Replying to Comments: WHAT IS THE DEAL?

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Chamberlain on September 20, 2008 at 8:26pm

You know, even before I had my own blog and I just read and commented on other people's blogs, I never expected to get a response. It never even occurred to me that the blog owner would respond. And ... once I left a comment, I never went back and continued reading the comments so I never would have known if the blogger had responded at all.

I just carried that onto my own blog. I love to get comments ... LOVE IT ... but I've never responded or posted my own comments in response to them because it never occurred to me to do so.

There were a couple of times when I emailed a commenter in response to their comment and you know ... I don't know if it weirded them out (I was simply saying "thank you" or something benign like that) but I don't think those commenters ever commented again! I have no idea if that was just a coincidence or not.

Anyway, I've never thought that I was being rude by not posting a response to a comment. I comment A LOT on tons of blogs and I don't expect to get anything from it ... I just liked the post enough to comment.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on September 20, 2008 at 9:58pm

I try to respond to comments if there is a question in the comment. However, I generally agree with Andrea. I don't post on blogs expecting a comment in return if nothing on my blog generates a response from that person.

Sometimes I don't comment back because I honestly have nothing to say about the person's post. However, I'll always look at the blogs of people who comment, and if something catches my attention I will comment.

I personally never considered not returning a comment to be rude. But that's just me... and that could be why I don't have a bunch of comments on my blog!

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Permalink Reply by Renee on September 21, 2008 at 1:25am

If a person comments on my blog I just about always return the favor. It is time consuming but it gives me a handle on my readers and many times they become regulars. I have also started emailing when I have an email addy especially if I have been to their blog in the past. Because I get a lot of people that comment it is not going to be feasible for me to visit everyone for much longer. But I will do a personal email - I don't like those auto-reply emails. That is very impersonal especially if you have only a couple of comments. I would rather nothing at all.

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Permalink Reply by jaime on September 21, 2008 at 9:49am

thanks girls...i appreciate the feedback and will take note. I am just curious becuase i belonged to a blog a few years back and everyone always replied or even had discussions and almost "chatted" on each others blog...so when i started on blogger i was kinda in shock on how different it is. Not that it's a bad thing, just different from what i thought was normal based on the other blogsite I was involved with. It just seemed more personal and it was nice.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole - The Pixel Boutique on September 21, 2008 at 12:52pm

I like to respond via email as much as I can, and definitely for new readers. It does build community and conversation and that is the whole purpose of my blog. You make a very valid point!

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Permalink Reply by Stacey on September 21, 2008 at 7:28pm

I reply to commenters' blogs rather than respond in my own comments. I guess because when I comment on other people's blogs I don't normally check back on to see if anyone has responded to my comment or others. If someone has a question I do respond but even then it might be in email rather than on the blog. This might also be because I know many of my readers from other forums and chat with them there. I always wonder if anyone is checking back to see my response if I respond in the comments.

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Permalink Reply by forgetfulone on September 21, 2008 at 9:14pm

I try to visit the blog and leave a comment for everyone who leaves a comment for me. Every now and then I probably miss someone, but I try. Everyone needs validation. Well, not everyone, but most people appreciate a comment back. It's nice to know someone is reading what you've written, and it doesn't take long to leave a comment.

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