This is day 20 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog,a group project 60+ of us bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers.
Leaving comments on other blogs is a practice that many of the 31DBBB participants have already been doing for nearly 20 days. Leaving a comment on another blog in your niche is a great way to get yourself noticed and is probably the best thing since yellow hot-shots.
What is a yellow hot-shot?
A hot-shot is basically an electrical device used in the agricultural industry to make an animal move from one point to another. It delivers a small electrical jolt via two prongs. When used correctly, this little zap can get a cow or other animal, such as a blog, moving in the right direction. But when used too much or used incorrectly, it ends up being counter-productive and just makes things worse.
Commenting on other blogs in your niche is just like using a yellow hot-shot. When used correctly, it can really add value, not only to you, but to your blog also. Using your “comment hot-shot” effectively takes a little more effort than just zappin’ everything in sight.
Without copying and pasting all the great information, here are the things that stand out if you want to hot-shot comment effectively.
- Add value to the post you are commenting on. Just because you can comment doesn’t mean you should comment. If you don’t have anything other than “Great Post!” or something similar, keep your hot-shot in your truck.
- Add questions about the topic. These can be directed right at the author, or to be even more engaging, ask a question that other visitors might try to answer. Blogging is about engaging the reader. The more you can help in the discussion, the more credible you become. Use your hot-shot to keep the conversation going.
- Add a disagreement about the post. Obviously this needs to be done out of love, but there is no better way to get people’s attention than to disagree. Be cautious in using this hot-shot method. Your comments are a mini-resume about you.
- Add a link to something you have written that specifically adds value to the post. If a Christian blogger is writing about King David, don’t throw in a link about your cousin David’s dog and the time you used the hot-shot on him.
There are so many ways to comment ineffectively that I won’t list them all here. There are a few no-brainers to avoid such as putting 6-7 links in your comment, one or two word comments, bad grammar and bad spelling, and dominating the conversation.
All in all, commenting effectively can sure get your own blog and your credibility moving in the right direction. When you add value and substance to a conversation, people will start to take notice. By commenting intellectually and effectively, you will have people drop by your own blog to see what else you have to say. Who knows, you might even be asked to write a guest post on a big blog one day.
Discussion questions:
- When you leave a comment on a blog, do you subscribe to the follow up comments so you can stay in the conversation or do you just perform a “drive by comment” and leave?
- Do you try to comment on every blog that you read?
- After reading today’s topic, do you think you will comment on other blogs more or less?
- Would you be more apt to comment on a post that you agree with or when you disagree?
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further today…
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on the little things they do.
- When other bloggers include a link to a new article they’ve posted today, click, read, and comment on it.
- Check previous posts in the series for new comments.
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post.
- Please review Janis Van Keuren’s blog, Open My Ears, Lord, and give her some feedback.
Kevin Weatherby is takin’ a look at God’s Word from a meat and tater’s perspective instead of fish eggs and fine china. He blogs at Campfire Cowboy Ministries and you can follow him on twitter at @CowboyMinistry.
69 Comments
I really appreciate this post. The notable site I recently "added value" to actually asked for constructive feedback, but clearly preferred the boringly, routine and patronizing "great blog" comments or variations on that theme. That said, I suppose I did get a little enthusiastic, but I did speak in love and I did constantly affirm the host throughout the engagement – its saddened me to see my efforts at sincere engagement so easily lost. I suppose we have to accept that when that happens, we must just move on.
I have to be very honest here:
1. This is a major strategy to my efforts to build trust, relationship and referrals to my blog
2. The reward is way, way, way outstripped by the effort.
But then again, things like trust and relationship don't happen quickly – they that time and lots of effort.
What happens if your comments are misunderstood?
Look, whatever, I do really value what you are saying here – it is about trust and relationship building. It is through engagement that relationships get through polite veneer to real interaction and a shared vision. I really believe in what you are saying – thanks Phillip.
To me this is one very good way to sow so that we can reap – by investing in the blogs of others we will surely get some payback on ours, a biblical principle. Thanks for really useful insight.
do unto other what you will have them do unto you?
wish that worked
then I'll have 1000 comments a week
I know it doesn't directly, but there is a ratio – some say its about 20:1 – there is also a biblical principles. I believe in giving and letting God pick up the tab later. It always comes back somehow, sometime, but often we miss it.
There’s a lot of stuff here that I’m going to have to come back too. Currently sunning mysel in Saundersfoot. Caravan all set up, family off walking and I’m having 5m to myself 🙂
anyway will catch up with replies on monday.
1. I usually subscribe to the comment replies so that I can stay in the conversation if I have the option. Some blogs do not have this option.
2. I do not comment on every blog I read. I have become more active on several of the blogs in our group. Not just because we are supposed to, but because the content is engaging and it relates to me. I will continue to do so even after our time here is done.
3. It will probably be about the same. However, I have been thinking about putting together a schedule of finding new blogs and recording how often I am looking for new places to engage. This will keep me pushing me boundaries.
4. I would probably comment on either. However, I feel it very important to disagree politely.
I have posted my opinion post today. A book review of Linchpin by Seth Godin: http://larrywestfall.com/book-review-of-linchpin-…
Kevin this was a great post. I love how you can take your cowboy stories with you everywhere you go.
Yes, I subscribe to the follow-up comments. I want to know what happened next, as well as what came before.
No, I do not try to comment on every blog I read. If I don't have something I really want to say about a subject, I don't comment.
I think I will continue to comment on blogs about the same as I have been. (Maybe a little more, now that I'm not as "blue" as earlier this week. Thanks for your prayers!)
I tend to comment more on things I agree with than disagree with. As I mentioned yesterday, I don't like confrontation. (And I got my first "disagreement" comment on my blog for yesterday's post, although the poster didn't read the linked post which explained a little more. I replied and hope I did okay!)
~Jennifer
Glad things are improving and you are feeling better.
Thought I would take a chance and ask a favor. I have posted a poll on my blog to explore what topics are of interest for others. I was hoping that everyone might encourage their readers to stop by and vote. The results can be seen by anyone so it would give each of you an idea of what the voting readers are looking for.
I realize that some of you are write in a different niche than mine but your readers may also be interested in subjects outside of your writing. Everyone have a great day!!!
Kevin, you're such a good writer with such an inviting style. This could have been another "duh" topic from the series, but you made it interesting and provocative.
There are some blogs that do not allow comments on posts or, if they do, the comments go acknowledged. I tend to lose interest in those very quickly. I'm not reading blogs like a newspaper; there are online news outlets designed specifically for that. Blogs, to me, are like a pool party, everybody jumping in at once, being loud, having a good time. No matter how small the blog, engaging your readers keeps them coming.
I meant to say: sometimes comments go unacknowledged. You knew what I meant.
We did know what you meant, but I had forgotten all about it by the time I had gotten to the pool party. I'm trying to find my trunks.
Good insight. Taking time to engage our readers in conversation shows them that we appreciate them being part of the conversation.
I make an effort to respond to every comment made on my blog, but there are plenty of times where I'm reading it and thinking "ok well I can't really put together an intelligent reply to that one." or the only the reply that i can come up with is "Thank you for your comment." And that's just trite and almost as insulting as not saying anything at all. Do you think it would be better for an author to respond intelligently where it's warranted or should (s)he respond to every comment made?
I think we should always respond with intelligent dialogue. This is hard for most of us men because we mostly just convey information, we don't really know how to converse. As a blog grows I imagine it will be impossible to respond to every comment. It would take all of your time. Paul doesn't do that here because that is all he would get done. However, I think that there are times when we can engage our readers and ask them to further explain, thank them for dropping by, refer them to another post they may like, ask an unrelated question (I ask Kevin cowboy questions that are usually not on topic), etc… I think we could follow up with most comments in some way if we would take the time to be creative, the problem is that we just may not always have the time.
I try to respond to each comment on my blog as well. Often I have a lot more to say on the subject of my post than I was able to put into the about 400 words that I try to limit myself to. So when I get good questions it allows me to add content that I had to cut in the original post. And so it extends the conversation by adding new thoughts to the subject at hand.
Does anyone else do that?
When that happens, I step away for a minute (or twenty). Comments aren't phone calls that demand an instant uh-huh. Once I figure out what to say, I come back with a reply. The trap of replying to every single comment is having to reply to every single comment. But I do it, mainly because I don't have the time to comment on every blog that I read (that's an 8-hr job!) So I engage readers when they take the time to comment on mine.
Disclaimer: when someone comments on an old post, I will probably leave it hanging. Holy moly, I can't engage on two weeks' of posts. Where were you the day I wrote this? Haha…
LOL Erica. I regularly get email notifications of new comments on posts that were written months or even years ago. I rarely respond to those either. 🙂
Great points, Erica. Kevin did an excellent job with this post. And like you, I think on good blogs the comments are at least as important/interesting as the post itself.
Kevin, nice job with this topic. Like Erica was saying this could have been a "been there, done that" kind of post/lesson/assignment but you made it interesting. And I think you made it clear that even if we've been commenting on other blogs, that it's worth thinking about how we comment and perhaps adjusting the way we do that to add more value.
I almost always subscribe to receive an email notification of follow-up comments. I'm interested to see what if anything people write in response to my comment, and I often reply to replies.
And on that topic, I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend to every blogger here that if you don't have an "subscribe to replies" option on your blog that you add it. It's one of the best ways to help facilitate back-and-forth discussion on your blog. People don't have the time to keep checking back on blog posts they've commented on. Me, I usually just forget. So, IMO, not having a "subscribe to relies" option is missing out on a big opportunity.
I like commenting on other people's blogs. Aside from reaping and sowing and building up some kind of brand recognition and reputation, I like letting bloggers know that their stuff is being read. I like telling people that I like their posts and that it spoke to me, even if I don't have anything at all to add. So I do try to subscribe to the follow up comments and I certainly try to comment on every blog I come across, but I only comment when it's positive. (And disagreements can be positive.)
Thanks to everyone for your kind words. John Acuff has a blog called, "Stuff Christians Like" and I have become a pretty avid reader. I heard him say in a post that he rarely replies to comments on his blog. His view is that his comments are the post and then he just lets everyone else have at it. He thinks that if you constantly reply to every comment, you tend to keep the discussion between you and one person instead of everyone as a group. He also mentioned that if you try to reply to every comment and then miss one, you kind of alienate that person.
What do ya'll think?
I love Jon and his blog. I understand his perspective, but he also has the benefit of having thousands of readers, something most of us don't have. When other readers are replying to each others comments, then I agree the author of the blog can sit back and watch the conversation. But if you have only a few people comment on a post, I think it's good to reply, though I think the point about not replying to every comment is probably a good one.
Yeah, I have gone back and forth on this one…it seems that when I reply to every comment, it tends to be single conversations instead of a group effort.
I have tried on other blogs to ask open ended questions and not just address the author, but other people as well
I agree with you, Paul. I don't have many readers and when I get a comment, I want to respond to make that reader know his/her comment was important to me.
I think the commenting is part of building relationships.
Janis
That's something that I struggle with too. I typically don't have a ton of commenters but knowing when to respond and when not to, especially if you don't have anything more to say to the commenter then "agreed."
What is the link for Jon's blog? I'm interested in checking it out.
http://stuffchristianslike.net/
Personally I think that smacks of some form of arrogance.
Sure he can't respond to every comment, but when someone has taken the time to comment intelligently having read the blog, then the least he can do is acknowledge some of them on each post.
Jus my 2p with the hot-shot prod.