“No, Ms. Martin will not be making any statements…” “I’m sorry. Ms. Martin has no response at this time...”
Today, I’m very excited to have been chosen by those great broads over at CCWA to be their featured blogger and I have to wonder…
What’s up with people who don’t leave comments?
Which leads me to ask: Could it be our fault as writers?
Some questions to consider may be: Is my voice authentic or am I trying to mimic the writing style and sound of others? Are my posts written in such a way as to provoke thought and entice my readers to join into a conversation, or do I just prattle away about myself every day like a lover with no concern for the pleasure of their partner?
Sure, we all have days when we just want to vent and readers will put up with that for a while because we all know what it’s like to need a sympathetic ear or a little encouragement, but there are millions of blogs out there and the ones that stand out and get the most comments are the ones that entertain and engage us in some way.
If we’re not getting the responses we want, it might be time to rethink our content.
Choice in commenting programs can make a difference, too. I love the Disqus system, which sends my readers an e-mail when I’ve responded to their comment. It’s a great way to get and keep a dialogue going. I write a response to every comment I receive, except the “Hi. I’m following you. Follow me” ones that are about as inviting as a drive-by shooting.
At the very least, word verification has got to go. We all read a lot of blogs and the extra time it takes to (A) figure out the damn word, and (B) type it in along with our URL, e-mail address, etc, can really add up. The easier it is for people to leave a comment, the more likely they are to do so.
And as for all you readers…
A writer needs an audience… because if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around it really doesn’t make a sound.
So please leave a comment…
