While it’s true that we each have our personal reasons for blogging, at the end of the day, we all want to start a conversation with our readers. To encourage exchanges of opinions and thoughts. A blog without comments is a sad, quiet place, and that’s something every blogger strives to avoid. Two days ago, as part of Blogging 101, we were asked to comment on five new blogs. It struck me then, how could I make my comments stand out from the crowd? I mean, is not the ultimate goal behind commenting (and the concept of social media, in general) to get noticed in a subtle fashion? The art of writing attention-worthy comments may appear to many as being insignificant, perhaps frivolous even, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Here’s what was uppermost in my mind as I trawled the Blogosphere.
(1) HOT – Be Honest, Be Original and Keep To The Point. Don’t follow a blogger simply because she’s popular and you’re hoping to ride on her coat-tails. Follow because you’re genuinely keen to read what she has to say. Bloggers can smell poseurs from a mile away. When your interest is genuine, your comments will automatically follow suit and add value to the entire thread. Be witty, showcase an interesting perspective. Note: funny always wins, hands down. Ask thoughtful questions; or disagree with the points if you feel your position on the topic is different. It’s perfectly alright to respectfully disagree and challenge, to present your case. In fact, that extends the conversation (which we love), creates spinoff threads (we love it when that happens too), and you’ll find other bloggers/commentators more inclined towards checking out your blog if your opinion is honest, logical and engaging.
(2) Get In Early – Remember the adage, “The early bird catches the worm?” It’s so true. Established names the likes of Keiko Lynn and Style Bubble (I’ve been a fan of both since 2009) garner anywhere from 20 to 200 comments per post. It’s easy to get lost and go unnoticed if yours is Comment #113. To keep up, I use Pocket and, of course, Bloglovin as well as Subscription Emails. And when all else fails, there’s always good ole fashion bookmarking.
(3) It’s Not About You – No, it’s not. Commenting isn’t about blatant self-promotion. It’s about expressing your opinion in a conversation which legitimately appeals to you. The only “publicity” you should expect is your name being hyperlinked back to your own blog/website. I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen some comments end with 4, 5 lines of bio/links and I’m also sure that you, like me, agree it wasn’t a pretty sight.
(4) Don’t Be A Serial Commentator – Too often, I see identical comments copied/pasted across a wide spectrum of blogs, without a care for relevance. Seriously? Even if minute, surely you could take the time to tweak your comment to suit the genre of a particular blog? This is blog spam, the sort of thing that could very well put you in a bad light. You can come across as being rude, inconsiderate and desperate. Worse of all, you may get yourself banned from ever commenting in that blog again. Not exactly the best way to establish yourself within the community.
(5) Do Be A Regular – You know how every successful blogger cites consistent posting as the secret behind their success? It works the same way with comments. Instead of being a one hit wonder, maintain a constant presence by regularly posting quality comments in the blogs you follow. Over time, both blog owner and readers will come to recognise your name, and associate it with a good read. They’ll be much more likely to come your way.
And those are my personal 5 Commandments of good blog Commenting. What have I missed which works for you? Do share 🙂
Love, Sheela
Sheela Goh 