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Commenting Do’s and Don’ts: Some Advice to Get You Started
By Michele Martin | October 11, 2007
A few days ago we discussed the different ways you can get your feet wet in the blogging pool. Commenting on blog posts is one of them. It’s also a great way to develop relationships with other bloggers and to introduce yourself into the online community.
Here are some Commenting Do’s and Don’ts to get you started:
DO . . .
- Read this Blogger’s Guide to Comment Etiquette. Lots of good advice here for even more experienced commenters.
- Add value to the conversation. An occasional “Me too” comment is OK, but the point of commenting is to participate in a dialog with the author of the blog and/or others who have commented on a particular post. Try to extend the conversation by adding something new, rather than just agreeing with what’s already been said.
- Be prepared for a range of responses from the blog’s author. It’s human nature to want a blogger to respond to any comments we’ve left on their blog. The best bloggers will get back to those who leave comments, either via a personal email or by responding to the comment by leaving their own comment on the blog post. But this doesn’t always happen. Bloggers get busy and may not have the time. Or if they run a large blog with lots of commenters, they may not be able to respond to every one. Don’t take it personally. And keep commenting.
DON’T. . .
- Be afraid to leave a comment. A lot of readers are afraid to leave a comment on a blog post, especially if they’re the first ones to do so. Don’t be intimidated. The blogger has already started the conversation by writing the post. It’s up to you to respond to keep the conversation going.
- Use comments strictly to drive traffic to your own blog. If you’ve written something on your blog that relates to another blogger’s post, by all means feel free to share a link to your site in comments. But don’t make a habit out of using comments primarily as a way to drive others to your own blog. It usually doesn’t work and has a way of upsetting other bloggers. The currency of the blogosphere is sharing. Anything that looks like you’re taking without giving will be viewed poorly.
Commenting is one of the key ways you can engage in the online community of bloggers, regardless of whether or not you maintain your own blog. Be sure to hone your skills in this area. It will pay off.
Topics: Commenting |
November 29th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
[…] But you also have to make sure you go see other people, find out what they’re up to, leave them a comment to tell them that you appreciate what they say or that their ideas interest […]