Have you ever missed a blog comment? From your prospect’s perspective, there’s nothing quite so frustrating as to ask a question on a blog or make a comment only to have it ignored. It’s certainly no way to conduct business or build relationships. The problem is that if you have an active blog and presumably an active business, managing blog comments can be overwhelming. There are people who have a full time job managing and responding to blog comments. When you only have a few minutes available each day how to you make it happen?
Install a Good Filter
One of the reasons a blog comment may slip past you is because it gets trapped in the midst of a ton of SPAM. Let’s face it, even unpopular blogs receive dozens if not hundreds of SPAM comments each day. How can you identify all of the real comments when you have to sort through hundreds of messages? You can’t. You’ll inevitably miss someone. The key is to install a good SPAM filter. Askimet is the standard WordPress plug-in that most people use. However, you can take it a step further. A good CAPTCHA plug-in can help cut down on your SPAM and thus improve the likelihood that you’ll be able to easily identify every real comment.
Get Mobile
Do you have to log into your WordPress account to see if you have any comments? If this is the case then it’s time to step up your game. You can easily have all of your blog comments sent to your email. And if you use Gmail or another email program that makes it easy to sort and label messages then you can have every comment sent to a unique folder. From your phone or your computer, once a day you can check your email, open that folder and respond to all new blog comments.
Set Limits
Finally, one reason many people tend to avoid responding to blog comments altogether is because they’re afraid of them. People can push the limits online. They can be abusive and negative. They can ask for more information than you want to provide, and they can be rude. You don’t have to stick your head in the sand and ignore your comments. Simply create hard and fast rules about what you allow on your blog and how you respond to those who push the boundaries. You might go so far as to write a template post for each type of challenging commenter you come across. For example, for the people who want free advice you might direct them to your email list or entry level product or service.
A blog comment is a good thing. It’s a connection to a reader and possible customer. It’s an opportunity to build a relationship. Don’t miss that opportunity because your technology, systems, or fears get in the way.