Do you leave comments on blogs? This post was inspired by Mack Collier's BlogChat community.

I enjoyed spending time in Mack Collier's BlogChat last night. Every Sunday night at 8 pm CST, bloggers take to Twitter to participate in Mack's chat about all things blogging. If you partake in Twitter chats, I recommend using TweetChat on desktop. It helps to handle the flow of incoming messages from the Twittersphere.

I was curious how often everyone comments on other people's blogs. The answers were interesting. Most people claim they leave comments frequently while a few honestly answered that they need to do so more often. I also need to do this more often.

Bloggers (and podcasters) love to receive comments. Comments are from the humans (unless they are spam-bots) behind the analytical data. Comments are from the people who take the time to actually read your posts. I sincerely appreciate those who take the time to comment here.

@davedelaney Yesterday. I comment regularly on the blogs I follow.
— Leigh Kramer (@hopefulleigh) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney for sure, it's a great way to gain attention and reciprocation. Who doesn't love comments!? #blogchat
— Chris Rice (@ChrisRiceCo) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney I agree I need to comment more. #blogchat
— Marc Miller (@CareerPivot) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney I left a comment a few days ago - on our very own @MackCollier's #blog! #BlogChat
— Steve Case (@JoeBugBuster) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney I do not recall the last time I left comment. Need to change that if I want comments on my blog. #blogchat
— John Haverty (@havertyj) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney I am constantly commenting on blogs, I find it often inspires my writing to write to others. #blogchat
— Kyah Skavinski (@kyskav) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney tuesday
— Mike McAllen (@mmcallen) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney About 45 minutes ago. #blogchat
— Charles G Hill (@dustbury) January 11, 2016

I'd say it has been about a week. Anytime I read a blog, I try to leave a comment. #blogchat https://t.co/68VSF7PAHr
— Brandon (@therookiedad) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney Month back #blogchat
— Abhishek Deshpande (@Fitehal) January 11, 2016

5 Reasons to Leave Comments on Blogs

1. Relationships - by leaving a comment on a blog you get on the radar of the author, more so than simply using social media to share the posts. As I mentioned above, authors are always appreciative of thoughtful comments.

2. Education - you can learn more if you ask questions about articles in the comments. You can also answer other questions from fellow commenters to help them.

3. Reciprocity - the author may come to your blog to see what you write about and leave comments too.

4. Conversation - by leaving a comment you can stir conversation with the other readers and author. Perhaps you have something to add or a counter argument to the topic.

5. Give Thanks - a comment is a simple way to say thank you to the author for writing the post. Favorite blogs die, so take a moment to let the author know you enjoy what she writes.

I always encourage my clients to have their blog comments turned on. They are sometimes nervous that readers will come and bash their company, product or services. People will bash you online if they choose to anyway. Why not have them do it on your blog, where you can address their comments in the open?

In order to make yourself leave comments more often, set a goal. For example, you can choose to leave three comments for every single blog post you publish. You could also plan to leave three comments each day of the week as a goal.

Do you leave comments on blogs (your answer is "yes", if you answer this)?

Do you have a goal for yourself? What makes you stop to leave a comment?