Recently I received my 8,000th comment on Blogging From Paradise.

After hitting this milestone I want to share a case study detailing how to get 8,000 comments on your blog too.

Why do you want comments on your blog?

• increased social proof
• build community
• add content to your blog (each comment is content)
• establish friendships with successful bloggers

Let's dive into the tips.

Onsite Strategies

1- Solve Your Reader's Specific Problems

The best way to receive blog comments is to solve your reader's specific problems.

I solve common blogging-related problems through every one of my posts. My readers either agree with my tips and share their thoughts or perhaps they will share a struggle with following a tip I shared. Or maybe they will share a personal victory related to the blog post.

In any case, they are publishing a comment.

If you are a blogging tips blogger consider these blog topics to boost comments:

• how to increase blog traffic
• how to increase blogging profits
• 12 tips to get more blog comments
• 10 steps to increase blog post social sharing
• how to start a blog
• how to build a successful blog

Stay on topic. Serve your readers by addressing their most pressing issues.

If you solve reader problems your readers will happily comment on your posts.

2- Don't Choose a Platform and Strategy Primarily to Avoid Spam

I have never feared getting spam.

Many bloggers cannot say the same thing.

I know quite a few bloggers who fear getting spam more than they want to receive blog comments.

This strange, fear-based, lack and limitation laden mindset causes you to do things which guarantee you will never get 8,000 comments, let alone 2,000 comments.

If you want thousands of legitimate comments you will most definitely receive tens of thousands of spam comments.

Use a spam filter like Akismet.

Accept that high traffic blogs receive a high volume of both spam and legit comments.

Until you are overwhelmed with hundreds of spam comments which sneak through spam filters daily, spend a few minutes daily deleting the spam comments and fishing out quality comments so you can build your community and add to your comment total.

Learn how to stop spammers with these free anti-spam solutions.

3- Use a Platform that Makes Commenting Easy

Much debate surrounds blog commenting platforms.

Some bloggers swear by Disqus while others believe Comment Luv is the only platform that helps generate a high volume of comments.

I found using a simple, bespoke, easy to comment platform encouraged my readers to comment freely.

Here's why: people are busy. Few folks want to set aside 30 to 60 seconds to sign up for a platform before sharing their thoughts.

If it takes 2-5 seconds to sign in to publish a comment you likely lost a handful of potential blog commentors.

But if readers can read your post, share their thoughts without logging in or signing up for a 3rd party platform and can publish the comment quickly you position your blog to receive thousands of blog comments over the long haul.

Save a few weeks where I experimented with Disqus, 95% of the comments on Blogging From Paradise were published through my simple, bespoke commenting platform, not unlike the default Wordpress blog commenting platform.

4- Ask 3-4 Questions throughout the Post

Ask 3-4 questions throughout your blog posts.

Influence readers to respond with a comment.

Most readers need a little bit of goading. Whether shyness or a genuine lack of time forces the majority of folks to read a post and move on without commenting you want to ask questions to put the ball in your reader's court.

I prefer to ask 3-4 questions at the end of my posts but sometimes pepper in questions mid post too.

Ask.

Encourage answers.

Increase your blog comments.

Question Rules

• ask questions specifically related to the blog post
• avoid short and generic questions; these don't inspire engagement
• always ask at least 2-3 questions to get the wheels turning in your reader's minds
• persistently ask questions through all of your posts even if you see no blog comments for weeks or months

I asked for reader responses for months with my old blog before the first commentor shared their thoughts. This is how it works for most bloggers intent on building a community.

Ask when nobody seems to be answering. If you keep asking they will come and comment.

5- Respond to Comments Swiftly

The definition of “swiftly” varies for every blogger.

I respond to all comments within 24 hours but usually respond within 1-2 hours.

Other bloggers may respond to comments within 4-6 hours.

Replying to comments in a timely fashion proves you are not asleep at the blogging wheel.

Even better? You actually care enough about your readers who share their thoughts that you both listen and engage these folks quickly.

You better believe that caring about blog commentors inspires said folks to comment on your blog regularly.

Return commentors need to know that you are listening.

Even if your responses are 1-2 sentences in length it makes a big difference to see a blogger respond to comments quickly with a personalized, authentic, warm comment.

6- Personalize Every Comment

I totally vibe with your take Jerry. I too feel that case studies are some of the best types of blog posts out there today.

Note how I used Jerry's name in my response.

Your name is usually the sweetest sounding word in your native tongue. Everybody appreciates someone thoughtful enough to personalize responses.

What do appreciative readers do? Return to comment on virtually every post, boosting your blog comment total.

Make friends.

Get personal, but in a good way.

I have personalized virtually every one of my thousands of comment responses. No better way to fortify bonds, to attract return traffic and to increase your blog comments.

7- Ask Questions Periodically

Most bloggers mistakenly try to get as many people as possible to comment on their blog versus trying to inspire a high volume of engaging folks to comment on their blog.

Example; I ask questions sometimes via my responses. Said questions result in an individual posting 2, 3 or 4 comments on a single post.

At the end of the day those 4 comments from one person count toward my 8,000 blog comment count on Blogging From Paradise.

Encourage people to start a discussion by asking questions through responses to foster a conversation.

Offsite Strategies

8- Comment Effectively on Popular Blogs in Your Niche

Blog commenting is the most powerful offsite strategy for boosting comments on your blog.

Write 3-4 paragraph, in-depth comments on top blogs from your niche.

A high volume of fellow bloggers – in addition to non-bloggers – will find you through your effective, personalized, thoughtful comments, boosting your blog traffic and blog comments.

I have generated a high volume of those 8,000 blog comments by publishing tens of thousands of powerful comments on blogs from my niche.

A few rules for effective blog commenting

• comment mainly on top blogs from your niche
• personalize all comments, addressing your fellow blogger by name and signing off with your name
• write a 3-4 paragraph, thorough comment fleshing out some point made in the post
• thank the blogger for their time
• comment at least 1-2 times weekly on the same blogs but add a handful of new blogs to comment on weekly

Give rocking comments.

Get rocking comments.

9- Guest Post on Popular Blogs in Your Niche

I drive a steady flow of traffic and blog comments through my guest posting campaign.

How it works; a large volume of intrigued readers enjoy my guest posts, click my author bio link, visit my latest blog post and publish a comment on the post.

Guest posting leverages your presence, builds friendships, boosts your blog traffic and increases comments on your blog.

Guest post regularly by:

• writing 1000 words daily in a Word document just for practice
• commenting on top blogs and promoting top bloggers from your niche to build friendships
• gobbling up guest posting invites which lead to more guest posting opportunities

Play to 8K

Don't forget; the simplest way to register 8,000 comments on your blog is to have fun with blogging.

Fall in love with the process of creating content, building friendships with top bloggers from your niche and of learning the ins and outs of blogging.

If you follow these tips regularly you will generate a high number of legitimate, authentic comments on your blog.