“Return the love – the best way to get loyal readers that will comment and subscribe is to return the favor to those that already do comment on your blog.”

I do subscribe to this notion, definitely. However, I am only really totally loyal to a few, that always comment on my entries. So I prioritize, I guess you could say.

If I were to comment on everyone who leaves a comment, every time, it would be very time consuming.

Geoff.

Writer Dad – Great! And thanks!

Freddie – I just subscribed to your blog as well!

I definitely see what you mean. The real estate niche is a good one. And the reason your readers don’t comment that much is because they’re actual leads. In blogging, if you notice, we tend to get people just like us commenting — bloggers.

But it doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong. You have more subscribers in that niche and believe-you-me they’re reading from their inbox or their reader. I suggest you continue with the niche as it can definitely be more profitable. They are most likely unaware of affiliate links and you can make some good money recommending ebooks on the topic.

Thanks for stopping by Freddie; I appreciate it.

John – Yeah, I know. LOL@ “people don’t worry about a storm until it’s right up on them” — so true. You know the game so well John, and it’s definitely true. Popular blogs get comments so easy and it’s based on the fact it’s so popular. It’s the chain reaction thing I was speaking of.

Once you get a lot of comments, for whatever reason, it just starts coming in like a flood. People are attracted to people who are liked. They’re just drawn to them. But it’s like you said John, our turn is right around that corner!

Thanks for stopping by John — you’re a star!

The Fitness Diva – Hey, good to hear from you again!

I think you should do the contest as long as it’s related to your niche — fitness. As long as it’s related, everything should work fine. And your niche isn’t “blogging about blogging”, so if your giving away fitness books, and/or 1 month memberships to gyms, I’m more than positive the people who show up for the “contest” will stick around.

A lot of people say readers you gain from contests don’t stay around long, and that holds some truth, but it’s only because you didn’t grab their attention well enough. Contests drive huge amounts of traffic, and the point is for people to be introduced to your blog. They probably would have never gave it a chance until the contest, so now it’s the time to “show-off”.

The aim is to get all the contest participants intrigued enough to come back to read your blog for their needs. So you should have good content on the homepage, so those new visitors who came via news of a contest can say, “Hey, I like this blog. I might come back again”. If they don’t, consider the contest a failure.

Eddiego – Thanks!

Kristrr – Thank you.

SBA – Your argument certainly holds up. In this case, the freebie is usually taken and the person never comes back. I feel that’s a lack of quality content on the site. If I give away a freebie, whether ebook or anything else, I can assure you the quality will be so well people will want to come back.

I’ve seen plenty of blogs do it and then complain, but I think they’re not coming back simply because the ebook or “freebie” didn’t do what they thought it would. If you’re going to have a gimmick, such as giving away stuff to get attention, then make sure you’re fully prepared and your content is up to par.

Otherwise, why would anyone want to stay?

Since I’m in the “blogging about blogging” niche, letting other people in the same niche know I’ve subscribed works pretty well for me, and they actually read my blog. I guess it’s not the same for everyone. In the online world, nothing is absolute, but I seriously think it’s because of content that’s just not “good enough”, if you will, to the person it was introduced to — whether via contest or “freebie” .

Thanks for stopping by again! I appreciate it.

Scott – like mentioned above the “bribe” or “trick” to get people to subscribe is just to get them to look. And they will once they’re on your site. If the content doesn’t interest them or they feel it’s not what they’re looking for, they won’t stay.

It’s worked well for me and I say it’s because my content is up to par. They stop by because I left a comment and when they click back to see what my blog looks like, they’re drawn by a headline and click and end up reading it.

That’s usually how it works out for me. Rule of thumb is: don’t just run a contest, prepare your blog for the contest with content that will appeal to the visitors that will come for the first time.

Jennifer – Welcome! Thanks for stopping by! I agree, commenting works well to get them returned. And you should let someone know you subscribed in a pleasant way and see what happens. It never hurt to try.

Great article.

On the idea of returning comments, if I don’t really find anything to comment on in the person’s blog, I at least send them a private message with any recommended improvements, a favorite article related to their subject, etc. This way I reciprocate different ways. Same thing when I see a new visitor, I visit their blog.

As noted above, most of our readers know exactly what the RSS icon is, and where it is. I see bloggers littering the page with opportunities to subscribe — I even tried reminding folks at the end of a few posts! It’s overkill. I’m not sure your most engaged readers will be those who subscribe because you subscribed. In that respect, I think content is more important, your blog has to strike a chord to make them want to come back and actually leave a comment.