Advice on how to entice blog users to comment more

[Dazza30]

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I moved my 3 year old blog hhtp://blog.pre-pay-as-you-go.co.uk over to a new host late last year, I decided to do this because the cms provided was extremely antiquated and was restricting my progress.

As soon as I moved the blog traffic fell almost 70% overnight, but in the last few weeks I have seen a small increase up to around 250 unique visitors a day.

The problem I have is with engaging readers to comment, where with the old blog had a constant back log of comments to get through, with this new version I am constantly fighting spam and probably only receive 2 - 20 none spammy comments.

Did I do the right thing moving to Wordpress, or is it just a case of waiting to get my visitor numbers back up again?

[dc000000]

The default with wordpress asks for a url and email address which has the effect of enticing spammers and deterring real people.
You canget around this by removing these fields - using css , hacking the code or using a plug-in.
Some topics attract comments and some don't but if you were getting them before then the above should solve it for you.
(just make sure you change the default settings by un-ticking where it says anyone who comments must insert an email address)
/You'll still get spam though - wordpress attracts scum like a light bulb attracts moths.

[Mogga]

What posts did people used to comment on?

[jezza101]

Did I do the right thing moving to Wordpress, or is it just a case of waiting to get my visitor numbers back up again?

Moving to WP is rarely going to be a "bad" decision but there are things you can do to limit spam. Obvioulsy get Akismet setup asap. You can also try systems like Disqus and similar competitors.

Regarding the comment above, automated spam will not care if certain boxes are missing from the comment form as they will be bypassing this and posting it directly.

Do you know why traffic dropped, presumably it's search engine traffic? Has your link structure changed? Have you set up 301 redirects from the old links? Has the new site got any obvious SEO issues, ie does your theme get the basics right - headings, page titles etc. Try the All-In-One SEO plugin.

Sounds like your posts used to get comments so it seems like it could be an issue with the quality of traffic coming to the site rather than your ability to engage readers. But you could look at plugins that show recent comments and highlight the top commenters etc. Also the plugin Comment Luv. The downside is that this may not attract quality comments.

Comments are generally linked to traffic so they should return as your numbers return.

[KimCullum]

I moved my 3 year old blog hhtp://blog.pre-pay-as-you-go.co.uk over to a new host late last year, I decided to do this because the cms provided was extremely antiquated and was restricting my progress.

As soon as I moved the blog traffic fell almost 70% overnight, but in the last few weeks I have seen a small increase up to around 250 unique visitors a day.

The problem I have is with engaging readers to comment, where with the old blog had a constant back log of comments to get through, with this new version I am constantly fighting spam and probably only receive 2 - 20 none spammy comments.

Did I do the right thing moving to Wordpress, or is it just a case of waiting to get my visitor numbers back up again?

Ask a questions at the end of your post as this will help invite people to respond to something specific - ie ask them what they thought of XXX phone / do they have this phone - if so what do they like about it / what should one be aware of, or get them to share an experience ie describe your phone nightmare and invite them to share their own best / worst phone issues. Share a tip with them and then ask if anyone has any others to share. - ie, Ask something where the responses are likely to add value to other readers. You could invite them to test your knowledge of something and send in any questions they have about the phone you blogged on - then you could answer their questions. If you are able to you could also invite people to take part in a competition and say the best response will win X prize - ie perhaps the product you have blogged on or something. You could also invite them to suggest something to write about in a future blog - this may give them reason to come back and see if you do it.... Maybe put the question at the beginning and then remind them at the end to share their opinion...maybe putting the question in bold will help draw attention to it too.