45n5 has a post that has got me thinking – Are You An Ungrateful Link Getter?
In it Mark asks his readers whether they say thanks when another blogger links up to them. He also wonders out loud how a blogger who gets quite a few links each day copes with it.
I left a number of comments over at his post so I won’t regurgitate them all – but here’s a few of the main thoughts that come to mind for me:
- saying thanks with a comment on the post that you get the link on can be really worthwhile
- realistically it can be difficult to do when you do get quite a few links each day
- commenting with more than ‘thanks for the link’ is worthwhile to do. Add to the conversation in some way.
- commenting not only on the post that linked to you but other recent posts can also have an impact and grow the relationship
- returning a day later to see if the blogger has responded to your comment is extra good
- emailing the blogger to say a more personal thank you can also have an impact
- all of these suggestions can make it even more time consuming and difficult to keep track of – however it can be worth it
- I fail dismally on all of the above. I try to keep track of incoming links and be grateful – however it could become a full time job in itself
Do you say thank you for links? How do you do it? Head over to 45n5 to have your say.
I try and at least comment on the post that someone leaves for me. They took they time to find my article useful and provide additional traffic to it, so I make the effort to add to their blog.
I am new to blogging and I try to thank everyone that comments on my posts, I also link back to anyone that links to me.I would also like to thank you for all the knowledge I am gaining just by reading your blog.
I absolutely say thankyou!! I leave a comment or contact them through email. I also try to return the favor by acknowledging them in a post or link them to my site permantly. I have a section for “blog of the day” and sometimes will put them there. It’s the least I could do.
I have been working hard lately to get a few links from higher PR’s in order to raise mine. There are many who dont’ like to “share” so I’m extremely grateful when someone does it for me.
Thanks a million for the link ;-) wink wink, lol
“emailing the blogger to say a more personal thank you can also have an impact”
personally I’ve never done this, but I have recieved thank you emails and enjoyed getting them and thought, so I think that’s excellent advice.
I also mentioned my favorite way to track comments is with http://commentful.blogflux.com/ and there are others if that doesn’t suit anybody.
thanks again, mark
I always try to show lots of love when I get links from others. I think links are the most friendliest and nicest gestures to give as a blogger.
So the question for you (Darren) is – how many links do you get on an average day?
Reveal your secret to us.
I don’t say thanks. Call me rude and bad mannered but that is how it is.
I do, however, keep my eye on that blog, that is, it goes to my RSS reader right that moment. So, when the time comes, I can link back to that blog with something more usefull and interesting than “thanks for the link”. If somebody links to me that is considered friendly gesture so let the friendship begin.
Most times, I do say ‘thanks’. But well, living the kind of life that I have and in a ‘Third’ world country – that can be difficult at times. At times, I stay for days or even weeks without Internet. Thanks for the tip!
I always try and thank people who link to my blogs. I do it by either leaving them a thank-you comment or emailing the author. It depends on what i feel is most appropriate in each case. I also try to link back to that author at some point via a post of mine (only if they have content that i feel is valuable to my readers. I try not to link to people just for the sake of linking)
But at this point i am not gettings tons of links from other blogs. No more than 4 in one day, but mostly just one every few days. Not sure what i’ll do if that picks up a lot. But let’s wait and see what happens…
I try to visit the sites of people who leave comments are well as those sites who link to me. I don’t comment as much as I should.
However, I have built some good professional relationships from people who have linked to me and I have responded on their site.
I think one of the best ways to thank them is to follow your example: link back to them.
Of course, it’s not always appropriate, but it is nice.
I linked to you in January of 1927 and you couldn’t even find the time to acknowledge it.
How dare you..
I generally try to. I wrote a piece of software about a year ago that is still, to this day, featured on the Technorati website. As such, it sends me a steady stream full of traffic, and people link to it all the time. Today’s post is the first time I have actually linked to one of the individuals who uses my software.
That’s an interesting question. I used to run a site with about 30,000 unique visitors a day and initially, when the site was still young I actually managed to visit every blog that linked to me just to leave a comment and connect.
However when the traffic grew to that amount, I lost count of the number of links coming in everyday. I can only imagine how many links you are getting daily Darren!
Being grateful is one thing, being overwhelmed is another.
Incidentally, forgot to mention: generally I reply to commetns by trying to add something to the discussion, unless of course someone links to me via a link train, then I give it a miss.
It’s all about relationship buidling online. Thanks should be extended to an individual that posts positive comments about you on their blog. It encourages them to write about you more often, and may help increase the feeling of connection between the two.
Another simple suggestion is to thank the person linking to you using their name. This isn’t always obvious via the homepage, as in Mark’s case at 45n5.
If it’s not obvious I always visit the ‘about’ page, looking for a name, and after visiting Mark’s I found out his. That way you begin your thank you note with a more personal tone, helping build the relationship faster.
I admire your site and your shares about making money online.First Of All I wanna thanks for it.Your site is one of my impressions and read it everyday.About title,So far I have no link to my blog except mine.So I couldnt thank anyone:).If I can see them somewhere,I will give them very Big THANKS with all my best wishes:)
Thank you
Point it to know when are you linked (sometimes you simply just don’t know).
Anyway, when linking to other people, I always thank them for the info on my Blog (if I remember it, for sure, I’ll go the page where I found the info to indicate I have made a link).
But, replying to your question: If I found someone’s linking me, for sure, at least, I would say “Thank you” writing it in a comment, via e-mail (if possible) and so on…
Good point to discuss :-)
Regards from Spain,
Paquito.
I could tell you that I say thanks for any links to my blog, but how would you know I was telling the truth?
Maybe you need to link to me to find out. :)
(Well, it was worth a try.)
Should we say that this is one of those situations when hiring someone to comment and answer emails for you is good? :) Paid comments can be ethical and practical.
If I can, I usually mention the link in an upcoming post (if there is any common threads between the blogs).
If not, I leave a thank you comment.
In general (underline that), I try to notice new link-ers and acknowledge them in some way. How I acknowledge depends on what routes are available and what makes sense. I also put them on my watch list to see if I want to read and join their community in the future (or suggest them to someone else).
While it is nice to be acknowledged by a blog I have linked, most of those bloggers are swamped and I just don’t take it personally when they aren’t able to do that.
These are great suggestions! I am also guilty of not always showing appreciation when someone links to me or leaves a comment…and my readership isn’t so big that I don’t have time. I think the ideas in your post are correct and I need to do better. Thanks for reminding me that these things are important.
Tim Agazio
Genealogy Reviews Online
I would think that if people are linking to your blog, it’s because they read something that they liked here. In your speed linking you throw back a little love to active members on your blog. I would think that the people linking to you would be active in comments therefore they have a chance of getting a pretty big thank you back by way of a return link. I would think the speed linking posts should suffice.
I think give and take it the best form of advertising.. along with linking you can do programs to exchange reviews.. instead of charging for it. This way you both get some face time to an audience …
I do try to acknowledge and thank those who link to me – and think that it’s really enjoyable to say thank you and be grateful.
On the otherhand, I won’t mind if the blogger on the other side links back to me. I mean, of course I would be glad if they link back, especailly when they do think that I’m doing a great job / written something worth-mentioning. But, it needs not to be mandatory.
For sure, I always try and comment with a *thank you* and, if time allows, shoot off an email behind the scenes. At the very least it is a simple courtesy–at most, I’ve received greater exposure and a testimonial. Why wouldn’t I give thanks for that!
But here’s a no-no from my perspective: I linked to a post that was really excellent and related well to the topic of that day. Very quickly I received a *thank you* from the person. Just as quickly, I could see that it was an auto-responder form letter. It immediately had zero meaning and actually ticked me off.
If you are going to give out a thank you, then do it from the heart or not at all.
I always try to go to their blog and thank them for the link. I also try to visit regularly and see if there are any posts that I can include in my weekend speed links. It’s not a problem for me as I’m not really swamped with new incoming links everyday.
I try to say thanks, I’ve even done it on pages where the user speaks a different language! It can become a job in itself, but still worth it to reach out to others. Your readers are the reason you are here in the first place, and without them your blog would just be a public diary.
I make a point to thank all those who link to my blog, and often try to add additional value within my comments.
– Martin Reed
I say it whenever I can, sometimes I just forget though. :(
I always take the time to link back to people who link to my blog and I always comment on their blog to let them know that I appreciate it. It goes along way in building good relations!
I try not to think very mechanical about commenting. I comment because I would like to chat. If something good comes out of it for me, then cool, but I really just like talking with people.
I haven’t had this problem yet (I don’t get too many links), but if I do – I think I will try and follow your advice.
I created about a hundred different Google Alerts to send to my Google Talk & Email account everytime someone refers to me or one of my blogs, and the funny thing is .. now I’m much worse at tracking links to me than ever before! I have to go back to the RSS method to detect the links I think. Technorati and Google Alerts are just not working for me.
I can’t really argue that I don’t have time. I’ll thank links to my blog from now on. If I ever get to the point where I have several links a day, then I may have to stop. But, I haven’t reached that point.
I just want to thank everyone here in advance for linking to me!!
joking… I was always under the impression saying thanks via email was the way to do it. Any opinions about whether email or blog post is better?
I tend to view a ‘thanks for the link’ in my comments as unnecessary and off topic.
“I just want to thank everyone here in advance for linking to me!!”
Ha! Me too.