As I looked at the steps needed to make a comment, I realized some of these are not obvious, especially for someone that isn't a blogger. The steps below apply to blogs created with Blogger.
The first thing that can be confusing is finding the link that allows you to make a comment. If the Post a Comment dialog is not visible, look for the comments link that appears immediately following each post. The comments link text shows the number of comments or "0 comments" if nobody has commented on the post.
If you are not signed in with one of the accounts allowed by Blogger, you'll see "Select profile" next to the "Comment as" text. Clicking on the "Select profile" menu brings up a list of account types and two non-account options: Name/URL and Anonymous. Note that while I have my blog set to allow the non-account options, some bloggers may require an account to comment. If you have one of the account types listed, you can sign in and post through the account. The steps below show how to comment if you don't want to use one of those account types.
Clicking on Name/URL brings up the Edit profile dialog.
The second non-account option is to select Anonymous from the profile list. This does not require any other information to be entered. Once you've selected a profile, you can enter your comment text in the box above the profile selection and select Publish when you're done.
A drawback to using the Name/URL or Anonymous options, is that the blogger will have no way to get back in touch with you other than replying to your comment. Please remember to check back and see if there is a reply to your comment!
Another drawback is that spammers love the Anonymous option. I have moderation turned on for comments so that the spam comments don't reach my blog. The comment won't be posted on my blog until I've had a chance to review and approve it. You'll see this message after commenting on one of my posts:
If you are trying to establish contact with the blogger, you may want to look for an email address instead of posting to the blog. I've added my email address to the Contact Me page at the top of my blog. Remember to check your Spam folder in case my response gets lost there!
I also have a Contact Me form located under the Followers list down on the right side of my blog. You can type your message directly into the form and click "Send". Your email address will not be published anywhere.
This all seems a bit cumbersome. How do you make it easier for non bloggers to comment on your blog?
A great post, Kathryn. I've had people mention the same thing to me. You made me curious so I dug around in the Blogger settings and you can change where the "comments" link shows up on your blog post. Would moving it to the top help? I'm going to have to think about it...
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather! Moving the comments link up might make it more obvious, so I'll have to think about that too. I found some html edits where you could change the text in the comments link, but haven't had a chance to try it out. Something besides "0 comments" might make the purpose of the link clearer too.
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