How important is it to have a comment section on your hubs, or How important is

1. 67

   davenmidtownposted 12 years ago

   How important is it to have a comment section on your hubs, or How important is it to respond?
   
   I was going through some of the hubs that belong to some of the top paid hubbers ( info found on the success story page) and a lot of those people do not respond to comments.  In fact, many of their hubs do not have comment boxes at all.  (no judgments)  How important are the comments?  Should we have comment boxes?  Do we as writers need to respond to comments?  I was raised to say thank you and your are welcome... but how does that philosophy change in the online writing world?

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2. 64

   leroy64posted 12 years ago

   Responding to comments has coincided with an increase in views from the Hubpages community.  I have not been here that long; but, I think the comments help get my name (leroy64) out there.  If someone does not have comment capsules, you could ask them why they do that.  Of course, right now I have time to respond.

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3. 88

   Victoria Lynnposted 12 years ago

   I personally like the feedback and getting to know the other writers through comments. Plus, my hubber score seems to go up when I'm regularly responding to comments and making comments on others' hubs. Maybe once hubbers make it to the top, they no longer have as much time to respond to comments, and perhaps it doesn't matter anymore as their hubs are mature and get a lot of traffic from Google and other search engines. Don't you think that for newer hubbers, most of our traffic comes from within HP and thus it makes a big difference that we respond to other hubbers? Perhaps once our hubs mature and google crawls (is that the term? :-)) them, they are discovered anyway from the outside?

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4. 54

   Brett.Tesolposted 12 years ago

   It is very important to respond to your readers, if you want them to return. Engaging readers can actually even lead to online friends. With the upper hubbers, I would guess that they have reached a point where it is not possible to respond, as their accounts probably get hundred or thousands of reads daily. You are only human, but in the online world, it is important to engage your audience as much as possible ... if this becomes impossible eventually, there isn't much you can do.
   
   As far as comments are concerned, simple comments can be thanked. However, I feel good detailed comments deserve a decent and detailed response. I also think that karma is important, so try to visit their hubs too and return the comment.
   
   Comments are important for search engines too, as they are fresh information on the page and can help to bring in new readers.

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5. 82

   homesteadboundposted 12 years ago

   I personally like to respond to every comment that I receive, but....
   If I had as many followers as some of them do, and received hundreds of comments a day, I could not respond to each of them personally like I like to do now. I find that to be sad but true. If I had to be creating new content on this site and others to support myself, it might be hard to respond to every comment, even if I wanted to.

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6. 64

   nicregiposted 12 years ago

   I would say it is personal preference. For me, comment box is important for readers feedback and I really appreciate seeing their comment. I reply to mostly all comments with at least a thank you. Of course, unless the person is 'spamming' then I will just ignore it

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7. 60

   GoGreenTipsposted 12 years ago

   I think it's just an enjoyable part of hubbing. Comments are a way to start discussion also, and a way to interact and get to know the people that read your hubs, or blogs. I think every comment should be responded to at some point. I sometime have a hard time responding the same day due to me work schedule but always respond to all comments.

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8. 71

   iviskeiposted 12 years ago

   I think comments are really important. It lets me know what the reader thinks, and it give me a chance to reply to comments. I like responding to comments, answering questions, and thanking readers for leaving a message. ^_^

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9. 87

   Cardisaposted 12 years ago

   Getting feedback through comments is important to me. Not only for getting compliments but constructive criticism as well. I use comments to measure how well people like or appreciate the hub.
   
   As for responding, my strategy is: responding to comments as soon as the reader posts them. I keep my email open so I can see the comments as they are mailed. I couldn't have handled responding individually to comments otherwise.

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10. 61

    rlahaposted 12 years ago

    I think it is very important to have comment boxes. Let people share their thoughts and opinions.  It increases reader views and also gives the hub author an idea of what others think.

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11. 58

    Felixedet2000posted 12 years ago

    In my own opinion, i think the comment is a yardstick and also as a measure of your readership spread.
    It also help the hubbers to improve on their work through the various suggestions.

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12. 70

    learner365posted 12 years ago

    To me replying to the comments you receive is important.Firstly if others have the courtesy and time to write their feedback on your Hubs, then you should also show back your reaction to whatever they say. Secondly writing comments to other Hubs can help you get a bit of traffic also and letting others know that you also exist on Hubpages.Last but not least i think comment boxes should be there as they allow you to know what others think about your writing.

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13. 81

    moonlakeposted 12 years ago

    I've noticed this before. I guess it's not important to them that they answer comments. I don't put comments on hubs that don't answer their comments.

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14. 0

    RTalloniposted 12 years ago

    "Thank you" is not an option, although it would be hard to be sure of that in our society!  I was not raised to have a grateful spirit, it is something I've had to learn over the years, but now that I know how much joy it brings my heart I promote it! 
    
    A comments section is an important part of a hub, but I understand why those with a large following have trouble keeping up with them--touch life that somebody's got to live, right?  It is, however, a chance to take advantage of the benefits of comments, of which there are several. 
    
    I do think that online writing has a different slant to it simply because of the volume of comments a person can get, but I think a really good writer will respond at least occasionally with one of the "Thanks everyone for your input" type replies.
    
    Good question to explore.  The replies are interesting to read.

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15. 83

    Danette Wattposted 12 years ago

    I like being able to comment on hubs, especially newer hubbers who might need some extra support or feedback. But I can understand not being able to respond to tens of comments left on a hub (I should be so lucky!). I did write a hub on gratitude that received a lot of thoughtful comments and I tried to respond as thoughtfully. That can take up more time than writing "hey, nice hub, voted up!" and "thanks!" So if I were a top writer pulling in hundreds of dollars a month as I'm sure they are, then I wouldn't be responding either - all my energy would be in maintaining my writing business.

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16. 64

    jbrock2041posted 12 years ago

    I think comments are important, especially for those who are new to HP. The first month on here I didn't get involved in the "community" or making comments and I really didn't see any action on my hubs. But getting involved by making comments and responding to other hubbers has helped my hubs grow. I'm still new and learning so I appreciate what others have to say, especially when it's meant to make my hub better.
    
    I think all hubs should have comment boxes, even if the writer doesn't intend on responding. Sometimes when I read an article, it's nice to be able to write what I think. And that's not just on HP. If you go to any newspaper website or other forums for articles, typically there is a place for comments.
    
    I like to thank other writers by making comments because they've taken the time to write and share their knowledge. I also like to thank people who make comments on my hubs because it makes me happy when I know someone enjoyed what I wrote.
    
    As someone who has a score of 97, davenmidtown, do you find it useful for comments? I see that you're a level 4 commenter, so you obviously make comments yourself. Do you think that you'll ever stop commenting?

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17. 59

    BillyGCurreyposted 12 years ago

    I will answer every comment on my hub, but few leave me a comment because my articles are not so attractive. But I will try my best and hope the visitors comment on my hubs.

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18. 90

    Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years ago

    Comments are important, because you can find out whether your readers like your hub enough to comment, and find out what they are thinking.  They also raise your hub score, and show fresh activity on the page.
    
    However, I can see why someone would turn off the comments.  If a hub is old, for example, if I had a top ten list of Christmas gifts, and the following year, I updated the old list instead of starting a new one, so it would rank higher, people might think it was dated if they found comments from a previous year. (I'm too new to know if updating a hub like that is a good idea or not.)
    
    Another reason I may turn off comments is if I got really busy at work, and didn't have time to moderate comments.  Or if I went on vacation and didn't want people to notice my absence, People might leave questions in the comment section and be offended if they don't get an answer.

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19. 58

    Edmund Wongposted 12 years ago

    You are right bro we should answer and make some comments.

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20. 82

    mary615posted 12 years ago

    I get excited when I receive a comment on a Hub!  I answer each one and thank them for reading.  It does take time for them to read and comment, and I appreciate that.  I can understand that once you have hundreds of followers, you can't possibly answer everyone.  I have not reached that point yet.

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21. 62

    LoisRyan13903posted 11 years ago

    I think personally it is important.  I would like to know how the readers like my hubs and find ways to improve them.  I repsond with a quick thank you.  But I guess down the line if I get a lot of comments, it might not be possible to do.

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