The Power of a Comment on a Blog

The ability for a reader to leave a comment is the biggest difference between a blog and an old, static Web site. Comments allow the reader to ask questions, make suggestions, or remark about their own experiences. Comments are powerful tools on the Internet. They can be used in several ways.

Leaving a comment on a blog allows the reader to initiate a dialogue with the author/owner of the Web site. This transforms the Web page from a passive uni-directional resource to an actual conversation. This is the key advantage to blogs. Often thought of as a fad, blogs have become omnipresent on the Web due to this powerful attribute. Commenting empowers the reader.

As a blogger, receiving comments allows you to gauge your audience. It is one way to determine how effectively your writing conveys your message. Even negative comments are worthwhile; it lets you know you're getting through to the reader (they just don’t agree with you!). On my blog, I get dozens of comments per week and these are usually in the form of questions about retinal diseases. This form of feedback tells me what subjects are more popular than others by the comments received. For instance, I get most of my comments regarding retinal detachments. (Incidentally, I’ve had very few comments on this Practice Notes blog.)

If you are an author, I’d recommend answering all of your comments (unless they are spam). Responding will set you apart from other physicians. It makes a huge statement about your willing to communicate. Your comments will be seen by future readers and will deliver the same message: this doc likes to communicate! Patients love docs who communicate!

You should also consider leaving comments on other blogs if you are interested in promoting your own site. Constructive, relevant comments are always welcomed on any blog, but more importantly, your comment will establish a backlink from the that blog to yours. This will improve your SEO for your own blog, especially if the referring site is relevant to yours (similar subject area) and has a higher ranking.

So you see, comments are more than just trite phrases we use in conversation. Comments on the Internet are powerful tools. Used appropriately they can help you market yourself and build your practice.

Care to leave a comment?