One of the best things that you can do is allow people to comment on your post if you’re using a blog to generate traffic. An even better thing to do is to respond to their comments, answer their questions and give advice when needed. There are some rules that come with interacting with blog readers so that you don’t make a mistake that will result in your traffic going down instead of up. When responding to comments posted on your blog, here are three mistakes to avoid.

1. The first mistake that we’re going to discuss is one that actually happens quite often with bloggers. They sometimes make the mistake of only posting on comments where the question is asked and being professional and aloof. You’re trying to develop a relationship with these readers and that means interacting with them on a more personal level. You want the readers to think of you as a friend and advisor not as some faceless blogger so make sure that you interact that way.

2. Another thing that you want to be sure that you do is to avoid controversial subjects. Even if other people in your comment thread are discussing politics or religion, and you feel as if you should weigh in, don’t. No matter what you believe or don’t believe, as the blogger and host, you want to be completely neutral on controversial subjects like politics and religion. Keep in mind that’s only for the comments section. You can use politics or a controversial subject to create a blog post to attract traffic. Just avoid the arguments and discussions in the comments.

3. Never lose your temper. You don’t have to be professional and you can be friendly, but just make sure that you don’t get angry at someone even if they are disparaging you or your blog, especially if they are just trolling. Losing your cool takes away your expertise. Because they believe you to be an expert in a certain field, people are reading your blog. When you lose your temper, even though it has nothing to do with your expertise, people still judge you based upon that. If you make an error in your blog– like a factual error– don’t be afraid to make a comment and apologized and retracted for it. Your readers will respect you for that.