Today’s discussion post is a collaboration between Heather at the Sassy Book Geek and myself. The discussion is about how we handle blog comments. Oh and please check out Heather’s blog, it is amazing!
How do comments on your blog generally make you feel?
Ashley- I would rather have comments than likes. I could really care less about “likes.” Comments make me feel that all the time and effort I put into a post was really worth it.
Heather- I would also much rather have comments than likes! I feel that comments are a little more genuine and mean a lot to me, it’s such a wonderful feeling knowing that someone wanted to take the time to drop by and comment on a post! Plus the reason I started book blogging was to be able to chat books with other book lovers.
How do you respond to “nicer” comments to your blog? (Long replies or shorter replies)
Ashley- It usually depends on the comment. If it’s a nice comment that I can really build off of and generate more discussion, I’ll try to leave a longer reply. But if it’s a short reply like “good luck” or “good job” I’ll just leave a short “thank you.”
Heather- Once again I’m mostly agreeing with you Ashley! I find that pretty much all comments I get on my blog are very, very polite and genuinely nice! If someone leaves me a paragraph sized comment that’s fantastic, I actually like long comments more, and I will try and leave an equally long reply and generally, this can bring about an awesome discussion about books or other things. If I get a shorter comment that’s just “hey I loved this post!” or “ I really loved this book too!” I’ll usually just leave some sort of “thank you” comment in reply since there isn’t much more to go off of with shorter comments!
How do you handle any trolls commenting on your blog?
Ashley- I moderate every comment I receive on my blog, so I’ve been fortunate enough that I haven’t really dealt with trolls.
Heather- I haven’t had any experience with trolls really but WordPress does a great job of blocking spam (which are kind of like trolls a little bit…) and I also moderate most comments on my blog as well. So if someone leaves a comment just to be rude they’re going to go straight to the trash more than likely.
How do you respond to self-promotional blog comments aka people who leave only their links with a “hey check out my blog!”?
Ashley- The majority of the time I don’t even bother checking out the blog. I also always send those comments to the trash, I don’t want them on my blog. The only time that I will read a linked post is if I asked for in my original post.
Heather- If a link to the blog is left on a post such as “Top Ten Tuesday” or “Top 5 Wednesday” then I think it’s perfectly fine, I’ll definitely go check out the post and answers! Or if we are discussing a book etc. in comments you they leave a link to something they posted that is relevant I have no problem checking that out either. However, if someone drops by and says “hey you should really check out my blog!” or just a link I’m probably not going to go take a look since I feel that they didn’t take the time to even look at the post they dropped a link on.
How do you handle negative comments on your blog?
Ashley- I don’t want any negativity on my blog so negative comments just get deleted. I don’t have time or patience for negativity on my blog.
Heather- For the most part, I find that the book blogging community is very easy going and laid back so there really aren’t that many people who are negative or would leave negative comments. However, if I were to receive one I would probably either delete it or try and handle it in the most respectful way I can manage. I’ve always been told to “kill ‘em with kindness” so that’s how I would more than likely treat negative comments as well!
Is there any blog comment advice you’d like to give to any newbie book bloggers out there?
Ashley- If you need something clarified ask for clarification. Also, don’t leave links to anything unless the blogger asks you to leave them, especially self-promo links. I feel like self-promo links look desperate. If you want to leave a comment, make sure that the comment is actually relevant to the post and not something random.
Heather- Mostly I’d say if you’re new to try and keep away from purely self-promotional comments such as the “hey check out my blog” type if you want people to take a look at your posts then try and leave polite and genuine comments and they’ll maybe come take a look!
I’d also say try and be as respectful as possible with other bloggers even if you disagree with what they’re saying!
Inside My Minds 
Yeah, I would totally rather have comments as well! But likes are okay too, at least I know someone noticed. But definitely comments 🙂
I usually respond to long ones with other long ones as well 🙂 but I respond all. Thankfully, I haven’t had any trolls yet! But yep, I moderate every comment. There is surely some spam.
The “check out my blog” ones are quite annoying xD I sometimes don’t respond to those… But I don’t trash them. I want to be polite 😀 maybe you’re right, it’s a good idea to trash….
I feel like those comments are too desperate looking to have on my blog.
Hah, good point!
This is a good topic. I completely agree with the promotional blog comments. I can’t stand those. Have a conversation and connect with me, don’t throw your blog in my face because you’re obsessed with gaining followers.
Exactly. Like there’s this thing of gaining followers organically. People will follow your blog if/because they like the content.
Exactly!
I’m completely agreeing with everything said in this post!
I read a post similar to this one a little while back and I mentioned it then, so I’m going to mention it here as well. [Oh how I love repeating myself – not; it’s just something that feels to me to be a good addition.]
I love getting comments – probably as much as you guys do – but I also like leaving them. And if you’re someone who loves to leave [long] comments and tries his/her hardest to make it more than a “good review!” or “nice post!”, it’s sometimes pretty frustrating to get a simple “thank you for stopping by”.
That automatically feels as if you took the time to read that post, took extra time to genuinely give your opinion and then it’s a “thanks and there’s the door”, if you know what I mean.
So I love it that you’re saying you guys try to reply decently! There are some people out there who don’t do that at all and take comments for granted – some even don’t bother ever replying when they wanted to start a discussion in the first place…
Okay, end of my rant! Haha!
OMG on the ones who don’t even bother to reply when they wanted to start a discussion in the first place, they make me feel like they’re only blogging for the followers and not the interaction. It’s like I took the time to read your post, leave a meaningful comment, and you can’t even be bothered to reply? I think it’s rude. And I love leaving comments, it’s how you meet other bloggers.
Yup! Indeed!
Honestly, I don’t mind following other people’s blogs but I kind of created the habit of not following someone immediately. I always leave a comment if a blog looks interesting to follow, but if they can’t respond like.. well, like a book blogger should [I guess?] I don’t bother following them.. Is that wrong of me? ><
It isn’t wrong at all! I get that life and other things get in the way sometimes, but don’t ignore comments. Find some time and get caught up on responding.
Yay for like-minded people, haha!
This is a really great post and discussion. It is hard sometimes to figure out what to say when you don’t feel like you can add anything to discussion on a post, but I completely understand where you are coming from in saying that you appreciate comments more than likes. I always try to leave a like on a post I appreciate, even if I don’t comment. But I may be one of the few that actually does read the post. I won’t leave a like on a post I don’t actually like or if it is a post where someone is talking about something sad or a tragedy that has happened in their lie. I always try to comment something positive though on those types of posts. After reading this, i am going to challenge myself to post more comments, even if I have the urge to only post a short, one liner.
I think it’s amazing that after reading this you’re going to challenge yourself to post more comments. Posting comments is a great way to meet other bloggers too!
Most definitely! And I am always up for making new blogger friends!! Thanks again for a great post!