When is it Appropriate to Close the Comment Section?

Imagine with me a few moments spent in the glow of your laptop perusing blogs. You see new blogs and old familiar blogs. You read a really great post and legitimately want to leave a comment. You have something to say.

You scroll down to see “Comments are closed.”

Ouch.

Closed comment sections are becoming more prevalent. You probably want to close the comments on information parts of your blog such as an “about me” page. Another reason to shut out the world is when featuring another blogger on your site. Closing the comment section on your blog will send traffic to the featured blogger making them very happy.

But comments are closing on all kinds of posts, not just to share traffic. Surely there are as many different reasons to take a break from an influx of comment love as there are blogs, but before clicking away the possibility consider:

1. Comments build relationships. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve built a relationship and then getting the bloggy cold shoulder. This is really the equivalent of taking the phone off of the hook. (Does anyone still have a phone with a “hook”?) How long do you expect people to listen to that annoying busy signal before they stop calling?

2. Posting about the overwhelming success of your blog paired with frequent closed comment sections can be a turn off. There is an ebb and flow of blogging that will occur naturally. Some weeks you might return every single comment that comes your way. When life gets in the way, you will fall behind. The sudden admission that you’re no longer going to bother is jarring and if your goal is to chase off some pesky readers you’ll have success.

3. Comments allow bloggers to find each other. Let others have the chance to lure readers to their own site by writing a witty comment on your post. It’s not always about you!
Whether you allow comments or not, think about how it reads on each post. You may find that sometimes it’s best to let the love pile up rather than chasing it away.

Joey Lynn Resciniti is a wife, a mother, and a writer. She lives in the greater Pittsburgh area. Comments are always on at Joey’s blog, Big Teeth & Clouds.