Blog Commenting Tips: 5 Steps for Making Impacts
Are you fed up with see “Comment Drive By’s” in the blog-o-sphere? You know what I am talking about; the 1 or 2 word comments which agitate you to no end. People who thank you and leave are greedy bloggers look for a quick and easy backlink and nothing else.
These individuals develop the reputation for being spammers and shoot themselves in the foot. This is not exactly the best way to endear yourself to your target market, by ignoring tried and true blog commenting tips which would grow your business or blog.
1. Keep Your Fellow Blogger in Mind: Blog Commenting Tips
The easiest way to rock out your commenting strategy is to use the most basic of blog commenting tips; comment with your fellow blogger in mind. Be determined to add value to the post instead of trying to use a fellow blogger for a backlink. Sure, not too many of us bloggers are completely altruistic, so it is OK to have some selfish motives in mind when commenting but changing your intent creates a better commenting experience.
Imagine if you comment with only your own selfish motives in mind. Chances are you will create a quick, non-impacting comment. These comments rarely garner any attention or click through to your blog. If you intend to help your fellow blogger, by creating value through your comment, you can pretty much ignore the remaining blog commenting tips because you will have mastered the comment game in a big way.
Of course I want you to keep reading because few people on earth have mastered this first of blog commenting tips ;) Blogger comments range for terrible, to decent, to strong, to making such an impact that you cannot possibly forget a commentor. I myself generated guest post interested from problogger because the editors really dug my comments to the extent that they wanted me to write a guest post for them. I was humble by this fact but based on the depth of my comments I did expect to snag somebody’s attention after a few weeks’ worth of commenting.
By the way I had to note; never ever use blog commenting software. If you want to make an impact you must make the impact, not some lame bot. Using commenting software ruins your reputation. If you want blog commenting backlinks you will have to earn them, OK? Using a blog commenting service only hurts you. Stop being lazy and start building real, authentic relationships with your fellow bloggers.
2. Treat Comments like Content
Treat your comments like pieces of content. Blog commenting tips generally focus on sharing value but few address comments as pieces of valuable content. Think of it this way; if you want to generate backlinks and boost your online reputation you must give people something to remember you by, so posting a thorough, insightful, in depth comment can achieve these goals. If you want to make an impact treat each comment like a piece of content.This means addressing your fellow blogger by name, building an introduction, then a body, then a conclusion, then signing off. This might seem like too much work but if you are serious about crafting a comment which makes an impact and you want to take these blog commenting tips to heart you will follow these steps.
Post well thought out comments on authority blogs to increase the presence of your brand quickly. To use these blog commenting tips effectively you must be willing to sit down, take your time and create a masterful piece of content each time you decide to create a comment. One note; since creating comments like pieces of content takes time you will want to create comments on only a select handful of authority blogs from within your niche each day. Setting aside 5 to 10 minutes to write a thorough, impacting comment can feel like a chore if you posting 5, 10 or 15 such comments each day.
3. Time Your Comment Creation Periods
If you are struggling to generate traffic through your comments or find yourself falling back on the dreaded “comment drive by” try timing your commenting sessions. Smart bloggers set a timer to go off in 5 or even 10 minutes to catch themselves from getting lazy. Example; even the most driven, present-minded bloggers attempt to rush through comments when time feels fleeting.I spent 5 hours on the bus in Costa Rica today, traveling to our new location deep in the jungle. I feel way behind, work-wise, so I am churning out this post after publishing video posts on my blog. I almost ignored my own blog commenting tips by rushing through the commenting process, trying to publish a few 2 or 3 line jobs on other blogs.
Well, I caught myself, and since I have a time set in mind I will not continue reading posts and sharing my comments unless I hit the 5 minute threshold. Otherwise I am rushing through the commenting process, wasting my time, and wasting the time of my fellow blogger.
I know this approach seems extreme but if you are careful in analyzing the average comment it makes perfect sense to time yourself when it comes to commenting. Most bloggers feel nobody looks at comments, or that so few people check out comments that it makes little sense to create a masterpiece. My metrics prove otherwise. Once I see a visitor stop by my blog after seeing my comment on an authority blog I know that yep, I am moving in the right direction. By timing myself and my time spent commenting on each blog I establish presence of mind. This presence of mind inspires me to create truly noteworthy, impacting, traffic generating, lead generating comments.
Like I noted before one of the top blogs from the blogging niche was prepared to seek me out and ask for a guest post; I did this through persistent, steady, value-added commenting. Is that enough of a sell for you, if you are still doubting these blog commenting tips?
4. Stick to Your Niche Please
Foolish bloggers post helpful comments on the wrong blogs. If nobody cares about the value you bring to the table then these blog commenting tips will go for naught. Focus on blogs from within your business niche. Hang out on relevant blogs, read the posts and offer your insight comment to resonate with the audience. You win no bonus points for impressing people who have zero interest in your product or service.I used to be a pro at building masterful comments then acted like a dunce by posting these comments to blogs well outside of my niche. When I decided to smarten up and post relevant, insightful and helpful comments on blogs from within my niche I noted a neat thing happening; people actually clicked through my comments in increasing number.
If you pay attention to one blog commenting tip it is this; comment only on blogs from within your niche. Even if you create a substandard comment you are far more likely to get clicks and attract new readers if each of these readers is a hungry individual, scouring blogs to look for specific solutions to their most pressing problems. People who want to consume what you have to serve are the most targeted of prospects. These individuals will more than happily stop by your blog if you are posting helpful comments to blogs from the same niche.
5. Write Longer Comments if You Post the First or Second Comment
This is one of the more intelligent blog commenting tips you might come across. I formerly spend too much time crafting long, in-depth comments for an audience of crickets. Unless you post to an authority blog chances are most readers do not scroll down the page to read each and every comment. Die hard readers might see your insight and click your link but these folks are few and far between.
If however you happen upon a post – via alerts you set up – which has just been published you can easily hop in and leave the first or second comment on the post. This is the time where you can really shine, using the blog commenting tips shared above to craft a comment which resonates with the blog’s readers. Take full advantage of being first to the comment field.
Think like the first bee who arrives to the honeycombs; you have the most choice, sweetest spot in the hive, so you better make the most out of your good fortune. Capitalize on the situation by writing a comment which forces readers to take notice of your insight and click on your links.