Blog Commenting as Marketing Strategy
Blog Commenting – a serious strategy to market your blog or just another permutation of the online social ‘time-suck’ phenomenon?
As with so much of our strange and wonderful universe, it’s all about perspective.
From where I’m sitting, blog commenting done right is a powerful marketing strategy for bloggers.
Thing is, to get the most from it takes a little more than cut and paste, hit and run, ‘drive by commenting’.
(In fact, that stuff bugs me – check out my Comments Policy which outlines my terms of engagement for the folks who still think that spamming is cool)
Blog commenting done right builds quality backlinks, generates targeted traffic to your blog and raises your profile in the blogging community. Here’s how it’s done:
The Why, Where and How of Blog Commenting
Why should you Comment?
- Blog Commenting Drives traffic
- Increases Brand Awareness
- Promotes networking with other bloggers
- Builds backlinks
- Gets you the hell off your own dashboard and out into the blogosphere!
Where should you Comment?
- Blogs in your niche, or a closely related one
- Blogs with Some Page Rank (where possible)
- At least some dofollow blogs (Read this post for an explanation of dofollow and nofollow). Some good directories for dofollow blogs are FollowList and YouDoFollow.
- CommentLuv Enabled Blogs. Ana Hoffman (indispensable as ever) has put together a list of blogs which are CommentLuv Enabled for you.
- Anywhere your target readership is hanging out!
- .edu or .gov sites (if you can find ‘em! – more on these to come in a future post…)
Naturally the more relevant the blog or post is to your areas of interest and expertize, the better positioned you ‘ll be to contribute, and add value. Not to mention that Google will love you all the more if your backlinks come from relevant sources…
How should you comment?
- Start by reading the post. If you really don’t have time to read it fully, at least skim through and get a good idea what it’s about. Regurgitating the first sentence and sub headings to the author ain’t acceptable. If you ain’t read it at all, hold your peace.
- Use your name. The policy varies blog to blog, some blogs are set up for ‘name @ keywords’ and may even give a dofollow link for your keywords, a good alternative is ‘name | keywords’ (that’s the ‘pipe’ symbol above the ‘return’ button on your keybard) another neat way to get your keywords where the need to be.
- Get a Gravatar. Preferably your face, or a logo if you really can’t manage that. But something.
- Add something of value (without being a ‘know it all’)
- Interact with questions posed, assertions made, other comments… Don’t be afraid to discuss, politely challenge or ask your own questions.
- Make it ‘Longer than a Tweet, Shorter than a Blog Post’ (Rand Fishkin)
- Be honest and genuine. Don’t pretend you know stuff you don’t know. Above all, be yourself (who else are you going to be?)
- Be respectful. Even if you disagree with the other views expressed – maturity debate is attractive, flying off the handle and hurling torrents of abuse usually gets you banned.
Just as with your online profiles and properties, how you present and position yourself in your Blog Comments (both home and away) will affect the way people see you, and how they respond.
Come across as a caring expert, and you’ll get click thru’s.
Behave like and arrogant ass and you won’t.
Blog Commenting Link Etiquette
- Different from blog to blog – check the policy
- Make sure any links in the comment body are relevant. Good examples are studies to backup a point, or information resources which support the post or discussion.
- Link signatures in the comment body went out of fashion with drainpipe jeans – if a blogger wants you to get a link, they’ll enable CommentLuv, KeywordLuv and/or some other dofollow plugin.
- Don’t shamelessly self-promote (in your comment or with links)
- Point the link from your name field to a relevant blog or website. When comments on my site point to an online casino, I delete them (if they’re suspicious comments, which they always are)
- Avoid linking to a sales page – definitely the mark of a spammer. Stick with your homepage, and get use CommentLuv Premium’s ‘Page Rank Sculpting’ potential to build backlinks to your sales page if you must.
Final Blog Commenting Tips
- Address the post author by name. Makes it kinda personal, ya know?
- Add a relevant CommentLuv link (with a great headline!) to your comment to increase the chances that readers of that post will click thru to your blog. Use CommentLuv Premium to maximize the possibilities – read more in my CommentLuv Premium review post.
- Check out some other posts and comments if you’re new to a blog. Be aware of the kind of interaction and discussion happening before diving in and hitting submit.
- Don’t be afraid to subscribe to follow up comments (or at least replies). Some great conversations get stopped dead when one party doesn’t come back to play their part.
- If you thought enough of a post to comment on it, share it too! Most bloggers make it easy to Tweet, Like, +1 and all the rest so why not say thanks by hitting those buttons?
What say you?
Any other ‘Gourmet Commenting tips’ to add?
Is Blog Commenting a good way to market your blog or a waste of your precious online time? Leave me a comment below!
Image: Typiewriter by Ethan R – CC 2.0
How to use Strategic Blog Commenting to Market Your Blog © 2011 Blogger’s Alchemy
Here at Blogger's Alchemy, Jym shares simple tips, tricks, strategies and techniques to make blogs remarkable, successful and exceptional. For a long time, he felt like his blogging career was going nowhere fast. That is, until he learned and implemented the things that you'll learn if you stick around... Get the best from this blog by Subscribing Now
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Blog commenting is one way of advertising your blog. The commentors could probably promote your blog to other readers or bloggers so I can say that it is a nice way of marketing your blog. Nice post!
Angel Collins invites you to read…Feel Good Friday: Finding Fabulous Costume Jewelry
Hi Jym,
I actually really enjoy commenting on relevant blogs. It is easy work to pass the time, you get to learn something new, interact with others, and gain link juice and traffic.
Liz invites you to read…Another Predictable Valentine’s Day?
Me too Liz. Thanks for commenting here
Jym invites you to read…Where to Find Fantastic Free Pictures for Your Blog
Hi Jym
As a newbie to this online marketing malarkey, I must thank you for the clear and understandable format of the information you provide. Many of the blogs I have searched out waffle on and on just to fill the page it seems to me. May I ask, what one piece of advice would you give to a novice who is trying to build back links? Thank you again and keep up the great work.
I do my best Paul
If I had to recommend a single strategy for bloggers – submit your RSS feed to as many free feed directories as possible, making sure to use your keywords in your post titles. Naturally the more frequently you publish new content, the more effective this is.
That coupled with a few daily comments, preferably on dofollow CommentLuv enabled blogs, is a very effective way to get started!
I’ll be writing more on backlinking soon – check out my CommentLuv link below for a list of directories.
Thanks for the compliment and question – glad to be of service
Jym invites you to read…Free Blog RSS Feed Submission Directories List
About the names part: there are some people that use keywords in the name field even if there isn’t a CommentLuv or KeywordLuv plugin present. If they would do that, they should at least add value to the post. Good points, by the way, Jym.
– Ray
I agree Ray.
Regardless of the kind of link or anchor text, all comments should be genuine and either contribute value or support in some way.
Personally I don’t mind if someone wants to offer thanks or ask a question or disagree with me, even if they don’t have knowledge or info to add to a topic.
As long as the comment is genuine and not solely designed to obtain a link without giving anything back…
Thanks for coming by mate
Jym invites you to read…5 Simple Blog Post Ideas for Quick, Valuable Content
Hey Jym, such an interactive blogger you are, commenting on every comment
Well, is the any possibly to put commentluv in blogger.com blogs?
Anok invites you to read…Best Ways to Surprise Your Girlfriend
I do my best Anok
CommentLuv is available for Blogger, you can get it here:
http://comluv.com/download/commentluv-blogger/
I’m not sure whether CommentLuv Premium is available for Blogger Blogs yet. That you’ll have to check. If it is, jump on it – it’s awesome…
Jym invites you to read…CommentLuv Premium Is Revolutionizing the Power of Blog Commenting. Here’s What You Need to Know
Blog commenting is one of the most powerful strategies for link building, socializing with other bloggers and of course brand building. If blog commenting is done properly, it can turn in great traffic machine.
Kal invites you to read…Super User updated blog entry Five Simple Steps to Creating A Profitable Amazon Associates Site in Affiliate Marketing
It absolutely can Kal.
Many birds with one stone. Done right of course
Thanks for dropping by and commenting here
Jym invites you to read…Incapsula Review: Elite Protection and Optimization for Bloggers?
Jym, your article covers all the top reasons to comment, especially “Gets you the hell off your own dashboard”! I have learned a lot by reading other blogs. When I first started blogging, a whole 6 months ago, I just wrote articles and didn’t comment much. But commenting makes a huge difference in traffic and ranking! There IS a community out there (and some really good guys
Astro Gremlin invites you to read…Pictures photos images for WordPress
Hey Astro – loving the pic mate – you’ve picked up on a great point here.
The blogosphere is kinda like a huge conversation whirring around between lots of different nodes. Each blog is simply an extension of all the rest and none exist in isolation (not if they want any traffic, anyway).
Interacting on other blogs and connecting with other bloggers is all part fo the ebb and flow, and it certainly brings the flow back to your own blog.
And you’re right – there are plenty of ‘diamonds’ out there…
Thanks for commenting!
Jym invites you to read…CommentLuv Premium Is Revolutionizing the Power of Blog Commenting. Here’s What You Need to Know
Hi, good day. Wonderful post. You have gained a new subscriber. Pleasee continue this great work and I look forward to more of your great blog posts.
Thanks Allen, glad to be of service.
I appreciate the compliment and comment mate
Jym invites you to read…Marketing Your Blog: Know Your Perfect Reader
Plus blog commenting is the most fun part of promotion. You get to read someone else’s opinion and put your own two cents in.
David invites you to read…SocialFloat – social sharing widget
Very true David! Commenting and the discussions which unfold below the post can be a lot of fun .
Nothing like weighing in on a ‘hot topic’…
Thanks for coming by
Jym invites you to read…Blog Productivity – Fractals, Focus, and the Myth of MultiTasking
Wow Jym,
You really covered the importance of blog commenting and just how to go about it. Even to the point of adding that avatar. It really bugs me that people don’t take the time to set that up.
As Ryan added, ask questions in the comments too to keep the conversations going. As I have mentioned to a lot of people, add the “ReplyMe” plug-in to your blog so that your commenter will be notified when you replied and you can keep the conversation going even further. I have found it to be very helpful.
Thanks for this fabulous resource. Great job Jym!
~Adrienne
Adrienne invites you to read…How To Be Attractive When You Have No Credibility
Glad you added that Adrienne – ReplyMe (or similar) is a great tool to continue the engagement.
Personally I love to have a genuine response to my comments on other blogs, and then an opportunity to go back and take the discussion further, and I know I’m not alone in that.
Thanks for your comment and support Adrienne!
Jym invites you to read…5 Productivity Blogging Tools That I Wouldn’t Go Without
You’ve laid out the best key points to remember in doing blog commenting. Everyone should keep this in mind. Relevant and valuable comments are really appreciated.
JohnC | Austin Accident Lawyer invites you to read…Toys ‘R Us found liable in wrongful death lawsuit
They surely are John!
Jym invites you to read…Advertising is Dead, Content Marketing Lives, Your Blog is the Future
Can we make this post required reading for anyone who wants to comment on a blog, Jym? It should be!
You’ve hit so many important points here. It’s about coming across the right way and commenting for the right reasons. Getting the link is great, but we’d better be sharing something of value in some way and connecting with the blogger if we don’t want to come across looking spammy.
I’m with Leanne on the conversations — so much value can be added to a post when the commenters and the blog owners all really get into a discussion sharing thoughts and building on what the post started.
Michelle Shaeffer invites you to read…How to Rock it on Twitter (Infographic)
We certainly can Michelle!
Everyone reads this one.
One strike and they read the comments policy.
Two strikes and they’re out.
Three strikes and their IP is banned for good…
I agree with what you’ve said – the right underlying reasons are the key to successful commenting and building discussions with value to offer everyone. That’s when the possibility for new ideas and shared understanding opens up…
Thanks so much for your supportive comment
Jym invites you to read…How to Write Great Blog Posts in Half the Time
Blog commenting is a great way to promote a website. CommentLuv is my favorite plugin.
Dave invites you to read…WHY PEOPLE BUY A PREFAB SHED
Jym, you’ve slapped up a darned informative article, here. The etiquette tips are outstanding (says the guy without an avatar). Seriously, though, on top of your own tips, the links with the lists of do follow and comment luv enabled blogs were dead helpful. Keep up the good fight.
Julian | Thailand Lawyer invites you to read…Land Registration and Ownership: How Good is Your Title in Thailand? Part 1
Hello Jym, great post you have here! Blog commenting done the right way is definitely effective. It has been doing so well for me so far.
A comment is supposed to be a form of acknowledging or showing appreciation to the author of the post. Not a way to get something without giving value and quality comments. As for comments, I think it’s best to be yourself. Ask questions and if you object with something, be polite. Like you said, doing this the right way will be a very powerful tool for our blog’s traffic.
Love the tips and insights you’ve shared here. Thanks for posting! Keep it up!
Pj Zafra invites you to read…Got To Believe In Magic
Me too Pete, Commenting can play a (surprisingly?) important part in both direct traffic generation and SEO strategies.
Love your definition and understanding of what commenting is all about – acknowledgement and appreciation are definitely a foundational factor.
Thanks for sharing your insight here mate
Jym invites you to read…Traffic Generation Strategies Unified: Superstrings for Bloggers
You’re right! Blog commenting is one of best technique to market your site get and quality backlinks. It is the best way to communicate with the readers of the community. The only thing is you need to leave a comment with value.
dhanna invites you to read…Affordable car insurance for teens of divorced parents
That about sums it up Dhanna!
Thanks for putting it so concisely
Jym invites you to read…Nofollow? Dofollow? Better Search and Page Rank vs More Blog Comments
Hi Jym,
What an incredible accurate and timely post! I couldn’t agree more with you on each and every post. I especially love that you have created a commenting policy…a guideline for your readers. I believe (generally speaking) that many people are so entrenched with sustaining their own blog and ensuring it growth that they forget to reciprocate what should be a common and professional courtesy. Congratulations on such a beautifully written statement of consciousness! I must go forth and share this with the world!!!
A. Leigh Edwards invites you to read…Since Money is No Object…
Thanks for sharing Leigh and I’m glad this resonated with you right now…
I don’t thing my comments policy is particularly ‘far out’ and most other bloggers seem to be more or less on the same page, and are operating respectfully without needing any such guidelines.
I guess the policy is helpful for new bloggers, and also serves as a reference when I’m asked why certain comments have been deleted.
Funny thing is, the people who those rules are really aimed at certainly never take a second to read them anyway…
‘A beautifully written statement of consciousness!’ Now that I love… Thankyou Leigh!
Jym invites you to read…How to be More Productive by Harnessing Your ‘Ultradian Rhythms’
Hi Jym,
Wonderful post!
I couldn’t agree more to what you have written, as blog commenting does get traffic to your blog, and this is what I have been experiencing whenever I comment on other peoples blogs. However, some people do spam up and tend to leave links or refuse to be polite in their conversations- I simply have to delete their links or post altogether.
Also, I do notice that people try commenting at places where they do not add value to the post or don’t contribute to the conversation or comment about things not related to the post. Those also get annoying at times. I guess it’s always better not to comment in such cases, rather than do things that is not going to be liked by others.
Thanks for sharing )
Harleena Singh invites you to read…5 Tips to Develop Your Inner Strength and Power
It certainly does Harleena!
I’m taking an increasingly hard line with spammers and link grabbing since introducing a comment policy. I’m now using Incapsula (see my CommentLuv link below this comment) to block the IP address of most of the manual spammers who get through.
I tend to view comments completely off topic as spam as well, although if they’re not overtly ‘salesey’ then they may end up only in the trash, rather than the spam folder.
Of course there’s always the danger of misunderstanding someone’s perspective or meaning – there’s still no easy answer to moderating all comments, however annoying some may be.
Thanks for coming by
Jym invites you to read…Incapsula Review: Elite Protection and Optimization for Bloggers?
Hi Jym,
I have just released a free 11 page E-book about how to write effective comments, mainly because what I think is common sense is not to many others. I do want people to write better comments as it makes for interesting blogging.
You covered off on some things that I didn’t in the E- book and mine probably goes into some more detail in other areas. I would have written it up as a post but since I am not writing on marketing topics any more it really would have been out of place. This way people who are interested in commenting on my blog and who want to write better comments have a resource they can have as a gift.
Great tips here!
~Marcus
Marcus Baker invites you to read…Do you Unplug to Connect?
Must come and check your e-book out Marcus!
I’ve tried to be thorough in the context of a single post here, but I’m sure there’s areas which could be explored in far more detail too.
I’ve always admired the kind of in depth comments and conversations you’ve nurtured and stimulated over on your blog, and I’m guessing that they will only expand given the new change of direction and movement into less linear territory.
Thanks for coming by
Jym invites you to read…Why Your Daily To Do List is Crippling Your Efficiency (and How to Fix it)
Hi Jym,
wow, looks pretty thorough your compilation about blog commenting. The single most important item is the first one: Read the blog post. The sad part is that all requirements mentioned by you are just plain common sense. Yet mistreated by thousands of people on a daily basis. Love that too:”Longer than a tweet, and shorter than a blog post.”
I would add one thing: Only leave a comment if and when you can resonate with the post, if it speaks to you. If you can’t say something relevant and personal (agreement o disagreement), don’t leave a comment. However, backlink chasers don’t care, do they ?
Thanks for putting this together !
Be blessed
Oliver
Oliver Tausend invites you to read…Oliver Tausend’s Blog Will Remain ‘Do Follow’ – And A New Comment Policy
I wish all my commenters would read the post Oliver.
Thing is, it’s so obvious when they haven’t.
It doesn’t have to be read line for line, word for word, but expecting to steal a link without contributing a couple of minutes to digest the basic thrust of a post is a no-no in my book.
Relevant and personal are two great words to add in. I’m all for an opinion or genuine thanks. Or even the opposite: “hey – I really disagree with what you’ve said” (although I may want some more explanation in that case). As long as it’s genuine, and based upon what I’ve taken the time to create…
Thanks for your visit mate
Jym invites you to read…Comments Policy
This is such a thorough post! Glad you mentioned not to leave links in the comments. There are still a few who try it but on my blog, I delete them unless it is REALLY relevant to the conversation.
Also, while I do like leaving comments on high ranking blogs, I’m not married to that idea. I was a new blogger at one time and it takes a while for that rank to rise. I try to help as many newbies as I can.
Martha Giffen invites you to read…Why Your “Story” Is Your Biggest Asset
Yeah, the high ranking blogs are good to check in with, but I agree Martha – there’s far more to life than Page Rank and Alexa.
Part of commenting is about reaching out and networking with other bloggers, and we all started somewhere small and had someone come to add something without fear of getting any real traffic in return.
Thanks for coming by!
Jym invites you to read…5 Productivity Blogging Tools That I Wouldn’t Go Without
I dig it Jym. Add value with commenting. Think Add, not Detract. What you say should make an impress, and a positive one at that.
Feel free to ask questions in comments too, to keep the engagement train going. Great discussion starter which adds some strength to the blog post and interactive nature of your blog.
Thanks!
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph invites you to read…3 Reasons Why Cash Gifting Is Instantly Prospering
Very true Ryan, it’s all about value.
Contributing and opening up new layers of discussion is absolutely the way to go, but I’m also open to any – genuine – thanks or other opinions, even when commenters don’t have anything ‘deep’ to say about the topic at hand.
Thanks for adding your value here mate
Jym invites you to read…Marketing Your Blog: Know Your Perfect Reader
Jym, this is a great resource and you’ve made all the important points, I think. The only thing I would expand on is the idea of interacting. Even if people leave great comments, they’re often independent, if that makes sense. When the blog owner responds, a conversation is created, but it can become even more powerful when a number of commenters are involved as well. It can add new dimensions to the post itself and take things down new roads.
Leanne Chesser invites you to read…Gratitude Expressions
I fully agree – actually engaging in full conversations via comments creates a lot of buzz and connection, especially if a few people are involved.
Seems to me that this is largely a function of a well developed community around a blog – fostered of course by a engaged and interested blogger!
Thanks for adding this!
Jym invites you to read…Traffic Generation Strategies Unified: Superstrings for Bloggers