Cyber Imprints

Bloggers love to see comments on their blogs. Comments serves as a proof that there is indeed someone who read the bloggers blog post. But that is not the only reason, comments also gives the bloggers indication that the commenting reader wants to have an active interaction with the blogger. Through comments, the reader sends their reactions – be it a question, a disagreement with contents of the blog post, or an appreciation to the information posted by the blogger. Comments also show how the audience receives the blog posts and could be used as a tool to change the blogger’s strategy in marketing their blogs. A blog with active readers is an indication that the blog captured a set of core readers that can serve as start of streams of traffic trickling to the blog.

Whatever the reason is, comments are valuable to the bloggers. And because of this, many bloggers tried many ways to make the passive readers leave a comment on their blogs. Some well-established have schemes like online contests to foster commenting and attract hordes of traffic. However, those kinds of scheme are beyond the reach of newbie bloggers and young blogs.

Blogging is a mode of communicating and connecting with other people. Commenting, as a tool of blogging, is a simple way of initiating conversation. It is also a good way of developing good relationships with other bloggers.

Tips on Making Comments a Powerful Blogging Tool

1) Initiate the Conversation First

This is the first thing that I did when I started blogging. Instead of just waiting for someone to comment on my blog, I started to visit other blogs and leave a comment on those blogs. And it is not just any blogs that I went to. I make sure that my blog have something in common with the blogs I am visiting, or that I have something in common with the blogger who owned the blog I am visiting. For my Before the Eastern Sunset blog, I started visiting blogs owned by bloggers who also live in my hometown. By doing this, I know that I have something to relate to with the blogger.

Initiating the conversation first is just like visiting the houses in your new neighborhood and saying hello to the homeowners.

2) Leave Meaningful Comments

Many bloggers do not like seeing comments that do not add value to the conversation. Short comments like “LOL,” “That’s great!,” or “Nice post,” are examples of such comments. Bloggers who receive such comments can only reply short comments that in no way continue the conversation. You can only use such comments if you already have an established relationship with the blogger you are commenting to and simple words like these are enough to convey your message. But if you are a new visitor, never leave such comments.

Reading the blog post is also important. Leaving comments that are off topic is a big no-no. Comments that only contain advertisements or promotion of commenter’s blogs are also a big no-no and comments like these are likely to be ignored or, worse, deleted by bloggers.

Leaving a meaningful comment shows you value to the blogger whom you are commenting to. It shows that you want to spark a meaningful conversation with the blogger. Leaving meaningful comments also have an added benefit because comments like these attracts the attention of other readers. If the blogger and the readers find you comments meaningful, then there is a great chance that they will also visit your blog to know more about your blog. 

3) Follow Up On Comments

Leaving on comment on a blog is not the end of conversation. If the blogger or other reader answered your comment, then it is good that you also answer their replies. Following up on comments only shows that you are interested in conversing with them.

However, monitoring replies to each of your comments is quite hard to do. Thankfully, there are ways to automatically know if your comment had been replied to.

Blogger, for instance, allows you to subscribe on the comments of the blog posts you commented on. For other blog platform, there are Disqus and Intense Debate which are installed by bloggers to foster interactivity in their blogs. Do not fail to take advantage of such facilities in the blogs you are commenting on.

4) Answer Comments on Your Blogs

If a visitor commented on your blog, then the best thing to do is to reply to their comment. This is the best way of rewarding readers who took their time to write a comment on your blog. Replying on your reader’s comment also shows that you are interested in conversing with your readers. It adds interactivity to your site and make develops a personal relationship with your readers.

If your visitor left a question, then answer the question to the best of your knowledge and as soon as possible. It is also best if you go out of your way to research the answer to the questions so that your readers will look at you as a person who personally knows the topic in question. This will raise your value to the blogosphere and will attract more readers through the word of mouth of commenters who got their questions answered.

Commenting is a powerful blogging tool and the best way of developing strong relationship with your readers. Use the tips I included herein and good things will be coming your way.

Leave a comment. If you have questions, reactions, or clarification about this article then please leave a comment. All comments will be replied to, personally, as soon as possible.
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