Blog commenting – ah I SO love this topic and I can go on and on talking about it.
Not just to vent my passion for it, but because, talking about it will help YOU as a blogger, to make the wheels roll in the right direction for your blog.
If you are a blogger, you should have already heard about blog commenting. So what is blog commenting?
There are numerous blogs on the internet. We, the crowd that prefers to hang out online more than offline, read a lot of blogs per day.
Even if we are “working”, reading other blogs is part of “work”, right? We need to read other blogs as reference to the content we create on a regular basis.
We also read other blogs to keep up with the happenings and hot news in our industry (and even outside our industry).
Our brain need fodder in order to produce. So it is nice to read other blogs to stay in touch.
Also sometimes, I read other blogs because I so much like the person behind the blog and would simply love to keep tabs 🙂
Now whenever you read a great piece of content it is good to let the author know that you liked what you have read.
And not just that, if there’s something you could add to the conversation, leaving a comment on the original blog post is a great way to do it.
You could also contact the author of the post/blog via email or other social media outlet and let them know your thoughts.
But adding a comment directly below the blog post actually adds to the conversation directly – right there!
Also it gives an opportunity for the others to read the related opinion/conversation and chime in, if they wanted to.
And… coming to the topic of this post, leaving a comment on the blog post is also a great way to drive traffic back to your own blog or website.
Whenever you leave a comment on the blog post you need to input your name and email id. You also have an option to input your website URL.
Now since there are millions of blog posts on the internet and even more millions of comments, this is not something that you should be exited about.
Leaving your website URL along with your “great post” comment will NOT help drive traffic to your website.
It all depends on the comment you leave, obviously!
If you manage to leave a highly useful, insightful, and thoughtful comment that adds to the conversation, then you have a good chance to get noticed – both by the blog owner and/or the post author and as well as other commenters or the community of the blog.
Meaningful comments add to the conversation and if you are smart enough to add to the conversation in a useful way, you win – and the blog author wins as well since he/she gets some additional valuable content on his/her post. It is a win-win.
So why is blog commenting an effective traffic strategy?
Blog commenting is a form of guest blogging
I look at blog commenting as a miniature form of guest blogging.
With guest blogging, you get a chance to perform as a guest on a stage that already has a wonderful audience.
With blog commenting it is just the same.
You present your opinion and useful thoughts on the subject in front of an audience that is not your own. You get a chance to “perform” on another stage.
And, just like guest blogging, the content you craft for a blog comment should be extraordinary – it is the ONLY way to gain traction.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Blog commenting = guest blogging (almost)” quote=”Blog commenting = guest blogging (almost)”]
Not just that – just like guest blogging you cannot just publish one guest post on an authority blog and then expect to become a super star.
You have to do it consistently until your efforts scale up or until you have a tipping point.
I’m not saying that you can “stop” doing blog commenting once you reach a tipping point. But you should be consistent – that is my point.
In all ways, blog commenting compares very well with guest blogging – the only difference is that you don’t have to craft a bulky, in-depth guest blog post.
You can write a few paragraphs of thoughtful comment and you can achieve the same effect, almost – quite close.
If you consider guest blogging to be a traffic strategy, then you can apply all of it to blog commenting and it will be a great traffic generator for your blog.
With blog commenting, you can be seen everywhere
Well, not “everywhere” literally but you get my point.
When you start leaving comments religiously on blogs in your niche, people get to see your pretty face wherever they go.
Make sure you have a pretty face-shot to go with your comments coz otherwise, people might find it creepy lol.
You might already be familiar with the faces of some bloggers who do blog commenting consistently.
Why are these faces appearing wherever I or you go? Coz they are doing something religiously and they take that seriously for that matter.
Since they are consistently leaving their wonderful comments and thoughts on various blogs, you get to see them wherever you go.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Paste your pretty face all over the internet with blog commenting” quote=”Paste your pretty face all over the internet with blog commenting”]
And these people are building their own kingdom and their own identity.
They’re all popular and if I ask them how they became so popular in a very short period, I’m sure they’ll unanimously say YES to blog commenting.
Blog commenting helps you to give your blog that initial push it needs
One of my blogs is Savvy Blogging Tips. It’s a quite popular today and is known to many bloggers.
That blog of mine helps many bloggers build their successful blogging business. That is the story today.
But do you know how it started? When I started out, it was just like any new blog.
No visitors, no comments, no shares, no engagement – nothing – even though the content I published there was awesome (or so I thought).
Nothing took off on my blog. I was only hearing crickets until I joined an awesome community and a mastermind group headed by the traffic queen Ana.
We were (are) a group of like minded folks who were generously helping each other by leaving comments on others posts and sharing others’ posts in the group.
And then the momentum started to pick up! You can imagine.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Give your blog that initial push it needs” quote=”Give your blog that initial push it needs”]
Blogging is not a one man show. Even if you run it as a one man/woman show in the backend, your blog won’t run on its own or just with you on the front end.
Sure, you can be the designer, content writer, social media manager, technical person, ghost writer, graphics designer and many other things for your blog. But without “people” – I mean real, living people – you cannot run a successful business.
And in order for those “people” to find you and in order for your blog to gain momentum, you need to give it an initial push. Blog commenting is a nice way to do it.
Do it strategically and see the results for yourself
Blog commenting is a wonderful traffic strategy – not a traffic generation tip or a trick, that you do one day and then expect to get rewarded for the rest of your life.
It is not some magic wand that you swing once and then the magic happens. It is a strategy.
You have to plan it ahead; do it carefully and consistently. You should include it as part of your ongoing work.
Leaving one blog comment won’t bring you a rush of traffic – even if it does, you will only see a spike. But if you do it consistently you will start seeing results.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Blog commenting pays if you do it strategically” quote=”Blog commenting pays if you do it strategically”]
Likewise, leaving a comment on a random blog won’t do you any good. You have to strategically choose the blogs you read, and comment on.
If you are a blogger like me, I’m sure you are busy.
Adding 100 blogs to your reading list will simply make you overwhelmed. You can’t follow all the blogs on the internet.
Be wise and choose the blogs strategically.
If you want a lot of traffic (obviously) go for blogs that already have a good sized community – you can know this by seeing the number of comments on those blog posts!
Make sure you don’t join blogs that have hundreds of one liner comments.
Blog commenting helps you make NEW and GENUINE connections
Last but not the least, blog commenting is a great way to reach out and connect with new people.
Recently I had one of my blog readers say to me that blog commenting is over hyped.
He said that there are LOTS of ways in which one could connect with other bloggers and blog commenting is essentially not the only way to do it.
I agree. But blog commenting is a great way to reach out and connect with the others BEFORE they actually come to your blog or know about you.
To be very precise, you actually go to THEIR blog and establish that valuable connection – instead of waiting around at your own blog for the others to come and visit you!
And when you reach out to the other bloggers at their very own blog, it is one of the coolest things you can do to start a genuine relationship – of course, assuming, you don’t start a spammy conversation.
Agree?
Is blog commenting YOUR traffic strategy?
Do you find blog commenting work for YOU as a traffic strategy?
Are you able to gain traction with your blog commenting efforts? Are you able to build connections?
Do you do blog commenting in the first place? I’d LOVE to hear from you!
Thanks for sharing this article with us. Now i understand clearly about blog commenting.
Glad the post could help you Patrice. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Jane,
Awesome article today! I can tell you have a passion for blogging. When I first started blogging I did not know the importance of leaving a comment of value, but as I gained experienced and learned from some great people online, I soon realized what is most important is to add value to the conversation rather than just a line or two that is generic in nature.
I read a lot of blogs throughout the day when I can and I am glad I do because I have learned so much about so many topics. Even though I am in the personal finance niche, I am still a blogger, so topics like this I am very passionate about.
I have never thought of commenting to be like a min guest post, but you are so correct. It is a min version and we get to elaborate and leave your views on a topic that we may know something about. That adds value to the blog as well as to the readers of the blog. The key is to be consistent in your efforts to leave comments of value.
You make great point about choosing the blogs you comment on strategically. This is really important. I like to comment on blogs where the community is active and as you stated, there is not too many one-liner comments.
Blog commenting is definitely my blogging strategy and your awesome article only encourages me more to stick with it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your awesome comment Nathaniel 🙂 I DO see blog commenting as an equivalent (just a mini) version of guest blogging. With guest blogging you “blog” or leave your entry; your opinion. The length of the blog post is something we fixed over the time – but the idea behind blog commenting and guest blogging is just the same 🙂
I’m so happy you already have blog commenting in your strategy! I’m sure you are reaping your benefits!
This is great advice. My biggest problem with commenting on other blogs is that I worry I am detracting too much from the original post. Even when the blogger asks a question and is inviting individual answers, I sometimes feel awkward for starting a conversation while everyone else is commenting “Great post! I love your hair!”
I can relate Kaieigh 🙂 When everyone is wearing jeans, you feel awkward to appear there in your formal suite 🙂 I’ve been there on that kind of blogs!
But don’t worry about leaving your opinion – you did well here; you didn’t deviate from the original focus 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Jane, I have always felt blog commenting is one of the best ways to communicate with a blogger rather than emailing them. As most of the bloggers are busy they might not even mail us back. I always try to read the blog articles and then be among the first few commentators.
It has really helped me to have a direct connect with the author too.
Yes Sangeetha. By leaving a blog comment, you are directly talking to the author. And it is a great way to contextually say what you want to say because, unlike leaving a reply in a social media update, leaving a comment right below the original blog post adds value in relevance 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Jane,
Awesome post indeed, and I was just nodding my head in agreement as I read through your post – thanks so much for the kind mention too 🙂
Yes, just like your blog, mine too was like a ghost town, when I started long back. I guess being from the writing niche, I knew NO blogger when I started. But it’s all been a self-learning curve I would say, and it was within 2-3 months when bloggers slowly started visiting my blog, and I visited theirs – the key is reciprocation and going a little beyond to do good to others by even sharing their posts, even if they don’t share yours. You increase your karma points if nothing else, and you really lose nothing.
Yes, leaving meaningful comments, related to the topic is essential, and if you do that, there is no question people not noticing and perhaps following you. You really just have to be yourself and give a little time, that’s all – but the returns are manifold 🙂
Niche or no niche, I DO make it a point to visit a LOT of blogs, sometimes encouraging the newcomers and inspiring them, as time permits. I feel it’s the least I can do as a blogger and perhaps make someones day a lot brighter. More so, I feel for them as I can never forget my time as a newcomer. That being the reason I started with a small blog community and forum at my blog and people are just loving it there – making those connections, building relationships, new friendships, commenting, sharing, caring – that’s how I’ve always liked the Blogosphere to be. 🙂
Thanks for this wonderful post. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Everybody starts with a ghost town lol 🙂 But we should make sure that we don’t stay that way 🙂 And I can boldly say that blog commenting was my top thing that gave me the initial push that my blog needed!
The second top thing was guest blogging. And I treat blog commenting as a form of guest blogging too – I am sure you do too 🙂
Making connections and building genuine relationships is a fun part in my business that I treat very seriously – it takes all the pain out of the equation and give me true joy in doing what I do.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts Harleena 🙂
Blog commenting will be helpful to increase traffic if wisely done!!!
Hi Jane,
Yep, yep and yep… You knew I would be agreeing with what you’re sharing here. Even the part about “the content I published there was awesome”. We all start out that way and it might be awesome but if no one is seeing it or should I even elaborate, taking action, then what’s the point.
Sometimes blog commenting gets bashed because people think it’s a waste of time. Like I’ve heard, as soon as I stop commenting or I slow down they stop coming. Well that might be the case but if it is then you haven’t done a very good job of building up a relationship with them then. Because that’s the whole point of this in my opinion.
Of course you know I’m all about us building our own blog community so that should be what people are focusing on as well. It all starts by putting yourself out there in front of enough people so they’ll start to pay attention to who you are and get interested enough to stop by for a visit. It’s then up to us to keep them interested and wanting to come back for more.
To me blog commenting is the most enjoyable part of us promoting us. That’s what we’re doing actually, we’re getting out there and promoting us. Some people prefer sharing stuff on social media, some prefer placing ads, I prefer blog commenting. It’s a form of self promotion and that’s how the connections start. Without that I think most people are going to have a difficult time.
Thanks for the mention by the way and for promoting my course. I’ve heard from so many people already that are using it and getting results. I’m so happy to hear that and I know there will be plenty more to come in time.
I appreciate that Jane and for this topic as well. Long live blog commenting.
~Adrienne
“Waste of time?!?!” Wow. I know you would never say that Adrienne. Particularly because it’s in this forum that one makes lasting friends and allies. I always glean knowledge, community, or even an opportunity to help from my time spent commenting. I KNOW you do.
Keep Stepping,
Kurt
Yes blog commenting can be a “Waste of time” if people didn’t care enough to leave comments that matter. If they spend 5 seconds to leave a “great post” comment – then yes, that’s 5 seconds wasted. But valuable, thought-out comments are my content out there; that’s my opinion out there; that’s my voice out there; and that’s my authority/expertise put out there!
If that is waste of time, then publishing a blog post or a guest post is a waste of time too 🙂
And I totally agree with you when you say you prefer blog commenting for promotion. More than an ad banner blog commenting speaks for you while you showcase your expertise on the topic.
Thanks so much for sharing your insights, Adrienne 🙂 I appreciate that!
Have a great week dear.
Hi Jane,
Definitely agree with you. Blog commenting is my main traffic strategy now, and I’m starting to see the rewards in my business.
I really liked what you said about a comment being a mini guest-post. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but it’s quite right.
I’ve always been grateful to the many readers who have added their own tips to points I’ve made in my posts, because in all cases they have added value to my original post.
I found you via Adrienne’s blog – so that just proves it works 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your week, Joy
Hiya Jane!
Yes, I do blog commenting as a traffic strategy. But I am a bit put off when someone comes to MY blog and says something along the lines of “Wow, what a great post Kurt keep ’em coming.” That doesn’t do what I think blog commenting is SUPPOSED to do– add to the conversation.
When I’m commenting on someone’s blog I want to add my two cents… whether it’s to agree, disagree, or build on what the blogger has said… the main aim is to create value, create conversation, create community.
In particular today, I appreciated where you said you can’t expect to do one post on a superstar’s site and expect a flood of traffic. Nor can you follow EVERYone… that leads to overwhelm. And a lack of focus, I’ll add.
Two keys: FOCUS (I tend to follow just a few follow-ERS of superstars that I respect: Ana Hoffman, Kristi Hines, Neil Patel are a few) and CONSISTENCY.
Since what you’re saying strikes a chord with me you can bet I’ll be back Jane! I’d like to encourage your followers to use focus and consistency as their bywords and see how much further their blog commenting goes for themselves and the bloggers they support. 🙂
Thanks again for an insightful post!
Keep Stepping!
Hey Jane,
I have been following your “Free Training” and every so often do comment on blogs. It dawned on me after reading Ryan Biddulph’s “13 Steps to Becoming an Unstoppable Networking Machine” that it is indeed essential for every Pro blogger to become a “Giving Blogger”, share, comment, allow guest blogging on your Blog and be an all round nice guy without expecting anything back and you see the Goodness flowing back. This I have seen in action and my blogs that used to have “0” comments despite having lots of visits according to Google analytics, started getting comments from people I didn’t even know, who have gone a step further an connected with me on social media.
Your blog reinforces that lesson and strategy. In fact had never looked at it that way, that a comment is a mini guest blog in itself and I shall continue the good work. Sometimes I dont agree with the authors views though and many times moderators simply leave out dissenting comments however nicely put they are.
I have learned to seek the Qn in a blog and respond to that and of course now I love to comment and share my views. Its fun too. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jane, thanks for adding your link to this post when you commented on my blog the other day (I appreciate the value you added to the comment), I’ve been meaning to check it out and finally was able to today!
Right, where do I start with this?
I agree with most of the things you say, I love the concept of your thinking, especially about blog commenting being a mini form of guest blogging, because you’re right, it actually is. These days most people who understand the true value of strategic blog commenting usually construct a comment of around 200 words or more, that IS a mini guest post in itself right?
A good comment should show gratitude to the author, add value and promote the conversation further, share personal experiences, thoughts and insights, and maybe help to solve some problems too. That’s what gets people intrigued and get them clicking on that link back to your blog.
For me personally I love blog commenting because it helps me to connect with people in my niche industry. I love helping people solve problems, well I try anyway, and love bringing them back to my blog.
I’ve found for me particularly, commenting on a small handful of high value blogs frequently is far more practical and valuable than commenting on hundreds of blogs in a niche.
Thanks for this valuable post and sharing your advice Jane, have a great rest of the week.
Fabrizio
Hi Jane,
I love blog commenting for many reasons. First of all, if I like what I read, I leave a comment because it is my way to thank the author for publishing the post and for the work the author spent to write the blog post.
Second, I love reading the comments to see what other people had to say because there are so many good ideas shared in comments. Usually when I read a good comment I often click on the links of good commentors and visit their blogs and leave comments there. (Actually for that reason I like commenluv blogs as the comments show the links and they give me an idea of the niche the blog is).
The third awesome thing about commenting is that it gives you a chance to form relationships with other bloggers.
Of course, the traffic you get to your blog, because inevitably the the blogger who receives my comment will visit my blog (or at least many do).
I never thought of a comments as a mini guest posts, but you are right. A good comment is an invitation, just like a good guest post is.
Thank you for sharing.
Hey Dita,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the topic. Indeed leaving a blog comment is establishing a good connection with the author appreciating his/her work. It is a warm gesture which in turn helps build long term, genuine relationships. I’ve built many genuine connections just via blog commenting and it is so awesome.
And since my comments are my opinion and my knowledge on the subject, they help establish my expertise and authority all over the web 🙂
The traffic – oh yes, it occurs as a sweet by product and the traffic that comes from our thoguhtful comments is loyal and sticky traffic – also traffic that converts.
Thanks once again 🙂
Have a great week!
Cheers,
Jane.
I read a lot of blogs throughout the day when I can and I am glad I do because I have learned so much about so many topics. Even though I am in the personal finance niche, I am still a blogger, so topics like this I am very passionate about.
Also it gives an opportunity for the others to read the related opinion/conversation and chime in, if they wanted to.
And not just that, if there’s something you could add to the conversation, leaving a comment on the original blog post is a great way to do it.
You could also contact the author of the post/blog via email or other social media outlet and let them know your thoughts. But adding a comment directly below the blog post actually adds to the conversation directly – right there!
Yes, leaving meaningful comments, related to the topic is essential, and if you do that, there is no question people not noticing and perhaps following you. You really just have to be yourself and give a little time, that’s all – but the returns are manifold 🙂
These are very informative points you have shared about blog commenting benefits and here after I will use these method to generate traffic on my website.
Thank you for your advise it’s really helped me to streamline my traffic to my blog! You are now a fab blogging bible
Many many thanks.
James
Hello! Janesheeba well said that the blog commenting is almost equal to guest blogging, and we should always write a neat and clean conversation while in commenting because it affects more our behavior and from pretty blog commenting we can be seen everywhere.
I need to take this advice! And thanks to the commenters for hints on Google Authorship and the Insecure Writers Support Group. I’ll be checking out both of those.
A couple of questions, if you don’t mind…
Is it better to comment with a Google account or a WordPress account?
Is it better to comment directly on the blog or on the Google+ link? What do you prefer as the author? Which facilitates a better conversation?
Thanks for the encouragement!
thanks for this knowledge article it help to my blog content and traffic will increase keep uploading this type of post
Insightful guide on using blog commenting as a powerful strategy to drive traffic, boost engagement, and improve online visibility.
Glad you found it useful!