How to get more responses

 

stop talking to yourself - how to encourage more replies

Asking a question, and getting crickets in return, is never what one wants in the Community. 

While we can't provide your peers more time in the day to reply, we do have some suggestions to boost responses to your question...

  • Make it obvious what you want 
    Don't make people think too hard, or too long, to answer your request.  Tell them what you need help with right in the subject line.

  • Keep it short
    An oldie, but a goodie - keep it short and simple.  Asking peers to write a dissertation, or fill in several bullet points of data, can relegate your question to the "I'll get back to this later" pile, which - let's be honest - the reader often never gets back to.

  • Add a Profile photo
    Research show that questions with a photo get more responses than one without.  I guess people prefer to talk to a real person versus a gray avatar head. 
  • Avoid repetition
    Long time users will notice the same questions often get asked over and over (Dress code, anyone?).  If you have a topic that is broad,  it can be best to do a Search first. Find threads where that has already been discussed and see if it meets your needs.  If not, then you can ask a more detailed, specific follow up question rather than open the same can of worms again. 

  • Answer posts!
    As your Mother taught you - Do Unto Others. Take the time to help your peers when they need your expertise, and hopefully they will do the same for you!