All New CommentMILK Version 1.0Nice Bloggers Finish Last
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Well, Darren might be an exception to the rule, but it seems that the nicer you are, the less people will read your blog. A sad but realistic statement if we look at the following examples. It doesn’t take much for a blog to spark controversy and hit the right buttons with the right people. A prime example would be us dropping Exitcard Entrecard about two months ago. All the EC villagers were running around with torches and pitchforks, out for cow blood. Over 180 comments on that post alone, and we we lost track of all the blog posts that were published left and right soon after, all dedicated to us dropping EC. Some bloggers agreed, most didn’t - but hey, that’s the beauty of our freedom of speech.
Some of our more “successful” posts always seem to have some sort of controversial topic. We’ve done the monthly stupid cow awards, called out people that scammed us or were trying to scam others. These are the posts that got a lot of attention, comments and linkbacks. Its almost as if the majority of our readers doesn’t care about the nice things in life, all they’re looking for is a bit of slandering and name calling. Have a look at the following popular posts, and see what we’re talking about:
- Text Link Ads Says We’re Naughty
- A-Listers Found Guilty Of Stealing
- Dear Person Who Just Stole Our Bike
- We Won An iPhoney
- Our Blog Is Not Your Bitch
- Banned From BlogRush
There are plenty more posts like that, just have a look in the archives if you’ve really got nothing better to do 
The point is, all these posts have some sort of negative aura that surrounds them, yet they’ve proven to be some of the most read and most commented on. Is it just because people like to see other people getting slagged? Or because it simply triggers a sort or primal horde/mob reaction in our brains? Perhaps it was just the reader base we had at that time (groups of readers seem to flock around blogs for a period of time before moving on the the next one. New readers will take their place).
We’re saying this because we started to notice a downwards trend in the comments quantity. Less “nasty” posts equals less comments. Maybe we had more comments in the past because we differentiated ourselves from a lot of other bloggers. Bloggers that tried to sugarcoat a lot of their “rants”, trying to be diplomatic and making sure not to tread on anyones toes.
What do you guys think? What could be the cause for a decrease in the comments on certain posts, while meanwhile, we’ve gained ten times the amount of RSS readers? Another theory we have - perhaps when people read blogs through their RSS reader, they are placing some distance between themselves and the blog. They won’t be able to see any comments that other readers have left, so they aren’t being motivated to mingle. There is a lesser sense of community if you do not visit a blog in your browser, you’re more of an observer, less inclined to have your say about a topic.
Whatever it is, we’re trying to fix it. Not by posting more nasty stuff about other bloggers (unless they deserve it), but by utilizing the Comment Luv plugin. Every time you leave a comment, you latest post title will be added as a link to your comment. we believe this is a better way of “rewarding” readers than the Top Commentators plugin, which we’ve removed little while ago (might be another reason for the decrease in numbers!).
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Great idea Cow! I think you should blame the feed. A partial feed might work.
Jorge’s last blog post..My mamma said
I installed CommentLuv a long time ago and it didn’t appear to have any positive affects on the number of comments. One thing it does do though is help pull out the false positives in Askimet. (Bot spammers don’t enable it).
I did an experiment with 2 almost identical blogs and the top commentator plugin, it does appear to have a huge affect on comment numbers. Also agree entirely about being bad, the posts where I reveal a hack, or slag something/somebody are always my most popular. Just a shame it goes against my nature
Making The Money’s last blog post..Using A Top Stripe Ad To Get Visitors
i use comment love too, and the cow is rad.
sir jorge’s last blog post..The Comebacks Dvd Review
I have great results with the comment luv. I think it’s a much better reward than being in the top commentators list! Glad to see ya sharing the luv;)
Lori’s last blog post..Got a Blogger’s Budget? Avoid Blogger’s Debt
Aww, but who doesn’t love the abuse?
Max Miroff’s last blog post..Is Google Insulting Me, Quantcast Thoughts, and You!
I can believe that. Controversy just brings out people’s passions and they like to stick up for what they believe in. A bit of controversy works well, but non stop controversy is very tiring.
Tom Beaton’s last blog post..Top tips for dealing with technical problems
I think that a lot of bloggers, yourself included, confuse controversy with aggression. In this I mean that you can be controversial without calling someone out altogether and bashing them… I feel that it is the controversy, not the flat-out name calling that gets you the win.
Jim’s last blog post..GPT Reviews: ReelinCash
Controversy = Comments …. it’s just human nature i guess, when you disagree with something you’re much more likely to want to say your piece than when you agree. When you agree all you’re doing is re-itteraing the sentiments in the original post, thus having contributed nothing to some extent.
Neil Duckett’s last blog post..Odakyu Line Train
I started reading you guys a lot before the “controversial” crap… and I do agree and disagree about your post. People are drawn to controversy, but we have plenty of readers without being “mean”.
Matthew’s last blog post..Linkshare Affiliate Network
You think Darren is an exception, but you haven’t tried to post articles that are as “nice to people” as his usually are. Have you?
Your non-nasty posts are generally more of the benign type than of the benevolent. Just an observation.
I am a subscriber to both your blog as well as Darren’s… you both have your individual styles and flavours, and that is what holds the key to the number of comments on your blog. Nasty is your brand of blogging, but hey, well branded nice bloggers can do just as well IMO.
Paws Awhile’s last blog post..A horror story come true
Controversy and drama always draw people to comment, it’s the same reason millions worldwide watch those crappy soap operas every weekend - they can’t help it
Good luck on increasing the comments
So what? Are you really discovering it now? No way… Of course people like gossip and bad news… for others
James’s last blog post..EntreCard changed my avatar because of scantily clad females
Hurray for controversy lol.
Speaking of Comment Luv vs Top Commentators, I think it would be a very interesting experiemnt to see what happens to comment numbers if you were to put the “top weekly commentators” at the very top of the blog, just above ‘milking the internet since 2007′.
I can’t be controversial. I’m too nice. In the end me being nice gets me more comments.
And I really should get CommentLuv on my theme, the guy who writes it is one of my readers. Feel like a meanie
Rhys’s last blog post..Music Sounds Better With You - Three Most Embarrassing Songs on my Playlist
Oh and Darren is nice. Ever know a mean and evil Australian?!?
Rhys’s last blog post..Music Sounds Better With You - Three Most Embarrassing Songs on my Playlist
“Nice Bloggers Finish Last”? Lol, you must not be paying attention.
there are plenty of nice people, in the very niche that this blog is in, that are doing well
http://performancing.com/
http://www.doshdosh.com/
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/
http://www.caroline-middlebrook.com/blog/
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/
http://zacjohnson.com/
http://www.jimkukral.com/
http://problogger.net/
etc………………
45n5’s last blog post..Random But Practical Affiliate Site Tips
I was thinking the same thing recently while browsing a bunch of blogs - some of the more popular blogs out there are the most controversial. I guess drama is good for the visitor.
People must REALLY think I’m a nice guy. My readership is wicked low.
GeologyJoe’s last blog post..Free Tibet - Fuck China
Being nice all the time is boring, as it tends to be a very passive read. People enjoy articles that have very strong emotions. Hate and rage just happen to be two emotions that we can quickly identify with and get wrapped up in.
Although some nice bloggers can attract a solid readership and have some great discussions, they will never see the same level of community participation as the sites that are chalk full of slander, bias or misinformation
????? (Jason)’s last blog post..Addiction Identified: My Problem Is …
Having a list of CommentLuv enabled blogs in your feed reader can help you choose where you can spend your precious time commenting when you have just 10 minutes in the day. Helps get the word out about your latest post!
45n5, you left me out?
K-IntheHouse’s last blog post..Free High Quality Open Source Software In One Disc - OpenDisc
I’m going to have to agree with you! I write a few tribute articles and only a few posts.. I tear into Jeff Gordan and call him a pansy wine drinker and I get a few more comments.
Keep up the great content. I love the fact that you’re out to make a few bucks but not all your posts are reviews or articles about you begging people to buy ads and crap like most other “Money Making” bloggers do.
If you’re not first your last!
I think folk wisdoms that people like us tell creates co-motion and that leads to comments and questions about the truth and lie.
Very well said Cow. I do notice that I also receive less comments when I post about random things with no “FIGHT” in them LOL. My RSS counter continues to rise, but comments do not follow. I changed things a bit by posting less, but longer posts
-Mike
Mike Huang’s last blog post..Advertising Your Site The Correct Way - Part 1
Mike, I would suggest to continue posting once or twice a day and not to write long posts.. I see a long post and pass on reading it.
Just my opinion coming from a blog reader.
C’mon don’t you know it is the nature of man. We love to tear down, we love the controversial and damn it we luv comment luv. I zoomed you too. Bu John Cow I heard about you long ago and this is the first time on your post via bloggingzoom so all is not lost.
Power of Attorney’s last blog post..French vs the Law
I have to give away stuff to get comments, so consider yourself lucky! lol
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..GeekMan Giveaway
People like it raw… Keep it real and let them know how you feel.
Mubin’s last blog post..WTF is Up With All the Viral Video Posts?
Crap, looks like this one came through Mubin!
John Cow’s last blog post..Top Six Money Making Plugins For WordPress
You crazy Irish
Mubin’s last blog post..WTF is Up With All the Viral Video Posts?
You don’t think the drop in visits/comments is because there are far too money making blogs out there repeating the same stuff over and over again?
Or that you’re now passe yourself?
(Last question is in keeping with nasty makes more noise theory)
Entrepreneur’s last blog post..Awesome Insights into Asian Artists & Marketing in the Artworld
This is so true - Controversial topics and posts draw more attention and comments from readers.
Getting feedjit is great isn’t it? Tells you exactly who’s here.
Evil Woobie’s last blog post..An Interesting Cab Ride
Well, you can always put images of hot chicks and you’ll get TONS of comments too lol!
But you’re definitely right, I wrote about how “If You Didn’t have Entrecard, Your Blog Would Have No Visitors” and so many people agreed that Entrecard is becoming crappier… so you’re not the only one. But then again, there were those that defended it strictly because that was ALL their traffic.
Oh, but I don’t think nice bloggers finish last
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..Getting Noticed with Twitter (and Get Some Good Traffic!)
Doesn’t it feel better to be obnoxious anyway?
Kellex’s last blog post..Top 50 Sports Blogs: 1st Quarter 2008
We just dropped Entrecard from our Flagship blog a couple of days ago. The big problem was dilution of our Adsense CTR. Sure we’ed have a little spike in page loads, looks nice on the surface but non of these visitors did anything constructive for the blog. In fact it was the opposite. By increasing page loads and geting zero adsense clicks our CTR dropped by almost a full percentage point. Oh - and no commenting from these ‘nice’ guys either. Bye Bye entrecard. (at least I made a few bucks selling my EntreCash domain).
Bruce