Top tips for writing engaging, provocative blog posts that get your readers thinking, sharing and commenting. Read more at blog.highq.com.

1. 12 secrets for writing blog posts that
get lots of comments

2. How do you get people to comment on a
blog post?

3. How do you get people to comment on a
blog post?
The short answer is, you don’t.

4. How do you get people to comment on a
blog post?
The short answer is, you don’t.
They will only do it when they want to.

5. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Occasionally, when the stars align and you’ve
written a brilliant post on a hot topic…
…then, you might get some comments.

6. 2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
But even then, it is very likely that at least one of
those comments will be correcting your grammar.

7. But still there is the question of how to write a
blog post that interests people and gets them to
continue that conversation?

8. But still there is the question of how to write a
blog post that interests people and gets them to
continue that conversation?
Here are 12 secrets to writing blog posts that
people want to comment on:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

9. What happens if their
servers fail?Forget about any other kind of writing
you do.
1

10. Forget about any other
kind of writing you do.
Blogging is not journalism,
it’s not letter writing, and it’s
certainly not legal writing.
1

11. Forget about any other
kind of writing you do.
Blogging is not journalism,
it’s not letter writing, and it’s
certainly not legal writing.
In fact blogging is less like
any other kind of writing and
more like speech.
1

12. Forget about any other
kind of writing you do.
Blogging is not journalism,
it’s not letter writing, and it’s
certainly not legal writing.
In fact blogging is less like
any other kind of writing and
more like speech.
Write the way you speak,
without the “ums” and
pauses, of course.
1

13. Read your finished posts aloud.
2

14. Read your finished
posts aloud.
This engages a completely
different part of your brain.
2

15. Read your finished
posts aloud.
This engages a completely
different part of your brain.
You will find that you stumble
over words and phrases when
speaking aloud that didn’t
trouble you when you were
reading silently to yourself.
2

16. Read your finished
posts aloud.
This engages a completely
different part of your brain.
You will find that you stumble
over words and phrases when
speaking aloud that didn’t
trouble you when you were
reading silently to yourself.
These are the areas to rework.
2

17. Don’t be too formal in your
writing style.
3

18. 3
Don’t be too formal in your
writing style.
When you rework your post,
make clarity of purpose your
only concern.

19. 3
Don’t be too formal in your
writing style.
When you rework your post,
make clarity of purpose your
only concern.
You will find that otherwise
unacceptable punctuation,
grammar, spelling, and
formatting sometimes gets
your point across more
succinctly than writing
“correctly” does.

20. Go with it.
3
Don’t be too formal in your
writing style.
When you rework your post,
make clarity of purpose your
only concern.
You will find that otherwise
unacceptable punctuation,
grammar, spelling, and
formatting sometimes gets
your point across more
succinctly than writing
“correctly” does.

21. Be personable.
4

22. 4
Be personable.
Remember, this is a conversation.

23. Be personable.
Remember, this is a conversation.
Nobody wants to talk to a
boring person…
4

24. Be personable.
Remember, this is a conversation.
Nobody wants to talk to a
boring person…
…no matter how interesting
the subject.
4

25. You are not reporting the news.
5

26. You are not reporting the news.
If you are reporting content that
you found on the New York
Times, then chances are your
audience has already read it
somewhere else.
5

27. You are not reporting the news.
If you are reporting content that
you found on the New York
Times, then chances are your
audience has already read it
somewhere else.
And it will have been written by
someone who actually writes for
a living.
5

28. You are not reporting the news.
If you are reporting content that
you found on the New York
Times, then chances are your
audience has already read it
somewhere else.
And it will have been written by
someone who actually writes for
a living.
Why compete withprofessionals?
Link to those other articles for the
details and instead write about
your take on the subject.
5

29. If you are funny, use it.
66

30. If you are funny, use it.
If you are not, don’t
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 126

31. If you are funny, use it.
If you are not, don’t
When using sarcasm or satire,
always make it very clear.
66

32. If you are funny, use it.
If you are not, don’t
When using sarcasm or satire,
always make it very clear.
You might think it’s obvious, but
someone will not get it and that
can be very dangerous.
66

33. Be provocative.
7

34. Be provocative.
Never lie, or argue against your
actual position (unless doing
satire – see secret #6).
7

35. Be provocative.
Never lie, or argue against your
actual position (unless doing
satire – see secret #6).
It doesn’t hurt to take a slightly
stronger stance than you
would otherwise.
7

36. Be provocative.
Never lie, or argue against your
actual position (unless doing
satire – see secret #6).
It doesn’t hurt to take a slightly
stronger stance than you
would otherwise.
Nothing gets attention like a bold
statement confidently made.
B
7

37. Don’t forget to use the title.
8

38. Don’t forget to use the title.
Only on a personal blog can you
choose your own title, usually you
have an editor giving your post
some boring title that you wouldn’t
even click on.
8

39. Don’t forget to use the title.
Only on a personal blog can you
choose your own title, usually you
have an editor giving your post
some boring title that you wouldn’t
even click on.
The title should get your audience’s
attention, but it also creates a frame
that sets up their expectations.
8

40. Don’t forget to use the title.
Only on a personal blog can you
choose your own title, usually you
have an editor giving your post
some boring title that you wouldn’t
even click on.
The title should get your audience’s
attention, but it also creates a frame
that sets up their expectations.
Use those expectations to your
advantage, make people see things
differently than they expect from
your title.
8

41. Choose topics that bother you.
9

42. Choose topics that bother you.
Things that happen, that surprise
or upset you; things that you find
yourself day dreaming about at
inopportune times…
9

43. Choose topics that bother you.
Things that happen, that surprise
or upset you; things that you find
yourself day dreaming about at
inopportune times…
Choose ideas that get stuck in
your head.
9

44. Choose topics that bother you.
Things that happen, that surprise
or upset you; things that you find
yourself day dreaming about at
inopportune times…
Choose ideas that get stuck in
your head.
These are the best topics,
because they will also get stuck
in the heads of your readers.
9

45. Publish immediately.
10

46. Publish immediately.
When you feel you have your ideas
down, publish. Do not sleep on it.
Do not wait to see what you think
the next day. You will hate it. You
will see every flaw and error.
10

47. Publish immediately.
When you feel you have your ideas
down, publish. Do not sleep on it.
Do not wait to see what you think
the next day. You will hate it. You
will see every flaw and error.
If you wait, you will never publish.
10

48. Publish immediately.
When you feel you have your ideas
down, publish. Do not sleep on it.
Do not wait to see what you think
the next day. You will hate it. You
will see every flaw and error.
If you wait, you will never publish.
If you cannot publish immediately,
or you are not done by the end
of your writing session, then start
over from scratch the next day and
publish as soon as you’re done.
10

49. Don’t write too much.
11

50. Don’t write too much.
You do not have to be comprehensive.
11

51. Don’t write too much.
You do not have to be comprehensive.
Set up the conversation. Throw out a
few points to think about and then
let it go.
11

52. Don’t write too much.
You do not have to be comprehensive.
Set up the conversation. Throw out a
few points to think about and then
let it go.
Remember, you want to start a
conversation, not finish it.
11

53. Get your readers thinking.
12

54. Get your readers thinking.
Leave the audience with a
rhetorical question, a bold
statement, or a thoughtful
turn of phrase.
12

55. Get your readers thinking.
Leave the audience with a
rhetorical question, a bold
statement, or a thoughtful
turn of phrase.
Give them something
short and concrete that
summarises your post.
12

56. Get your readers thinking.
Leave the audience with a
rhetorical question, a bold
statement, or a thoughtful
turn of phrase.
Give them something
short and concrete that
summarises your post.
Find a phrase that sticks in
your mind and it will stick in
theirs too.
12

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