This post is an excerpt from the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook
“Leave comments on other blogs.”
If there’s one piece of advice for building traffic to a blog that is given to new bloggers more than any other it is about leaving comments on other blogs.
Today your task in the 31 Days to Build a Better blog is to do just that – spend 10-15 minutes reading and interacting on other blogs on your topic (or surrounding topics).
The benefits of commenting on others blogs:
- You’ll be getting to know what other bloggers in your niche are doing
- You’ll hopefully read some great content that could spark ideas for your own blog
- You’ll be reaching out to another blogger in your niche (often comments are the start of fruitful relationships
- You’ll be creating a small doorway back to your own blog for the readers of that blog
- You’ll be building your own profile in your niche – it’s a chance to show your expertise, knowledge and understanding of the topic.
Warning!
It should go without saying but just having moderated the comments on my own blogs I suspect it needs to be said a day – DON’T BE A COMMENT SPAMMER!
More than that – DON’T LOOK LIKE A COMMENT SPAMMER!
I add that second warning because I come across a lot of bloggers who try to leave comments on other blogs in a way that they think is genuine – but that looks very spammy. Their comments more often than not get them on blacklists of comment spam filters.
The rule of thumb that I advise when leaving comments on other people’s blogs is simple – add value.
A comment that simply says ‘great post’ and that then has a link signature back to your own blog adds little if any value to the blog. It looks spammy. The only visitors you’ll get back to your blog are people wanting to know who the spammer is!
- Keep comments on topic
- Let your comment show that you’ve read the post
- Say what you like or don’t like about the post
- Add an example or another point that the blogger might have missed
- If you put a link back to your own blog in the comment try to make it a relevant one that adds to the post and will be useful to those who follow it.
- Ask a relevant and insightful question
Comments are Mini Resumes – Every comment you leave is like a mini resume for you and your blog (read more about that in the last point of Lorelle’s post on comments here).
Comments can Hurt Your Brand – On the flip side – every comment you write can potentially hurt your reputation and brand as a blogger. Here are 10 Ways that comments can actually do more harm than good to the brand of your blog.
Further Reading: I wrote a comment back in 2007 (which I think is still relevant today) with 11 Tips for Getting Your Comments Noticed on a Popular Blog.
Your task today is to find blogs on a similar or related topic to yours and to spend 10-15 minutes interacting on them in a genuine and useful way. Let us know how you go below (with a comment of course)!
Want More?This task is a sample of one of the tasks in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook – a downloadable resource designed to reinvigorate and revitalize blogs. Join over 14,000 other bloggers and Get your Copy Today. |
I got a little behind again and playing catchup. I try and keep to a routine when it comes to commenting. One technique that I enjoy is starting with a friends blog, leaving a comment then clicking on someone from their blog roll and leaving a comment, then picking someone on their blog roll. I do this several time within an hour and gives you an opportunity to meet new people and read some really great blogs.
I am really new to blogging and I am really not sure if leaving comments on other blogs helps bring any traffic to your site. But I will try to spend some time everyday to read other blogs and give them my opinion. I hope it gets some more visitors to my blog.
Hello Darren,
Thanks for the wonderful site for beginners like me. After going through most of the posts aimed at new bloggers I have decided to start my own blog and what better time than to read this post than this. I am going to actively participate in blogs of my niche leave comments that add value to the other person’s blog.
Good day.
Also supposodly the bigger your blog gets i.e. the more posts it has themore recognisable it is to search engines.
But yes commenting on other blogs is said to be a good way to get you into search engines?.
It’s funny you should say all of this because I was thinking very similar things over the last few days… Ive been trying to leave comments simply because I like getting them so darn much.
And I know other people must also like them… Honestly sometimes I don’t have that much to say… and I will leave something short just to let someone know the post has been read… is that spammish? I didnt think so…. but reading this… now I dont know. Im not sure if you’re point is that short ones with links to my blogs are spam? While long ones arent?
I have to give this some thought. A lot actually…
Thanks for the food for thought
tracy
I am so pleased when others leave a comment of value on my blog. If they just leave a tag, then I feel like they haven’t taken the time to read the thoughts I have worked to bring to life!
Hi Everyone – Newbie question, that should be obvious but isn’t to me…
how does leaving a comment without a link back to my site help build backlinks? Am I building goodwill and a relationship? Am I just trying to get another click in google-count land? Am I trying to get the word around that, “Hey, that Bill is an interesting and funny guy, wonder what his blog is?”
And, by the way, to Darya, who the New York Times contacted because of a comment… you are my hero.
hi – okay, I figured it out. My name as it appears on the site is the link, so you’re hoping your comment will add enough value that people will be curious. Add value… umm… I thought that Lorelle’s ideas written back in 2007, linked by Darren, were really concrete and useful, and I’m wondering if those programs she mentions to download are now obsolete or still cooking.
Thanks!
This is a great service Darren, and really valuable… and I’m blocking out my time to put them all into effect.
bill
Hi Darren,
Thankyou for a useful post. I have been commenting on others post as good post etc. I thought it will be rude not to praise any good post. But now I got the insight that why not to comment like this. Thanks for adding to our knowledge.
Hi,
i like reading other blogs in my nich ,i usually comment on them i like to add a point or emphasize on a point they mentioned .
And each time i comment on other blogs i find there is more comment on my new posts.
Thank you Darren , your a advice always works
One of the most valuable things I’ve learned about myself through commenting on other people’s blogs it that I often come up with new ideas for my own blog through the comments that I leave. When I’m feeling stuck or out of fresh thoughts for my blog, often the best way to get out from behind the writer’s block is to go read blogs from people you admire and add a valuable comment. It gets the words flowing and can often get you unstuck. And hopefully I’m adding at least a little bit of value to the blogger and other readers.
Darren,
Here’s what I’d add: Don’t race to comment on as many blogs as possible. Rather, focus on quality comment interaction which will always add value. Spend 10 to 15 minutes interacting. I like to use a timer, not to beat out the buzzer but to help with not allowing certain tasks steal all my time away. How this helps,
-Mig
Good suggestion to use a timer, Miguel. It’s easy to let time slip away from you.
I see a lot about “adding value” through your comments on others’ blogs. What does that mean to you, exactly? Is it a little bit arrogant to presume that just because we take a few extra moments to craft a thoughtful reply, that it necessarily “adds value” or that a friendly hello, written with more sincerity than a fly-by “nice post” or “great” doesn’t?
To me, “value” comes in the form of genuine conversation – a sharing of ideas, one comment expanding on another, a little debate here and there. There is “value” to me, personally, in knowing what visitors think of what they’ve read. A generic “great” could simply be cut and paste – an excuse to leave a link without any real interaction. That would have no value, but “Interesting point you made about…” would. It may not have a lot of value to other readers, though. It just tells me, as the writer, that I’ve done a good job.
So what do you think it means to “add value” to someone else’s blog? What kinds of comments “add value” to yours?
Hi Darren ..nice work with problogger .this is my 1st comment here and i just hope u notice to reply to it cuz i hav some questions on this post.
1.While commenting on other blogs like on this one u leave ur blog/website address embedded in ur name ..does this act like backlinks like the ones which google tracks?
2.Commenting brings people to ur blog,fine but are this ppl really interested in ur blog because they hav just cum to see the person’s site and might not even read any posts ??
hi darren ,..nice work with problogger I’ve been following it sine a long time to be a better blogger ..this is my 1st comment here and its bcuz i have some questions regarding ‘commenting on other blogs’.
1.While commenting on some blogs like this one ..our blog/website address is embeded in our names so does this serve like backlinks which google tracks to rank webpages in search resuslts?
2.The traffic which v r gonna get thru this wont be really interested in wht v r providing as ppl only cum to d blog only to take a look and they won’t even bother read anything.
in ref. to Holly, I agree that conversation and new connections, exchange of ideas, spreading info, are what the web is all about, what makes it exciting and useful and worthwhile. To me, in the narrower sense, “adding value” is providing some concrete information or well thought opinion that wasn’t there before. So on my blog, where I write about culture, and pop culture, I have a piece about Lily Allen vs. Renee Fleming. Adding value might be somebody writing in to tell me something about either one’s background I didn’t know or hadn’t included; or a new thought on why either one is good or bad… or another unlikely comparison. someone wrote in to call Renee Fleming, “Renata Flambee” I don’t even know what that means, but I thought it was funny, and, to me, that adds a lot of value. A chuckle is worth a lot in my book.
Bill
Hey Holly,
Thanks, I agree. Being genuine is never a bad thing, but ones ability to determine whether or not a comment is genuine becomes a bit foggy. I’m sure, we dismiss or validate comments by different sets of criteria which is okay and expected because no two persons are the same. :)
In answering your question, I do appreciate kind words and thoughtful interaction alike. We will always see people express their appreciation or contribution differently. In appreciation, value is directed toward the blogger (as he or she feels good for obvious reasons), and in contribution, the value is added toward the post topic, sharing ideas, filling in the blanks, other reader feedback in the form of agreement or disagreement, and so forth.
-Mig
Just new to the blogosphere, this helps immensely. Thanks for the insight on blog promotion. I look forward to reading more of your blogs to help me build mine.
Thanks!
JT
http://www.redeemingriches.wordpress.com
I enjoy commenting on other blogs! This will be a fun task.
Ok, playing a bit of catchup here but I’m making progress!
I find it a bit intimidating when commenting on blogs in my topic area. Although I’m not new to my industry, I am new to blogging about it and I worry that they will see me as just some “fly by night” wannabe. I know that’s something that time and persistence will erase but still – from this side of the bridge it seems far away.
But I bit the bullet and made a comment. Whew – the world is still spinning on it’s axis! :)
Thanks for the guidance and the support, Darren – much appreciated!
Sandra, for everyone who might think you’re a “fly by night wannabe,” there are fifty new readers who stumbled across YOUR blog, first, and think you know everything. It’s all relative. Don’t cripple yourself with blogger’s block.
And when you’re feeling hesitant, think: “What’s the absolute worst that can happen here? Is anyone likely to DIE if I screw up? Can I survive a little humiliation?” If the answers are “no” and “yes,” then just jump in with both feet. The water’s fine.
Just new to the blogosphere, this helps immensely. Thanks for the insight on blog promotion. I look forward to reading more of your blogs to help me build mine.
suer thnaks
I do that very often. It can be very helpful in bringing readers to your blogposts especially for personal/hobby blogs. And yes, blogs are also used like social networking platforms these days! And some blogs have a short posts and a hundred comments arguing that the post is right or wrong. Actually, the blogger lets the commenters to be a major part of his/her posts!!
it’s not so much about the “nofollow” as it is about engaging other folks who are reading the same blogs as you. They’ll see your clever comment and think maybe it’s worth their time to click through to your site. Or, if a comment isn’t relevant or interesting to the post, then the other folks will skim past it.
I have actually found that commenting on niches that are similar to mine, but not within my niche, broadens my readership. I actually picked up a follower doing that!
We decided to go through all our twitter followers and check if they had a blog. If they had a blog and a post we found was related to our topic area we then left a relevant comment.
It was a rewarding exercise. Most followers had links to affiliate sites or were internet marketers so after skipping these there were not too many left over to go through.
At the end of our exercise we found some really awesome blogs in our topic area to comment on.
OK, so I must say that I have not read ALL the comments here. Not enough time, nowhere near… That’s why, I’d like to hear from anyone on this topic… Time. How, just how do people manage to find so much of it, to go through blogs and websites, leave comments and make new friends online. This is a very time consuming business…and in today’s world, when it seems that time is such a limited resource, it is quite puzzling to see that many people still manage to find it in abundance and spend it online…
Well, just say thx would be a bad idea, after reading your post ;-) I would like to add the SEO aspect of leaving comments. More backlinks, more google juice.
Blog commenting has become a more popular aspect mainly because people are searching for ways to gain links to their websites.
I get many spammy comments on my blogs that become frustrating especially when they are just a comment usually not even spely correctly and a link to a porn site or a casino site.
I was just doing a search about this, and found your blog (again) :)
Some of the blog forums you get a lot of people who pretend they are afraid of leaving a comment on your blog first because you are probably a liar and just want a bunch of comments.
Somebody did this to me, and had a good feeling they were, but I thought to myself, are they really benefiting from that game. So I searched about it, and sure enough. I did leave a comment, and one like you said above, a legitimate comment about the post.
Thanks for the insight on blog promotion. I look forward to reading more of your blogs to help me build mine.
Thanks for the insight on blog promotion. I look forward to reading more of your blogs to help me build mine.
Work from home
Been trying to do this more and more often, especially if I can respond directly with a link to a blog post that is relevant. Had a very positive experience with this yesterday, got hits on a post I wrote almost a year ago!
Before read this article i have no Idea for this thing. Thanks for suggestion.
you bet Darren. no pains, no gains. i am in full agreement with what you stated in this excellent post. thank you
this blog is very good and have nice contetn so,I enjoy commenting on other blogs! This will be a fun task.
About being a Spam-commenter: this is something one blogger should definitely avoid. Every comment must be valuable and must contribute to the post!
START A NEW PARTY
I agree with most of your comments, I like many people have also been considering standing as an independent
What we really need to do if we really want to make a change is to start a new party, starting a new party would mean the people have something to relate too,
So I am asking all you people that have left comments on this site
All you people that what to stand as independent MPs
Please Contact me [email protected]
As an independent you will have a small impact
But as a Party we can make a change
Great advice – thanks
On point.
This is really gonna help me create traffic in may blog as a beginner.
Thanks the key word here is ‘Thoughtful’ so Thankyou
In the perfect world scenario, I think its a simple math if you engage 30 comments a day over 365 days period we are seeing roughly a number 10,950 Not bad isnt it ?