The Psychology Behind Why Some Posts Get 50+ Comments (And Others Get Zero)

The 4 engagement triggers you can, and possibly already are, using

After 20+ years helping Fortune 500 companies design and execute digital engagement strategies, I can tell you the difference between posts that get 2 comments and posts that get 50 isn't what most creators think. The difference wasn't luck, audience size, or even content quality. It was psychology.

Sure, many creators may have a bigger following than you do, and a more engaged audience.

But true, sustainable engagement is rooted in solid strategy. The creator designs their content in a way to elicit engagement from their audience.

And the same creator leans heavily into psychology.

Today let’s examine 4 psychological triggers that make people NEED to respond. And here's what most creators miss: the magic isn't in what you say, it's in how you can compel people to engage.

The Real Truth About Comments

Comments aren't about your content. They're about the reader's emotional state.

When someone takes time to comment, they're not just responding to your words. Neuroscience shows us they're seeking social validation, human connection, or that sweet dopamine hit of being heard and acknowledged. From an engagement standpoint, your job isn't just to inform, it's also to create an emotional experience that demands response.

Most creators write to share information. Smart creators write to provoke psychological reactions. Smart creators and companies understand this instinctively. Every campaign that generates millions of engagements follows these same psychological principles.

Here are the four triggers that turn passive readers into active commenters:

Trigger #1: The Controversy Gap

People comment when they feel compelled to correct, agree strongly, or defend a position.

I saw a Redditor talk about this once. They said that they used to ask for help on Reddit, and would never get a response. Then one day they had an epiphany: They created a post asking a basic question. Then they created a new Reddit account and used that new account to answer their own question.

But they answered the question with the most horribly WRONG answer possible. Almost immediately, others users on Reddit swooped in to harshly correct the wrong answer with the right one.

Lesson learned: On Reddit, at least, users are more likely to correct wrong information than they are to share correct information.

Now while this humorous example worked, you don’t have to do this to ‘trick’ readers into commenting. The secret isn't being controversial for clicks. It's presenting a slightly contrarian viewpoint that's defensible but not obvious. Instead of "Here are 5 productivity tips," you write "Most productivity advice is actually making you less productive."

This works because of cognitive dissonance. When readers encounter something that challenges their existing beliefs, it creates emotional tension that demands resolution. The easiest resolution? Commenting to agree, disagree, or share their own experience.

The fine line is staying authentic. You're not being contrarian for attention. You're sharing a genuinely different perspective that serves your audience.

Case in point, my recent article here about the ‘experts’ are lying to us:

The ‘Experts’ Lied to Us

The contrarian view I took in that article is that sometimes, the ‘experts’ get it wrong. And sometimes they intentionally give you bad advice, because they are more focused on making themselves look good, than they are helping you grow and succeed.

And note that I backed up the assertion of the article, that sharing mistakes creates trust, with research.

Make the contrarian claim to draw attention, then back up the claim with research that proves it’s correct. Then follow up by asking a question: “Are you more likely to trust someone who shares some or all of their story with you?”

Trigger #2: The Identity Mirror

Comments spike when people see themselves perfectly reflected in your content.

Instead of writing "Low engagement is common," you write: "You've published 47 posts, spent hours crafting each one, and wonder why your most thoughtful pieces get crickets while your random shower thought got 12 comments."

That specificity hits like lightning. When someone reads that and thinks "That's EXACTLY my situation!" Because we have ALL done this! You spend 4 hours carefully crafting an epic post, and crickets. Then you write a Note in 5 seconds asking if Cocoa Pebbles tastes better than Lucky Charms, and you get 20 replies in an hour. It’s equal parts awesome and maddening!

The science behind this is fascinating: self-referential processing activates the brain's default mode network. When people see themselves in your words, they literally can't help but engage. It's neurological.

That specificity...that feeling of being seen...is what transforms lurkers into commenters.

Fortune 500 companies spend millions on customer research to nail this identity-based messaging. You can do it by paying attention to the exact language your audience uses when they describe their struggles.

Power phrases that work: "If you've ever felt..." or "You know that moment when..." These create instant recognition and emotional connection.

Bonus tip: Check product reviews to get a sense of what issues and struggles that customers are running into with your products or your competitor’s products. In fact, you can often spot an untapped market if see customers complaining about a feature or lack of features in a competitor’s product. “I just wish this would allow me to” or “I wish it came in more colors like”. These are all tiny clues, the customer is telling you that they would buy a product that had these features.

Trigger #3: The Completion Compulsion

People comment to "complete" an incomplete thought or story.

This taps into the Zeigarnik Effect... our brains obsess over uncompleted tasks and stories. When you create intentional gaps in your content, readers feel psychologically compelled to fill them.

Instead of: "The strategy that tripled my engagement was posting at 9 AM."

Try: "The strategy that tripled my engagement was counterintuitive. Everyone says post when your audience is online, but I discovered something completely different..."

[Then continue with the revelation in your next paragraph]

The comment catalyst happens when readers feel they can add value or share their version of the story. End sections with: "What would you add to this list?" or "Which point resonates most with your experience?"

Bonus tip: This strategy, and really all 4 triggers in this post, work better when your topic is more accessible. This is a general rule for creating more engagement: 101-level conversations will have more participants than 401-level conversations will. If you ask more basic questions about a more basic topic, more people will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. But if you want to discuss quantum mechanics, don’t expect to get as many hand-raisers. We like to share our thoughts when we are confident doing so. A big part of driving more engagement is to make your audience feel comfortable participating.

Trigger #4: The Hierarchy Challenge

Comments increase when you challenge existing hierarchies and position your readers as sophisticated insiders.

Instead of generic advice, you write: "While everyone chases viral posts, smart creators focus on engagement depth. Most people don't understand this, but you're not most people."

This triggers in-group vs. out-group psychology. You're creating tribal bonding through shared knowledge. Your readers feel smart for understanding your advanced insights while others chase shiny objects.

Smart companies like Apple or Maker’s Mark or Harley Davidson understand this. They don’t try to connect with everyone, they try to focus on the unique qualities that define their customers. And in doing so, they are doing two important things:

First, they are connecting with their existing customers, in a language they understand. This encourages engagement from those existing customers because they can see they are being positioned as being ‘special people who get what I am saying’.

Second, it communicates to non-customers that their IS a hierarchy. The CURRENT customers are the ‘cool’ kids. It makes you want to check out what they know that you don’t!

Use phrases like "Smart creators know..." or "The secret that professionals understand..." You're not being elitist. You're acknowledging your audience's intelligence and experience.

The Compound Effect: When Psychology Triggers Stack

Here's where the magic happens. When you combine triggers, engagement becomes exponential.

You're not manipulating people. You're using psychology ethically to create genuine value and connection. The best engagement comes when people feel truly seen, challenged, and invited into meaningful conversation. Which is what you want as a creator. When your audience is actively participating and engaging with your content, they are improving your content.

How many times have you read the comments on a post and thought “Wow I am learning more here in the comments than I did in the post!” As a creator, you should want to hear this all the time!

When I was blogging regularly, I told my readers that ‘We are co-creating content here”. I write the post, but that’s just the conversation starter. The readers then take over in the comments, and create content that it BETTER than the post itself.

You can also try this: You can also experiment with using these triggers in Notes. Pick one of each and craft a Note or two for each trigger and see what your response is. Remember that the audience that reads your Notes and the one that reads your Substack isn’t exactly the same. Additionally, you can also use these Notes to trial ideas for article topics. The Notes that perform best in terms of engagement, take the topic of that Note and expand it into an issue of your newsletter. Then for social proof, drop the Note into your article! This shows that the Note on the same topic got a response, which I encourages more engagement.

Your Turn

Look at your last 5 posts. Which psychological triggers did you use? Most creators accidentally use one, maybe two. Pick your next post topic and consciously design in 2-3 of these triggers. Try this for your next 2-4 posts, then measure the number of comments those 2-4 posts get versus the previous 2-4.

My guess is you will see your number of comments increase, and before long this becomes second-hand nature to you to integrate triggers into your posts that make it easier for your readers to feel comfortable sharing their insights.

Which trigger will you try first?

Ready to Grow Your Substack Into a Sustainable Business?

For 20 years I’ve helped everyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies design strategies to acquire, retain, and delight customers. Now, I’m sharing those same proven strategies with you here.

👉 If you’ve found this helpful, consider becoming a subscriber. Paid subscribers unlock access to my full library of 130+ articles, templates, and step-by-step guides—everything you need to grow your Substack with confidence.

Monthly subscriptions are $7.50, or $60 annually (a 33% savings).

Together, we’ll turn your Substack into a business that lasts.

Mack

---

Backstage Pass teaches you how to better connect with your customers, readers, clients, or donors. The lessons shared here draw on my experience over the last 20 years building customer engagement strategies for companies like Adobe, Dell, Club Med, Ingersoll-Rand, and countless others. I give you real-world research, examples and tactics that show you how to create customer engagement efforts that drive real business growth.

---