Written on August 1st, 2007 at 03:08 am by Darren Rowse
Email a New Reader of Your Blog
Your task for this first day of the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Challenge is to email a new reader of your blog.
Create a great impression upon a brand new readers to your blog by choosing a commenter that is new and emailing them to thank them for their comment.
It might not sound like the most profound tip but I’ll let you in on a secret – this is one of the main strategies I used to build up ProBlogger’s audience a couple of years ago.
What I found is that when you do it the chances of the readers that you email coming back to your blog again increases significantly. Get them to come back to your blog once and you increase the chances of them coming back again… and again….
So email a reader now, thank them for commenting and tell them that you’re looking forward to further interactions.
Make sure you include a link back to your blog so they know who you are and make the email relevant to their comment (ie answer a question they asked or add to their comment in some way). While there are some tools out there that do this automatically for you – the more personal you can make it the better.
This simple tip takes just a moment to do but can create a loyal long time reader. Do it at least once a day (or set yourself a higher target) and you’ll build your blog consistently over time.
Is this Tip Not SPECTACULAR Enough For You?
Last time I shared this tip with a fellow blogger they rolled their eyes at me and told me that they didn’t want to find just one more reader for their blog – they wanted hundreds or thousands.
This blogger failed to realize two things:
1. Loyal Readers Spread the Word – I’ve found that in many cases a single reader quickly becomes numerous loyal readers because they like to spread the word. They do this through their own blogs, word of mouth and social networking sites etc.
2. Loyal Readers Build Page Views – One loyal reader can potentially view your blog hundreds (if not thousands) of times. A daily visit from that reader for a year brings an extra 365 page views to your blog. Gain an extra loyal reader every day for a full year and the numbers start to add up.
While there’s nothing wrong with attracting thousands of new readers to your blog quickly – the majority of times they’ll come and go very quickly. Build loyal readers one by one on a daily basis and can be a lot more fruitful in the long run.
121 Responses to “Email a New Reader of Your Blog” - Add Yours
Terra Andersen
August 1st, 2007 3:25 am
Great tip! I will follow along! *=) Maybe I’ll even email TWO!
Jeremy Steele
August 1st, 2007 3:25 am
And if you really don’t want to e-mail people just respond to their comment at least.
Jason
August 1st, 2007 3:28 am
Well, that’s inspired me. I will email my commentors too.
Lori
August 1st, 2007 3:29 am
Great tip Darren….so who did YOU email today?
;)
OneYearGoal.com - $100,000 in one year
August 1st, 2007 3:31 am
Great tip.
Do you recommend using an autoresponder or emailing each one personally?
Alex Ion
August 1st, 2007 3:34 am
Oh my. Who said that’s not a good tip? They don’t know much about promotion I guess.
Very nice idea!
Mason from SmallFuel Marketing
August 1st, 2007 3:36 am
Very good tip. I’m off to email someone as soon as I finish this comment.
Thanks!
– Mason
engtech @ internet duct tape
August 1st, 2007 3:53 am
I call jinx. :)
I wrote the same post this morning: 5 tips for emailing the readers of your blog
MoneyNing
August 1st, 2007 3:55 am
great tip and it works best when it is personal and not done automatically!
Frenchmat
August 1st, 2007 4:01 am
Really Nice tip !
And what is most appropriate for the subject of the e-mail ?
Arjun Muralidharan
August 1st, 2007 4:01 am
I employed this on my blog when I started out, because I was genuinely thankful for any feedback I could get.
And guess what, those few people I mailed stuck around for quite a while. But recently, I haven-t gotten any comments, however good I think my posts are, and it’s been frustrating. I get the feeling no/one wants me. I wanna cry.
TRB
August 1st, 2007 4:04 am
This is a great tip. But what if your blog is not really too popular yet and you have no comments to respond to?
erin
August 1st, 2007 4:04 am
It is a great tip!
On some of my blogs, I get too many first time commenters to email them all so I pick and choose one or two commenters whose comments were insightful or high quality and email them. They’re more likely to be the kind of reader you want anyways!
On my newer blogs/less popular blogs, I try to email ‘em all.
But I have waaaaaay too much time on my hands :)
The Buxr Widget
August 1st, 2007 4:11 am
Probably a combination of personalized and automated emails would work well also.
engtech @ internet duct tape
August 1st, 2007 4:11 am
Since I started doing direct emails yesterday, I’ve had the following response.
“Well, I owe you a thank you.
You inspired me to work on my categories and get things cleaned up on my blog. I just finished reorganizing things and I think it looks much better. First I just went through all the articles under “manage” and put them where they seemed best. After that, I actually went through my blog using the categories function on the side bar to see if the everything actually made sense. That was probably the most helpful to check the flow of the categories and to find things I had categorized that really had no place in there. I had been going with “the more the merrier” as far as categories go but the line in your article about redundancy between the categories struck a chord with me as far as it was a mistake I was making.
So, now I am utterly exhausted but things are definitely better.
Thank you for the inspiration.”
Made my day.
(reprinted without permission, so left anonymous)
Will
August 1st, 2007 4:12 am
This sounds like a great tip, but how can I do it on a Blogger blog? I don’t know if it’s possible to find my commenter’s emails.
Yax
August 1st, 2007 4:19 am
Hi! I started a blog 2 weeks ago and I already have 3 solid contacts in my niche market. It works. Not only do they read my blog but I feel like business opportunities will arise from keeping in touch with them.
Mason from SmallFuel Marketing
August 1st, 2007 4:22 am
Done! Although, I didn’t only email a commenter; I emailed a subscriber too.
I think emailing subscribers is a good way to connect with people who regularly read your content. It helps to build regular visitors and there is always the chance of making a new friend.
– Mason
David A. Porter
August 1st, 2007 4:27 am
Darren,
Great tip and I just wrote my first thank you note.
Dan Cole
August 1st, 2007 4:30 am
If you email someone you need to include the same they go by and say why you are thanking them more than just because they commented. Something like: “Thank you Bob for the comment about how you interact with visitors. I love getting feedback about my tips in use. Thanks for your time, Dan.”
Genesis
August 1st, 2007 4:37 am
I have actually been doing this for the past couple of weeks. At this point, my commenters are still few and far between, but with the email technique and responding to every comment left on my blog, I am hoping to build the community up. Looking forward to more tips on that area!
Jeri
August 1st, 2007 4:46 am
Umm… what if you are so new and small you don’t really get any comments yet?
Modern Worker
August 1st, 2007 5:15 am
I do this for every commenter on my site. It’s great to further communicate with my readers. My blog is nothing without an audience!
The Reviewer
August 1st, 2007 5:28 am
I have an automated e-mail that sends to you the first time you leave a comment, I think it is a very nice feature, leave me a comment on my blog to see it.
Linda H
August 1st, 2007 5:36 am
I have a ’suscribe to comments by email’ plugin on my main blog Classroom Displays. So if I leave a thank you as a comment they get it by email. Does that count? If so I’ve completed today’s task :-) If not I’ll think again.
Rhys
August 1st, 2007 5:38 am
Yeah I think if you have an auto responder people can get annoyed as they often promote their feeds etc. It’s overkill (I do have it on my blog though).
I generally do reply to people’s comments via email and it does work. Just a quick email to respond to the decent comments is good.
Now all I need is a new reader to comment! :)
Kate Davis
August 1st, 2007 5:50 am
I respond to all my comments on the blog. However I have the comment email responder plugin installed which means my reply is automatically emailed to the commenter. This is great because they receive a personal email, but it also adds a response online so it is clear I like communicating with the people who comment on my blog.
You can find the plugin
http://www.u-g-h.com/index.php/wordpress-plugins/
Jarkko Laine
August 1st, 2007 5:52 am
This is a great tip. But I have one question: I always reply to my commenters on my blog, so what do you guys think I should write in the e-mail then? Tell them that I have answered their post, or even copy the reply in the e-mail as well?
I suppose both approaches would work, but I’m curious to know how you do it…
mandrill
August 1st, 2007 5:58 am
Thanks for the tip Darren, I’ve just emailed my first commenter. It took me a while to build up the courage to do it. I’ve always thought it was a bit cheeky to email people out of the blue but conversely have always felt appreciated when the owner of a blog I’ve commented on emails me. Weird that isn’t it. Keep those tips coming, I’m going to try and follow each and every one.
Graham Lutz, The Young Capitalist
August 1st, 2007 6:03 am
This tip can be used in any business…make people feel important and you’re meeting their most fundamental need! They’ll be back again and again!
Thanks,
Graham
mandrill
August 1st, 2007 6:03 am
I’ve just noticed that one of the comments previous to mine was from Rhys. I commented on your blog a while ago Rhys and got a very nice email in reply, finding out that it was an autoresponder has left me feeling a little betrayed ;)
Peter
August 1st, 2007 6:04 am
Great tip. Often the simple acts are the most powerful. I look forward to the next 30!
Mickey
August 1st, 2007 6:21 am
Great tip! I just e-mailed a few today because of this post.
Blaine Moore
August 1st, 2007 6:30 am
I do this on a regular basis; in fact, I emailed a new commenter just a few hours ago!
Steve Bannister
August 1st, 2007 6:50 am
Thanks for the great tip! I have a new website and I will be starting to blog very soon. A friend of mine mentioned your blog. I will be back.
Cheers,
Steve
Maureen
August 1st, 2007 7:28 am
Great tip! I e-mailed one of my few commenters!! Can’t wait to learn more from you!
Glen Allsopp
August 1st, 2007 7:32 am
Nice idea, simple yet effective
Heather Scoville
August 1st, 2007 7:47 am
I tried this tip out today. I had a notification of a new comment on a post at my blog, so I took the time to email that person who commented. It was difficult, though, because their “comment” wasn’t much more than a plug for their site (although it was related to the content of the post). Any idea on how to thank those people for the comment even if it wasn’t a “genuine” comment? I did the best I could this time, but wouldn’t mind a few more pointers on how to handle it when it happens again in the future.
Otherwise, most of my commenters are friends of mine who read. I rarely get comments from “new” readers :(
Katie Konrath :: Creativity Blogger
August 1st, 2007 7:49 am
Funny you mention that, because I just spent a lot of time today emailing everyone who has written a comment for my creativity contest!
It’s not always easy, but it’s really worth it. When I write to people to thank them for commenting, I always mention a little something about their comment (usually almost the same thing I respond on my blog to them) and invite them to come back. If they leave a connection to their blog, I usually check that out too.
The way I see it, if they took the time to read my post and comment, the least I can do is to say thank you. And, like Darren said, it’s a fabulous way to encourage readers to come back and comment again. It works amazingly well!
MMO Explorer
August 1st, 2007 7:55 am
Great tip Darren. I never did this before, but it is so obvious.
Jill
August 1st, 2007 8:02 am
I agree that this is important!! Totally!! I have used this thank you message also as an opportunity to ask them to consider adding me to their link list or blogroll if their site, which also brings new visitors!
Mark
August 1st, 2007 8:23 am
Cheers Darren, nice tip thank you very much.
We are inches away from going live on our blog here
(www.employeeincentives.com.au/blog) sorry for the shameless plug
I will initialise this further personalised communication immediately
Good blogging out there
Mark
Ryan Paul
August 1st, 2007 8:49 am
What’s wrong with responding to them in your comments?
Jacqueline
August 1st, 2007 8:54 am
How funny, I just wrote about a similar topic on my own blog. What’s also important to note is that new readers and subscribers are picked up one by one, and it’s way better in the long run to slowly build up a loyal following than to be a flash-in-the-pan.
It’s great to let commenters know that you value them.
Darren Rowse
August 1st, 2007 8:57 am
In terms of auto responding to comments – I’ve got nothing against this. However if you can add some personal touches to the email it is significantly more powerful. I don’t know about you but even if an email has my name in it (taken from the comment I left) I can pick an auto generated email. However if someone emails me and says not only my name but something related to my comment, answers a question, asks me a relevant question etc I will take more notice of it than an auto-generated thank’s for commenting.
The auto generated ones are better than nothing though I guess.
Better Blogging with Michael Martine
August 1st, 2007 9:06 am
I’ve already been doing this, but it’s nice to see that you think it’s good idea, too. I hadn’t done it, yet, today, though, so because of your post I just did. I’m really looking forward to the entire 31 days!
Waigs
August 1st, 2007 9:21 am
That’s a good hint, thanks
jamy
August 1st, 2007 9:38 am
Great tip.
Sara
August 1st, 2007 9:46 am
Hand-built and one-by-one is hard work but so worth it. I’ve developed several wonderful friendships from simply initiating email contact with a new reader. They are loyal, supportive and spread the word – and they take responsibility for your blog right along with you! This is one of the coolest things about blogging, in my view – building friendships with people from all walks of life and everywhere in the world.
Johnny
August 1st, 2007 9:57 am
that sounds like a really great tip, I will start trying to email a new reader of my blog each day.
Doris
August 1st, 2007 10:11 am
This is a simple tip but it never really occur to me that it can ‘viral’ or that powerful. Actually, whether it brings the results or not, it is still good to send an email to thank our readers and since it is tough thanking every single one, one or two is a good start and practice.
Suzanne
August 1st, 2007 10:22 am
Thanks for the tip! It’s a good one, and I’ll bet often overlooked. I just started this personal blog (have a couple other business-related ones), but since my new personal one is less than a week old, I have made the commitment to use every single one of the tips you share this month on it. I’ll be a good “case study” for you. :) And, I’m just thankful I had a commenter already to email!
Trevor
August 1st, 2007 11:15 am
I’ve been doing this from day one. It is just common courtesy in my opinion but I do acknowledge that I intuitively knew from day one that this would be an excellent way of creating loyal readers.
As the number and frequency of commenters has risen it has become increasingly time consuming but still very worthwhile. My blogs have not yet reached the point where the number of new people commenting has reached a point where it will no longer be physically possible to respond to every new person who comments.
Paulo Sidney
August 1st, 2007 11:22 am
Well, it is a nice tip…but you have to get commentors to your blog first.
I am telling you that Darren because despite my blog gets a reasonable traffic, my readers seem not to like posting comments very much…I have thought about what I could do to inspire readers to comment.
BTW, I have been following along you tips, very useful.
Angela
August 1st, 2007 11:30 am
This is excellent advise, Darren. I would feel as though I were being treated with extra special attention. I would feel the blogger thought I was important enough to pull me out of the crowd of commenters and spend time with me one-on-one even if for just a couple of minutes.
The idea also comes across to me as someone realizing they wouldn’t be where they are without their readers and they (the blogger) are truly exhibiting appreciation for the readers role in acquiring their level of success, whatever level that may be at the time.
I think the best way for me to explain would be to say I see being the recipient of such an email as equivalent to attending a seminar featuring a speaker(s) I admire for their expertise or whatever. If I take the time to read your blog, I admire you for some reason.
If one of the speakers were to single me out for conversation, even if just to introduce themselves to me, I would be very appreciative that they acknowledged my presence at the seminar. Naturally, I would then feel drawn to be more involved in other aspects of their business such as books, upcoming seminars, etc.
We all naturally appreciate acknowledgment whether it be simply a smile in passing in the store or that special note of thanks for whatever. Hearing or reading an acknowledgment with your own name just has a way with making you feel all warm and fuzzy because you were NOTICED in the sea of people/ readers/ personalities out there.
Viral Electronics
August 1st, 2007 11:38 am
I tried it. My blog is barely over a month old thoug, so not many commenters fo far but deffantly think its a good idea. To me as a viewer and reader I agree that a webmaster taking the time to email me back will deffantly make me visit them again and again. I know I was totally shocked to get an email back from you before and I love this site for it and its great information.
pablopabla
August 1st, 2007 11:52 am
Thank you for your reminder on this simple but important relationship building exercise. However, I think for it to be truly effective, it should be on a regular basis rather than just a one-off email to a new reader. The drawback is that after a period of time, the blogger might not have enough time to email the readers. Hence, replying to comments would be important as well.
Alvin
August 1st, 2007 12:27 pm
Great tip. Here’s another tip that’s helped me get viewers is to ask for permission to use their photos on my blog. I tend to try to post my own photos, but if I need a photo that I don’t have, I’ll go hunting on Flickr. Once I see something I like, I then contact the person for permission to post their picture on my blog. They’re very appreciative and generally say yes. And often, they come back to see what else I’ve written. Here’s a post where I asked two photographers for permission.
Leon
August 1st, 2007 12:59 pm
Good idea as always Darren. I’ll be reading.
Steven Snell
August 1st, 2007 1:20 pm
Good advice Darren. You can never put a price tag on the value of a visitor. Who knows what they’ll buy or how many people they’ll tell about you.
Tom
August 1st, 2007 1:41 pm
I like this idea. I have been doing something like it already in messaging anyone I see in Mybloglog widget…I make it a point to visit their profile and thank them for stopping by, I similar idea I think although they haven’t necessarily commented on my site, which is kinda new and not getting so many comments yet. I’ll definitely start doing this though as I get new commentors….just makes sense!
Lifeiseasy
August 1st, 2007 1:44 pm
I have to tell you that Jason from money Space online has been talking about your blog so I decided to pop over and read it :) you are as awesome as he says :) He has inspired me to start blogging too :)
Terry
Mani
August 1st, 2007 1:51 pm
Totally agree with you Darren.
Unfortunately, i get only 2-3 comments daily on my blog. :D
Cheers!
Mani
Jeri
August 1st, 2007 3:02 pm
I did get a couple of nice comments today and individually emailed the recipients. I have to say – it was out of my comfort zone, it felt a little ’spammy’. I suppose that’s why I’m a tech/manager sort, not a salesperson. :)
On the subject of autoresponders, I would only recommend one if it can be set to autorespond to only the first comment. IMHO, getting the same autoresponse every time can potentially be a deterrent to future commenting.
I agree with the majority – a personal note is best.
Kate
August 1st, 2007 4:04 pm
I feel like I just did this to tell a reader about her contest win at my site, but I’ve never thought of doing it just to build the relationship. I’ll tryit right now.
Shine
August 1st, 2007 4:15 pm
I have to admit that I haven’t thought about emailing the readers before…
I will definitely be sticking with your 31 days project and beyond.
BrocanteHome
August 1st, 2007 6:30 pm
As usual Darren, with the simplest of tips, you have provided me with just the kick up the backside I need… I am guilty of neglect of my gorgeous, loyal readers and it is an outrageous state of affairs. Im off to say thank you to one and all.
Charles
August 1st, 2007 9:53 pm
great tip, never thought about it that way (the 365 page views)
Protestant
August 1st, 2007 10:27 pm
Great post! As previously stated, it never crossed my mind to email new visitors. It’s definitely on my to do list going forward. :)
shawn
August 2nd, 2007 12:02 am
Darren,
I currently don’t have any readers. Can I just email some of your readers? Your fan base is made of really cool people!!!
Ken Y-N
August 2nd, 2007 12:10 am
Darren – great tip! I just got a nice comment from a guy in Iceland on my blog, so it inspired me to drop him a mail.
Oh, and shawn, great comment too.
Jim
August 2nd, 2007 1:45 am
Interesting that I should come across this post today as I just read about a WordPress Plugin that sends a thank you email to people who post to a blog for the first time. I haven’t tried it yet but if it lets you customize a nice greeting, it could be very effective.
The plugin is “Comment Relish” at http://www.justinshattuck.com/comment-relish/
If anyone has tried it, drop me a note. I am interested in seeing how it works.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Deb
August 2nd, 2007 2:15 am
Finally got one to email. It is still Aug. 1st here. I have started seeing more and more comments left with “no-reply comment…” Is this a general trend?
ApOgEE
August 2nd, 2007 2:33 am
Wow Darren, now you have 74 commenter. Who’ll be that lucky commenter to receive your mail then… *wink* Thanks for the tip anyway!
CroSnake
August 2nd, 2007 5:04 am
yeah you got great tips i like this blog
Elena from BusyBeeMama.com
August 2nd, 2007 6:51 am
Thank you for the tip! My blog is less than a week old, so I only have two people who have commented so far. I think it’s a great suggestion that will help me build my audience, starting with these first couple of visitors.
Marc Eilbeck
August 2nd, 2007 7:22 am
really good tip I’m gonna take your advice
John
August 2nd, 2007 7:49 am
This is a great tip, and it’s so very important. My own experience is that it not only increases readership, but it also increases links back to you from other blogs. It’s all about community.
Jen / domestika
August 2nd, 2007 10:25 am
It took me a while to clue-in that responding in the comments didn’t always cut it — there’s no guarantee that any particular reader will return to any particular post to see if there’s a response, after all. So I have started to respond by email when someone leaves a really genuine comment, anything more than “hi nice blog”…
Someone asked about how to get an email address for a commenter if you’re on Blogger… When I was still on Blogger, I did try to track through the profile or website links on people’s names, to see if there was any contact info available. Labour intensive — too say the least — and not everyone has an email published on their site, but at least *something* can be done to try to connect with readers in this way.
Amy
August 2nd, 2007 10:52 am
Would it not help to start this out with maybe something for noob bloggers?
Maybe, say, someone wanted to start fresh with a blog taking your suggestions..
Dee Stewart
August 2nd, 2007 12:57 pm
I emailed a new commenter today, who manages a book store. She subscribed to my newsletter that I send to bookstore owners and boookclub presidents. Usually I respond in the comments section, but I will begin to comment to at least one person a day via their personal email.
Thanks.
Teejay
August 3rd, 2007 3:35 am
It’s a great tip. If only I can find a list of those readers.
Vishnu
August 5th, 2007 8:33 pm
Great post but the process is a little cumbersome but we also know nothing ventured nothing gained. Does any body here know about other innovative ways to build up a blog audience and traffic.
Ken
August 8th, 2007 8:21 am
I’m only leaving this comment in the hopes that you’ll email me.
goldcoaster
August 8th, 2007 9:00 am
I have just visited this site and came accros the 31 days theme.
Emailing seems a good idea but in moderation. Don’t email the same commentor over and over, I guess?
Problogger, I don’t see you add to the comments (maybe you do). How many did you email today?
Aries Purwantoro
August 9th, 2007 10:18 pm
It’s a good tips.
Someone using unknown email so I delete his comment. Am I wrong ?
Dave
August 11th, 2007 1:27 pm
This is a great tip.
Tree Fitzptrick
August 12th, 2007 11:39 pm
Great tip. My blog is on blogger. I don’t think I automatically get the email addresses of commentators. Maybe time to switch?
analogstuff
August 13th, 2007 4:49 pm
Great Tip Darren,
I never know that we can E-mail people and increase the user base. I will follow.
Keep up your work.
http://analogstuff.blogspot.com
dcrmom
August 18th, 2007 12:40 am
I just found this series and I’m dying to dive in. Love the first tip. I almost always respond to a new reader’s comment, in fact, I respond to probably half the comments I get. And my readers have grown tremendously since I began doing that.
Ryan Imel
August 18th, 2007 2:26 am
Did it! Always worthwhile to email new people, thanks for the reminder.
Blog Opinion
August 18th, 2007 12:28 pm
Nice tip. I will email my commentors building a better network. :)
Pepper Guthrie
August 19th, 2007 11:56 pm
I love your blog! Particularly this series of posts. I will definitely walk through this the next 31 days. I am excited to apply your principles.
Teofilo Calle
August 20th, 2007 1:49 pm
Hello ,Darren your tips are helpful and informative specially for begginers I am reading how to write blogs.thank you!
Nicky
August 25th, 2007 5:31 pm
How do you get their email addresses? I have a typepad blog and I don’t see one.
Tay
August 25th, 2007 7:57 pm
Darren,
I’ve been going back through your 31 Days series and reading all of the posts. This is definitely one of the things I’m going to do! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. :)
Ming | Artmakr.com
August 27th, 2007 5:30 pm
I agree completely, that we need to go after the 1 loyal reader.
Great tip. I’m starting a little late, but i’m going through your list. I know someone who did follow this tip, and it did indeed build up a loyal following to his blog.
Nicole
August 31st, 2007 5:56 am
I agree it’s a great tip, and I love getting thank yous and want to send them (although I really hope people understand when you don’t). My issue is I have a blogger blog (Google) and they don’t make it very easy to send an email as far as I know. I get a “no-reply” email notification, go to my blog, am directed to their google profile, go to their web, try to find an email address or sometimes end up commenting on their own post as thanks. Whew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest :)
Mohamed
September 2nd, 2007 12:29 am
Yea loyal readers are the best .
Mark
September 5th, 2007 3:43 pm
This is a great tip, as everyone has already mentioned. One mistake people often make with any type of community they’re building (be it a forum, a network, or – yes – a blog) is not engaging with their users, especially in the early days.
If someone takes the time to post on your site, even to call you a dimwit, then you should encourage their participation. They might even stop calling you a dimwit :D
farida
September 5th, 2007 7:15 pm
very good article. I was reading up about branding ideas yesterday and learnt that emailing every simgle person who leaves a comment is an effective means of making a blog successful and it’s what I believe will work. I’ve just installed a plugin called “comment Relish” but after reading your article i think im going to delete it and send my emails by hanf to every person. I write alot of pillar articles so i’ve had quite a few people asking questions so i have a reason to email. Better getting started designing my signature first!
Claus
September 18th, 2007 3:10 am
P.S.: I forgot to mention that I deactivated comments in the meantime, mainly out of frustration.
Claus
Claus
September 18th, 2007 4:51 am
Obviously my first comment got lost somehow, so here it’s again:
My problem with all of my blogs is that I don’t get comments I can answer in the first place! :-(
My present blog:
http://grafomatic01.twoday.net/ [in German ]
This one’s on graphics/post-production. No comments, so I decativated the comment function (as in my previous blogs).
I’m asking myself what I’m doing wrong?
Here are some older post I wrote in English (and in my “older” blog):
http://artificial.twoday.net/topics/Film+und+Fernsehen/?start=10
Can anybody give me a hint?
Thanks,
Claus
Kim
September 23rd, 2007 4:31 pm
Hey Claus,
I guess one main reason could be, that people will have problems finding you.
try a search for som keywords and google, and see if you pop up on the first two to three pages.
If not spend some time reading this blog (or even plus some others) looking for entries about “SEO”, “search engine optimization”, “creating valuable content”, “getting traffic” …
If nobody reads your posts, nobody can comment, right ;)
gl
Kim
Tim Broder
October 4th, 2007 6:26 am
When I was starting up my blog I had read in a few places that for very young blogs it is better to have comments turned off. The reasoning behind this was readers might come and see 0 comments everywhere and just leave off the bat.
Now I am wondering if leaving comments off was a bad idea? (they are still off)
thisblogwillpaymymortgage
December 1st, 2007 8:32 am
Thanks for this series. As a new blogger, this is golddust. CHeers
margie
December 19th, 2007 4:19 am
Just wanted to say thanks again, many months later, for this great tip. It has been BY FAR the best thing I ever did as a blogger, and definitely helped with readership and with general good will on the net. I now have readers who tip me off to stories, etc. which often lead to good posts. And as simple as this is, I am not sure I would have thought to do it if I had not read this post … another great tip from ProBlogger!
Amy
January 17th, 2008 10:53 am
Good tip. I emailed one commenter and one who has been a guest post We’ll see what happens.
suresh
May 29th, 2008 11:06 pm
I am going to day 2 .
Shae
June 6th, 2008 4:18 am
Thank you for this tip. It seems so simple but in this day and age of non communication, a little personal touch goes a long way.
cnaizheng
July 25th, 2008 12:55 pm
Thank you for this tip. It seems so simple but in this day and age of non communication, a little personal touch goes a long way.
Tim (@Twalk) Walker
August 5th, 2008 2:02 am
Darren — I’ve been doing this regularly, and I can confirm that it works very well. People marvel that you took two minutes to dash off a little line.
As for dismissive responses: I think that this approach works *exactly* like a merchant’s efforts in the offline world: you advertise and market yourself to bring hundreds or thousands of people into your store, but once they’re in the door . . . it’s personalized attention that’s going to bowl them over and keep them coming back for more.
The good merchant never scorns the lone customer.
Sortin'ItAllOut
October 8th, 2008 9:38 am
This is a great idea–day one email a visitor–I’m going to do that right now.
Thank-you!
Sortin'ItAllOut
October 8th, 2008 9:49 am
I thought I left a comment here-but I can’t find it. Anyway-I ran into a little problem with the first tip-email one reader of your blog. How do I find their email addresses? And does it count to simply reply to their comment on your own comment page?
firmanwy
November 15th, 2008 10:21 am
Leave a comment to other blog as my experiences is a thing to do to get a better blog popularity.
Beautyshells
March 16th, 2009 1:18 am
I found your site on google, great site, keep it up. Will return in the future. Submitted this post to Google News Reader.
Maiken Jepsen
March 25th, 2009 3:54 am
Love your blog!! Can’t wait to learn more tips from you about blogging.
Tim_H
March 31st, 2009 3:36 am
I know this is long after the fact, but this is a quality article.
Bethany
May 2nd, 2009 1:50 am
What if this is a new blog and I don’t even have 1 comment yet?
I love this ideal but no one has commented or emailed me yet.
What to do then?
Thanks!
server
June 9th, 2009 4:42 pm
Amazing tip. I love your blog
Jonathan
June 20th, 2009 12:20 pm
I am a long time reader, first time commenter on this excellent website. First of all congratulations on a superb site. I’ve spent countless hours trawling through your advice :-)
My only question so far is, using Blogger like I do, how on earth do you get people’s email addresses? I would say only about 10% of commenters leave email addresses, maybe less. In fact the only ones I can think of are people who have websites of their own.
Would be interested to hear how you suggest a solution, other than move to Wordpress!
Thanks. Jonathan.
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