In Twitter Power, I described blogs as one aspect of the social media revolution. I think that might have surprised some people. Blogs, after all, pre-date the kind of interaction that we can see on Facebook and LinkedIn. They\’re more like old-fashioned publishing, in which information comes down from a publisher instead of being created and shared by contributors.
But there is one aspect of blogging that\’s often forgotten by Internet publishers, and it\’s incredibly valuable.
At the bottom of each blog post is a space for readers to add their own comments to what you\’ve written.
Those comments are as important for the publishers as they are for the readers.
Sure, they give readers some extra detail. They can take the post in whole new directions. The people who contribute them often do more than just praise the article or give their opinion. They sometimes provide expert information that the writer didn\’t know and would never have known if someone with experience hadn\’t shared it on the site.
For readers, that\’s a huge bonus and for publishers, it\’s free content.
But the comments can also inspire new blog posts as well. Those reactions can tell the publisher what readers are thinking, what information they need to know, where they\’re going wrong and what sort of content is most important to them.
The inspiration that you can find in your comments can give you one form of momentum that can keep your blog rolling forward.
While the number of comments a post receives is a good sign of its effectiveness, it\’s the quality of the comments that can really improve your site.
Sometimes, a post from an expert commenter can even lead to an interview, a guest post or perhaps even a joint venture.
I always read the comments I receive on my blog. They tell me whether I\’m on the right track and they provide me with yet another way to interact with my audience. I can never have too much of that!
Your work as an Internet publisher doesn\’t stop once you\’ve uploaded your article. Your readers have to read it… but you have to read their reactions too.