To Reply or Not to Reply

A recent post got me thinking about comments.  Some of us reply to every comment left on our Wizzes while others do not.  No doubt comments are good to receive but given the time to respond to each comment left is it not best to simply allow the comments received to stand alone if not requesting an answer to a question. 

What say you oh wise and enlightened Wizzes?

I'm trying to get better at responding to Comments. But sometimes there are only so many hours in a day. I think that comment on other Wizzles, which I try to do, is more helpful and supportive to the community. But I change my mind on this all the time.

Digby_Adams: 06. Apr 2012, 11:43

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I'm trying to get better at responding to Comments. But sometimes there are only so many hours in a day. I think that comment on other Wizzles, which I try to do, is more helpful and supportive to the community. But I change my mind on this all the time.

Good point maybe we wizzes can come to an understanding and common ground on this topic.  I'm like you I waver back and forth.  It seems we could free up more creative time writing if we didn't reply to all the comments left, like you I see great value in commenting on others wizzes instead of my own.

I agree with you both. I think it's enough just to comment on someone's article and to reciprocate. If it's an exceptional comment about your article and you want to thank them or make a comment let's just pm them.

I do not respond to every comment, mostly because of time constraints.  I do read every comment though, and when I think a comment is deserved, I do.  Personally, I think it is really not efficient to reply to every single comment or you wouldn't actually get any work done.  Check once or twice a day, then reply to the ones you want to.

It depends. I do reply to quite a few comments, particularly if they give me the opportunity to add something useful to the page. But many others just stand alone and don't need a response - I don't automatically reply. 

I certainly don't expect a response if I leave a comment on a Wizzle. 

I "second" Paula and Terri.  

I am unable to reply to every comment and honestly never knew if it was "appropriate" to do so.

I appreciate every single one, whether I say so or not! 

I think I'm going to turn off my comments. I have made what I consider friends on Wizzley, and I think I'll pm them if I want to say hi, share something or ask a question. We can continue to make new friends on the forum and comment about great articles on Knock-your-socks-off Wizzley pages (not your own).

I do read a lot of the writer's articles on here. I find them so interesting. I like to "fan" people because I can check on what articles they're writing.

I've never been on a writing web site where the forum is so positive and friendly. On the other sites, some nasty friction can arise.

I think we have the great writer's here to thank, but especially Chef, because he runs a tight ship. We know he's watching our every move. LOL

BrendaReeves: 06. Apr 2012, 12:46

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 We know he's watching our every move. LOL

You betcha, Brenda.   And thanks for the kudos.

I wouldn't completely turn off the comments, though. They keep the page "fresh", which is good SEO. You can set them to "moderate", if you want.

I don't reply to every comment either.   I normally only respond to queries ask and as Paula and Terri says, if it adds value to the page.  Also, I think replying to every comment (I mean "Thank you for stopping by" ones)would add unnecessary clutter and many a valuable comments and your answers to them would be lost.(We can only see 8-10 comments on our page right?)

However if I write an article only aimed at Wizzley, I try to respond to all comments.

Chef, I re-thought that, and I think I'll keep them turned on, because I enjoy commenting much of the time. However, I give all Wizzlies permission to not comment on my articles if you wish. I understand that you are busy writing more wonderful articles.

I try to comment as much as I can because I want everyone to know how much I appreciate their writting and their comments.  But, as you have all pointed out, it takes a lot of time.  And I often waver as well, what to do , what to do.

I seem to be in the opposite camp to most on this forum post. I try to answer, as soon as I receive if possible, all comments I receive (except those that just say 'great article', and the like). My belief is that comments give Google a chance to know that an article is 'popular' thus increasing its kudos.

Secondly, I feel that it is impolite not to 'answer' comments where they have made specific points. 

I can see the reasoning behind switching off comments for sales hubs - but then I do not write many of these.

My time is spent writing and promoting. I fan most top writers so that I can see the e-mail telling me of new articles. This I find the most efficient way to utilise my time, reading only those that are of interest - mostly NOT sales articles (for personal reasons). 

I tend to only comment where I have something *useful* to say - which is not that often - again due to time constraints. I work at least 16 hours a day doing this - at writing sites, blogs, my own websites, and promotion. I have to organize my time to do this in the most efficient manner. 

However, I am always available to assist wherever I can, either through comments, DM, or e-mail. But it does have to be instigated by 'you' as I don't usually go chasing opportunities to help (there are some occasions when I do not adhere to this policy).

To get back on topic: comments are the lifeblood of non-sales articles - they often lead to additional topics for further articles. All in all I would not even let it enter my head to turn off comments - they bring additional 'revenue'. Developing brand includes giving of oneself to those that take time out of their day to offer up comments - that is how you develop a loyal following. If they know you are real and will converse with them on any subject they will return, and more to the point share their experience with others.

You would not talk at someone (your article) and then turn away when they replied.

Addendum: turning off comments is akin to saying "I don't give a damn what you think"! Is that what you want to convey?

Thanks Chaz, I appreciate your insights, now I feel better about spending countless hours remarking to comments left, for a bit I was beginning to feel like a putz, I must say I agree with you.  Although I don't think I'll respond to any comments left by those here who've mentioned they don't expect one, instead reciprocate on one of their articles I find interesting.

I have always responded to all comments-sometimes I make a post per comment, sometimes I respond to each in an individual post for the same article. There have been times when there were too many for my schedule to respond individually, so I would make a sweeping thanking to everyone and say names only. That way I respond to say I appreciate the comments without taking a lot  of time when you don't have time. 

I certainly reply to all comments here. It feels impolite not to!  But also I write a lot on human rights, so some of those comments are actual conversations.

humagaia: 06. Apr 2012, 16:28

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... comments are the lifeblood of non-sales articles - they often lead to additional topics for further articles. All in all I would not even let it enter my head to turn off comments - they bring additional 'revenue'. Developing brand includes giving of oneself to those that take time out of their day to offer up comments - that is how you develop a loyal following. If they know you are real and will converse with them on any subject they will return, and more to the point share their experience with others.

I have to agree with humagaia on this. Comments can also give you insights into which elements of your Wizzley articles are resonating with readers and which are not.

I usually will reply to comments. It lets readers know you appreciate their reading and commenting. It gives me another new profile to read about as well.

I have always had the rule that comments are not always active conversations started because one was left. Sometimes a comment is left just to - comment, and the person doesn't expect an answer (if all commenters were then the author of the article would always be the last word! and conversations with each person could effectively go on for years and years if the commenter also kept feeling the NEED to comment back as to be polite. At some point you'd not be able to do this without losing time on your writing, other articles comments, and so on.

In the end it's really not rude in my opinion to not comment back, unless 1. they ask a question, 2. make a point that is counter to the information in your article, 3. don't ask a question but seem to need a reply i.e. a concern was mentioned but in a statement format

It's a judgement call and a time constraint call as well. I have to say I agree with everybody's way to one degree or another.

Personally because I can right now, I'll respond to every comment, at the very least with a "thank you for your comment!" or the like, but when I reach the stratosphere of comments coming in like a stream- that's just not going to be viable. I'm in the position of being in both places and having experience in both realms...

I do have one ambition towards leaving as many comments as possible in reply and making my comments stimulating to new ones (i.e. adding information not in the post but that would cause people to comment again and new readers to comment in the first place where they may not have before)- it's SEO...

Google is tracking social interaction on web 2.0 and other sites as a way to gauge the popularity of the page. If your page gets commented back and forth by different IP addresses (this is visible to the bots and authors from each comment but not to the readers) they assume people are flocking to this page and add in the depth of those conversations, and you got what Google considers a useful page. (in one of many dimensions).

I experienced/witnessed this on one of my pages that's sole reason for raising to number 1 on Google was incredible conversations in comments. I also received invaluable insights into more information on my own article that helped users that at some point the conversations there became self sufficient- they were thanking me for the information but asking each other for more info on what they said...

Iit's like a chat room you see in a daily digest as I won't spend all day looking through comments but rather usually the end of the day I'll read them/respond etc... I've also been able to extrapolate those tips and questions answers into new posts, for the one in question I made 15 pages from them (with research of course) and made that first and others more valuable as it gave insight that actually slowed down the commenting because they got their answers on one of the other posts I added (articles).

For these reasons I'd NEVER turn off the comments module, that's like leaving SEO on the table which translates later into potential earnings. It also slows down syndication on this site for your article because although people comment on your article, visitors may see your comment being so informative they will want to click through to read YOUR pages.

On the site that got 20+ comments a day my adsense and other sales (ebay/amazon) were pretty high, 20-40.00 a day so I wouldn't go full force with the information that turning off comments raises profits- it may in some niches/cases and may be detrimental in others. Especially when a page is new and you need that conversation to get Google's attention in the social layer.

When it comes to comments, If I do leave one I often try to add to the pages (the article portion) information based on their question which keeps adding new data to my page and gets the people chatting back and forth to one another- that's pretty valuable in SEO and in drawing attention to your page from other authors (the "what's new feeds" authors see when they visit your profile page).

Jerrico