, current moon phases and daily astronomy pictures. These gadgets are quickly becoming as limitless as the universe.

Lifestyle

This is big. These gadgets are the equivalent of People Magazine. This is a great place to find the top five movies at the box office, Jon Stewart’s quote of the day (always funny), music, bible verses, National Geographic photos and even live TV.

Sports

I’m a sports fan. I especially enjoy baseball and NCAA football. Thank goodness there are gadgets to keep me posted on the sports world. You can add gadgets to your Blogger blog that will show the BCS standings, live sports scores, body building tips, boxing schedules and what your resting heart rate should be. There is even a gadget for you to keep track of your workout routine, assuming you have a workout routine and aren’t just an armchair quarterback like me.

As you can see there are more Google Blogger addons than you can imagine and they’re remarkably easy to place on your blog. Just select the gadget you want to use, copy the code generated by the gadget and add it to your Blogger blog under the HTML tab. If you would rather add the gadget to your sidebar, you can do that too and it will show up on every page of your blog. You’re going to love Google Gadgets and so will your readers.

A blog is an incredible tool, the kind that only the second generation of Internet technology can offer. Since the technology arrived in the early 2000s that allowed blogging to become a household activity, the opportunities offered by the medium have only continued to expand.

One of the most incredible and underused opportunities present in blogging is the ability to make a profit. Of the 85 million blogs currently in circulation, only a small handful makes any kind of profit, yet the opportunities are everywhere to do so. After all, with millions of readers across the globe advertising, and product placement opportunities, a new businesses need only take a few simple steps to tap a potential gold mine.

1) Sell Advertising

When Google purchased Blogger a few years ago, the opportunities immediately made available to millions of existing and potential Blogger users multiplied tenfold. Using Google AdSense, users can quickly and easily integrate advertising into their blogs. These pay per click ads operate the same as they do on any other major website or search engine. Google targets the ads to match the content of your blog, so if you decide to devote your blog to short articles about cycling opportunities in the North Carolina area, AdSense will display ads related to cycling and North Carolina.

When a visitor reads your blog, they will see these ads alongside your article. If they choose to click on an ad, you receive a percentage of the money that Google makes from that click. The actual amount varies significantly, but if you can create a large enough reader base, you can earn hundreds of dollars each month off of advertising alone.

2) Sell Products

What better way to make a little extra money than by selling someone else’s products and earning a commission. Nearly every business on the Internet has an affiliate program of some sort. Amazon for example has an Associates program. Bloggers can sign up for Amazon’s associate program and then create specialized links and images to place on their blogs. These links feature products from Amazon and when a visitor to your blog clicks on the link, you receive a commission for any sales made to that visitor within 24 hours – even items other than the one featured on your blog. If you write about film, books, electronics, or any other products, sign up for an affiliate program and try to sell those products through your blog.

3) Donations

Bloggers with devoted readership are Internet celebrities. If you create a substantial niche for yourself and a devoted legion of fans, your blogging may begin to earn the financial accolades of those fans. While it is not a good idea to demand money in return for your daily writing, you can place a small “Donation” box somewhere on your blog. Think of it this way – if someone on the street corner plays a beautiful song on their guitar, passers by will donate spare change to their endeavor. If you can wow your readers, why not make it possible for them to do the same?

4) Sell Services

The Internet is not all products and advertising (as much as it may seem to be the case). A blog is a great opportunity to write about and promote services you may provide both online and offline. Say for example you work for a copywriting company. Your blogging is a great showcase of those talents. Even if you do not work as a writer, you can write about what you do offer, whether it is a motorcycle parts company or a floral arrangement business.

5) Grow an Existing Business

For many businesses, blogging has become the next frontier of advertising and interaction with potential customers. A blog allows a business to appear both genial and spontaneous while offering an array of new information for potential customers. Whether you own a small business or work for a large one, blogging can be a great way to connect with existing and future customers alike.

6) Paid Blogging

Recently, there has been a growth in the industry of paid blogging. Companies such as Pay Per Post or Blogitive hire on bloggers with existing blogs and pay them a set fee for writing about a company, service, or keyword on their blog. You can sign up for a paid blogging job with your free Blogger account and make money with no investment. The general minimum for paid blog posts is $5. However, if you can raise your Page Rank by growing your search rankings and being linked to by other bloggers, you can receive as much as $100 for a paid blog post.

7) Merchandising

Why not make a little money with your natural creative talents? Bloggers have turned to companies like Café Press in recent years to create t-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers that allow blog readers to show off the name and image of their favorite blog. When you build your loyally devoted fan base, selling a few items with your blog’s name on them can be a fun way to make a little money on the side.

There are seemingly limitless opportunities for bloggers who have the inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit necessary to take advantage of them. The best part is that in less than 15 minutes you can sign up for Blogger, create your first posts and start making money from advertising or affiliate programs.

When you write a blog post, there are a number of things that can be done to make it stand out and catch the attention of your readers. A well written blog post is the first thing on that list almost every time. However, there are a dozen or more other things that can take very little time and multiply not only your exposure but the quality of readership on your blog.

The number one thing on that list is the addition of graphics and photos to each and every post you write. It may seem like a small addition, but without a visual addition, many blogs look stale and overly wordy. The last thing you want is for your visitors to think your blog looks wordy.

1) Break up Your Text

Text may be the crux of any successful blog, but it can quickly become the enemy if it gets out of hand. A well written blog post does not merely combine mountains of text into a coherent narrative. It needs to offer breaks, bullet points, and plenty of white space to keep the reader enticed.

If there is too much text and not enough visual relief, it will seem more like work to read the post and the absolute last thing any blogger ever wants is for a blog reader to approach their blog as though it is work. Readers will eventually stop reading and forget to come back. Be engaging and most of all be simple. Images make this much easier to accomplish.

2) Get More Links

Gaining links to your blog from other websites and blogs is the best way to grow traffic, search rankings, and page rank. In short, if other bloggers like your website, they will tell their readers and you become more popular. While good posts and exclusive information are going to get you the most possible links back to your site, images and graphics can make your site that much more visible to fellow bloggers.

Not only will it stand out when they visit, they will create a map with which another blogger can link back to your site. They can reuse your photos on their site, causing your website to index higher, and associating readers with your site.

3) Engage Your Visitors

Not only do pictures and graphics break up the text on a page, they further engage a reader than text ever can. The old adages about pictures being more valuable than any amount of words holds doubly true for the Internet as your audience has an extremely short attention span. You have about 3 seconds to grab their attention before they click to another website.

If, for some reason, your headline or first paragraph fails to do this, your pictures very well might. Additionally, well created, relevant photos remind your visitors of your posts, and may even be reposted on other websites if they are particularly funny or interesting. People respond to images. Take advantage of that and you can increase your readership.

4) Create a Storyline

One of the more entertaining aspects of using images on your blog is the ability it gives you to create a compelling narrative for your visitors. You can find humorous or poignant images to punctuate specific lines of text on your page and create an immediate link with your visitors to a specific line of thought you might have. You may write multiple posts about the same topic over time.

What better way to remind visitors that they already read a previous installment than using the same image in a humorous way. You engage your reader more in the narrative of your posts and create a closer connection with them. The better a connection you can create between you and your readers, the more likely they are to return again and again.

5) Show Your Creativity

If you are a blogger, you are no doubt a creative soul. Do not let yourself be pigeon holed by the limitations of text. Be as creative as possible with your images. Creating graphics or images for a post can be both fun for you and entertaining for your visitors. Not only that, but the more you show your readers that you are creative and interesting, the more likely they will be to bookmark your blog and come back, hoping to find more of your trademark antics and creativity.

Adding an image to a blog, especially in the age of Blogger simplicity, can be a quick and easy way to greatly increase your visibility to potential readers. Your fellow bloggers will be impressed and express that by linking to you. Your readers will be entertained and continue to return to your site, and your traffic will increase as you grow your visibility in search engines.

For the blogging community, a comment is a badge of sorts. Every comment you receive represents one person that, regardless of whether they agree with your ideas or not, read your post and felt strongly enough to respond to them. Comments can make even the most jaded of bloggers feel fuzzy inside. So, how does a new blogger start turning those dozens of posts into a field of comments and discussion? It can seem hard at first, but there are a few steps you can take right away that will increase your readers’ willingness to speak up.

1) Invite Comments

For whatever reason, if you ask your readers to leave a comment on your post, they will be immediately more willing to do so. This is just a natural response that the human brain tends to have. People are often in a hurry, or have multiple things on their mind. They might fully enjoy your post, but as soon as they are done, click to something else. If you ask them to comment, it serves as a subtle reminder that they should join in the conversation.

2) Open Ended Posts

Even if you are an expert on a topic, don’t try to share every possible detail in one post. Be as open ended as possible and leave a few points for your readers to share. This takes a little bit of the humility mentioned below. If you can keep from throwing every fact you’ve ever read about a specific topic into one post, your readers will not have to think about something to say in response.

3) Ask Lots of Questions

The obvious way to get responses is to ask a question. If you ask your readers what they think about a topic, or for specific people to give their opinion on a lifestyle, you will get more responses. For example, if your blog is about TV shows and you ask a question such as “What shows did you enjoy in the past that are similar to The Simpsons”, you will get many more comments than if you said “I enjoy old shows like All in the Family, because it is like The Simpsons”. Engage your readers by addressing them directly.

4) Respond to Existing Comments

If someone comments, respond to it. Even if the comment is short and not particularly deep, a quick response can show that you are always paying attention and willing to engage in conversation with your readers. That commenter is now much more likely to comment again.

5) Setting Rules

Most blogging platforms such as Blogger do not have a built in set of rules for comments. The comments section is left open by default and you can make changes to it if you desire. Try creating a commenting policy and posting it on your page somewhere. This may seem like it would lower comments, but by describing what is allowed, readers with potential comments they might not have been willing to share initially are more likely to comment.

6) Show Some Humility

Don’t try to know everything all the time. Be humble and show that you are aware of your own shortcomings, failings and holes in your knowledge. Don’t be self-defacing, but be willing to say “I don’t really know much about this, but I had a thought”. The best part about blogging is that it gives readers and writers a chance to interact on an equal, real time level. If visitors want to read the opinions of those who feel they are always right, they could buy a book or pick up a newspaper.

7) Controversy

It’s a gamble, and you can go too far, but if you want to breed new comments on your page quickly, pick a controversial topic and make a statement. This does mean you need to become political or religious. You could simply say that you disliked a popular movie. Anytime a blogger disagrees with popular opinion, comments skyrocket. Just be prepared to stand up for your opinion and to do it gracefully.

Graciousness, Admit When You Are Wrong

If you make a mistake and someone writes a comment pointing out that mistake, try to accept their comment and admit your mistake. It is very easy to become defensive and angry on the Internet where you have no personal contact with your readers. However, by showing that you graciously accept someone else’s comments and opinions, you show humility and increase the likeliness of return visitors and readers.

9) Don’t Make it Hard to Comment

Blogger has an option that allows you to require a login for the posting of comments. This is too much work. If you require a login, many people will decide against commenting altogether, especially if they need to sign up for a new account to do so. Instead of requiring login information, you can set your comments for approval before they post. This allows you to sort out comments and delete spam if necessary.

10) Make It Worth Their While

If you offer a reward for a good comment, you not only encourage repeat comments, you encourage better comments. Mark especially good comments with a comment of your own, or reference them in a new post. This draws attention to your readers and shows you are reading what they say.

If you want to grow your readership and comments section, the best thing you can do is to be involved and pay attention to what your readers have to say. Do these things and you will start to see your comment spaces fill up in no time.

New blog writers everywhere are faced with a serious dilemma when they first reach the Internet and must decide which blogging platform is best for their new website. There are actually dozens of options on the market, ranging from the basic blog settings of the social networks to the self-hosted open sources software solutions.

However, for most new bloggers and those who don’t want to pay for their blog, the choice boils down to one of two websites: Blogger and Wordpress. These two services have become synonymous in recent years with the blogging phenomenon, making up a massive percentage of the Internet’s most popular blogs. For that reason, there has been a bit of discussion over which service is better.

Provided here is a solid answer to that question once and for all, 7 reasons why Blogger is in fact better than Wordpress. These comparisons relate to the free accounts available from both Blogger and Wordpress.

1) Integrated Login with Your Google Account

With the ability to easily connect all of your Google accounts, this is a big plus for Blogger. Many of the most useful features for a website are offered by Google, including AdSense, AdWords, and Webmaster tools for Google indexing. Instead of adding code into your templates, something that can quickly become confusing and result in broken websites, Blogger allows you to simply click a button and integrate AdSense or banners into your site.

This allows you to use the same login information for all Google services and that sets Blogger a few steps ahead. Wordpress is an open sources solution, meaning that all extra services must be manually integrated into your blog after you have signed up for your account.

2) Backed up by Google

Along the same lines, Blogger has the backing of the largest and most powerful Internet Company in the world. For some this might seem like a negative, but it means the most money and development time can be placed into creating new features for Blogger that Wordpress may need to wait for. Historically, features such as widgets, add-ons, and templates have been enhanced first by Blogger. Wordpress is usually a step or two behind the curve. For the best features as they are developed, Blogger is the winner.

3) Change Visual Appearance and Code of Templates

Blogger’s options for making changes to the visual composition of your blog are numerous and easy to use, something that Wordpress has had problems maintaining in the past. In Blogger, there are a number of pre-built templates as well as thousands more available from any number of websites. Simply copy and paste them into your blog’s template page and you have a new look. Additionally, the style sheets and HTML code for your template (if you are willing to do so) can easily be changed and enhanced to suit your specific needs.

4) Indexing Time

Whether it is because of the link with Google or because of the sheer volume of Blogger blogs, your posts will be indexed in the Search Engines much quicker with Blogger. Usually within a few hours of posting your newest page will appear, allowing you to receive the most traffic as quickly as possible. This is especially important as most blogs strive to talk about the newest and most relevant news as it breaks. If that news does not index for two days, it will already be old when people start to read your posts.

5) Ease of Use

Blogger is truly a plug and play design for a new blog owner. Signing up takes seconds, allowing users to use their Google login and asking only for a few basic pieces of information such as blog title and description. From there, blog posts can be typed up and entered with two or three clicks and are automatically indexed. For newcomers to the blogosphere especially, Blogger is the best choice when it comes to ease of use.

6) Integration of Multiple Accounts

Blogger makes it easy to view all of your blogs via a dashboard feature that links directly to your Google login. When you login, all of your blogs will display, with one-click options to post, edit, or alter posts. The number of blogs and accounts available is nearly endless and makes blogging on multiple topics easier than ever.

7) Massive Blogging Network

Because Blogger is the first stop for many new bloggers, it is also among the largest blogging networks in the world. The millions of blogs already created in Blogger are helpful to the new member as well because of how Google has integrated their search features into the site. Not only can visitors search Blogger blogs via the search bar at the top of the page, they can click “random” or “next blog” to visit a different Blogger blog. This increases your exposure by directly connecting you with existing blogs. And if you decide to hide this feature, you can do that too in Blogger.

Ultimately, Blogger is an ideal solution for anyone who is just starting their first blog. It is also a great platform for those who are serious about blogging, but do not want to hire a technician to set them up and make regular adjustments to their blog. It is easy to use, quick to start, and offers a host of features that the free Wordpress blog and its other competitors do not.