Last Sunday I blogged about promoting your blog, with specific reference to the importance of Twitter, if you didn't see it, you can HERE.
Today I am going to focus on comments, something a few people have emailed and tweeted to me about wondering if it would form part of my mini series, so that is what I want to mention today. To me comments have two functions - blog promotion and social interaction and naturally the two work hand in hand.
I spend a lot of my time commenting on blogs, I always have done. If I read something I want the author of that post to know that someone out there has read what they have written and that, that said person was me - why? Because for me, comments are one of the main points of blogging, what is the point of writing a post for it to get ignored, not be interacted with and left unnoticed?
Today I am going to focus on comments, something a few people have emailed and tweeted to me about wondering if it would form part of my mini series, so that is what I want to mention today. To me comments have two functions - blog promotion and social interaction and naturally the two work hand in hand.
I spend a lot of my time commenting on blogs, I always have done. If I read something I want the author of that post to know that someone out there has read what they have written and that, that said person was me - why? Because for me, comments are one of the main points of blogging, what is the point of writing a post for it to get ignored, not be interacted with and left unnoticed?
There is nothing more soul destroying than spending an hour or two writing a blog post for no-one to leave a comment. You can see from your post that 34 people have visited but the comments still stand at 0, it is a horrible feeling and you start re-reading your post imagining something is wrong with it.
It is as annoying as sending a text message, you know it has been read but that person hasn't replied to you. In reality there probably is nothing wrong with it and for many different reasons a comment wasn't left.
We comment on things in so many different ways to communicate, often without realising we are doing it to converse, add an opinion, make a point, share our thinking and to learn from one another. We also comment on many different platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Emails, Texts, Whats'app all of which we use daily and if a question is poised or a comment made, we would reply, possibly without too much thought process, it is just the right thing to do.
For me blog comments are another way of interacting with people, much like Twitter, someone tweets you, you reply and it should be the same on blogs if you read someones post, let them know you have bothered to read it and make a comment about the subject in question, you might just make their day.
So how does commenting encourage blog promotion? well when I do leave a comment on a blog I usually include a link to my blog. Why? well it is all in the name of self-promotion. The link tells the blogger A) Who I am, B) The name of my blog and C) it makes it easier said blog owner whom ive just commented on, to click on my link and head to my blog and D) anyone else commenting might like what I have written and also be curious to find out who I am and also click on my link - thus increasing my traffic!
How else can you get comments? Well this is a quick summary to some of the things ive been told to do, advised to do, shown how to do and do.
1. Ask questions - Either at the end of your post or somewhere within your post ask something you would like your reader to answer. so for example I wrote a post on my birthday meal at Burger and Lobster and at the end asked "Have you ever been to Burger and Lobster or have you ever had Lobster" in the hope it will engage with my readers and prompt them to reply and leave a comment.
2. Social media interaction - Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are great ways of getting your blog noticed. Giving people an insight into who you are, what you like and showing cute pictures of your cats in funny poses always attract someones attention.
3. Regularly tweeting - I mentioned this in my last post but I think it is important. Twitter chats, tweeting your new post with a link, hashtags, commenting on someone elses tweet and so on.
It is as annoying as sending a text message, you know it has been read but that person hasn't replied to you. In reality there probably is nothing wrong with it and for many different reasons a comment wasn't left.
We comment on things in so many different ways to communicate, often without realising we are doing it to converse, add an opinion, make a point, share our thinking and to learn from one another. We also comment on many different platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Emails, Texts, Whats'app all of which we use daily and if a question is poised or a comment made, we would reply, possibly without too much thought process, it is just the right thing to do.
For me blog comments are another way of interacting with people, much like Twitter, someone tweets you, you reply and it should be the same on blogs if you read someones post, let them know you have bothered to read it and make a comment about the subject in question, you might just make their day.
So how does commenting encourage blog promotion? well when I do leave a comment on a blog I usually include a link to my blog. Why? well it is all in the name of self-promotion. The link tells the blogger A) Who I am, B) The name of my blog and C) it makes it easier said blog owner whom ive just commented on, to click on my link and head to my blog and D) anyone else commenting might like what I have written and also be curious to find out who I am and also click on my link - thus increasing my traffic!
How else can you get comments? Well this is a quick summary to some of the things ive been told to do, advised to do, shown how to do and do.
1. Ask questions - Either at the end of your post or somewhere within your post ask something you would like your reader to answer. so for example I wrote a post on my birthday meal at Burger and Lobster and at the end asked "Have you ever been to Burger and Lobster or have you ever had Lobster" in the hope it will engage with my readers and prompt them to reply and leave a comment.
2. Social media interaction - Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are great ways of getting your blog noticed. Giving people an insight into who you are, what you like and showing cute pictures of your cats in funny poses always attract someones attention.
3. Regularly tweeting - I mentioned this in my last post but I think it is important. Twitter chats, tweeting your new post with a link, hashtags, commenting on someone elses tweet and so on.
4. Facebook groups - This is one thing I am new to. There are some blogging Facebook groups, a subject which will be covered in another pot, which allow you to leave your link in exchange for comments. Groups like UKBloggers for example, simply leave your link and comment on at least two of the links above yours. I do this daily, not only does it give me some interaction with some people I might not ordinarily come across, but it brings me some traffic too, remember blog promoting. I tend to comment on more than just the two links above mine, I always scour through the list and see if any other links interest me enough to click.
5. Linkys - If you see them mentioned on Twitter or Facebook some will be worth joining. For example, one of my favourite is run by Hayley from Sparklesandstretchmarks has started one called #Sundaybest and it allows you to add the link of your most favourite post from the previous week for other people who join in to read. The idea being that you look through all the links and read the ones you like the sound of.
6. Answering comments - The main post has been about the importance of leaving comments but there is another side - answering them! I hold my hands up and admit that this is not one of my strong points, but I am getting better at it. If someone is kind enough to leave you a comment, make sure you reply to it, they might come back to check and see if you have done so
7. Make it easy to leave comments - I do believe you should make it as easy a you possibly can for someone to leave a comment on your blog. One thing that really annoys me is Capitcha, I am sorry if you have it on your blog but it winds me right up and the chances of me leaving a comment are slim because I have to spent 3 days figuring out what the blurry letters are by squinting at the screen, only to get the red pen of doom to tell me it is wrong and to try again with even more blurred lettering. It is annoying! If you want someone to comment on your blog and you want to use some kind of device, then look around at those blogs who get lots of comments and see what they use to get them.
So that is what comments received and comments given mean to me and why I think they are important. Don't forget to leave them!
So what do you think? Do you do all of this?
Is there anything you think I have forgotten?
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