If you have left a comment at this blog (or another blog) in the past, today’s post is not for you. I was talking with a friend the other day who said that she liked reading blogs but didn’t like leaving comments. “I feel self-conscious,” she said. She also added that she didn’t have a website of her own, so it wasn’t clear how she should post a comment. What do you put in for a URL? What if you don’t have an account?

It occurred to me that other readers might feel this way, too, so I wanted to walk through how to leave a comment here if you are interested. Please don’t feel pressured to do so! I enjoy hearing from you in all of the other ways we connect, on Twitter, Facebook, and via email, so it isn’t necessary to contribute here. But if you’ve felt like leaving a comment and just didn’t know how to go about it, please continue reading!

Below you’ll see the bottom of one of my recent blog posts. (I’ve highlighted the words that I often conclude with–“Let us know what you think”–because I really want you to!) Just below that line, you’ll see the Comments link (where the arrow is pointing). This is where you will click to add your own comment.


Once you’ve clicked there, the following window will open. You’ll see that I’ve added the comment, “Wow! I love leaving comments” to the comment area, and then below that you will see the pulldown list for the options to identify your comment (which says, “Comment as:”) This is where I think a lot of people stop: if you don’t have a blog or Google account, you won’t have the account information for WordPress, TypePad, or Google, but you can still leave a comment. Please feel free to select the “Anonymous” option and then add your name to your comment if you’d like me to know who you are. Once you’ve selected your ID, click the Post Comment button.


Once you’ve clicked the “Post Comment” button, you will see the following window with a preview of your comment, and a word verification screen. Simply type the letters you see and then click “Post Comment” and you’re done. (This last step helps to prevent a lot of spamming of the comments.)


I hope this is helpful to those of you who might have been hesitant to leave a comment. Please let me know if you have any questions at all!