How Seriously Do You Take Blog Comments?
Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Blog Traffic, Social Networking | Posted on 24-08-2009
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We all read other people’s blogs. And often the case we’re advised to leave our digital footprints in ‘comments’. Hoping by doing so, while gaining some link juice (from Do-Follow blogs), the author or visitors will be kind enough to, maybe, return the favor? That’s the general idea of commenting as one of the traffic-magnet and relationship-building strategies, is it not?
I am NOT someone with the highest ability of commenting, but just how serious we should take blog comments? I know there is a need to be succinct so we could have links spread on 100 new blogs daily! However, what if all the efforts went down the drain just because we didn’t apply QC in our commenting?
There should be an awakening on …
Treating Commenting as Micro-blogging (Quality over Quantity)
Even I, made the exact same mistakes! Came across a perfect post that I have nothing else to add but to compliment on the effort. Then it makes me realize, “Gosh, I’m doing the ‘You’re great’ type of commenting!” Then I’m in dilemma – shall I comment at all? Does the author bother to check out who am I? Of course you can, but you may need to do it differently. We’ll be discussing about that shortly. But first:
What type of posts attract comments?
Ask yourself, what do you like to read best? Here are just some that probably have crossed your mind:
- Informative & thought provoking.
- State out a problem, providing solutions, asking for more opinions and added ideas.
- An inspirational story that makes people go teary eyes, strike the emotional cords.
- An honest confession / experience that teaches a lesson.
- List post that’s one of a kind – resourceful, entertaining or different.
- Self made comic, poetry, vodcast – there’s a risk for putting yourself out there, but surely there will be tons of feedback on it. Be prepared as some may not ‘enjoy’ it as much.
- Tool-type reviews – How cool/ effective is the tool? Sometimes it requires more than just a brief content to evoke comments. Otherwise people will be more into ‘great review, I’ll consider using it’. Don’t blame them for doing so. They may read through them just not in need of using it for the time being.
- Totally Out Of The Box!
My Personal Favorites:
Informative + personalized postings = while absorbing the useful information I could learn a bit more about the author as well — personality, creativity, his/her art of blogging… It matches my goal in learning while building a relationship with the author through commenting.
What type of comments that least likable by authors?
a) Covering 80% of the already limited sentences with same-meaning vocabs — ‘great, love, good’ or ‘bad, sucked, hate’.
“This is great. Love your blog. Good job!”
“This sucks! Dislike the idea and really bad!”
— Kindly prove your point a little bit more? Otherwise..
b) Not speaking straight to the point, left the author hanging with ‘HUH?’
“Thanks for sharing 8 great ways to drive in traffic. Can you explain how to get more traffic to my blog?”
— Do you mind to read the post beforehand? Or do you need particular elaboration? Try to be clear.
c) Translated comments from software with no further modification.
“I really like you to write the article..”
— Some direct translation might sound unnatural. Modification is needed otherwise the author may think you’re a bot.
d) Too extreme with self-centered opinions, with disrespectful tone.
“That’s stupid. No way that would work! I have a much better solution for this problem on my post ‘ABC’ (with link). I explained it more thoroughly on how to deal with problem XYZ with cool examples. So you guys do head over to my site and catch the real deal!”
— Seriously? Kindly be respectful and more specific instead of just self-promoting for people to visit your site.
e) Repeated ideas without strengthening your point.
“I like your point A. I also use point A to deal with Z problem. A is really a good way. We shall all apply A.”
“Others have given good ideas. I have nothing else to add.”
— Alright, A is good, but how did it really help you? Kindly elaborate on that. Nothing else to add? You gotta do much better than that to get approved.
How To Comment and Leave an Impression?
- Be personal with your comment. Share you opinions/insights as you are microblogging.
- If disagreeing, kindly be respectful and provide advises to assist author in strengthening the point. – you come to build relationship not to ruin one.
- Needless to be over-used with vocabs, make it plain and understandable.
- If ‘Me Too’, type anything but the two words.
- State your interest/gratitude for the provoking story as it helps you in what ways.
- Request for explanations for your doubts, respectfully.
- Can you be humorous and unexpectedly entertaining? Even a ‘Me too’ comment attracts with a simple twist.
What If the post is too perfect and I have nothing else to add??!!
Bookmark the page, tweet it or stumble it! An action speaks a thousand words. Whether you meant it genuinely or to ‘bribe’ the author, doesn’t matter as you’re doing a good favor. A little act of kindness is always a beautiful thing to do, why not? It’s just a simple click away nowadays.
Should I notify the author? It’s up to you. I don’t see the harm in doing so but in reasonable frequency. Don’t ‘hard sell’ your effort and do expect nothing in return.
Commenting is a type of social networking
Drop the author a note at the social media sites, complimenting him/her for the great work. It’s much better than just a ‘I love your post’ comment — such visibility may not be in much help since no constructive comments are given. Or you can try Add/Follow the blog author in social media sites. Be initiative.
As of the authors,
Obviously, we still need to provide quality content or else, show people some personalities. Sometimes don’t just blame the commenter as maybe we need to improve our content firstly.
Here are some links that may help you in proper managing your comments and encourage feedback:
30+ Plugins for Wordpress Comments
Wordpress : Combating Comment Spam
Wordpress Plugins for Comments
I don’t plan to use all of them for now, but plugins like Akismet, CommentLuv, Do-Follow, Recent Comments, Subscribe to Comments are the ones activated in my blog.
It’s Your Turn..
Do share you opinions on how to manage your blog comments. What are you likes/dislikes and how us, as visitors could improve our commenting skills over time? Love to hear from you.
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Those tips are useful, I personally get really fed up of the spam and boring comments that I get.
Maybe if the quality of my comments increases the increase in others’ will too.
Will definatley be dropping by your blog again.
Thanks.
Charlie´s last blog ..Daily Chinese Proverb: Needs
Thank you Charlie,
Yes, truth is, we never know who else is reading our comments. Why not making it a chance for promoting your brand and get discovered through quality comments?
Looking forward to seeing you here again.
I really enjoyed your suggestion. i think it’s more important to be a returner commenter. I’ve never left a comment on a blog just to get a link.
Rose´s last blog ..Excuses for not Blogging
Rose,
That’s great! I keep reminding myself “relationship building and self-branding”. I’m still learning to be more expressive and insightful while commenting, not easy but at least we all are trying, right? ^^
See you soon!
I’m taking blog commenting seriously. I try my best to contribute to the conversation and read most of the comments too.
I think blog commenting is a win-win situtation between the one who leave comments and the blog owner.
MichaelR´s last blog ..All About the V Thing
MichaelR,
Absolutely. Win-Win situation. Why not? ^^ I truly appreciate you visiting.
It’s nice to give an honest comment, positive or negative comment is essential to make the topic more reliable. It’s nice to be respectful specially disagreeing with the content and sharing what it’s on your side. This will make more interesting topic when good conversation started.
dlysen´s last blog ..Friends Love at all times
Welcome Dlysen,
Well said. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Hope you enjoyed your stay!
I think of blog commenting as a way of communicating with other fellow bloggers.
I think of commenting as a freedom of expression so I say what I want.
Ridiculous blogger´s last blog ..Make money with Blogitive
Ridiculous Blogger,
Commenting is all about expressing oneself. As long it came out respectful, I’m sure people will appreciate your honesty.
Thanks for your visit. ^^
Me too!
I do agree that blog commenting (both ways) go towards creating a community: just like in any other line of work/activity.
The Envoy´s last blog ..Rote Learning and Asia
I had to laugh at your list of Least Likable comments. I see those come in & they are fast on my delete list.
I really do not like it if I can not tell if the commenter is a real person that actually read the post.
I say that visiting someone’s blog should be as if you were stepping into their home. Treat it as you would like guest to act in your home.
ps. I found your blog from a visit at Sire’s.
Sheryl Loch´s last blog ..Get More Backlinks Indexed Faster
Sheryl,
Nice to meet you. ^^ Again, thanks to Sire for the publicity on his informative site.
I like the idea of treating one’s blog as a home. It’s a place where we’re invited in and communicate with each other with respect and sincerity.
Hope to see you drop by often, Sheryl. You’ve been a good guest.
“A little act of kindness is always a beautiful thing to do, why not? It’s just a simple click away nowadays.”
While this is so true, I’m hoping…really hoping…that many bloggers would embrace the idea. Unfortunately, just a handful like yourself. Most known bloggers normally leave the comment thread hanging without a response especially if they are too many. It doesn’t look like a conversation to me.
Mathdelane´s last blog ..The Benefits of Feedback Systems
Hi Mathdelane,
I know what you mean.
There’s still quite some bloggers who are very responsive and willing to share good content in various social media sites. We can only hope by making it a practice ourselves while educating our readers, somehow people will follow suit and do the same. We got to start somewhere,right? ^^
I once read a very interesting article, not sure is it from Mashable or.. it’s about when do author stop replying comments in their blogs. Amusing while quite true as well, if only I remember the link.
Thank you for valuing commenting in a blog. I truly appreciate you dropping by.
This is a very nice write up. I enjoyed how you broke down the types of comments with examples.
Well done my friend.
shaunjudy ´s last blog ..Knock Out Thursday 09-17-09
Shaunjudy,
Thank you for visiting. I appreciate you liking the ideas.
I’m always glad to see other bloggers “get it” when it comes to interacting. Commenting can double your traffic or more if you use a strategy I wrote up on commenting and then sharing across Social Networking. I’ll put a link to that very popular post in the Website field of this comment.
My most recent post featured in the CommentLuv link has more tips on how to use Social Networking to bring more visitors and – most importantly – to bring great value to others.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Social Networking is NOT Chat
Congratulations – this post is gaining popularity at StumbleUpon. My review of it is being featured and you’ve picked up fifteen other reviews so far.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Instantly Acquire 76 High Quality Incoming Links
Internet Strategist,
Sounds promising. Would love to have a read on that. I appreciate you sharing the idea. And thanks so much for the stumble, I truly appreciate it.
Pleasure to meet you.
Your post speaks to a most important topic: How seriously do we take our own comments? The fact is, the simple rules you outlined for quality commenting are not followed by many, not in the least.
I think one consideration to keep in mind is that the Internet tends to “reward” trolls: a nasty comment can sometimes play to a popular sentiment and send readers to attack an author or another commentator. It certainly looks, on a number of social media sites, as if trolling is not just acceptable but a way of gaining popularity.
The truth is, the reward for commenting well has to be that much more than that of merely trolling. I like to think I leave decent comments, but so far, it hasn’t really paid off in terms of traffic or respect.
ashok´s last blog ..On Socrates, Dancing and Philosophy: Xenophon, Symposium II 15-20
Ashok,
I can relate to what you mean. Personally I still believe in being polite and decency in commenting. Although some people have their ways of creating controversy to attract traffic but that’s just not my way. I can’t judge how right/wrong that is, but I tend to respect one’s point of view. Even though I may disagree about one’s post, but there’s always a better way to express that, respectfully.
Thank you for sharing.
Hey i agree with your post. I should say its a great way of promoting your blog as well and when we reply to the comments the users get some respect in return
Amar´s last blog ..Top Luxury Travel Trends these days
Amar,
Well said. I believe so. Quality commenters shall be appreciated, that’s the least we could do to encourage them.
Hi there Ching Ya, ni hao? ^^
I love commenting in people’s blogs and I like a lot of blogs in any genre (blogging, online marketing, news and games are my fav). I usually drop comment on encouraging them, asking something but I never really use harsh words, swearing, etc. I love peace. lol
Kevin,
Good for you. I believe we all have our ways to express ourselves, even in disagreements. Politeness is the way to go, I agree.
well, the hardest thing is to prevent spam comments. some spammers are really good in exploiting the blog. They have really cool technics in spamming. hhh …. Any suggestions for my blogspot blog?
ITP,
Do you mean to fight spams? Luckily for Blogger blogs the spamming is less serious comparing to self-hosting sites, based on own experience. However, if you do face such problems, don’t hesitate to block them straight away.
Haha! This is a great post – plus people will now think before they comment haha! Wouldn’t want to be marked as a spammer now… hehe.
reyjr´s last blog ..Pacquiao defeats Cotto!
Rey,
ha.. you won’t.
There’s a big difference between link droppers and sincere commenters, it’s a reminder we should have for all times.
I really like how you broke down the types of comments people leave.
The great thing about commenting is that you don’t need to write reams and reams to convey a message that provides value to the post and value to the readers.
When you do add value, you get the attention of the blogger and usually some visits from the blog’s readers (works well for me).
Sometimes a post is just so good that you really do not have much to add at all but that is where the power of the retweet and other sharing buttons come into play.
Warmest regards,
Karl
Karl Foxley´s last blog ..When ‘Thank You’ Just Isn’t Enough!
Karl,
Very well said.
I treasure your insights and hopefully I get to see you here often. Welcome!
What a great way to learn net ‘ethics’. This could very easily translate to social media and off site meetings as well.
chicago online marketing´s last blog ..The Future of Mobile Apps: Flash CS5
COM,
Thank you and I appreciate your visit.
Thanks, Ching Ya. Something tells me the people commenting here are not the ones spamming or leaving senseless comments.
Therefore, your great advice would be nice in the hands of those who NEED it.
Mostly, I see 2 groups:
1. Comment spammers (trolling for links)–this group is controlled pretty easily
2. Visitors who “don’t” comment for various reasons–this group needs encouragement & constant reminders that they comments/thoughts are valuable & appreciated.
A few big-name bloggers paid for comments just to “build” community. Sometimes, visitors don’t want to be the first to comment.
What strategies do you and others utilize to encourage comments? Obviously, this kind of post is instructive…even for blogs on (non) IM blogs.
Thanks,
Mike
Mike´s last blog ..Bad Credit Repair Snake-Oil Opportunists Plant Dreams & Steal Money!
Hi Mike,
Welcome and it’s always wonderful to see new faces here.
I agree, most of the commenters you see here are no spammers at all as I’ve already deleted or blocked the troublemakers for good, thanks to Akismet.
The amount is overwhelming which is what inspired me to write about this post.
In my opinion, it’s important to have a community or a group of supporters/friends that supports one another: to tweet, vote, share & mostly, to comment. I do return visits and hoping to connect with my readers as frequent as possible,which is why Twitter & Facebook both play a big role to extend the connection outside this blog. The interaction should be continuous, so is relationship-building.
Thank you so much for sharing this insightful comment. Hope to see you here again.
great blog. sometimes I do write reams when I feel stongly about something, other times I leave a short comment because I agree but don’t know enough about the topic to feel like I can contribute. Either way I love reading blogs because I can learn and discover peoples interests.
take care
Pete
Pete,
Thank you for your feedback. I must confess at times I also not knowing how to comment in blogs that are out of my niche, especially when the content is complicated for a layman to understand; so I try to be succinct, while expressing myself + not being spammy. It’s quite challenging too so I’m still learning too.
Appreciate your visit.
[...] take commenting very seriously. Visiting to 3-5 new blogs daily earned me a connection with founder of Rotorblog, Maris. He was [...]
I definately agree that commenting is an essential part of building backlinks but one should not resort to spamming and should post good comments. In fact comments actually help build a good relationship with other bloggers and thats much more important than a backlink.
Selurus,
Well said. I agree with your remark, that’s the whole idea and lasting benefits of quality commenting. Appreciate it.
I really enjoy reading comments on my and other’s blogs – however I am not too keen on going through pages of “nice post” or comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the post at all.
Comments are great – it’s a great way to network, to see what other people are writing in their blogs and to see other people’s opinions. However it is important to be concise, polite and legible.
fiona@Wedding Photographer Edinburgh´s last blog ..Edinburgh Wedding Photography – Sonja and Billy – 22/8/09
Fiona,
Absolutely. Why waste the chance to get noticed with a mere backlink? There are much we can obtain from the comment box. Glad you think so. ^^
Almost all of my online friends I’ve become close to because of that initial spark: blog commenting. You’ve a glimpse of that person’s mind through his blog comments. So much more is unveiled: temperament and points of common interests. In a post, a writer usually puts his best foot forward. In a comment, he’s much looser and more likely to reveal his thoughts. It’s up to us encourage them by being warm, civil and keeping an open mind.
jan geronimo´s last blog ..When a Question Is the Answer
Jan,
Agree. Sometimes I find it’s easier to know someone through the various comments he/she shared not only here but on other non-related niche blogs too.
I get to know your writing expertise too from the various viewpoints you shared. Don’t we just love comments? ^^
Thank you so much, Jan!
Hello Ching,
You’re one of my favorite commenters because you do precisely what you have described above as a good commenter. You do not just say great post…lol..you cite reasons why and you also strengthen the post by your additional information. What I like most about you and commenters in my blog is the sincerity. I’d rather have a short but sincere comment than a long winded, insincere one.
Yours is both sincere and significant. I always look forward to your comments. All the best.
Jena Isle´s last blog ..The Perfect Lady
Jena,
You have proven to be one of the quality commenters I came across who I like to continue my network with, obviously.
It’s so easy to get trapped in the ‘backlink’ ‘dofollow’ ‘keywordluv’ but the main purpose why we comment is to build community, a network, something that will last when none of the apps is working no more.
Love to read your comments. Keep them coming!
Since am very new to blogging i not getting lots of comments but am taking each of my comment very seriously and working on them
Rathan´s last blog ..Worlds widely used Antivirus Softwares
That’s a good start, Rathan. Treat your commenters well and reward them for their feedback. I think in time you’ll discover more benefits from their participation.
Thanks for visiting. ^^
Hi Ching Ya,
I found your site through a comment that you left on another blog. So your quality commenting policy works
Most mini sites that I create don’t have comments, which is fine as they are really not meant for that. However, my main site is a weight loss site and I get a lot of low quality comments. Most comments are good and you can really get into some decent conversations but it’s a pain sifting through all the “great post, I loves your best site” kind of comments.
I guess some people just don’t care what they do online. ( thank god for Akismet) I’ve blocked more than 54,000 spam comments to date.
Steve
Bissell Carpet Cleaner´s last blog ..Bissell Cleaning Products
Bissell,
Thanks so much for your kind words. It’s great to meet someone who are also a commenter from particular sites we visited.
Another good thing, we just never know when the surprises will come. Appreciate your comment. Yes, I’m a big supporter for Akismet too — without it, I’m not sure will I ever be at ease thinking what will appear on the comment section. 
Hope to see you around. Thanks again!
This is my first ever comment on this blog. Users look the quality of posts while commenting, we should make the posts in away that it raises an opinion or idea in the readers mind, yep and you have mentioned it.
Liked your blog,
Good Luck and Keep Going Ching
Amal Roy´s last blog ..22 Free Beautiful Orkut Themes For Download
Thank you Amal, pleasure to have you landed here.
Glad you thought the same way, thanks for treasuring the comment box and share your points.
[...] How Seriously Do You Take Blog Comments? [...]
No, you won’t find a microblogger here…but this is the perfect answer or response to my ranting …. lol. Just the other day I was thinking about and fretting the blogging rule of commenting. It didn’t strike me as microblogging until I read this today.
I think I’m in the minority of comment dread – is that a correct terminology? I digress. There are just too many times that I only want to AMEN a post and nothing more but I am constantly reminded that is a no-no.
Kissie´s last blog ..Blogging Rule Rant
Kissie,
I understand.
Perhaps I’m writing based on what I think should be done, but definitely, there are many ways we can acknowledge a post or network with one another. As Jan, one of the commenters pointed out, we get to meet someone and know them a bit too — which is exactly why I’m so glad you decided to leave a comment here. ^^ I wouldn’t have known.
Love your sites too. Hopefully get to know you better from posts & comments.
Ching Ya, you have a great blog and I definitely love to leave a foot print here as well as coming back for an occasional visit. Must admit having leave one or two things when visiting your blog!
Pardon me if I ask this question – if you don’t mind sharing an idea or two with me. How did you manage to reduce your alexa ranking to 84,717 and a google rank of 3/10?
Keep up the good job of providing good information for the blogo-sphere.
CJ´s last blog ..No Bumpy Ride, but just One Big Hole in between the RETAKAFUL CLAUSE
Welcome CJ,
Pleasure to meet a new commenter, thanks for dropping by.
I’m not sure am I the right person to ask, ha.. well, but I must say it involves a lot of networking, trials and research to improvise the site. Guest posting is another great way too.
With a new blog, I count any comment as a good comment.
I like comments that add information to the discussion or point out which points in the post they liked.
Like most of us, I also like a bit of praise.
I also enjoy humorous, playful and clever comments.
If I ever get 152 comments on one of my posts… I might become a little more discerning.
Keith Davis´s last blog ..Practice, practice, practice…
Keith,
That’s true, as we just started blogging it is easy to hope for more quantity over quality. ^^ Treat this as a challenge for yourself when you comment, a training to network. So far you’re doing well.
Appreciate you dropping by.
Comments are great for blogs but people should always add the dofollow attribute.
Ching ya I love your blog and i’m just discovering commentluv, cool!
Hello!
Very good post, i congratulate you for that (like you see, i read your post xD).
Sometimes It is a little “hard” to give quality comment, sometimes i can’t find words to describe how i think about the post so i write short useless comment… u_u
But after reading your post, now i will try to improve my commentting-on-blog skill, thanks! ^^
Sushie@ diet plans´s last blog ..Low carb diet