Would you put a quarter in a vending machine that doesn’t give anything back?
No, of course not.
So why should visitors comment on your posts?
If they update their status on Facebook, within minutes they get likes and comments. If they post on Reddit, they could earn a coveted trophy next to their name. When they chime in on Quora, they could be voted the best answer for that question.
In a world where we’re taught to get rewards constantly through likes, games and social validation – leaving a comment on a WordPress website can seem so… meh. The most a visitor can hope for is a simple reply.
Holy cow, someone’s invested enough in your site to leave a comment and all you can do is …well, nothing.
As website owners, most of our time and effort goes towards trying to get visitors to interact with our site: click this button, visit this page, subscribe, sign up… but we often don’t look twice when a visitor takes the time, effort and thought to leave a comment. It’s your visitor putting their hand up, letting you know they’re interested in what you’re doing – far more than just putting their email address in a field.
When all you can do is tell them their comment is ‘pending approval’, so much opportunity is left on the table
