7 Little Known Ways to Get Your Comments Read
In the previous article on blog commenting I wrote that you should comment on a blog only if you had something valuable to add to the discussion and that only valuable comments would be of benefit to you. If you provide a useful comment, not only will it be approved and posted but there are more chances that it will be noticed by the blog author and other people who can follow your URL and bring more traffic to your site.
But what is a valuable comment? And are good comments always noticed and read? This is what I’d like to talk about in this article.
A good comment is the one which expresses the reader’s opinion on the post. Don’t write just "Hello, good post". This comment will be considered as pure spam and will likely be deleted. Tell the author that you found the post interesting, useful, providing new information, etc. Share your views on the subject. Add something to the post or dispute with the author or other commentators. If you don’t agree with the author, feel free to show your disagreement but do it in a delicate and polite manner. All of this adds value to your comment.
But do all valuable comments get read and get clicks? There is no definite answer. Yes, if you comment on a blog that is not very popular. If you comment on a very popular blog which gets many comments on every post, your comment may be lost among others and may not be noticed.
So, if you want to make your comment stand out and attract the reader’s attention, follow these quick tips when you’re commenting on a blog:
- Comment the first. This gives you a great advantage over other commentators. If your comment is the first in the list, the blog author and other commentators will definitely see it. When someone reads the post, he most likely reads the comments too. People actually read the first few comments only. Then they run through the next few comments and skip all the comments that follow. For example, if 100 people read your comment, there is great chance that a few of them will click on your URL and come to your website.
- A comment length does matter. Write a longer comment to attract the readers. If you write much, they will think you give some valuable information and will surely read your comment. Note that long comments don’t mean writing a poem or another post in the comment itself. When you write a long comment, you should provide good and relevant information in it. You can scan other comments if the blog has them already and write one or two paragraphs more than the usual comments have.
- Make the comment easy to read. If you follow the previous tip and write a long comment, think about making it easy to read. Don’t lump everything together. Make two or more paragraphs, better if you make a bulleted list (if appropriate). In this way people will easily read your long comment to the end. Otherwise, if the comment is unreadable, nobody will stop at it.
- Commenting on a list post wins. You know list posts get more readers. And the comments on such posts get read by more people. Why not add your own points to the list? Imagine that you read the article "Top 10 Funniest Creative Website Promotion Tips". You can add the 11th, 12th, etc.
- Add humor to your comment. This is a good way to make people read your comment to the end. But I suggest you get involved into a controversy only if you know how to do it.
- Add quotes to the comment. If you can enrich your comment with relevant quotes, it is only a plus for you. The readers will believe that you are really competent in the subject and treat you as an expert. If you can create your own good quotes, go on and do it. Probably you’ll gain a popularity due to your quotes.
- Have a unique avatar. On some blogs you can upload an avatar that will be associated with your name. So, take time to create an exclusive avatar. This can be your photo. If you don’t want to upload your photo, select another interesting avatar. A nice and effective idea is to place your website link on the avatar. The reader may imprint your URL in his/her memory and want to visit your website later.
Finally, the last yet maybe the most important tip - write a comment only after you read the post. Don’t comment if you don’t know what the post is about because it will be seen very well that you commented through ignorance.
Also, let me know what you think by posting your comments below.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribed to my RSS feed!Filed under: SEO
A good tip is to only write a comment after reading the post. Oh wait…
Ha, that’s actually a really good suggestion. If you don’t read the post thoroughly before posting, you could embarrass yourself by making a point that was already clearly made, or saying that you agree with something that wasn’t even mentioned in the post.
Great post, by the way, it was very helpful!
This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes. I will have to work on my humor and develop an ability to expand on the list. So, the 8th little know way to get your comments read would be to actually take a couple of minutes and comment. There is a bit of a risk in making your personal statement. If you hold back you can never be heard and therefore, never linked back. Most of the people in the world stand on the sidelines. It is an exceptional few who step forth and become the leaders focused on action. Your leadership is appreciated.
Hi Julia,
Posting on blogs makes sense as a method for getting exposure to your own site. So this really becomes a traffic generation strategy. So it also makes sense that if you are going to be spending your time doing this at all, that you at least leave an intelligent comment. I’m starting to see blogs as a Forum, only instead in on central spot, it is spread out across many sites.
Now some sites I have come across have good page rank, but that posts may be old, 6 months or more, so a quick post is all you need just to get the link, because nobody is reading it anyway. But in an important blog, you want to make your comments count, as with a forum, thi will let he readers of the blog know that you are an authority in your field, and are worth listening to, and they naturally want to check out your site.
Your Friend!
Steve
I have used other software that does similiar to this one, but finding the do follow is great. For linking this can’t be beat. Yes read the post first, how else is your post going to make any sense and have the blog owner keep it up so you can get a link back to your site. Very important, read first.
Thanks
Steve
Try to comment regularly on a blog so that the owner starts recognizing you… It’s an ideal way to start a fruitful conversation, and invite the blog owner to post on your own blog in return. Makes for good content creation when 2 experts start exchanging information
Gerrit
Hello Julia, this is really a good tips. My comment here? Thanks for the great tips about comment. A blog owner will be appreciated if a visitor write valuable comment.
Hello Julia,
I do like to comment on blogs but, I have a hard time finding blogs that are independently owned. By that I mean, not a community blog such as wordpress, blogspot….. To comment on those I would need to join the ‘community’ & the link would only lead to my profile there.
When I do comment on blogs I get great hits even from some blogs that have low rank.
I also check the sites (blogs) of other people that have commented on blog post that I like.
You have given some great tips here - I just wish I had something humorous to say or a great quote. LOL!
Have a blogtastic day,
Sheryl Loch
You’re so right about how most people don’t read all comments when there are too many. If a post has only a few comments on it, then I will try to read all the comments (and maybe comment on it myself), but if there are too many I’d never read it all, and don’t want to risk saying something that someone already said.
Smart about commenting first too, I sometimes don’t like to, just because, but that post may turn out to be a really popular post and many many others will comment, and you will have lucked out by commenting first.