Is your blog not getting the traffic you have expected? Are you getting occasional or no comments on your blog? Are you blogging without being noticed? If your answer to these questions is 'yes' then probably you have not mastered the art of commenting or haven't commented on blogs at all.
I myself have been a kind of blogger who doesn't care of commenting on other blogs because of time constraints. I started commenting only recently and I can see the results coming as a spike in my blog traffic. Also I have been able to come closer to some of the bloggers of my niche.
I have noticed that not all comments translate into traffic or relationship. But there are some specific types which bring in more traffic and buzz than others.Based on my own experience and after talking to some of the bloggers I have come up with a list of some tips to master the art of commenting which I will discuss in paragraphs that follows.
Be an eager participant rather than just a comment maker-
An eager participant adds value to the post and injects some useful thoughts into the post through his comments. And one who is just a comment maker will write one-liners like, "Great post" or "hey! visit my site example.com" or something similar having no value.These sort of comment do more harm than benefit in long run.It is better not to comment if you have no ideas or thoughts. Commenting just to make comments doesn't help in anyway.
Treat Your comments like very short posts-
Yeah !! Comments are not just thoughts they are actual content and may contain some valuable information like actual blogposts. Just think, if you have to write 5-10 lines on a topic on your own blog what those lines would be? Those 5-10 lines you think off is your comment.Of course, the information you deliver through those lines should be unique.
Remember the words that has come before your eyes million times- 'Content is King'. Producing quality content will boost your blog's reputation no matter whether you are pouring it in your blog or somewhere else through comments.
Don't cross the fine line between being critical and being harsh-
Different people have different views or opinions on a topic. As a blogger I would love to get some critical comments simply because they add a different angle of perception on topic. Most of the bloggers I know don't mind critical comments either.
But criticism should be constructive and should be done in a humble way. Don't bash the blog author with aggressive words.Be polite while presenting your angle.While criticising a point or post as a whole make sure you support your views with some solid facts and citations. A poorly supported critic may bounce back on you and hurt your reputation as a blogger.
Try to build relationship with blog author and readers-
Much of the bloggers success depends on his/her potential to build relationships.Although there are many techniques to build relationship but the best I reckon is to get a bit personal in your conversation.The more personal you become the more chances are there that you will get closer.Be helping and expect or demand nothing in return.
Make your comments stand out of others-
OK you have poured in a great piece of advice or information in your comment but what if it doesn't get noticed.The whole effort will go in vain. Most blog readers read a few comments and then skip others.This is particularly true if a post contains a large number of comments.Let us suppose there are 100 comments on a particular post.Now the readers will not be able to notice all of them if you are not making your comments stand out.
Most of the blogs allow certain html tags ,like, bold, italic etc. Just make your important points bold. Things written in bold can draw the attention of readers as they are easily visible stand out of the things written in normal text.
I think comments are the most potent way of building relationships and network, the most vital thing to become successful blogger. Unlike social bookmarking sites comments help you drive targeted traffic and that is why I think every blogger should learn the art of commenting.
If you have anything to add or otherwise anything to share on the topic you can let me know through comments.I will be more than happy to hear from you.
I myself have been a kind of blogger who doesn't care of commenting on other blogs because of time constraints. I started commenting only recently and I can see the results coming as a spike in my blog traffic. Also I have been able to come closer to some of the bloggers of my niche.
I have noticed that not all comments translate into traffic or relationship. But there are some specific types which bring in more traffic and buzz than others.Based on my own experience and after talking to some of the bloggers I have come up with a list of some tips to master the art of commenting which I will discuss in paragraphs that follows.
Be an eager participant rather than just a comment maker-
An eager participant adds value to the post and injects some useful thoughts into the post through his comments. And one who is just a comment maker will write one-liners like, "Great post" or "hey! visit my site example.com" or something similar having no value.These sort of comment do more harm than benefit in long run.It is better not to comment if you have no ideas or thoughts. Commenting just to make comments doesn't help in anyway.
Treat Your comments like very short posts-
Yeah !! Comments are not just thoughts they are actual content and may contain some valuable information like actual blogposts. Just think, if you have to write 5-10 lines on a topic on your own blog what those lines would be? Those 5-10 lines you think off is your comment.Of course, the information you deliver through those lines should be unique.
Remember the words that has come before your eyes million times- 'Content is King'. Producing quality content will boost your blog's reputation no matter whether you are pouring it in your blog or somewhere else through comments.
Don't cross the fine line between being critical and being harsh-
Different people have different views or opinions on a topic. As a blogger I would love to get some critical comments simply because they add a different angle of perception on topic. Most of the bloggers I know don't mind critical comments either.
But criticism should be constructive and should be done in a humble way. Don't bash the blog author with aggressive words.Be polite while presenting your angle.While criticising a point or post as a whole make sure you support your views with some solid facts and citations. A poorly supported critic may bounce back on you and hurt your reputation as a blogger.
Try to build relationship with blog author and readers-
Much of the bloggers success depends on his/her potential to build relationships.Although there are many techniques to build relationship but the best I reckon is to get a bit personal in your conversation.The more personal you become the more chances are there that you will get closer.Be helping and expect or demand nothing in return.
Make your comments stand out of others-
OK you have poured in a great piece of advice or information in your comment but what if it doesn't get noticed.The whole effort will go in vain. Most blog readers read a few comments and then skip others.This is particularly true if a post contains a large number of comments.Let us suppose there are 100 comments on a particular post.Now the readers will not be able to notice all of them if you are not making your comments stand out.
Most of the blogs allow certain html tags ,like, bold, italic etc. Just make your important points bold. Things written in bold can draw the attention of readers as they are easily visible stand out of the things written in normal text.
I think comments are the most potent way of building relationships and network, the most vital thing to become successful blogger. Unlike social bookmarking sites comments help you drive targeted traffic and that is why I think every blogger should learn the art of commenting.
If you have anything to add or otherwise anything to share on the topic you can let me know through comments.I will be more than happy to hear from you.
No comments:
Post a Comment