This blog post was submitted by Desmond. Check out his blog 
Happy Independence Day to all Indians out there, has been a good one. I have around 200 firecrackers I need to get rid of so should be an interesting week. As for the contest, Feedburner screwed up yesterday and took 150~ subscribers off – will do the drawing when it returns to normal (hopefully tomorrow).
It is very important for you to lure in as much comments as possible for every post you written in your blog. With a huge number of comments counts for your post, more and more readers will join the discussions and your post might even end up on Digg’s frontpage. By encouraging discussion, you will also have the possibilities to gain backlinks and improve your blog’s credibility.
So, here are the 8 sure-fire ways that will rake some nice amount of comments for your posts:
1. Ask for it
Sometimes, you have to tell your readers to act. You can beg them or command them to comment on your post. It’s a simple and easy thing to do and it will definitely rake in some comments.
2. Ask Questions
You can ask questions in your blog such as “What do you think about my new blog design?” or “Do you think this really matters to you”. People will definitely reply to your questions by commenting because some of them would love to voice up their opinions. YouTube star, Phillip DeFranco managed to rake in huge numbers of video responses and comments because he asks questions in every of his videos.
3. Top Commentators WordPress Plugin
By simply applying the “Top Commentators plugin” on your WordPress platform blog, you will be able to list up your top commentators and a link back to them. This is like getting a link visible (most people have it on the sidebar) without actually paying for it. Many top bloggers are using this method to bring in good
numbers of comments.
4. DoFollow Comments
It is very important to let your readers know that your blog is dofollow. This will encourage more comments because web owners would be happy to get a free backlink especially if you got high PageRank. Placing a simple image like below could rake in 50% more comments.
5. Writing Up a Controversial Post
Controversy always work best to rake in opinions and debates. Writing up a controversial post is extremely easy when you have the solid ideas and facts. Do not afraid to go against the facts because your main aim here is to stir debate and get your readers to voice up their opinions.
6. Dropping Comments on Blogs
This is a great technique to networking, gain new readers and rake in more comments. People tend to return back to your blog and comment mainly because of “a favor kind of thing” and links of course! You let the blog owner of the blog you commented on aware of your presence and might even be one of your loyal readers!
7. Social Media
Never underestimate the power of social medias. You will have to socialize and network through social medias. By making your blog known to as many people as possible, you will bring in new readers and new commentators who want a linkback or who want to voice up something on your blog. Social media like YouTube, FaceBook and Digg are great website to start on.
8. Comment contest
Everyone loves to get free stuffs and since commenting on blogs don’t cost the readers anything but time, readers will not hesitate to drop a comment. Offer some nice prizes like Entrecard credits or cash prizes. You can even get someone to sponsor some prizes for your contest if you don’t have anything to give away!
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August 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Very good post.. But where’s the competition results? =P
BlackhatWay’s last blog post..Flipping an image host
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August 15th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Maybe if you actually read the post, you’d find out…
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August 15th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
@BlackHatWay – Look at the top of the post…
Anyway, this post goes right along with yesterday’s post. It will help you increase your readers activity, while the other post was teaching you how to increase the quality of your blog. Great combination of posts.
Faint’s last blog post..How To Make Your Own Beer
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August 15th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Ahaa… Reading with cell again. Missing things. Thanks for pointing out.
BlackhatWay’s last blog post..Flipping an image host
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August 15th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Happy independence day Jason.
m.dinesh’s last blog post..Win Prizes
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August 15th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Hey Jason, your “Top Commenters Plugin” link is broken, looks like to tags are in it some how.
Mel’s last blog post..Top 10 Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To
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August 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
You can also use the IReply button. It basically means that you respond to comments etc.
http://blogaboutyourblog.com/2007/06/30/join-the-ireply-revolution/
Matthew’s last blog post..By: Blog for Beginners
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August 15th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
@Jason-one thing has gone wrong today, your feedburner was messed up. I was looking forward to the drawing. Happy Independence day!
@Faint-it is a nice combination on posts, and they are guest posts!
These are some good methods, but if you want a high PR you will have to get rid of dofollow. Another good thing about being dofollow is a lot of people have dofollow lists, and you will be listed there and get a link.
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August 15th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Happy Independence Day …U Comment , I follow
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August 15th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I personally think your blog needs to be do follow, at least in the beginning stages (1st Year). As your subscribers increase then you can definitely deactivate the plugin if you wish.
Mel’s last blog post..Top 10 Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To
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August 15th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Blogs are awesome money makers! marketing them to get them off the ground is the hard part.
for information on internet marketing please check out http://www.webmarketingpays.com even if you dont have a blog to promote you can still learn alot! and sell the knowledge to others!
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August 15th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
These are really good tips. I believe comment contests are still easily one of the best ways to get people to comment on your blog. I know I had one and I got around 60 comments on each of my blog posts.
Ultimate Blogging Experiment’s last blog post..My 6 Ways of Bringing Traffic to My Blog
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August 16th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Btw to celebrate Independence day I am watching some fireworks, hope everyone else is too!
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August 16th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Hey Jason. Thanks for posting it up.
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August 16th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Yeah. Rajaie’s post and this one make a good combination.
Ganesh’s last blog post..Happy Independence Day!
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August 16th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Jason, sorry to spam you again, but do you have a list of people’s names and how many entries they have for the contest? I have 18 entries, and I know a lot of others are people are particular about their number, just want to make sure you have things right!
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August 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am
[...] updates here for DesmondBlog.com. I submitted my first ever guest post to Jason Pereira over at TheUniversityKid.com and he is kind enough to post it up for such ordinary [...]
August 16th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Wow… I need to add that top commentators plugin to my site… and I’m stealing that “do follow” picture… mine looks like crap. Damned paint
.
Sammy Ashouri’s last blog post..Domain Sales For The Week – Three Word .com Sells For $260,000!
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August 16th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I’ve been planning on adding the Top Commentators plugin to my sidebar for a long time but still haven’t since I’m so lazy. Ah, maybe today
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August 16th, 2008 at 11:09 am
@Jason: ok, by firecrackers I hope you mean 200 MMO ideas!! Fire them at us!
I noticed the feedburner glitch when I came by earlier to see if you had broken the 700 mark yet. Looks like it was TUKs turn for the glitch!?
Great guest posts lately! Even when Jason takes a break the quality content is still here! Damn…
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August 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
These are surely a few effective ways to get comments to a blog, any blog. I have implemented all of them except for #5. Maybe I should give it a try.
Sly from Slyvisions dot Com’s last blog post..Let’s Get Back To Business
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August 16th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
@ Sammy – A lot of blogs use that image. If you want a different color, feel free to look here: http://randaclay.com/blog/i-follow/
@ Rajaie & Sammy – That really helps a lot of commentators keep on posting on your posts. I know a lot of people, including on myself post on blogs and try to add to the conversation because of that plugin. It REALLY helps.
Faint’s last blog post..How To Make Your Own Beer
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August 16th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
@Rajaie – if you are putting in top commentators today, have you experienced problems putting it in? How does it work with widgetized sidebar?
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August 17th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Nice bost there buddy! Very Informative.
Anirudh’s last blog post..August 16 : Anirudh Launches his Blog into the Blogosphere!
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August 17th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
REally good post. A lot of things to do….
Binish Mathew’s last blog post..FREE ADSPACE | ENTER THE CONTEST
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August 19th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Combining 5 & 6 can be successful as well. A good controversial comment will get you some quick visits.
Sell Porn Make Money’s last blog post..Naughty America Billing Issues Resolved
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August 20th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
STUMBLED!
I usually ask a question at the each of my blog posts already, my blog is a “do follow” (i think), that top commentator plugin I installed a couple of months ago and it did help increase commenting.
I have already run 2 contests as well, so I guess I’m on the right track.
Good post.
Geoserv’s last blog post..FREE Pligg 9.9.5 template – Pliggblogs
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August 20th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Could you give us some more information on how exactly you would run a comment contest? Thanks
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June 8th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Great post!
I’m definitely going to put up a Top Commenter section and start a contest. hmm now what should I give away? LOL
Franklin´s last blog post..Using Twitter for Business, Marketing and PR
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December 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Bookmarked, thanks
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June 7th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
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