So far this month I have made 24 posts (this will be number 25) so I’m on pace to achieve my goal of averaging one post per day for February.
For all of you bloggers out there who are just getting started and want to know how to generate interest/comments, here’s a tip: make absolute statements. Open-ended questions rarely generate nearly as much response as a question. Take my recent post on music, for instance. I know that a lot of my readers (like, 3 out of the 4 of you) are Christians who listen to decidedly secular music. So, when making my post, I had two options. Option one would be to make an absolutist statement condemning, or at least seeming to condemn, secular music and the listening thereto. Depending on what kind of mood people were in, it could have generated a flame war. Fun, until someone’s feelings get hurt, as usually happens when one starts such things.
The second option is to pose an open-ended question, like I did. Two days later, I have two comments, both very thoughtful and much appreciated. Now, one could also assume that only 2 out of my abovementioned 4 regular readers have happened to drop by during the past 48 hours. Very possible. It’s also possible that most people have dropped by, read the post, and opted not to comment because such an open-ended question poses no threat to their views and therefore does not need to be opposed.
Some of the most fun discussions on this blog have resulted from me using option one. Also, some of the least enjoyable since relationships have been strained. I’ve stayed away from it for a while, although I’ve been considering ranting about marriage and children again sometime soon. Well, kind of. Maybe.
In conclusion, there can only be one conclusion: people don’t comment on wishy-washy posts. They comment when something resonates with them, either in a positive or negative way. So if you want to get comments, write about your passions in a passionate way. Just be prepared to defend yourself against all comers. 
Me included.
Speaking of which, we are now 20 comments away from 2000. Only 1% shy of our goal! I know all you faithful readers want to continue to read the quality programming you get here and nowhere else, so make your comment today! Reader-supported blogging depends on members like you. . .oh wait, I forgot that this isn’t NPR. Never mind. Go on your merry ways and have a nice day.
I totally disagree with this post. I hate it!
Your comment is totally wrong. You couldn’t be more wronger. Loser!
It’s too bad the music post wasn’t absolutist, becuase I had a good argument about Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and the Skatalites for you ><
Oh well. Keep making posts where you either claim to be a libertarian, or claim to be offended that someone thinks you’re a libertarian, those are usually my faves
Hey, regarding Lego construction you might want to check this out: http://www.okino.com/tutorials/lego_import_and_rendering.htm
Are you drawing your conclusion from a sample of one on the open ended side?
Your most recent question has re-opened the issue in my mind, and I appreciated the thoughtful answers given by your two posters. I had little more to contribute than to say “yeah, I’m probably in the middle.” I’m still pondering and may post a reply. But I hope you don’t take your own advice. What’s the blog all about anyway? Starting flame wars and straining relationships for the vanity of comments or promoting introspection by asking questions to which the author, and maybe even the readers, don’t have settled ideas.
Then again, knowing you, it was probably all tongue in cheek. Or half-in. Anyway, this isn’t meant to be judgmental in anwyay. Just a stream of consciousness reply.
In fact, maybe you got me. By making a decidedly conclusive post you’ve inccurred the comment.
And to that i say: pbthbthbth!!
What really gets me about this is you can pose a question on your blog and share your view on it and get bombarded with comments from people you never even knew read your blog. Take for instance my recent post on bf-ing — 43 comments at last count. I believe that is a record for my blog. But I don’t think I made any bottom line absolute statments.
So, I think that it’s actually that you pick a controvercial topic and just share your OPINION and you will get the comments. Because if it’s a topic people are passionate about, they will likely want to share their passions. Perhaps you should have shared more of your opinion on the topic of music?
Personally, I didn’t comment on the music post less because of the content of the music post itself, but more because of the content of the comments. They were well thought out and already expressed what I myself would have said (moderation), thus, no need to re-iterate.
Jerod — it isn’t a sample of one. I had a post on children’s church a while back which I left open-ended, and got little response. When I’ve posted open-ended questions about birth control, the response is limited. On the other hand, when I’ve made what most people would consider radical claims about birth control, I’ve gotten into heated debates.
And yes, it was written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. And yes again, you’ve proved my point.
For the record, I would prefer to post open-ended questions that generate a lot of thoughtful discussion about subjects that impassion me. My experience is that I generally get more comments when I shoot my mouth off (or whatever the blogging equivalent to that metaphor is) and write absolutist statements. But the express purpose of the blog is to make people think, and both ways are typically effective. Making absolutist claims and having them heatedly refuted is just more visibly effective.