Formula for Effective Commenting

In my two years of experience as a blogger, leaving comments in other people’s blogs is a very important part of blogging, especially if you’re just starting your blog. Comments, as all of us bloggers know, are the life and blood of a blog besides traffic and subscriber count. It’s a sign that there’s activity going on inside your blog. Without it, people will easily think that your blog is already dead. Take this blog for example. When my post doesn’t have any comment at all, it just means one thing. I didn’t make my usual rounds of leaving comments to my favorite blogs (which is becoming quite often these hectic days).

For bloggers, the habit of leaving comments was designed to convey any or all of the following: your interest in the written article, your interest in the blogger who wrote the article, your point of view about the article, your desire to be noticed by the writer of the article, your desire to get your blog noticed and get a reciprocal comment or get linked to, and as a requirement for something (like a competition). Either these or they’re spam. But for me which I think is also true for other bloggers, I usually drop my comments because I use them to also get comments and visitors to my blog. Search for tips on how to boost your blog’s traffic and I’m very sure that almost all of them will tell you that making lots of comments is part of it.

But not just any comments will get you what you want. Although it’s possible to get some reaction from other bloggers with just a simple hi or hello, it’s definitely going to fail to convert into any reasonable traffic or comment to your blog. How then do you form a comment that will get you traffic and reciprocal comments? There are several things that you must observe when making your comments. Although it’s not always guaranteed to draw in lots of visitors, it’s always guaranteed to get you a comment or two. At least your blog doesn’t look sorry with “0 comments” staring blankly at your face.

1. Add to the conversation – Don’t just leave a “hi” or “hello”. Bloggers won’t hate you for doing so but you’re not going to get any attention either. Usually, sharing examples are the best way to do it but if you think adding an item or two which you think the author forgot to mention is equally fine then go ahead.

2. Link to your blog or post only when necessary – Bloggers hate spammers and sploggers. When you constantly leave your blog’s URL with your comment text, you are one. Do so only if it has something to do with the post and state in your comment why it’s relevant. Most bloggers delete comments with too much self-promotion involved so beware of that unnecessary signature in your comments which link to your blog.

3. Be different or intelligent – Although impossible from time to time, try to stand-out from the rest. You want attention right? Say something intelligent. Say something different. Sometimes the conversation gets too monotonous that readers just scroll down to the bottom of it. Break the repetition and strike a new chord. Sometimes a really insightful and/or unusual (but relevant) comment can do lots of great stuff.

4. Ask a question – When you ask, people answer. When it’s not the blogger who’ll answer you, maybe it’ll be your fellow commenters. Asking is one of the best ways to solicit attention. But when everyone’s asking, maybe it won’t help asking too but providing some answer or clarification just might do.

5. Object appropriately – Trolling around won’t lead to anything but getting your comment removed. If you find something objectionable about somebody else’s post, state it civilly and don’t forget your reason why. Sometimes objecting or disagreeing can also guarantee attention from the readers only if you state your case calmly and intelligently.

6. Join the conversation – Besides adding to the topic of the conversation, be part of the community. Don’t forget about what the rest are talking about. Evaluate or highlight the good points in their comment too. By doing this, the other commenters might also develop an interest in visiting your blog as well.

7. Too long comments – Don’t write comments that are as long as the post themselves. If you’re going to do that, why not just post it in your blog and trackback or link back to the original post. When comments get too long, even how important you might think it is, people will just scan through it because it’s simply boring and too much.

8. Be early – When you’re the first guy to ever make the comment, it’s hard to miss what you have to say. What more if it’s really important? This is especially true with popular blogs that gets 100 comments per post. People hardly read the comments below the 20th.

9. Add humor – A good laugh will not only capture people’s attention but their hearts as well. But be careful about your jokes, sometimes people easily get offended without you being aware of it. I think the safest way to use it is to make fun of your self. But then again, be careful with this as to much can affect your reputation as well.

10. Be genuine – Don’t pretend what you are not. Don’t comment if you don’t feel that you can add to the conversation (there are still other blogs waiting for your precious words – he he he). Faking will always reflect in your comments.

And lastly, please feel free to leave your insights about making comments if they are effective on driving traffic to your blogs or not.

By the way, before I forget, here are the resources where I get several of the ideas that I wrote here. Please feel free to read them as they also touch some topics that I didn't include here.

The Power of Commenting on Blogs
11 Tips for Getting Your Comments Noticed on a Popular Blog
How To: Leave Quality Comments
How NOT to Comment on Comments
How to comment like a king (or queen!)
Blog Comments Still Matter


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