How to Increase the Number of Comments You Receive on HubPages

As I write this article, I have 75,244 comments here at HubPages. I’ve been told that is a large number. I honestly don’t know. I’m approaching my three year anniversary on this site, and I don’t know what is an “average” number of comments for that time frame, but it seems like a great deal to me.

Those 75,000 comments have come from 825 articles and 514,000 views. Some quick math will tell us that I am averaging ninety comments per article, or one comment every 6.8 views. I know, from talking to other writers at HP, that ninety comments per article is a fairly large figure. I know many, many writers here who are happy to receive ten comments on an article, so I’m feeling very fortunate and blessed to receive so many comments from such a great congregation of writers.

Which leads us to the purpose of this article: why do I receive so many comments, and how can you do the same?

Now, for those of you who are not interested in comments, may I suggest you read no more of this article? There really is no point in doing so. If you are simply interested in writing articles and then racking up online views and by extension passive income, then you really don’t need to read what I am about to write. Go on your merry way and thanks for reading this far.

But, if you are a writer who is interested in becoming an active member of this writing community, and if you are a writer who enjoys feedback on your writing, then I invite you to continue reading as I tell you how I’ve done it, and what you might consider doing so you, too, can enjoy this kind of interaction with your peers.

Are you ready?

In January, 2012, I wrote my first article for HubPages. I posted it and then sat, anxiously awaiting a notification telling me that someone had commented.

And I waited.

And I waited.

Finally, four hours later, my ridiculously mundane article garnered my first and only comment.

I was on my way.

Five more mundane articles followed, and by the end of that totally mundane week I believe I had a grand total of fifteen comments.

I was dazzling absolutely no one.

And then I discovered the first secret to attracting comments.

I got real.

My seventh article was titled “A Letter to my Birth Mother Who I Never Knew,” and the comments poured in and, in fact, still pour in almost three years later. What was the difference between number seven and the first six?

I got real.

I allowed people to know me as a real human being.

I wrote from my heart.

And people responded.

There is your first tip if you are interested in receiving boatloads of comments on your articles.

Be real! Allow people to get to know you. Break down those protective walls and expose yourself.

HubPages is a community of writers, but don’t forget that it is also a community of real human beings.

Be human!

It is amazing how many people on HP do not understand that a writing community is a give and take community. When such a community is functioning properly, I read your articles and you, in turn, read mine. At first I will read yours out of a sense of obligation, but eventually, as we get to know each other, I will read anything you write simply because you are a friend.

That type of online friendship will not happen without interaction.

A good friend of mine, Always Exploring on HubPages, reads everything that I write. She loves it when I write creative articles, and she tolerates it when I write articles about writing, but she is there every single day supporting me, and commenting, because she is a friend….AND….because we have formed a friendship based on give, take, and interaction.

This takes work, so if you are not into work, stop right here.

I spend at least an hour each day reading articles by other HP writers…at least an hour each day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks per year. How can I expect others to comment on my articles if I am not willing to do the same?

Amazingly, to me, I am asked by a writer at least once a week why they aren’t getting any comments on their articles, but when I start questioning them, I find out that they do not comment on the articles of others.

Duh!

Writers are busy people, and many of them have families and work full-time jobs as well as write, so their time is limited. If you want them to spend part of that time with you, then give them a reason to do so.

Interact!

There is a natural progression from interacting to friendship, and I am so grateful that there is.

If you are not doing this then you are missing out. Period!

I have said this before, but it bears repeating: I could take a road trip across the country, and I know…I absolutely know…that I would have friends in each state who would have dinner with me. Add to that about fifteen or twenty different countries. There are writers around this planet who would interrupt their lives to spend time with me if I visited the area in which they live.

Do you have that?

Writers on HubPages are my friends. They are not casual online acquaintances. They are friends. They follow me online, and comment, because they like me, care about me, and they know that I like them and care about what is happening in their lives. I have talked to at least twenty of these friends on the phone. I know the names of their spouses and their children. I know what they do for a living, and I celebrate their victories and mourn their losses. That’s what friends do.

Do you have that? You can if you put in the effort to get to know people here at HP.

I follow about twenty blogs written by other writers on HP. I do this because I want to show them support. In return, they support my blog.

I do not get involved on forums because I have found some nasty people there, but it is one way you can involve yourself in this writers’ community. You can also take advantage of the link that allows you to ask questions of the community, thus becoming more a part of the community.

Let me tell you something that will turn me off immediately. If I take the time to comment on one of your articles, the least you can do is respond to that comment. You get two chances with me and then, if you haven’t responded to my efforts, I am done.

Writers are busy people, and commenting on an article takes time they do not have to waste. If I take my valuable time and comment, then I had better get a response, and I’m not talking about a token thanks. When people comment on my articles, I make the effort to write a nice comment in return. I think they appreciate that. I know I do when others do the same.

You bet it does. You have to invest the time to see the results, but for me it is worth it. I want to know my fellow writers, and because they sense that in me, they make the effort to get to know me.

I read once that a writer should try to find 100 followers who will follow them into hell. That select group of followers will then tell other writers about you, and the word-of-mouth advertising you gain from that is invaluable as you progress in your writing career.

I have my 100 loyal followers and then some.

How about you?

2014 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”