What response do you want to your blog posts?

What do you do when you read a great blog post? Do you comment, do you tweet a link, do you stumble it or bookmark it somewhere like delicious?

I find it depends. Sometimes I really enjoy a post but don’t comment. Instead I do something to support the blogger like tweet or stumble. Sometimes I really enjoy a post, want to comment with my thoughts on the topic, and don’t bother to tweet or stumble.

And, sometimes, I wonder what the blogger would most like his or her readers to do.

I think it’s safe to say that the bloggers who are trying to make a living off advertising income want the traffic driving tweet or stumble or digg.

Other bloggers might want the engagement, the conversation, and not care at all about traffic.

Then there are bloggers like me, who appreciate every comment, tweet, and stumble.  I’m never sure anyone is reading.  Any sort of response gives me a bit of feedback that lets me know at least someone read a post.

I asked this question on Twitter. A couple of people shared their thoughts. Elaine Nelson who is @epersonae, said this and added this and wrapped up with a final thought. Laurie White, @lauriewrites, responded with this tweet. I want to thank them both for responding because they pointed out some of the thinking behind what people want you to do with their posts, and what they like to do for others’ posts.

On BlogHer, I wrote a post called What Women Do with Twitter. Check the comments. Some commenters couldn’t care less about getting links or retweets from Twitter.

I know there are bloggers with a sharp focus on one thing—like building traffic—but for a small blogger like myself I think the answer is “it depends.” What is the answer for you?