Do you Answer Blog Emails?
No matter what type of blog you are running, chances are that you have given readers the ability to get in touch with you. Some bloggers (like me) offer their email address, whereas others use a contact form that is forwarded to the address of their choice.
But the question is: do you answer the emails that you receive at your blog address? I have found through first hand experience that most bloggers are more than willing to answer emails. At the same time, some of the busier and better known bloggers either ignore emails altogether or send off short replies. While I know that these people have tons of email and busy lives, relationships are quite important; at least to me.
I strive to answer every email that I receive. In fact, if I receive a comment that touches me right, I will take the initiative and email that person. This lets them know that I care about what they have to say, and of course, shows that I am willing to lend my expertise when possible.
With all of that being said, I want to let my readers know that they are free to email me with questions, comments, or anything else on their mind. Meeting new people and helping others out is what this blog is all about.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
I have noticed that the bigger bloggers that have their e-books out on how to make a million blogging, state don’t ignore your readers, respond to comments and emails otherwise your blog will die. But I have also noticed that they themselves do not reply to a good majority of their comments. I have pretty much stopped visiting them because of it.
August 14th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
I usually answer if they as me a direct question where it won’t take long to respond.
@ Debo Hobo. Nice statement. Do you feel bamboozled?
August 15th, 2007 at 1:04 am
@Debo Hobo: On the big blogs I visit, I see them comment infrequently, but they are not totally absent.
The advice to respond to comments is aimed more toward younger blogs than older, heavily trafficked blogs. If you visit a young blog and leave a comment, you may feel like you’re in a ghost town if someone doesn’t respond. And, usually it will be the blogger that will respond. So, the blogger needs to fuel that sense of interaction at that point.
When a blog gets more traffic, the commentators respond to each other, and that maintains the interaction. At that point, it’s not really necessary for the blogger to respond to every comment, nor is it even necessary that the blogger respond to any of the comments on a given post. The users are fueling the interaction.
The blogger does still need to respond to comments now and again, though more infrequently than you would on a newer blog. That’s just the way of things.
Plus, think about it from the other side. As a reader, it is often difficult to keep up when there are dozens of comments. You end up skimming through many of them. And, that’s generally only in cases where the post is of interest to you. The blogger, on the other hand, could be facing dozens of comments each on several different posts. That’s a lot to keep up with. I’d bet that most just skim through them and respond only if a comment jumps out at them as requiring some kind of response.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:11 am
Whoops, got sidetracked and forgot about the original question…
As to eMails, yes, I have replied to all one of them.
As for comments, no, I no longer reply to every one of them. I try to remember to thank new users for stopping by and leaving a comment and I try to answer questions that are asked. But, I don’t feel the need to respond to every comment, especially those from people that have become regular commentators. But, with many of them, I participate on their blogs too, so if they don’t get a response from me on my blog, they hear from me on theirs. So, it’s a balance there. You’re still interacting, just not all in the same place. And, that’s okay, I think. I mean, if someone writes, “Right on, dude!”, do I really need to say “Thanks!” each time? I don’t want to appear rude, but I don’t think it’s offering much to other readers to read through a series of comments that go something like:
- I agree completely!
- Thanks!
- Right on, man!
- Thanks!
- Couldn’t agree more!
- Thanks!
- Wow! Great post!
- Thanks!
I think readers would appreciate it more if you write more content, rather than spending too much time thanking everyone for commenting. Another alternative is to just post a blanket comment thanking everyone for their comments.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:47 am
I answer all emails, and trust me some of the questions asked make me wonder sometimes
August 15th, 2007 at 1:50 am
[...] Apparently, I am not the only one thinking along those lines, as when I checked ChrisBlogging yesterday, guess what he posted about? [...]
August 15th, 2007 at 6:56 am
I’ll answer them if they’re written to me, as opposed to being part of a mass mailing along the lines of “Hey man, digg my post on…” Those go to the spam cruncher.
As for comments, I kind of agree with both Debo & dcr - The major bloggers haven’t got time to respond to every comment, but they should respond to some - Darren Rowse for example usually responds to the first 20 or so comments on a post. The bloggers who don’t play any part at all in their comments do put me off a bit.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:13 am
If anyone ever emails me, or comments, or actually visits my blog, I’ll definitely reply.
In fact, I’ll probably stalk them.
August 17th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I think you all make great points! Replying to email is a great way to stay in touch with readers, but in some cases, big time bloggers may be a bit busy.