I wrote a post a while ago, where I asked why Seth Godin was not using Twitter, to ‘tweet’ with his many fans and why he banned comments on his blog. Seth was generous enough to come over to my blog and (ironically) leave a comment. Whatever you happen to think about Seth’s position in not allowing comments, one thing is certain – his strategy works well…. for him!
But, could the same strategy work for a non-celebrity too?
Seth Godin’s blog comment strategy
Seth’s decision not to allow people to comment on his blog posts, means his readers have only one alternative, if they want to discuss or debate what they have just read. They have to take that debate to; digg, FriendFeed, stumbleupon, facebook or twitter etc. Seth provides easy links below each post to encourage this and make it super-easy to spread his superb content.
The end result is that new people, who have never heard of Seth Godin or his excellent blog, (but who use one of those social bookmarking / social media services), will find him!
Although Seth has an alternative reason for banning comments on his blog, his strategy is perfect for a well known celebrity. It helps drive a massive amount of NEW people to his work and requires a fraction of his time; as he has no comments to filter or respond to.
Why Seth Godin’s comment strategy wouldn’t work for us
Because he’s famous, Seth avoids the one pitfall, which you or I would have if we banned comments on our blogs – Being slammed for failing to connect with our readers! Famous people who blog, don’t actually have readers - they have fans! Readers and fans are completely different.
Seth’s fans, for example, are used to paying in order to read his books, which is a one-way experience – just like his blog. He produces material – they read it – end of story. Equally, fans are far MORE likely to want to connect with Seth, by being seen to be forwarding his work on their social networks.
Could you or I use a version of Seth’s strategy on your blog?
I think that most bloggers can use a version of Seth’s approach; by occasionally closing comments on selected posts. This might be particularly effective if the post is either controversial or makes a significant announcement (or both!) The effectiveness of this strategy will depend on a few things, including; the number of readers your blog has, how many of them are actively using social bookmarking services and how easy you make it for people to share your posts.
However, for you or I to close the comments section for every post, as Seth has done, is NOT something I would recommend.
It’s amusing that you consider that blog tactics of the giants would be different than “you or I” might use. As, obviously your fan-base is quite a bit different than your average blogger.
But, I absolutely agree that at different stages of business growth, the entity (be it person, company, or conglomerate) has to keep refining its strategies for workflow, marketing, promotion, product development – lest it end up as one of the dinosaurs so readily replaced my nimble upstarts.
I’m glad that you’re still allowing participation on YOUR site, and you frequently even respond to your devotees.
So, “Thanks”.
- Daiv
Make that “replaced BY nimble upstarts”
Daiv,
I am assuming you are joking here about me having fans!
Seth Godin is in a league of his own. I’ve been trying this out on a blog in Icelandic I have where I have pretty good traffic. I usually get quite a few comments on the posts when they are open for comments but trying to move the discussion to another platform is difficult. This creates a new threshold for interaction and you have to have some substantial traction to get over that. Seth Godin is of course in a league of his own. I mean, you can actually get an action hero of the guy!
One thing you don’t mention that Seth does that is also brilliant, is instead of commenting, he allows track backing. That encourages people to write their comments on their own blog and provide a track back. This is excellent for link building and reaching the readers of other blogs.
ps. I like the Twitter name feature in the comments
Jim, of COURSE I mean that you have fans. I mention your name to business contacts in passing, and frequently they have already heard of you and are a, well, “fan”.
I’ll mention a little something like, “Oh yeah Jim Connolly had a neat post on his blog about simplification of marketing models.” And the response is an almost instant, “Oh, that ‘Good to Great’ guy? I LOVE his work.”
So, yes, Jim… you really have fans. I might be so inclined to include myself among them.
- Daiv
So many people hear that “they need a blog” but never really know why!
As with Seth, it’s different strokes for different folks!
When writing your blog you need to have a strategy in place. Do you want to create a debate? Do you want to drive your readers to a social media website? Is the blog just for info? Is it for positioning? etc
You need to think long and hard about your uses for a blog because if you get it wrong you can spend a lot of time writing and developing material for NIL returns!
Sean
Daiv,
Guess I better get an agent!
Sean,
You make an excellent point. As one of my many mentor’s told me; “Always start, with the end in mind!”
Interesting distinction between readers and fans. I dunno, I like the way comments work. I just like to get other people’s opinions. I think the more you try to improve, the more you’ll find yourself in a more a-list spot.
Seth’s strategy is a really good implementation of the “word of mouth” thing. Like television, people are forced to discuss it with their peers and not the creators, growing his content’s fame. Nice job.
Corey,
I’m with you on this – Comments are often far more useful to the reader than the original post.
That said, I also understand why Seth does what he does.
I agree with Daiv that it is amusing that you consider yourself “you or I”. I venture to guess your subscriber has is larger than “you or I”.
Also, Jim Connolly is not Jim Collins (the author of Good to Great). Am I reading Daiv’s comment wrong or is there something I don’t know?
Tim,
Nope – I can confirm I am not Jim Collins. I think you have just explained the mystery to me though. Thanks Tim!
I may have been overly dry in my irony before. Sorry for the obtuse attempt at humour.
Seth’s blog is one of my favorite although Im not a fan but a simple reader. Allowing comments always help to have feed-back from your readers and could lead to a two-way communication (their opinions matter to you).Most of the time I would like to leave a comment before sharing his post on facebook but unfortunally it’s not possible. But since he has fans coz he’s famous that tactic works very well for him.
Just think of it…..
If Jim didn’t allow comments on his blog then where would all of these greats “thoughts”,”opinions”
and discussions end up that we’ve had with this posting??!!!!!
Great job Jim!
Sean
Jedi,
You make a great point. Personally, I would be having that debate on FriendFeed.
When I posted here last Friday, about me leaving Twitter, I closed the comments (just for that 1 post.)
However, I have been chatting about it for days with people on FriendFeed and getting some extremely valuable feedback.
Traffic to that post is already higher than any other post on the blog.
Just simply had to say yet another great post, Mr. Connolly. I appreciate you very much. I am always glad to read your work, as you always add something to my day. Personally I’m a Godin and a Connolly fan myself. Be well, my friend.
Lizz,
Great to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by the blog.