Many bloggers find comments to be the most rewarding part of the blogging experience. However, it can be difficult to encourage readers to leave a note before wandering off to other parts of the vast internet. Some bloggers will rely on controversy, but there are other ways to encourage participation without always finding yourself in the middle of a dispute.

Start by ending your blog post with a direct question, and make sure it isn't just a cleverly worded way of asking, "What do you think?" Ask specifics whenever possible. Most readers will feel at liberty to leave a comment if they have something to say which is not a direct answer to your question. Whatever conversation starter you pick, make sure it gets your readers talking about themselves and sharing their experiences, instead of just providing feedback on you.

Don't forget to answer your comments. It can be quite discouraging to a reader to take the time to leave a message, and then never receive any recognition from the blog author. Just a quick thank you acknowledges that someone cared to comment. Besides, conversations about the article can often be more fun than the article itself. And it's a great way to network.

Make sure to cleanup the spam. You will need to take steps to keep advertisers under control so the real comments are not drowned out by pitches for who-knows-what. One solution is to disallow anonymous comments. Another is to moderate so all comments must be approved before appearing to readers. A third, either used on its own or in conjunction with the other options, is to require a captcha before posting. Captchas are those funky letter and number puzzles posed by many sites before registering or submitting content.

Consider if reader sign-up is logical for your blog. If you use a free host like Blogspot.com where registration is simply a Google account--which nearly everyone has, anyway--then requiring a log in to comment isn't so bad. But if you run a standalone blog, only the most loyal fans will take the time to register and log in when they want to post. This may be counterproductive to your goal of racking up blog comments.

If you pose an interesting question, reply to the comments you receive, keep the spam in check, and make sure you aren't requiring more of your readers than necessary, you will likely see an increase between the ratio of visitors and the ones who leave a message.