How to Get Comments on Your Hubs from Visitors?
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Getting visitors to comment is not as difficult as it sounds. Don't expect a lot of comments at the beginning but as you move around HubPages and people get to know you better, you will get more comments on your hubs.
But it never hurts to see how you can tweak your hubs so as to encourage them to leave a comment.
Write in a Conversational Style
I'm sure you have read many a textbook in your time. What does it do to you? For me I find it exceedingly boring and invariably fall asleep Probably explains why my grades were not as good as I would like it to be. :)
Don't write your hub like you would a text book. If your hub was a textbook, they will put it down and go to sleep. But since your hub is on the Internet, they will do that thing to your hub - the worst possible thing they can. Yes, I'm talking about the B word - they will click the "Back" button.
Engage your visitor. Talk to them. Crack a joke. Relate to something they know. Tell them something personal about yourself.
In other words, write your hub like you are talking to a friend and not like you are giving a lecture.
Topic
Which brings me to the next point. Talk about something that they are interested in and would like to talk about and share.
Topics like pets, relationships, family, politics and even religion would probably generate at least some comments, and the last 2 topics should see some lively debate.
Topics like personal finance, technology, and science might generate some questions and allow you to show off your expertise. But those topics are usually rather dry and would get a sum total of 0 comments unless....
Fans
You have established a fan base. Be social by visiting other hubs and commenting, and leaving fan mail when you become a fan, and replying to comments on your hub and you will build a fan base who will make it a point to comment even on your driest topic.
Case in point is my hub about copyrights which is probably one of the driest topics you can find, To date, there are a total of 8 comments. Even G-Ma, who would probably fall asleep at the first mention of the word copyright, made a nice comment at the hub. Thanks G-Ma.
And by the way, it doesn't hurt to ocassionally mention a fan or their hubs. And it goes a long way towards establishing a loyal fan base.
CommentsLoading...
Thank you!
It's going to be real embrassing to have a hub about getting more comments and not get any comments. :)
Visiting other peoples hubs and leaving comments that show you've actually read the hub, is indeed a great way of attracting people back to your own work. I've often gone back and read other people's hubs after reading comments that are interesting and thought-provoking. Some people go round routinely leaving 'nice hub' style comments that are only a few words long, but that kind of brief comment doesn't really attract me to track the comment back.
All too true. A "Nice Hub!" once is a while is nice, but if you check Hubtivity and see that this person has spent the last 30 minutes leaving comments on 30 hubs, in my book, that person is a spammer.
No I won't! I will still continue to write my hubs like writing a text book!
:)
Hehehe...then when I read your hubs, I will need you beside me to wake me up when I fall asleep. :)
D, what you write is inevitably useful and interesting - and never once have I found it sleep-inducing! But I'm going to use this particular hub to say something I think needs saying.
I know we all want to make money and many of us are desperate to do it on our own terms (that is, without submitting ourselves again to the indignities of wage slavery). I'm one of those and as I'm well past middle age (unless I make it to 116), I have a sense of urgency others may not.
Despite this, I am alarmed that writing has become nothing more than rote for some here and on other sites. Based only on what sells and allowed no time to percolate into well-contemplated and well-crafted works, hubs come out at the speed of a factory conveyor belt and are little more than ad delivery systems. The thinking is, I guess, 'If I get enough of these out there and they have enough of the right keywords and bot attracters as possible, I'll make money and devil take the hindmost.'
Please understand that I am by no means against making money by having ads on my hubs. I do believe, though, that we are on a slippery slope here; one that leads to trivial content repeated ad infinitum. You only have to look back through two or three years of women's magazines, whether Cosmopolitan or Family Circle or a host of others, for prime examples of this. 'Creative thinking' in such publications has become as formulaic as a mass-produced sausage recipe.
I'd really hate to see that happen to HubPages, which currently has a strong core of dedicated, thoughtful, and thought-provoking writers who express the personal and the pertinent with carefully honed style and majesty. Their ideas and insights have - literally -the power to change the world.
That is the job of the writer.
Very good advice wandererh.
Also, very well said MindField. This topic would make a good hub and also a good forum topic. Bot-attractor-only hubs just clutter up the place, and worse, block out hubs that actually have useful content.
Interesting, wandererh. I personally think that there is a matter of personal style involved, too. You see, I tend to be a generally bossy person. Where I would consider myself insightful, others might consider me a "know it all." I suspect that comes through on my hubs. Even in my personal blogs (which inevitably get shut down because...) I can't seem to let go and make things entirely personal. I don't connect well with people in text.
There are personal reasons for this, of course (don't we all have them?). Some subjects are easier for me to talk about in a personal way than others, such as the hub I just published on reptile ownership (and yet didn't make personal... Hmmm...). Others are subjects that I have had to research or have researched a great deal. It probably doesn't come through that my hubs on marriage were researched to death for personal reasons, not because I wanted to make money writing a hub. I don't let on that I did the research because my marriage was failing. I guess I feel as though that makes me look like I couldn't possibly know what I'm talking about. Maybe I need to watch Fireproof again!
I get personal in comments, not in hubs. It's that way for me with blogging, too. I'm a writer, but I'm not a journaler. I find it easy enough to tell a story or pass on information, but to share of myself, particularly when I don't know who's reading? Particularly difficult for me.
I would also like to comment on what Meg said: I'm a prolific writer. For me, that's because writing is what I do. I write because I have to, not because it's going to make me a ton of money. I have days where I hub just to get something out there (either for the ads or out of my system). Yesterday was one of those days, though the subject seemed much more personal until I started doing it. Maybe I'm experiencing a disconnect and need to work on that.
Thank you, wandererh for responding to my request. Your advice has highlighted a number of interesting points. I have already found that the longer you are a hubber - it does help. You do need to get known in this community. I had a little giggle when you commented that writing a hub on comments and receiving none would be embarrassing. Well - by all these comments - you have been successful.
No comment. Oh right...that IS a comment. ;D
Great advice, wandererh! I know people who can't write anything *but* dry and boring. If you're sitting across from them having coffee, they'll have you hanging on their every word, or falling off your chair laughing. But if they try to put the same knowledge or tale on paper, it's like a switch flips to Textbook Mode. "Write it like you told it" doesn't work for them. They just can't write like they talk. Very sad.
Good tips and advice Wandererh, I can not read the hubs that are written like texts because of my attention disorder. I am also not the type that likes to be talked at, I enjoy the talk to method better. I like writers who make you feel like you are in the same room with them. Good Hub.
You bring up some very good points: quality, content, and social! I know that if someone I have not seen before leaves a comment on one of my hubs, I will go to their profile and read some of what they have written. I find alot of gems this way!
Agree with what Mindfield said
MindField - The kind of writing that you were talking about has been around for a few years now. I have seen videos of how you are supposed to do this kind of writing.
First, assuming you are not familiar with the topic, you browse the Internet and read 5-10 articles on the topic. Congratulations, you are now the expert.
You write many articles on the same topic, and submit them to Hubpages, Squidoo, knol, etc. And your recommended article writing speed? A few articles an hour!
No wonder we are starting to see spammy content which has good spelling, and good grammar, but doesn't really speak to you.
Unfortunately, these kind of writing do get traffic and make money. So we are now walking the fine line between great content and not too much money and spammy content and much better money.
I could go on but I think this can be the topic for another hub. :)
Any takers?
shibashake - Thanks! :)
Everyday Miracles - You are a bossy person? You don't come across as one. :)
I did go to your reptile hub and read all of it. But when it came to the comments, I wanted to leave a comment but I didn't know what to say other than "Interesting information", so I didn't leave any.
Could be the topic. In the comments, you are supposed to discuss. Since I do not know that much about reptiles, I definitely do not have anything to contribute.
reggieTull - Oh yes, it would definitely have been embrassing. So, judging by the number of comments, I declare this hub a success. :)
JamaGenee - Maybe it is something to do with communication and body language. When they are talking to you, they can see your response and reaction to what they and saying, and they tailor what they say accordingly. When faced with a blank unresponsive screen, they go blank. :)
Whikat - One serves to educate and one serves to entertain. But why can't we be educated and entertained at the same time?
k@ri - You are totally right. There are good stuff and good writers here. But just too many to give their material the time it deserves. :)
cindyvine - Thanks for dropping by, didn't recognize you for a moment. :)
LOL I get the most comments on internet marketing hubs and of course, my experiement in sex sells hub - Australia - (yes it does by the way - but I got nice bit of debate in the comments too). Interactive stuff works too - asking readers their experience will normally get comments
You are right. And I wonder if a hub on something like the paranormal and asking readers for their experiences would get some interesting responses.
This is a nice post and I would say very great comments as well! I have just started joining hubPages and reading these posts makes me more inspired to write more hubs! :) Thnak you, wandererh.
Welcome the hubpages. Looking forward to hearing more from you. :)
I can see most of the comments made in this hub is made by you, yourself. Is this the way to get more and more comments. Are the comments of any good use? I am still wondering how can this hub reach the level of "HOT HUBS". I don't see ANY good and useful information here !
Ahhh...a critic.
[quote]Despite this, I am alarmed that writing has become nothing more than rote for some here and on other sites. Based only on what sells and allowed no time to percolate into well-contemplated and well-crafted works, hubs come out at the speed of a factory conveyor belt and are little more than ad delivery systems. The thinking is, I guess, 'If I get enough of these out there and they have enough of the right keywords and bot attracters as possible, I'll make money and devil take the hindmost.'
Please understand that I am by no means against making money by having ads on my hubs. I do believe, though, that we are on a slippery slope here; one that leads to trivial content repeated ad infinitum. You only have to look back through two or three years of women's magazines, whether Cosmopolitan or Family Circle or a host of others, for prime examples of this. 'Creative thinking' in such publications has become as formulaic as a mass-produced sausage recipe.
I'd really hate to see that happen to HubPages, which currently has a strong core of dedicated, thoughtful, and thought-provoking writers who express the personal and the pertinent with carefully honed style and majesty. Their ideas and insights have - literally -the power to change the world.
That is the job of the writer.[/quote]
This is another stimulating hub, wandererh. Your ability to generate interesting comments is obvious.
May I comment on a comment with the hope that it doesn’t hijack your thread? Please delete it if I wander too far off topic.
I agree completely with MindField’s comment above except for the part about being on a slippery slope. From my perspective, the quality of other hubs has little or no effect on traffic to, or clicks on, our hubs. There are 299,000 hubs on this site, and most of our readers have no clue as to how many of those articles are of high quality or how many contain "trivial content repeated ad infinitum."
Comments on our hubs are usually made by members of the Hubpages community and rarely by outsiders. Although hubbers also create impressions, they seldom provide clicks. On the other hand, more than two-thirds of my traffic comes from google.com, yahoo.com, and a variety of other search-engine sources. Only the content and tags in my hubs have attracted these readers. Whether they read to the end or click on an ad will depend solely on the quality and relevance of my content. Other hubs that have been designed to be "bot-attractors" can not change this.
I totally agree that this site "currently has a strong core of dedicated, thoughtful, and thought-provoking writers who express the personal and the pertinent with carefully honed style and majesty. Their ideas and insights have - literally -the power to change the world." In addition, I know that it has a large population that is devoted mostly to attracting traffic and clicks. But, more importantly, in my opinion, it also has a cadre of talented new writers who are anxious to learn this craft and who may also have a few things that we can learn from them.
Q.
Hmmm...after careful consideration, I have decided that your comment is worth keeping. :)
Just kidding. Don't worry, Q. I don't delete comments, off topic or otherwise, unless under very special circumstances...ahem. Anyway, you were not off topic.
I'm new to this writing stuff and since MindField and you were talking about trivial content, I have a question.
I encountered this when doing my blue films hub, which explored the origin of the term "blue film". I found the information online and I quoted the sources.
How would you verify the authenticity of the information?
Yes I did, didn't I? ;)
I like what you said about being "social by visiting other hubs and commenting, and leaving fan mail when you become a fan..." I guess being a rookie here, I noticed the moment I started reading other people's hubs and sending my comments, they too start reading mine and it's a kind of "pay it forward" thing here...well, I haven't tried other similar blog sites (in fact, this is the very first time I'm trying to blog) but I'm glad I happened to land in hubPages as the people seem very nice and supportive ;)
It's all about how they are finding your hubs. Each and every social media is different so it is a good idea to explore. Just a hint but have you noticed that if you become a fan and leave fan mail, but less than 4 of that person's fans have left mail, you end up on that person's profile page? Or when I comment on your hubs, some of my fans will check out your hub too?
Wandererh great advice there and I see you managed to garner a great deal of comments. I did like MindField's comment.
Thanks! And yes, MindField does have a knack of writing "interesting" comments. :)
Thanks so answering my question, I think I was too concerned and need to concentrate on other things related to my hubs.
Hi marenebr, it takes a little time for people to know you. When they do, you will definitely get more comments. Welcome to hubpages. :)
Hi wandereh I'm just starting to circulate HP again since the Challenge?
I see some good comment here and think you are on the money with what you are saying.
After being on HP for a while now I am almost conviced that a person could just write Hubs in isolation , getting few comments but still be commercial.
Thanks agvulpes!
And you're right. Making money on your hubs and getting comments on your hubs does not have to go hand in hand. But it would be great to make money and get comments at the same time. :)
I'm always late to the party because I tend to use the search feature when I'm exploring new ideas (new to me, that is) and I found your excellent articles. I don't think your articles reflect the spammy internet article stereotype but I understand the issue here at HP. It's a thin line we all walk, isn't it? I for one could write two book reviews a day because I love children's books (except that I'm changing diapers and potty training and chasing children down from the kitchen table.) However, books aren't great income generators and there needs to be a balance. Great job generating and responding to comments and teaching by example. I always learn when I read others' stuff. Thanks wandererh.
Hi Wandererh,
I have gone through your points. Thank you very much for giving some clues. Yes I am not a good writer. I am a jack of all trades and nothing any where. All on a sudden some thoughts invaded me and I wanted to spell out every thing in the shortest time. probably I did it in the most absurd way perhaps. I never thought some one is reading it. I am awaken. i may not succeed. But mistakes make man perfect. Let me try, thank you.
wannabwestern - you have brought up a very good point in that there are too many spammy articles out there on the web and that it is a thin line many of us walk here at Hubpages. Personally, I try to include something original in my articles, and if I can't, I will at least inject a little character and personality.
Thanks for dropping by. :)
appam - for someone who is spelling out their thought in the most absurd way, you are doing very well. Keep trying. :)
Thanks for the info, I'll try to get around more... wait that sounds wrong... lol...
So long as everybody understands what you mean, Elite Publishings. :)
I will use your advice for my hubs. Can't wait to see result.
Arlecchino - Thanks! Hope it helps. :)
Some good advice here. I've often said that HubPages is as much a social site as it is a writing site. And so often it's true that participating actively within the site, and giving due attention to other hubs as you do your own, and sharing thoughtful, and egaging comments as well makes for a happier, more inviting experience overall for yourself and your fellow hubbers. For me, I write mostly opinion, some might say I lecture a little bit (tsk, tsk), but I usually do generate a fair amount of comments and discussions after the opinion can sometimes get fairly heated and wild. But that's what makes the site so great. The exchange of ideas, the diversity of ideas, and the diversity of the use of the site to accomplish myriad goals over just one. So many people, for example, say HubPages is not a blog site. I think it's not an article site either, because most articles that get written don't have a space for comments. That makes this a social network, which happens to have articles, and in my case, opinions. Eacj person gets out of the site what they put in, and each person earns an audience based on common interests shared. In that way, I think choosing your circle wisely helps as well. If your thing is blogging and politics, your followers and the people you follow should be along those lines as well. If your audience is geared and targeted toward a common thread of interests, so will the comments be generated out of an interest in the topics you choose to write about, and comment on.
Springboard - I totally agree with you there. HubPages is not an article writing site, nor is it a social network, nor is it a blogging site. I guess the correct answer is that it is all of the above. :)
SEO Expert Kerala 3 years ago
Nice one..i will this method to get more comments