Blog commenting has become a very popular strategy for getting more traffic and link juice to your blog. In fact, I used effective blog commenting to dramatically boost my Alexa Ranking and blog performance in just 30 days.
But for Part Time Networkers and others trying to build their business with limited time, you must have a clear strategy for getting the most out of your blog comments. Otherwise, you can waste a lot of valuable time with little to show for it.
Today, I want to share with you the exact blog commenting strategy I use on a daily basis.
Just to be clear, I am talking about how and where to place comments on other blogs. In a future post, I'll explain how to get more people to comment on your own blog.
My Blog Commenting Strategy: Finding the Right Blogs
Hunting around the Internet for interesting posts on which to comment is an inefficient use of your time, and you can't afford that! So the first step in effective blog commenting is to find the best blogs to place your comments.
I already discussed this at length in a previous post, so I won't elaborate too much here except to say that you should find 5-10 blogs in your niche that have regular and recent posts, lots of comments and a Google Page Rank of at least 2.
You need to limit the number of blogs for commenting to use your time most effectively, and to get yourself noticed by repeatedly commenting on the same blogs.
This is the time to do your homework before placing your first comment!
Once you've chosen the blogs on which you want to comment, head on over to their blogs once more and begin the process of building a relationship.
- Subscribe to their blogs either by email or RSS feed.
- Send a friend request on Facebook, and like their Facebook Fan Page if they have one (they should). I'll explain why later.
- Follow them on other social networks like Twitter and Linkedin. Use the social media buttons on their blog to connect.
- Connect in other ways possible, such as Google Friend Connect and Networked Blogs, if available on their blog
- Even try this — send the blogger a message on their blog and let them know how much you like what they write and that they'll be seeing your comments regularly! What a great way to get noticed.
For more, read: Effective Blog Commenting for Part Time Networkers: How To Find the Best Blogs to Place Comments.
My Blog Commenting Strategy: How To Write Your Comments
There are no hard and fast rules on writing good comments, but I'll share with you the guidelines I use for writing great comments:
- only comment on posts when you have something to contribute. Avoid leaving meaningless comments like “Nice post.” You'll be looked at as a spammer just looking for link juice. Many bloggers (including me) won't even approve such comments.
- when commenting, make it obvious that you actually read the post (tip: read the post!). In other words, reference something in the blog post as part of your comment.
- use the blogger's name in your comments a couple of times. This may help you get noticed by the blogger (not tested, just my feeling).
- do NOT talk excessively about your own blog posts. Only mention one of your posts if it adds to the discussion and is relevant to your comment.
- always be polite and courteous, even if you don't agree with some points contained in the blog post.
- proof read your comment and be sure it makes sense. You'd be surprised how many blog comments I see that don't make sense. You don't need perfect grammar or spelling (although its nice), but your comment needs to make sense.
FInally, just before you hit the Submit Button, check to see if the blogger has activated a plugin that will allow you to subscribe to follow up comments. If so, you'll see a box you can check right below the Submit button, asking you to Subscribe. Always take advantage of this opportunity.
It will allow you to continue the conversation and discussion.
My Blog Commenting Strategy: Blog Commenting Followup
Once you've made your comment and hit the submit button, your work is still not done. A few more steps will help build a relationship with the blogger.
Step 1: Share the post with on Facebook. This is a great way to show the blogger that you're supporting him/her.
TIP: If your Facebook Friend request has been accepted, use the @Name feature when sharing the post. The blogger will then see that you have shared his post on Facebook. This is a great relationship builder, and it's why I told you earlier to befriend bloggers on Facebook.
Step 2: Now go back and share the post with your other social networks of choice. Personally, I retweet each post on Twitter and share on Digg and Stumbleupon. Sharing in this way give the posts (containing YOUR comments) more exposure and extends their reach to more eyeballs.
Step 3: Ping your comment using Ping-o-Matic or Pingler.com, When you submit your comment, notice the URL changes to the name of the post + comment with a comment ID at the end. Copy and paste this comment URL into one of the automatic ping services to get maximum exposure for your comments.
Thanks to Ana Hoffman at Traffic Generation Cafe for this tip!
All of this takes only a few minutes and goes a long way towards building relationships with fellow bloggers.
It's a very efficient use of your time.
Blog Commenting Strategy Takeaways
First, it's vitally important that you choose a group of blogs on which to comment. These should be in your niche, active and get a good amount of traffic.
Second, take care on how you write your comment and be sure you are adding to the conversation.
Third, be sure to share the post on social media sites and ping your comment to gain maximum exposure.
Finally, subscribe to the comment thread (when available) and be sure to continue the conversation with the blogger once they've replied to your comment.
There you have it… my Effective Blog Commenting Strategy for busy marketers. If you decide to use blog commenting as a strategy to bring traffic back to your blog, you can use my strategy as a guideline.
However, as with anything else, you'll want to take what makes sense to you and use it to form your own blog commenting strategy.
43 replies to "A Highly Effective Blog Commenting Strategy for Busy Marketers"
Blog commenting can still work. It can work in amazing ways. You just have to really care about the topic and be real when you write your comment.
Commenting on blogs is a great strategy especially if you are thinking of gathering a fan base of like-minded individuals. Where people mes up is when they start commenting on un-related blogs. You looks fans and google points as well when do this; However, great strategy for bringing people to your blog or online presence
Agreed, you need to comment with a strategy; if unfocussed, you will not get the same impact of your time.
Thanks for the comment!
[…] For us and our milestone of reaching 100 blog posts, our plan included a consistent posting schedule, a specific blog promotion strategy and an effective blog commenting strategy. […]
Hi Bob, (found you from Mavis’ blog)
I don’t do as much blog commenting as before but I used to practice one specific blog comment technique using it to get more backlinks and I figured at the same time it had helped other areas of interest as well:
1. Comment on blogs which have do-follow and Top Commentator List.
When there is a top commentator wp-plugin it means that that blog takes commenting more seriously than others, so you can be sure that your comments will be read by a lot of bloggers. This can only lead to very positive results sometimes with viral effect if your comment is good.
2. I focused solely on higher PR blogs like PR3+ blogs. They are longer in business and have established themselves in the blogging fraternity. I realized that there are usually more quality comments in such blogs.
3. Contribute only quality comments because that’s what I asked of my readers on my own blog. I have no qualms about deleting many useless ones and those that don’t offer any value to the conversation.
Well my full post is here if I am allowed to share with your readers:
http://www.peterleehc.com/blog/work-from-home/how-blog-commenting-got-me-1200-backlinks-in-5-days
Hi, Bob (and Rosemary). This is a great strategy. I use IMAutomator.com to bookmark every single blog post comment link that I comment on. I don’t know if it works out, but I hope that this creates some quality backlinks. I genuinely enjoy the blogs that I do comment on. They are not always directly related to my niche, but they always contribute to my learning and personal development. Thanks for these great insights!
Thanks for the tip, Steve. Going to check out IMAutomator now!
Appreciate your contributions here!
Blog comments are very indispensable for they provide us with numerous benefits such as making us build connections with our customers or clients; allowing us to promote or pitch the product or service we intend to sell; and many other benefits. However, for you to be able to obtain those, you have to make sure that the comments you make are excellent.
Agreed, Audrey. There’s no sense going through the effort of blog commenting if you just use comments like “nice post” or “I agree”. They add nothing to the discussion and may even make you look like you’re only doing it for the backlinks. That’s not a reputation you want to get!
Hi Bob,
These are great tips, I really need to start pinging my comments. I started to (I think I read that from Mavis’s blog). One question, do you ping your replies to comments on your own blog?
Thanks!
Stacy
Hey Stacy,
I started pinging comments when I read a post by Ana Hoffman at TrafficGenerationCafe.com (by the way, if you haven’t spent time on Ana’s blog, its worth the time!). But I haven’t been pinging my reply to comments. Hmmm…..
Thanks for the idea, Stacy! See ya around!
Dr. Bob.
There are two steps, I haven’t been doing. Pinging my comments…GREAT IDEA, BTW, and continue the conversation. I haven’t been responding to my comments.
Thanks for sharing. I am going to start doing each of these steps and see how things improve.
Jaden
Hi Jaden,
Responding to comments is so important to build relationships with your readers. And I believe it helps with Alexa ranking also. I also wasn’t much for responding to comments when I first started, but when I did I started to see a big jump in my blogs performance and popularity.
About the pinging, I can’t take credit. Ana from http://trafficgenerationcafe.com showed me that. If you are interested in different ways to get traffic to your blog, check her out– she’s awesome.
Great to see you here again, Jaden!
Thank you for the “ping your comment” tip! *pinging this one when I’m done* 🙂
I ditto the fact that in anything we do, there must be a strategy in place. Otherwise, it will seem haphazard and meaningless.
I love blog commenting as a strategy because I get to meet new people, build relationships (my favorite!), and of course learn something new – which is inevitable. 🙂
As a matter of fact, sometimes I learn a lot just from others’ comments!
This post is chock full of great tips and I’m sharing it to my network!
When commenting blogs it is important to comment topic-related blogs. It makes sense to subscribe RSS feeds of popular blogs and do the best to be the first among commenters of popular blog posts.
Hi again Terje,
I agree with your comment about RSS feeds. I use them to organize the blogs on which I wish to comment. I also stay on topic-related blogs in my niche. If you don’t have a plan, you can waste a lot of time!
Thanks for your insights, Terje. See you again soon!
Bob, I was ecstatic to find that I was already doing a lot of things right based on the advice you presented in this post! =) I’m big on building real relationships and deeply connecting with blogging friends, old and new! One new thing your post has got me thinking about is ways that I can share and promote my friends’ posts more.
Since the Clever Marketer group started bookmarking campaigns, I signed up for Digg, StumbleUpon and ReddIt for the first time. I haven’t joined a campaign yet, but I can definitely start sharing my friends’ links there!
Bob, I’m also curious what your take is on blogs that don’t include a function to subscribe to replies? When I remember, I try to contact the author and ask if they can include the function. If they don’t, I try to star the post in Google Reader, but often forget to check back for replies. What do you do when a blogger doesn’t allow you to subscribe to replies?
P.S. I followed the links you had in this post and loved how you were able to compare your blog performance between months. Is your “Social Proof” box a WordPress plugin? =)
Thanks for this excellent post, Bob! =)
Hi Samantha,
Glad you’re finding value here! I think your idea to use the bookmarking campaigns at CM is a good one. Go for it!
When I encounter a blog without a way to subscribe to comments, I usually will contact the blogger asking if perhaps they would think about adding the plugin, or perhaps (as happened recently) the plugin was installed but deactivated for some reason, needing to be reactivated.
This hasn’t happened that often, honestly, but I think going right to the blogger is the best course. If they refuse but I still really like the blog, I will do as you say, bookmark it and try to follow on my own.
Thanks for your comment, Samantha!
PS The plugin you’re looking for that allowed me to post my “social proof” is called ViperProof. My friend Kim Castleberry told me about it.
HI Bob,
I like the time effectiveness angle you emphasize when it comes to commenting. Our time is precious and being efficient and effective is paramount.
I do also think the idea of making contact with the blogger off the blog is a very important aspect to networking.
You have written a very extensive and clear guide here for anybody who wants to know how to comment for maximum impact. Thanks for sharing your strategy.
~Marcus
Hi again Marcus!
Being effective in the time I spend on commenting is of necessity, so it’s an aspect of my business that I’ve mastered. Glad you liked that part of the post.
I agree, taking your blogging relationship off the blog and even off line will go a long way towards building those important relationships that will help your business.
Thanks for the feedback, Marcus! Appreciate your comment!
Hello Bob,
I like all your strategies…I have been reading Ana Hoffman’s blog for some time and she’s been teaching me some manners, too. I like the one about pinging comments, I just never seem to have enough time for it. If you are using a blog to market online, it’s a whole different atmosphere than the big websites, like Walmart etc. Kind of nice, really.
Lou Barba
Hi Lou, appreciate the comment.
I also love Ana’s blog for traffic generation ideas. Pinging comments really doesn’t take that much time once you get into the rhythm. Having said that, I don’t ping every single comment — just those that I feel I’ve made a valuable contribution (which is most, I hope!).
Great to see you here again!
See you again soon, my friend!
Very clever Bob, that’s the kinda thing that makes good bloggers great, 😉
Dennis Edell recently posted..100 Down Thousands to Go!
Thanks, Dennis… glad you value from it!
Hi Bob,
your advice is also helpful for full-time marketers. Because full time doesn’t automatically mean that we use our time wisely. We simply have more of it to waste…Being part-time and knowing that we have to use our time productively and effectively when we don’t want to drown, can be an advantage. It forces to us to think and to focus.
A very important piece of advice is pinging the comment-page url – I also learned that just recently from Ana. Thanks for sharing it here.
What I can tell from your comments on my blog is that you are practising what you preach.
Take care
Oliver
I love that, Oliver… “We simply have more of it to waste.” It’s so true about time.
Yes, much of what I write about is totally applicable to full time marketers as well. The same concepts apply.
But part time marketers must be extra vigilant and protective of the little time we have to work on our business venture. As you say, it forces us to think and focus!
Thanks for stopping by, Oliver. Great to see you here again!
Hi there .. Great post .. It is interesting and informative .. great job 🙂 I’d like to see more interesting content like this .. 🙂
You can also visit this interesting site:
Fan Page and Fan Page Guide
Welcome, Timothy!
Glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for the encouragement.
Our goal is to enlighten, empower, and entertain our readers, so stay tuned! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate your comment, Timothy!
Hi Dr. Bob,
These are great tips. I have not ‘pinged’ comments yet. I heard that suggestion not long ago too. I think Janet mentioned it.
I am surely not always the best at implementing newer ideas right off the bat. Its about getting caught up in my routine. I guess I need to add some of your suggestions to my routine… then I wouldn’t have this issue!
I have also been stepping out and finding newer blogs in my niche. Its a great way to build relationships.
As heather says, isn’t it a shame we have to state the obvious and say ‘read the post’…. (eyes rolling)
Great post
Jayne
HI Jayne, thanks for stopping by.
I am always on the lookout for new blogs that pique my interest. It’s a fun way to get to know others and to get more exposure for your own blog as well! 🙂
Pinging my comments is something that I am just starting also, as recommended by Ana Hoffman.
Appreciate the comment, Jayne. Have a great day, and I’ll see you again soon!
Hey Bob,
Thanks for the fantastic read! I’m new to your blog and happy to be around the scenes. I consider myself a blog commenting expert, but even I learn some value things today. I’m happy I had the opportunity to drop by and read your work. Writing the comment is only half the work. You must follow up to seal the deal, and you explain how to do that perfectly. I always try my best to do a follow up comment on the response, but I don’t always have the time. You better believe if I can make time I’ll do my best to follow up.
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
William the Great, I like that! Sounds very empowering, indeed!
So glad to have you stop by, William. As a blog commenting expert, your feedback is very important and your encouragement much appreciated.
And yes, as with anything else in business, the payoff is in the followup!
Hope to see you stop by again soon.
A Highly Effective Blog Commenting Strategy for Busy Marketers | Part Time Network Marketing Success Tips…
Blog commenting has become a very popular strategy for getting more traffic and link juice to your blog. But for people with limited time, a clear strategy for getting the most out of your blog comments is essential. Today, I want to share with you the…
Hi Dr. Bob.
I love your relationship building suggestions in this post. I have found taking the relationship off the blog and connecting in social media, phone or skype has really added to the value of the friendships I’ve built online.
I had to laugh at your comment for people to actually “read the post”. So sad that it even needs to be mentioned but I can tell by the number of non-relevant comments I read on other posts as well as occasionally on my own blog that people just don’t take the time to read them. I delete those comments…I have no tolerance for people commenting just to steal a little link juice!
One thing I have to say that I don’t worry about much is the page rank. The reason why is that each page/post on a blog gets its own page rank and I’m more concerned with the relationship building than I am just the back link. I think that many blogs have fantastic content and are worthy of commenting and taking the time to get to know the author, even if they don’t have a page rank of 2+.
Great post as always!
Hi Bob! Those are great tips. One that I had never thought of was to include their name with the @ symbol when sharing the post on Facebook so they know you have shared it. I have often “liked” the post without sharing it more directly.
This post (just like your other one) is also a good reminder to not comment wildly but to target niche-related blogs and comment on them repeatedly. I see your point, too, about continuing the discussion by replying to their replies.
Thanks for this helpful post!
Good job Bob, looks like you have some time management skills. 😉
LOL Dennis… Yes, I’ve finely tuned my time management skills out of necessity!
Thanks for your comment!
Hey Bob,
I think you capture the true value of blogging in this post. That is that the search engines provide a value for a substantive comment. And, you wrap the method up in a nice tidy package. Plus, you kill a lot of social bookmarking birds for yourself in the process.
All the Best,
Rick
Hi Rick,
Welcome to our blog. I agree wholeheartedly that the SE love a good, substantive comment. That’s why I am sure to ping every comment I met. Why take a chance that Google will find it, when I can send them a message telling them about it! 🙂
Thanks for the comment! See you again soon!
Dr Bob,
Your commenting strategy sounds like a perfect plan for getting exposure to your blog by commenting and adding value to other blogs. I also ping my comments as well.
Hey Justin,
Glad to hear that you ping your comments. I believe that most people don’t. I never did until I read about it on Ana’s blog, Traffic Generation Cafe. This is one of my “Go To” blogging resources.
The blog commenting strategy I’ve put in place is a work in progress. Every time I learn something more about commenting, I put it in place and test it out. If it works, I keep it.
Thanks for stopping by!
How many blogs do you comment on daily?
Hey Dennis,
I would say I comment on about 5 blogs per day, excluding weekends. I work in NYC so I commute in early to beat the traffic. That gives me about an hour in the morning before I need to start my shift.
I use that time to make blog comments and follow up on comments made on my own blog.
It seems like an effective use of my time! 🙂
Thanks for the comment!