Try This Blog Comment Policy to Manage Your Content Faster (and with Less Stress)

I think the best way to introduce the concept of a blog comment policy is to remind you that my favorite word is No.

At the risk of sounding no-fun, I like rules.

If you’re in a position to set rules for any given situation, they can help you reach solutions to issues faster and avoid future headaches.

And you are in a position to set rules for the online community you build with your website’s content.

Setting rules for your digital home isn’t strict — it’s a smart way to set yourself up for blogging success.

What is a blog comment policy?

A blog comment policy helps preserve your time for your most important work.

When you’re a working writer, you’re always looking for more time to spend on the projects you deeply care about.

But it’s easy to get tied up performing other necessary tasks, such as monitoring, evaluating, and responding to blog comments.

The good news is, you can preserve a lot of your energy by establishing communication rules for your business and website.

If you’ve just launched your blog, it’s well worth your time to create a blog comment policy. If your website has been around for a while, you can still add one.

Then, you have a standard that helps you review blog post comments you receive.

If a comment follows your rules, you’ll approve it. If it doesn’t, you can swiftly delete it and move on to more important work.

How to write a blog comment policy

It doesn’t take too long to put together a simple blog comment policy to display on your website.

Like your business’s terms of service and payment policy that you establish when you learn how to become a freelance writer, the page can evolve over time, so don’t worry if you need to expand it later.

Check out the four categories below to help you write the first draft of your comment policy. Then, after a little content editing, it should be ready to publish on your website.

1. The purpose of your comment policy

The first section of your comment policy should be welcoming.

These rules aren’t intended to turn people off from engaging with you.

For example, the introduction of Copyblogger’s explains:

“We’re very glad you’re here and can’t wait to see what you’ve got to say about the content marketing strategies, principles, and practices we write about each week.

“Before you add your contribution in the comment section of our living room home on the web, please take a moment to look over the helpful guidelines below.”

You’ll use your writing voice to make this piece of content just as memorable as anything else that you publish. It’s another way for site visitors to get to know you better.

I’m going to continue to use Copyblogger’s blog comment policy as a framework for crafting your own text.

2. The type of communication you encourage

Do you want to hear the “good news” or the “bad news” first?

This section of Copyblogger’s blog comment policy leads with the “good news.”

It states:

“We welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion.”

Comments are a great way to further the discussion that the blog post’s author started, so we give some examples of this type of relationship building:

• Add smart, relevant ideas that expand on an article’s premise — read the article before you comment
• Drop funny references or jokes that carry the conversation forward
• Offer useful, constructive (not stupid or ugly) criticism

It’s important to remember that these guidelines aren’t only about the type of behavior that’s prohibited.

3. The type of communication you won’t allow

But, alas, you have to drop the “bad news” too.

Copyblogger’s blog comment policy gives examples of what violations look like:

“The Copyblogger editorial team reserves the right to edit or delete comments as we see fit, without explanation.

“Here are some examples (not comprehensive, but you’ll get the idea) of types of comments that’ll ensure your failure to communicate, at least on Copyblogger.”

We then list specific behavior that’s unacceptable, including:

• Comments that simply restate or repeat information from the article and don’t carry the conversation forward
• Off-topic personal or professional rants
• Threats to us or other visitors

This is where you lay down the law, so offer as many details as possible.

Then, if someone breaks one of these rules, you don’t have to think twice about deleting their comment or blocking them from posting comments on your site in the future.

4. Additional rules that protect your business and community

To wrap up, Copyblogger’s comment policy explicitly states:

“Don’t contribute spam. If you’d like your comment to appear on Copyblogger, be respectful of our community and think before you post.”

This final section of your blog comment policy sets more rules regarding the type of writing habits that are appropriate for your community.

It might include information about:

• Links: If you must include a link in your comment, please be aware that your comment may not be approved for posting. Be patient. Relevant links that contribute to the conversation need to be approved. Obvious attempts to promote your business, gain backlinks, traffic, or other types of self-promotion are not allowed.
• Copyright: If we receive authentic notice that a comment is in violation of anyone’s copyrighted information, the comment will be deleted and the commenter may be blocked from posting comments in the future.
• Privacy: Do not share private information within your comment. We will delete phone numbers, email addresses, or any other private or personal information to protect the affected party. This is not the place to exchange contact information with other visitors.

You know your business and niche better than anyone, so this section is a great opportunity to prevent issues (and the headaches I mentioned above) before they arise.

Ready to publish faster and with less stress?

If you like guidelines like these that take some of the guesswork out of your content marketing, we also have a blog post checklist to help you click Publish with confidence.

It’s a framework that lets you check off the most important elements of good content, so you know you’re producing your best work.

And don’t forget to also grab our free ebook about blogging that works …