It's such a hard thing to get people to do. It takes time because you need to build a brand and following before people will trust you enough, or like you enough to want to comment on your posts. Don't give up though, it takes time, but it does happen.

Apart from thought provoking, a sure way to get comments is to write something controversial. Go against the grain, especially in a field that people are passionate about, and they're sure to give you an earful! ;-)

Alan Borecki

Posted on Dec. 22, 2010

Write thought provoking content which engages users and encourages their participation. Sometimes it's as easy as asking a question or two at the end of an article or simply saying "i'd love to hear your comments".

If you have the budget, you can also offer weekly/monthly giveaways related to the topic for the most interesting comment. Or perhaps you can also offer your services for free in a fun way. For example, if you're an artist, you can offer to draw the display pictures of 10 randomly selected people who respond.

Be creative and have fun with it :)

Ryan DesRoches

Principal, Massachusetts Web Designs

Posted on Dec. 23, 2010

1) Provide good quality content about what you are passionate about.

2) Ask people questions on your blog to encourage them to respond. And then follow up with those that do comment to keep the conversation going!

3) Post your blog to sites like Digg, Google buzz, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter etc - I get a good amount of traffic from those sites, and some of those become followers. You should also look for other sites related to your content so that you can promote your blog there as well.

4) Keep posting on a regular basis!

It all takes time and some effort - but its usually worth it!

Ryan
http://LDPWebSolutions.com