From the moment blogs became an accepted means of information-gathering and sharing, the comments section became a crucial piece of the success puzzle. Not only does it give bloggers a way to see who is reading their blogs, it gives readers a chance to make connections and voice their opinions. To this day, leaving quality comments on others’ blogs is one of the very best ways to gain links and traffic.
For every person who diligently offers helpful and insightful comments, there are most likely several who are trying to exploit the comments section, using it solely for personal gain. At this late date - about four or so years into the life of blogging as we know it - we are lucky to have many helpful applications that weed out the baddies. However, nothing is foolproof (no pun intended) so we still have to keep a vigilant spam-watch.
There is no harm in being conscious of the fact that each comment you post is a potential advertisement. The key is to be sure that you have something worthwhile and original to contribute. An occassional “Nice post” is not going to kill your reputation, but it is not going to help it either. Where and how you choose to comment can have a huge impact on your overall image in your niche and in the blogosphere as a whole. In this article, I am going to discuss a few ways you can maximize the positivity of this impact.
1. Write Clearly and Concisely
You know when you are at a conference and the speaker starts to mumble or jump around to different topics? Suddenly you realize you are writing your next blog post or your grocery list in your head? That’s what comments can be like. Even if you have a great point, no on is going to get there if you don’t make it clear.
Though the comment section is informal, be sure that your writing isn’t sloppy. Just think, if you are commenting on a popular blog, your comment is likely to be read by more people that your own posts. That may be a bit depressing, but it’s the truth. So make sure you take your time to make a good impression.
2. Stay On Topic
Focus in a comment is just as important as focus in a blog post. If the post you are replying to is about affiliate marketing, don’t start babbling about your favorite band in high school. Okay, so that’s an exaggeration, but, seriously, don’t go off on tangents. If your comment is not directly related to the topic of the post or you are going to branch off into unrelated topics, then send the blogger an email or use his/her contact form. If anyone does happen to read your comment, they will just find it (and you) annoying.
3. Be Subtle
In some blogs’ comment sections, it is completely acceptable to include links in your comments. Before you do this, though, I suggest you get to know the blog to be sure it is something others do. If it isn’t, I would refrain. If it seems like links are widely used, the go for it. However, be sure that whatever you are linking to is relevent, original and well-written.
The most important rule when posting comments that include links is to make sure that your comment does not seem like an ad. Something like: “If you like this post, you will love my post on wheatgrass smoothies” is about two set-it-and-forget-its short of an infomercial. Add your opinion, make it complete without readers having to follow the link. The last thing you want to do is piss off a fellow blogger by traffic-jacking in the comments section. It is great if they are intrigued enough to check out your blog, but your comment should not be overtly urging them to do so.
4. Skip the Valentines
My favorite history professor in college put us in groups for paper critiques. He made us write these monstrous papers and then essentially write three more critiquing each group member’s essay as well. Our critiques were expected to be very in-depth, thorough and substantive. If we included too many compliments (”Great paper!” “Nice point!” “I really liked this paragraph!”) and not enough solid critique, he would bark at us, “We are not here to hand out Valentines!”
Though I am not going to bark it, I would like to pass that advice along in relation to commenting on blogs. Your comments should be substantive and pointed. If you are going to comment just to say “Good job!” then just send the blogger an email or a message on Twitter or something. Not only are you wasting readers’ time by posting fluff, you run the risk of looking like an a$$-kisser if all you do is run around telling bloggers how great they are.
5. Disagree and Debate
Much like passing out Valentines, comments that consist of little more than, “Me too!” ought to be few and far between. I am not suggesting that you create strife, but there is nothing wrong with playing devil’s advocate. Oftentimes, counterpoint is a great way to engage the blogger and, therefore, draw more attention to yourself.
Just be sure that if you are going to disagree, your argument is sound and you can back it up. Popular bloggers are known for doing their research, so don’t ever just pull opposing viewpoints out of the air and expect them to support themselves. Being called out and proven wrong is a surefire way to become labeled as untrustworthy and just plain stupid.
“There is no such thing as bad publicity” was said by Brendan Behan. Behan died in 1963 so he definitely did not have the internet in mind. Though bad publicity might spike your traffic briefly, your trashed reputation will catch up with you quickly. Behan’s entire quote was actually: “There is no such thing as bad publicity, except your own obituary.” Regularly making an a$$ of yourself in comments on popular blogs could very well mean the death of your own blogging success.
In the long run, one or two poorly planned or executed comments are not likely to negatively affect your reputation. However, well-thought-out, intelligent comments can really go a long way to drawing interest. If you have several smart, original comments on the same blog, people will start to recognize your name. The next logical progression is to see what else you have to say.
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i totally agree with the line,”Being called out and proven wrong is a surefire way to become labeled as untrustworthy and just plain stupid.” no one wants to look stupid with his/her comments. coming to the spamming part, its just that a majority of the blogs have a “nofollow” thing attached. so it makes the spammers kinda desperate.
The problem with #5 Disagree and Debate is that I often find myself moderated afterwards. People are not likely to take criticism- being called and proven wrong in your posts hurts even more than in your comments especially when you’re trying to sell a product or otherwise monetize your post
V’s last blog post..Blades and magic- a cliched mobile RPG with some class
Nice post!
…just kidding. That really makes sense me, though I’m not experiencing same kinda problems that you are. Maybe it’s just that you use DoFollow-plugin, so people comment just becouse they want link?
IdeaCafe’s last blog post..Markkinoija, syöksy tulta päin [4]
May I say that this is an excellent way to generate comments: make a post on commenting
I wish I was that smart. Although lately, people start to comment also on my blog.
Excellent post by the way.
Olivier - 7 laws of attraction’s last blog post..The 7 laws of attraction
according to an online report a year ago, the no. of web pages as doubled the world population. add to it, as rightly pointed out, the sites disallowing”dofollow” adds to the woes.
“I am not suggesting that you create strife, but there is nothing wrong with playing devil’s advocate. Oftentimes, counterpoint is a great way to engage the blogger. . . .”
Well, then, I guess the blogosphere is really the place for me, because I love an intelligent debate! Also, my views are quite conservative, and if there are other like-minded individuals out there in the blogging world, they sure are quiet about it. . . .
“Disagree and Debate” - Only 5 ways? There should have been more. And staying on topic? This is the internet. No one stays on topic. Its like these series of tubes are laced with ADD.
I agree. And the “Valentine’s givers” are for the most part spammers looking to get an easy link or two just by typing a few words like “Totally agree man, thanks for the post” haha
James’s last blog post..Automatically posting on forums
Jesse - Yeah. I have noticed quite an increase in spam comments since I started using the dofollow command. But I wouldn’t change it simply because I think it is good etiquette to pass on link juice.
IdeaCafe - There has definitely been a change since I started showing up on all the “dofollow” lists floating around the blogosphere so I’m certain that’s where probably 80% of my spam comes from.
V - You won’t find that happening here. Unless you are trying to sell me something or blatantly advertising your site, I don’t delete comments. I’m all for disagreement and debate!
Quentin - I’m not sure exactly what you are saying, but I do agree that the bloggers who use nofollow aren’t being very polite. However, some people are very paranoid about Google smacking their pagerank for using dofollow. It happened to me, but it is easy to recover if you fix the problems. I’ll be writing a post on that in the next week or so. Last fall my PR3 dropped to a PR0 overnight!
360 Degrees - Well, I’m about as liberal as you get, so I’m sure we’d have fun debating. I honestly listen to a person’s point of view before I decide what I think about their argument, though. Unlike many extremists (right or left wingers) who have already decided that someone is wrong before they speak just because they have a different opinion/belief about certain things.
Olivier - I had fun reading through some of your posts - the MotivAider sounds really cool! And, yeah, writing a post about comments did seem to work well to get them. =)
Gus - of course there are more than five ways. I just said I was going to discuss a few. I agree about the ADD, though. It’s all about short attention spans and multitaskers.
James - Yup. Drives me crazy when someone says, “Nice Post” and then includes three links for vicodin. silly spammers!
Phew!
Should have checked on these comments sooner so I didn’t have to play catchup. Thank you all for the great points!
Sara
generally i think you should built rapport with the site owner
it’s always a win-win situation when two bloggers collaborate together or rather join forces and help promote each other
also bad comments are good comments as it fuel’s people’s thoughts and you get a lively debate over your site - not to mention hits
I do agree but the disagree and debate thing is a little difficult, as many remove the comments entirely.
Soham’s last blog post..Personal Power
If writing came easily to everyone, there’d probably be a lot less readers and a lot more writers. In verbal conversations most people would rather give their opinions than listen to what anyone else has to say–our egocentric human nature at work. Thankfully, most people don’t have the time, will, or skills to write something worthwhile, meaning the rest of us have a chance to be heard. And make money
Great tips. I’m looking too build up sites so comments are very important. I always take the time to read through so I appreciate your tips. Great post.
I totally agree with number 2. Staying on topic is key. If you stray off topic or write something totally random, not only might you be annoying, but you could be flagged as a spammer also.
Hi the tips are really worth trying. Actually I have been following some of them but some I did not. So I have to try them.
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[...] of …http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/entertainment/889015,2_5_AU10_MOVIES_S1.articleThe Fine Art of Blog Comments From the moment blogs became an accepted means of information-gathering and sharing, the comments [...]
I am surprised you have not had more comments on this post. It is well written, informative and usually a post about comments brings you people who are willing to try a little harder just prove that they are capable of writing good comments.
Nice blog btw
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