The deed is done.

I have turned off the blog comments feature.

I’m boldly going (to blatantly misparaphrase a line) where many others have gone before.

Before I tell you why I made this decision, let’s talk about a few reasons not to kill the comments on your blog.

Keep the conversation.

If you are receiving robust comments to your posts, keep them coming. A good discussion section is a great way to get feedback, generate ideas, and keep connected to your members, clients, customers, and so forth. Why kill what’s working?

Also, don’t kill the comments because you’re tired of responding to them. That sends the message that you needed a tribe to get business, sell a book, and/or generate lots of likes and love – but now you don’t need them anymore. If you’re overwhelmed with comments (and very few business blogs truly are), then slowly wean down your participation by answering just a few comments on each post.

Finally, don’t disable comments because your customers are cranky. Negative feedback (distinguished from abusive or hate speech) is helpful. You want people to have a safe place to vent –and you want to be able to respond. We can talk separately about how to respond to negative comments.

My conversations aren’t happening in blog comments.

So why did I kill blog comments?

The conversations have moved elsewhere online.

Readers are sharing my posts (thank you!), with or without a personal comment. People are commenting on my posts when I share them online. Prospective clients and partners are reading my posts and contacting me when something resonates with them.

What isn’t happening? People leaving comments in the blog comments section.

I’ve talked before about how the home hub is dead. And that’s okay. My website isn’t here to be an inbound marketing machine. My blog was never intended to be top ranked or feed my ego. Instead, it’s a place for me to share knowledge, help you not reinvent the wheel, and help me work through what’s working and what’s next. And I always welcome conversation, so continue to email me, call me, and find me on the Interwebs. And, yes, in person too.