I tend to take a different approach to commenting on blogs I visit than I think most bloggers do with tier blog commenting strategies. So I thought I would share my ideas on blog commenting and taking part in your blogs niche community.

I cant say I really have a formulated blog commenting strategy. Or maybe I do.

Heres what I do when commenting and why I think this might benefit you.

Let’s start with the title of this post because I’m sure you’re scratching your head and wondering what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about being part of something. And that something is your blogs niche community. This is why I say that commenting on a blog is like guest posting. I dont mean doing a 7oo word blog comment. I mean:

1.) GET INVOLVDED. Engage in the topic of the post you’re commenting on. Not something like “hey great post really informative” No I mean REALLY READING the post and adding your thoughts to it…. add to it.

2.) ADD VALUE. Posting a comment is adding value to the blog you’re commenting on. People who come to the blog see the number of comments and think wow this must be a popular blog, this is the place to be. Remember people are social creatures and like to hang out where other people are hanging out. It has been said that the number of comments on a blog is a sign of a healthy blog. (not to sure about yet).

3.) RESPECT the blogger. When you’re considering commenting on a blog. think about it like this: The author has gone through what ever effort it required them to come up with their post so respect that and respond appropriately. You wouldnt when talking to a friend about what ever just say to them afterwards. “cool stuff man” Remember you’re having a conversation with this blogger after all. So be respectful.

4.) DON’T JUST NAME DROP FOR THE BACK LINK. Don’t just comment for the sake of being able to drop your keyword(s) in the comment info box for the back link. The majority of blogs these day are no following their comments anyways. So this really isnt a beneficial tool of gaining in coming links, or link building. Looking for a link building guide heres a great post from Stuart of earnersblog. you’ll notice blog commenting isnt one of them.

5.) CONTRIBUTE CONTENT. This is why I say commenting on a blog is like guest posting. Generally when I am commenting on a blog I really read the post. Because I find it of interest. I am looking for info that I can use, share, learn from. etc etc. So I make sure when I comment that I am adding content to the blog. This benefits the blogger and it benefits you as well.  How? Well let’s say you have some knowledge on the topic of the blog post. When you comment you’re sharing what you know with:

A.) The blogger.

B) The bloggers community

C.) The search engines

This not only benefits the blogger because you’re adding search engine crawlable content. But you’re showing what you know and in turn you’ll get traffic from others who see what you have written and think wow that guy/girl knows their stuff.

Other benefits of this blog commenting strategy: 

• Someone may visit your blog and comment in turn,
• Find your content useful and link to it.
• Make a friend or two along the way.
• Building community with in your niche.

6.) AGREE TO DISAGREE? You dont always have to agree. I’m not suggesting you should go out there and go flame the blogger. Though I suppose that does generate some buzz. Call it blog commenting traffic baiting. Some readers like my self like to see loud and lively comments threads. And like to participate in these sorts of conversations. Im curently engaged in a blog conversation over on blogging-ads.com  Go have a look at what I do to when commenting.  Blogging-ads Review You’ll notice that I refer other blog commenters to some other bloggers and their posts that they might find useful. It’s helpful when you can actually insert html in the comment form. I cant stress this enough Build a blog community and you do this by SHARING

Just by way of example and I’m sure you have seen other hot posts and loud comments on other blogs. Here’s one from Garryconn.com make money online with a dead guy 

Ive recently read and re-read Caroline Middlebrooks Blog commenting strategy. She has some good points and some points I dont really agree with. I can see where shes coming from with building her brand and her name but I dont really agree that this should be a main focus of your blog commenting strategy. But hey Each to their own. who am I to judge.

Snippet:

1. Grab the attention of the readers
2. Grab the attention of the blogger
3. Develop my personal brand
4. Create some backlinks

GET OUT THERE and Network 

Do I think blog commenting is all about attention grabbing, not all about it, but there is a certain aspect to this that you do want to achieve. Whether you do it by default or not. You do have to get yourself out there and network with your blog niche. And blog commenting is definately part of that networking you should be doing.

I definately dont agree with what she states as her primary purpose for blog commenting. “The primary purpose of blog commenting is to gain new readers“

I do like what she has to say about Branding herself. And you should definately be doing this in your chosen niche. And not neccesarily “everywhere” Seriously if I were to go comment on a blog about child obesity using make money blogging (this blog) trying to brand myself that in that niche how relevant do you think I would be in that comment thread. And do you think my comment would be sent through, not likely. Though I havent tried that, nor is it likely that I will.

So do try to be everywhere but also try to be relevant and comment in your niche. See what I mean? I may be a little off one this but I think it is worth mentioning anyways.

I like her idea of seeing who is using the top commentators plug-in but still comment on a blog if they dont use that plug-in again. I like to comment where I think I can ad value to the blog. And not just because they have some plug-in. She does clarify that a bit more later in the post. And I do see where shes headed with the use of blogs with that plug-in. Some people like me view the latest comments in the side bar and go check out what the commenter had to say and then visit the blog. I’ve found many great blogs doing that.

“If these blogs are not in my timezone then I can’t get anywhere near the top of their comments, there’s no possibility of a backlink, and with so many comments the chances of attracting the attention of the blogger is slim. What to do? Move on…”

I find this a little self serving. There’s more than one way to get the attention of a blogger if this is the case.

What to do if theres a bajillion comments and you want to reach the blogger.

EMAIL THEM 

Just email them and say hey Love the content I just commented on blah post. Keep it up the good work!  LOL try to be a little more concise than that but I think you get the idea. And a simple email goes a long way. Not many bloggers get emails and the ones I have emailed have been very helpful and kind enough to espond back. Ive emailed Caroline a few times and she returns her emails promptly and is very helpful. So thats another option for you.

Commenting by stats

She has a good tip how ever using stats to measure where her efforts should be spent. I think that is very useful. If something is working you should duplicate that effort and maximize its effectiveness over and over again. I’ve done this using my stats tracking pgm to see what keywords are brining me traffic and duplicating that. Ive not seen this applied to commenting and it’s something worth taking note of.

Hope you found this helpful.

Your turn to comment!!