Blog commenting is a popular and simple way to engage with other blog cementers and authors. It also has many benefits; we know that commenting on some blogs can help us build backlinks, increase visibility on our own posts (usually with CommentLuv enabled blogs), but more importantly it can help us gain authority on specific topics in our niche. If you can offer something new and practical in each comment that you leave on other blogs, you can bet your last dollar that you’re going to get readers wanting to come back to your blog, to see what you have to offer them.
But… but, Blog Commenting is Laborious
Quit your whining… OK I’ll admit that at times commenting on other blogs can seem like a laborious process, but only if you make it so. I personally enjoy reading my favorite blogs and of course adding my comments. In today’s post we’re going to look at 7 things that you should avoid at all costs, especially if you’re a newbie in the world of blogging; 7 things that can make you the worst commenter in the blogosphere.
7 Blog Commenting Mistakes to Avoid
1. No Gravatar
Who the hell are you? The reason I ask is because I personally want to see who’s commenting on my posts. There are the odd occasion when I’ll let slip a comment that has no Gravatar, but that usually only happens when the comment is genuinely a god comment. If you want to make a real impact in the blogosphere then follow the correct protocols of blog commenting, and get yourself a Gravatar.
Read: How to Optimize your Gravatar Image for Best Results in Blogging
2. Your URL Looks Fishy
Let’s now give some well deserved abuse to the URL you’ve left in your comment. There are three things that gripe me with some commenters;
- URL’s with long, no let’s rephrase that, too long extensions on the end of them.
- URL’s that redirect to some fishy looking site, and
- URL’s that are in fact dead…
Ensure the URL you use when blog commenting is a single domain with no extension, valid, related and somewhat useful. If you’ve commented on this blog before and wondered why your URL is missing, it’s because of one of the three reasons above.
3. Your Comment Isn’t Helpful
‘Great post thanks’… There is nothing wrong with these kinds of comments however I don’t think you’ll impress too many blog authors with them. It isn’t helpful to other commenters either, so ensure you leave something useful, add your own thoughts on the subject, maybe your own resource too. Help to provide a solution to the problem, the more you do this in your your blog commenting strategy, the more respect you’ll earn, authority wise.
4. Your Comment Isn’t Engaging
‘Great post thanks…’ What else is wrong with this kind of comment? It’s not engaging enough. It doesn’t entice others to do anything other than ignore it. Ask questions, open up a conversation on the topic and you’ll soon find yourself engaging with other commenters and the blog author.
5. Oops! You’ve Dropped Yet another Fishy Link… this time in your Comment Body!
Ah now you’ve done it. You’ve dropped a link in the comment box. Actually this isn’t bad at all, just as long as it’s not fishy or self promotional crap or worst still, an affiliate link. I haven’t come across anyone that actually does this yet, but if you’re thinking of doing it don’t bother… If you want to leave a link in the box make sure it’s resourceful and has a great comment behind it. I’ve approved many comments in the past where I’ve found the link in comment box to be beneficial.
6. Copy and Pasting is not good enough
Holy Shebang Batman! Doesn’t this just get on your nerves? This is a question to all blog authors out there, how many times have you come across a copy and paste comment? And for some reason they end up in the Ham folder… I’m forever deleting comments like this, I’d like to go into detail as to why this isn’t a good method of bog commenting, but I’ll just say this… Trust me… don’t do it.
7. You Simply Didn’t Read the Post
The last thing that crowns you the worst commenter in the blogosphere is that you don’t read posts before leaving a comment. It is a mistake that even I have done in the past, thankfully I’ve learned from it.
If you want to leave something useful when blog commenting, read the post first. Understand the topic and then think about what you’re going to write in the comment box. Don’t be tempted to jump the bridge and scan through bits of it, even then you’ll miss crucial points.
OK folks those are my 7 things that I think could make you the worst commenter in the blogosphere. What about you? Are you guilty for any of these things when blog commenting? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below as always.
…Over and out – Fabrizio.