Lack of comments

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   krdennis1977posted 11 years ago

   I wrote a very personal hub on how I lost my son to mental illness and it seems a number of people have read it but no one has commented, on any of my hubs actually.  I'd really like feedback and was wondering if there's something I should be doing to encourage comments?

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   1. 93

      ktrappposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with the other comments so far that the very personal nature of the content may make many readers feel uncomfortable. The words "lost my son" in the title gave me the impression that your son had passed away when in fact after reading through your Hub you lost him in a custody situation.
      
      I would suggest...
      
      Keep the reader in mind at all times. I would change the title to something that people might be searching for (Mental Illness and Custody Issues) and then perhaps give less details and maybe more advice that you have personally learned from your experience. Most readers/searchers are on a mission to find a solution to their problem.
      
      Also, keeping the reader in mind, make the "look" of your article easier on the eye. Add some of your own photos (perhaps pills coming out of a prescription bottle, a photo of something nice that represents hope, etc.). Break up the text with headings and sub-headings. Just be sure to use words that people might search on in these headings (i.e. Medication and suicidal thoughts). Add a sidebar with a different colored background - perhaps containing a bullet list of useful resources, or an interesting statistic. (Think of how a printed magazine article often looks.)
      
      I have written one hub that is personal in nature about my son's ordeal with back surgery. If you take a look at it you can see what I mean by the use of headings and photos in this first-person account. This hub gets a number of people who can relate to the topic and are eager to tell of their similar experience with this type of surgery, who have questions for others, or who are thankful for knowing there is hope for a full recovery. I think you can do the same type of thing with your hub, but I would remove a lot of the details that make people feel uncomfortable.
      
      I also have a poll at the bottom which to date has over two-hundred participants so even though the hub is lengthy I know many readers are making there way all the way through it to the bottom.
      
      Finally, as you read and comment on other Hubbers' hubs, you'll find that they will often do the same for you. But to ultimately get readers and comments from outside of HubPages you will need to make some of the changes I suggested.
      
      I hope this helps. Good luck.

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      1. 61

         krdennis1977posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I really appreciate your suggestions & will make some changes.

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2. 56

   Dame Scribeposted 11 years ago

   Welcome to HubPages well, I started reading your Hub but didn't finish. Layout is good, writing is good but it's way too personal. HP recommends writing for the audience rather than self. Writing about personal experiences is ok but it has to help others. I'm not sure how your hub does this since you talk about your divorce and relationships which is irrelevant to the heading of your hub. I suggest when writing, do the what, where, when, why and how. Try to answer those questions to the topic and keep it short but there are different recommendations about length   I do so by writing the key points in point form then put into paragraphs. I'd also add maybe a poll, photo and video. Those are to help 'prolong' the stay of your visitor. I don't mean to sound harsh, it's just the realities of writing online. Just have to change your 'presentation'

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3. 61

   krdennis1977posted 11 years ago

   Thank you Dame for your reply. I will definetly take your recommendations and revise that particular hub. I guess it was an indulgence piece or me 

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4. 72

   austinhealyposted 11 years ago

   I just read your hub entirely. Dame Scribe is right, it is a very personal story. I have noted from my own experience that hubs dealing with very personal facts tend to scare people away. And I can understand it. Any mention or hint of personal pain make people uneasy, and nobody wants to take the risk to unwillingly hurt your feelings more than they already are. Also, you need to give hubbers time to "discover" your hub. Hubpages seems to be experiencing a slow time right now, and many of us are dying to get more viewers to read our hubs. So, welcome to Hubpages and the best of luck to you and your family

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   1. 61

      krdennis1977posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your response. I'll be making edits per everyone's suggestions soon.

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