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If you’ve ever read a post, book or eBook, or listened to a webinar or conference session on the topic of ‘finding readers for your blog’ you’ll have heard the advice:
‘Leave comments on other blogs‘
It was the first piece of advice I remember reading about building readership and which I’ve heard (and given) hundreds of times since.
In fact this technique is a key element of Engaging and Networking – Day 11 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Course.
7 Benefits of Leaving Comments on Other People’s Blogs
1. Building your own profile – leaving a comment gets you seen. Leaving a good comment can make people pay attention.
2. Showcasing your expertise – sharing what you know or the experiences that you have can help build your credibility.
3. Getting to know other bloggers – leaving a comment can often be a great way to get on the radar of another blogger.
4. Driving traffic to your blog – as a result of your engagement, you will often get people checking out your blog.
5. Idea generation – often, when you engage in conversation in other blogs comments, you get ideas for your own blog posts.
6. Staying sharp – I find that reading and commenting on other blogs is a good daily discipline to help me keep abreast of what is happening in my industry and keep my brain engaged on the topics I write about. It’s also great writing practice!
7. Opportunities May Follow – just last week someone left a comment on my photography blog that I thought was so insightful that I asked them to write a guest post. In fact, now I think of it, one of our most successful eBook authors on dPS first made himself known to me through a great comment on the blog. You never know where a great comment might lead!
1 Problem with Leaving Comments on Other People’s Blogs
The problem with leaving comments on other blogs, as a technique to grow traffic, is that while it can have many benefits it can also end up hurting your blog’s brand and reputation – if you don’t do it the right way. More about that below.
This post will give you some advice on how to leave comments effectively and what to avoid.
4 Types of Commenters
Over the last 10 years I’ve seen a real spectrum of approaches to leaving comments on blogs. I suspect that most of us sit somewhere along this spectrum.
1. The spammers
We’ve all see them – they leave comments on your post that are completely irrelevant and stuffed full of keyword rich links in an attempt to rank for those words in Google. Many times these are auto-generated spam systems that simply get caught in your spam filters and never work anyway.
There’s no real debate around the legitimacy of these comments – they are spam and any blogger in their right mind mark them as such.
2. The spammy self promoter
A little further along the spectrum we see commenters who usually at least go to the effort of manually leaving their comments and who sometimes even go to the effort of keeping comments slightly on topic…. (sometimes).
However, their comments are pretty obviously only about trying to get a link to help their search rankings or to get a few clicks back to their site.
This group use a variety of tell tale strategies that show what they’re really on about.
For one, they usually don’t leave comments with a personal name but their name is something like ‘Best Dog Biscuits’ or ‘Hawaii Accommodation’.
They also rarely say anything that builds on the conversation but leave empty ‘great post’ comments. Alternatively, sometimes this group will do something controversial to try to get some attention (attacking the writer or other comments) in the hope of people wanting to check them out.
They also will often leave links in their comments that have no relevance to the post.
In short – this group are impersonal, irrelevant, add no value and self promotional.
Sometimes these comments get through spam filters but most bloggers will delete them if they are spotted. It’s doubtful that the comments have any real benefit to the commenter as most blogs have nofollow links in comments which kill any search ranking benefits and nobody in their right mind will click their links as they’re so obviously spammy.
3. The Commenter who Builds their Profile by Delivering Value
In my opinion this is the commenter who is doing it right.
They have obviously read the post and have something of value to contribute. Their comments may not always be long or in-depth but they add to the conversation with something that is thoughtful and relevant.
This group might share a story, give an example, put another point of view, answer a question or do something else that provides value to the blogger and their readership.
This commenter is all about delivering value but in doing so builds their profile and credibility. They are after a win/win exchange where the blogger/readers get value from their comment but they also might get some traffic and kudos from the exchange.
The best of these commenters in my experience tend to use a personal name (and where possible use a personal avatar). They tend to leave less comments than the above groups but the comments are more effective.
Note: on avatars, it can be worth registering for a Gravatar account as this is often used for avatars on many blogs.
4. The Value Provider Who Gets No Value Back
At the other end of the spectrum are a rare bunch of commenters who are all about delivering value but for one reason or another don’t promote themselves.
There’s nothing wrong with this – but I have come across a few bloggers of late who are either so shy or so scared of being seen as a spammer that they don’t ever leave a link back to their own blog.
I do partly understand the ‘shy’ thing but my advice to this group would be to know that if you deliver value that most bloggers wouldn’t mind you leaving a link back to your blog – or they wouldn’t have a field in their comments section for you to share a link.
One blogger who I came across lately said that he never leaves links because he heard it can get him in trouble with Google.
I do know that Google look for unnatural links (so those in the first two spammers categories above should watch out) but that they don’t have a problem with genuine comments. In fact, Matt Cutts (from Google) made this video on that topic.
How to Effectively Leave Comments on Other Blogs
Several years ago here on ProBlogger I suggested 11 tips for getting the comments that you leave on other blogs to stand out.
I think most of the tips I gave are still relevant today:
- Be the Early Bird – earlier commenters will have their comments seen more than later commenters. However, being first on every single post can be a bit annoying.
- Share an Example – built upon the blog post with an example that illustrates what the blogger is saying.
- Add a Point – if there’s a point the blogger has missed, politely suggest it.
- Disagree – you may not want to do this on every comment you leave but courteously disagreeing and then adding constructive reasons why can make a good impression.
- Write with conviction, passion and personality – these things stand out and show you care about your comment.
- Use Humour – this can grab attention of those scanning through comments.
- Ask a Question – I’ve long noticed that those who ask good questions often become the centre of conversations in comments.
- Formatting Comments – be careful with this. Some commenting systems allow you to bold or italicise comments. But don’t go over the top here as it could looks spammy. Comments systems like Disqus allow you to add images – this can also work to draw attention to your comment.
- Helpful Links – if you’re going to add a link make sure it is of high relevancy and value
- Comment Length – Are all the comments on a post long? Leave a short one – it’ll stand out. Are all the other comments short? Leave a long one – again, it’ll stand out.
- Lists/Break it down – think carefully about how your comment will look. Will it be just one big block of text? If so – consider breaking it into shorter paragraphs or even a list type format
One additional tip that I’ve used a number of times: when you leave a comment that you think adds a lot of value to a blog post – share a link to that post with your own social networks.
This shows the blogger that you’re not only willing to engage but promote their blog (which creates a great impression). It also has the side benefit of providing your followers with something useful to read (both the blog post and your comment) and shows them that you’re engaging beyond your blog which can only enhance your brand.
You can also take this a step further by blogging about the post you commented on. I’ve only done this on a few occasions and only when I think the blog post and the comment thread are of high value – but it can have a big impact.
Oh – and one more tip, regular commenting on the same blog can be worthwhile. A one great one off comment can have an impact – but this impact grows exponentially over time. Just don’t become an over contributor and dominate the blog (see below).
What to Avoid When Leaving Comments on Other Blogs
Also written several years ago is a post I wrote about how you can actually hurt your brand by commenting on other blogs. In it I listed 10 things to avoid (this did cause a little debate on a couple of them so there are different opinions):
- Excessive use of Signatures – this practice was more common several years ago but it involves leaving a link to your blog IN your comment in addition to in the link field that bloggers allow you to link to your blog in.
- Excessive Self Linking – only leave links that are relevant and not in every post you write.
- One or Two word Comments – it’s ok to show some appreciation and say ‘great post’ – but more useful to the blogger is for you to tell them WHY you think it’s a great post. Add some value.
- Not Reading Posts Before Commenting – this is pretty self explanatory. I would also advise reading through other comments already left!
- Flaming and Personal Attack – not good form. If you disagree, be constructive.
- ’Anonymous’ Flaming – if you have something to say, put your name to it.
- Always Being First To Comment – I’ve seen a few people do this over the years and they’ve ended up annoying the blogger and other commenters. It’s not good manners to always be the one to say something… conversation is also about giving others room to speak.
- Dominating Comment Threads – similar to #7, listen, allow others to contribute and let your comments bounce off them a little.
- Keyword Stuffed Names – I know this one causes some debate but my personal preference is to know the name of a person that I’m speaking to rather than refer to them as their Business Name.
- Not adding value to the Comments – Ultimately this one is what it is all about. If you’re adding value, you’ll get value back. If you add no value, you could be hurting your brand.
One last thing to avoid – don’t comment just for the sake of commenting.
While leaving comments does have many benefits I think that most people get into trouble with commenting when they are just going through the motions of leaving comments as a ‘strategy’ rather than leaving comments because they genuinely want to engage.
What Did I Miss? (your chance to practice)
I’d love to get your input on this topic.
What commenting practices have you used or seen others use that either are effective or annoying?
I’m looking forward to some good comments on this post!
For more on commenting, finding readers and other ways to kickstart your blogging, check out my course 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
This post was first published on November 20, 2013 and updated September 29, 2022
Great post, Darren!
Commenting on the blogs of other has been a great connector for my business partner and I. It’s led to guest posts, new readers/subscribers, podcast guests, and more.
In addition to following most of the tips you’ve laid out above, we were pretty strategic in our approach. We had specific blogs targeted to read and comment because we knew/thought connecting with those bloggers might be useful. We actually had a spreadsheet we would use to track our own comments and keep involved.
You can apply almost all of those strategies to public/private communities and forums as well.
I am so jealous of you guys blogging in an industry where plenty are blogging and creating material to leave comments on! On a venn diagram of “The UK decorating trade” and “potential for leaving comments on professional decorating blogs” the overlap is the thickness of the pen that drew the diagram.
It isnt all bad, I at least get comments on my blog, and the average decorator trade input is valid and ticks the good value non spammy box, but they dont blog themselves so where do you reciprocate to build a conversation? Hunt them down on FB or twitter. Not quite the same, but its a way forward.
We are in the kitchen side of things, and I do delete most of the comments from “professional” commenters usually SEO agencies representing the kitchen company / supplier side of that industry. I presume they think us painters are too dim to recognise the classic spam with didgy backlink in the comment, and will thank them for reading and telling all their friends about the site and its most delightful constructive posts.
On a serious note, if you cant be nice and constructive (even if critical) then dont leave comments. cheers for a great post btw.
Hello Darren,
There are some great tips here, so thank you for sharing.
There is however one point I think you have missed (or I missed it reading the article).
Like you said, asking questions can lead to a lot of engagement and becoming the center of attention.
What I missed was the tip to “answer other people’s questions”. That way you do not only contribute valuable information, but you contribute information that somebody is looking for, plus it’s more engaging.
Kind regards,
Maikel Michiels
Hi Maikel,
I think that he didn’t miss that tip. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that someone who starts answering questions on someone else’s blog would be considered rude, to say the least. Somewhat like those students at school who attempt to answer their classmates’ questions before the teacher does, they can turn out to be disrespectful and annoying.
I think it is OK to do it occasionally once in a while, if there is a very specific question that you know how to answer with value, but doing it systematically may not be fruitful and possibly upset both the blogger and the other readers, who want input from the author not from other readers.
What a great post at a perfect time. I discovered this was one of my missing pieces and you pretty much summed it all up for me. This post was very informative and gave me the insight and tools necessary to move to next step…
Thanks!
It is all right, but the way it is presented, is more like a “What kind of comments would I wish my blog had” than “What comments should you leave in blogs”. Of course I understand the question is tricky when your own readers are the ones reading the advice.
I have to add that the plain wordpress comment system is awful. So better to change to something different that allows to leave your website freely. Your comment form is for instant perfect for my taste.
“shouldn’t be labelled to just blogs” Yes! You beat me to the punch Alex. One thing the web has certainly helped with is giving people the opportunity to “practice” expressing their words in writing using so many outlets. Unfortunately, just like in sports, you can practice 10 hours a day…but if you’re practicing incorrectly, you’ll only get better and better at delivering your mistakes.
As a result, it seems a lot of people just don’t get it when it comes to how to construct comments on blog posts (or tweets, or fb posts, or whatever). Instead of being constructive, they’re condescending. Instead of being invitingly controversial, they come across as offending. Instead of recommending, they appear spammy. I wonder if part of this problem is peoples’ unwillingness to put themselves in the other person’s shoes and read their own content as others will see it…probably because this additional step takes a few more minutes of time.
For example, it took me about 20 minutes just to construct this comment. I’ve changed it at least 6 times now. I began with something complementary to another commenter. Then I attempted to add a sentence (the sports thing) that people would relate to. I do this consistently with comments because I want to be very careful to demonstrate to readers that whatever I say in my comment is going to be supportive and respectful of others. Like landing on a sales page, people read comments starting off in a defensive position. It’s up to us as bloggers to put the reader at ease and invite them in to our comments. And that applies to every form of writing on the web.
That’s probably the longest comment on a blog post I’ve ever made right there :)
The best part of your write-up is i was trying to find such tips that supports blog commenting and prove that still it has worth to be done.
Definitely the best article I’ve seen on the topic of leaving comments on weblogs Darren. For better or more intense I discovered the difficult way to observe all feedback to make sure that nothing gets published that would be inappropriate or unpleasant to my visitors. It really is not that period intensive and it also gives me to be able to response to each opinion, and since I use CommentLuv which shows a weblog writers latest content, I often examine out hyperlinks to other content and opinion on their weblogs. It creates me experience like I’m getting that additional phase to develop a connection with other weblog writers. I will acknowledge there is one hot key for me when it comes to comments
This is a FANTASTIC blog. Seriously, it makes me wish it was mine…lol! Your tips are so useful and really opened my eyes to the fact that we bloggers are a community. It’s not every man/woman for himself out here in the blogoshere (ugh, I said I’d never use that, so called, word *slaps self*). When we realize that we can elevate one another through simple, powerful, yet respectful techniques…enlightening, to say the least. I have a feeling this will be one of my new favorite hangouts. Bravo!
Erin
If only everyone really understood the concept of adding real value to each blog post and did it instead of just spamming every blog they find and talking about their own product. I look at blogs as a place where we can all learn from each other and that is one of the cool things about the internet. Being able to learn from many who you may never meet in your life.
Anyway, this is a helpful video as well from Neil Patel’s blog that can give different ideas on how to find the right blogs to post on in your niche to create value in the right place.
http://www.quicksprout.com/university/how-to-drive-targeted-traffic-with-blog-commenting/
How do you manage your comment follows though Darren?
I mean, if you want to follow any replies to your comment on a popular blog, it can get pretty heavy on the old inbox!
I leave the odd comment on busy blogs and then my other half complains “why is there 200 messages in the inbox”… :-)
Thanks for this comprehensive blog. It reinforced what I believe and the Google video was most helpful:-) In relation to that, I wanted to comment on responses you provide on other platforms. It can sometimes be a nebulous boundary when commenting in groups (on LinkedIn, for example), and responding to questions by providing what you believe to be useful links. (Not necessarily your own links either!) I have at times been pulled up for doing this, having been advised that external links are not appropriate. As my responses were contributary and added value to the conversation, without any self promotion, I found this blanket approach by group moderators absurd. I will leave any discussion that does not value its contributors, who are genuine in their sharing. After all, we live in a collaborative world today. That’s the essence of social! Finally, I wanted to say that your blog post was valuable, Darren, but the comments provided above, equally valuable – so thank you!
Its a shame that spam has hit commenting so hard. A good comments section can make an article feel alive.
However a great article like this just shows how good commenting can be. I look upon it not as marketing or promotion but more in its pure form of joining in. I’ve also seen great examples of commentators adding good factual information that a piece might have missed. Plenty of examples of that on publications like Wired.com and mashable.com.
Paying attention to how your blog comment looks on the page is hugely important! I know as a blog commenter/reader myself, there are certain comments I avoid reading because they look too dense or scattered to give my time to. Most of us are scanners, and we need visual cues to compel us to pay attention.
Thanks for the excellent article!
Cheers,
Sarah Bauer
Navigator Multimedia
High quality post here, Darren! Tons of useful advice.
You mentioned about practicing the daily discipline of reading and commenting on blogs. That’s a discipline I started practicing a few weeks ago. It’s truly a great way to learn and keep a finger on the pulse of the blogosphere, as you stated…
I’m curious to know more specifically how many comments per day and how many days per week you think works best. Are you leaving one comment per day on five days a week? More than one comment per day? How much is too much in your estimate?
Thanks for sharing these insights.
Your article has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and actually post a comment using your guidelines! I often read great content and am inspired to reply but stop short of hitting submit for fear that I will look like I’m shamelessly promoting my website.
It drives me batty having to delete spam comments that have zero to do with either my website or the article they are commenting on, and often they have weird links to random websites (my favourite at the moment is a repeat spammer who is trying to sell hockey jerseys?!!!).
I now understand that these repeat offenders are not actually individuals but programs so will work on blocking the isp rather than deleting the comment.
Thanks for providing a thorough look at all the aspects of commenting on blogs. I look forward to implementing your recommendations in the future!
Hi Darren,
One thing I have always wondered is how much non-blogger readers follow the link to the commenter’s blog – your point 4 of reasons to comment on blogs. Do you or others have any measurable data about this?
In my own stats, I seem to confirm the hypothesis that the host blogger usually checks out my blog (your point 3) if I comment on theirs, just as I do, but I don’t usually see further traffic coming in from that location. While I really enjoy my relationships with other bloggers, sometimes – especially in my world of people blogging about Italy – it seems like we spend more time just talking to each other, rather than with the rest of the public!
ciao from Florence,
Alexandra
Often I will read a post and think wow, great post! But go past that, highlight issues that the blogger addressed, and add your own take. You donot have to agree completely, and you donot have to stick with their point.
Great info, thanks Darren, I think (hope) I’m getting it about right after reading this, only time will tell I guess.
Very helpful article. You maybe miss something like you do not need to put keywords into blog name, because google like more natural names(when you comment under some blog post) and also keywords in nowadays are not so important like was been before(do not understand me, you need keywords, but inside your blog post, title…). What I mean is you just do backlinks to your web site for SEO and if you get a lot of backlinks (and i do not mean only from blog comments) you will eventually have better position in search engines and potential more traffic.
What a perfect post that everyone can relate. Leaving comments is very crucial and it feels wonderful to interact and learn with our fellow bloggers.
Thanks for these tips, Darren. This is the first time I’ve commented on Problogger – I’ve been a bit too nervous about doing so in the past!! ;-) I always try to leave helpful comments – or at least encouraging ones. I love it when people comment on my posts, too, because it feels as though I’m actually connecting with people and having a bit of a conversation, albeit long-distance (which is actually OK, as I’m an introvert!) Having read your post, I’m now encouraged to leave more comments on blog posts and get a few more conversations going. And I shall be sharing this post with my followers too.
I am a new blogger. Came across this post through facebook. There were few things I had heard about but this post has cleared a lot of questions in my mind.
One thing I wanted to ask was should commenting be restricted to the same type of blog I am writing or I should venture out to various other fields?
Thanks
“great post”
=)
For me, as a beginner in blogging and content-marketing sphere, this information seemed really valuable. Probably it will be a case where I don’t share a value, but just take it.
Actually, I was interested in “”how to leave comments on blogs””, searching in other sources. Here I liked how you generalized 4 types of commenters. Plus, tips are really comprehensive.
With best regards.
As someone once said, “Be a nice guy and your comments will be appreciated” I think commenting shouldn’t be done for commenting sake or simply because others are commenting or just for the purpose of backlinks, every comment should be able to add value to readers, there are times to comment and times to email as some very long comments could really be annoying, comments should be easy to read, simple and straight forward, sometimes people sometimes forget that a comment is there for all the whole world to see – if it’s personal in nature go the email route. Great article you’ve posted here Darren, Thanks for sharing
This may be the first article I have read regarding the subject of blog commenting. You make some valid points and I will take note of them. I personally believe blog commenting has been heavily abused by spammers and bots that it has become increasingly harder to validate when you have a true comment.
Thanks for all the tips. We have recently started a blog and wondered how to get involved with other bloggers. You put it so well. Thanks a lot.
One of the best posts that I’ve seen about link building in awhile. I like how you brought up the 4th type of commenter- people who are afraid to promote themselves. Unfortunately, I think I fall into this category pretty often. Getting links approved can be pretty difficult, and there’s no way around that. I suppose I just don’t feel comfortable promoting myself until I’m absolutely positive that I’m known around that site, or I just feel like a leech. Plus, if I didn’t recognize the commenter on my own site, chances are I wouldn’t approve the comment if they attempted to blatantly get traffic that way.
I think the best if write what you feel and ask for the solution if any. This is the best way through this your realself comes out now is it good from business point of view. I do not know that. But i learnt from this post that what were the mistakes i was making.
I have a couple of questions. Do you read the comments you get on here? Why don’t you respond to them?
I have been told by other experts that bloggers should also respond to their comments. If readers take the time to leave them, bloggers should take the time to respond.
I have a nagging doubt. My question is – should I leave comments only on blogs related to my niche? For example I am a newbie in this blogging thing. Therefore I am here on your blog. My niche is health related. So, should I leave the website link empty while commenting on your blog? Will it be spammy to comment on an unrelated blog?
Thank you for this! I have been wondering what the proper etiquette is for leaving a link to my blog in a comment. I tend to be a bit shy about it, but I’m learning to market myself and finding that it is fun.
Just this week I left some comments on a couple blogs and included a link back to my site. I truly felt that I had something to offer the person writing the post, so I was comfortable leading them to my blog. I’m glad to say that each comment followed all of your guidelines naturally. Now that I’ve read this, I can stop fretting over it and keep being genuine. Thanks!
In my opinion, blog commenting is not only about comments. I read the whole post and conclusion is very simple,which is tried to explain in a simple manner. That is do not comment just for the sake of commenting. Give some valuable comments.
I am a new Blogger myself, but I have been in affiliate marketing for the last year. I was always lead to believe that if you want to build a brand or any worthwhile online presence, then ALWAYS try to add as much value as you can wherever you go. Leaving hundreds or thousands of rubbishy comments on countless Blogs in all corners of the web, is worth far less than a small handful of genuine comments of value on a select few Blogs.
As a side note, even as a new Blogger, my Blog has already been blasted by automated backlinking tools that left trashy comments, and of course links to a money site in a totally unrelated niche. Some people only want a quick and easy way to make money ! I guess these kind of people own sites that are here today and Google Slapped tomorrow. Don’t see the point in that myself. That is not how you build a business.
Great post Darren! I feel slightly under pressure now to write a comment that applies to all of your suggestions :)
I guess it’s all about balance (isn’t everything?). We need to be genuine in the way we engage with other bloggers, provide value and also participate by sharing who we are and what we do (in a non spammy way!).
I think this ultimately boils down to our intention. If our intention is ONLY to get SEO juice then this becomes apparent very quickly. If however, our intention is to join in the conversation and to contribute to the discussion because of a genuine passion about the topic then this I think will come through in the tone of voice of our comment writing.
I completely agree with you that we should also encourage bloggers to come out of their shells and be proud to share a bit about who they are and what they have achieved – because it takes alot of energy, skill, time and effort to get a blog off the ground and it’s important to stop for a moment and be proud of these achievements!
From an SEO perspective I’ve also heard that alot of comment links are nofollow these days anyway – which means they wouldn’t get you any seo juice. I wonder what percentage of bloggers implement this these days? Do you have any idea?
Thanks again for this high value article!
Zoe B
Darren, I agree there should be an intentional plan, however it can get hard trying to find similar blogs at times.
Commenting on different blogs can be beneficial as well because you should not get tunnel vision.
Most newspapers have a multitude of topics mainly because they do not know what appeals to different people.
As you suggest, different blogs give you ideas you can twist to suit your audience.
Thank you Darren, Very interesting and informative post. I could remember one day i made comment on your blog post and i just added my blog address with that comment. Now i get few visits from problogger everyday and i got an automatic backlinking. Due to this my Alexa ranking is becoming high day by day. From that day, i actually realized the importance of commenting other blog posts.
http://www.howcancerkills.com
Excellent post i have ever read on the topic of leaving comments on weblogs Darren. Thanks for the post. This post is very helpful for all the people, now a day peoples have to think twice before making any comment. I strongly agree with our all the points you have mention in “How to Effectively Leave Comments on Other Blogs” & in what things we have to avoid while making any comment.
Thanks
James
I think these are awesome tips and things more bloggers need to keep in mind.
I’d also add that I really dislike it when people leave a “follow me back!” at the end of their comment. If I find their comment engaging, helpful or even if the blogger disagrees with me in a constructive way, I will check out their blog/YouTube/etc because I appreciate that they’ve taken the time to read my blog and engage with it. But I don’t need a reminder that they want followers/readers etc.
It’s like when people comment “A sub for a sub” on YouTube. I’m not going to clog up my feed with things that aren’t helpful to me and it means that my engagement with that user wouldn’t be as genuine as if I took the time to investigate their content and follow because it interest me.
That’s a pet peeve of mine…hence the long passage on why it’s a big no-no in my book.
I also get some comments that are not relevant to my blog posts and I have always seen blog commmenting as something that it’s better to avoid doing especially if you don’t have anything interesting to say but this article has given me very good tips to do it in the right way. Thanks for this!!
Hey Darren,
Thanks for sharing this. Personally I made the same mistake where I don’t leave a comment. Just read and bye type.
After a few years, I noticed it was wrong but the error had been done! Nowadays, I am more towards leaving more comments and ‘talk around’.
The outcome is great where I was able to meet up and befriend more bloggers. Ultimately, growing my presence.
Thanks for writing this again and appreciate it!
Reginald
I was once the person who thought commenting on any and all blog posts on popular sites was a good strategy. But I eventually realized that if I don’t genuinely react to the post and have something worthwhile to say, it’s best not to comment. The perk of only commenting on posts that really compel me is that I save a lot of time by not reading and trying to think about a post that wasn’t very interesting. So, I guess I caught me right at the end when you said don’t comment for the sake of commenting. That’s my biggest strategy and tip.
What an excellent and comprehensive guide! It seems a bit meta leaving a comment on a blog post about commenting on blog posts…but I also feel that it’s very important to engage with peers in your field. I’ve found the key is to be genuine – leaving comments for the sole purpose of getting people to visit your own blog is so transparent!
[ Smiles ] I agree with you on that commenting on other people’s articles helps to keep one’s mind sharp and I also like the healthy dialogue that it helps to create.
Hey Darren, I am afraid to say “nice post” here but you did bring perspective to this issue. My question is whether you should list a link to one of your articles in a post. If I am commenting about a tax problem and I have written an article about it, it would seem logical to post the link to help others gain information and insights. Is it OK to do this and what happens if you get a spam response that rejects the post? What should be the approach in this situation?
I am not just saying its a “great post” as you taught us in this post. But I felt this complete information is really helpful for the newbies, who drop links everywhere.
I really appreciate this post, so rich with hints and positive energy ! I am a brand new blogger, so thank you so much, it will help me in this new adventure!
All very helpful tips… it is frustrating when people comment who don’t seem to have read the story at all! Having said that… I kind of even like it when I get a two word comment like “awesome images”… it still makes me feel good and I am guaranteed to visit the commentators site.
Thanks for the story! :-)
Have a great day
:-)
Good advice. Let me follow it right away by posting a comment here :)
One point that I want to bring up is the order of the comments. Generally, the oldest comments are at the top. But when there are many comments (say 100+) on a post, it becomes troublesome to scroll all the way down to the end of the page to locate the comment box.
Is there a good way to tackle that issue?
Thanks.
A few years ago I left a comment on another writer’s website without giving it much thought. The comment was of a personal nature in which I was more or less commiserating with the author of the piece. Now the comment shows up on a google search for my name. Since it’s just my name and the unflattering title of the piece that appears in the search, I show up in a context that I very much would rather not. Lesson learned: comment with care.
I would add that commenting helps to make new and valuable connections. Over time, I’ve commented on the same blogs and have collaborated on projects. I agree that it’s important t add value in your comment and not just, “Hey, great post.” I personally delete those comments on my blog.