Every blogger ā including me ā will appreciate you more if you leave these kinds of comments.
And I don't just mean during comment contests.
1. Respond
As a blogger, I know first-hand how frustrating it can be to have an audience that doesn't respond when you ask them a specific question (no, not youā¦ I'm referring to my other readersā¦ rightā¦). Leverage this frustration by being the first or among the first to react in the comments.
2. Give honest feedback
Except in very specific situations, leaving a āloved this' or āthanks for this' comment is the blogging equivalent of poking someone on Facebook; the 2 seconds you took to do it is the same 2 seconds of thought the blogger will give to it before forgetting it.
Instead, tell the blogger what you liked about their article or better yet, how it could be improved if the blogger decided to do a followup.
3. Tell a related story
Show that the blogger's point made a connection with you by sharing your own similar experience or one you've heard.
4. Back up the blogger
Danny Dover of Seomoz shared this tip, where a nice way to get a blogger's attention is by posting something (e.g. a link to another article) that supports what the blogger is saying.
5. Complete the blog post
Did the blogger post a list of tips? Give another. Did she blog an opinion piece? Explain a different viewpoint. Was the article a compilation of resources? Add some more.
6. Promote the blog post
If you appreciated the article, promote it on social media, and tell the blogger that you did so. If possible, link to wherever you promoted it, giving your claim more credibility.
Here's an example of this tactic that I've been using for years. If I like a blog post and it's relevant to job search, I'll āthumb it up' and review it using the JobMob Stumbleupon account and then leave a comment with a link to the review on SU. This is a win-win tactic because if the thumbing-up sends traffic to the blog post, many of those readers may also see your comment and click through to your own website.
7. Send a trackback
One of my favorites ā if you found the blog post worthy enough, mention it on your own blog, hopefully generating a trackback among the comments of the original article (WordPress blogs do this, not so much the others). This is the ultimate expression of appreciation for a blogger's work.
Bonus
8. Ask a followup question
From Dorlee, the Social Work Career Transition Blogger, in the comments:Ā āā¦pose a (follow-up) question to the article/post. This demonstrates that you really read the item and were interested enough in the topic to want to learn more about it.ā So true, and the question can be to the blogger and/or the commenting audience.
9. Comment regularly
Simply being consistent is a way to stand out. Nigerian branding expert Yinka Olaito used to comment regularly on my articles on the Personal Branding Blog and then one day he suddenly stopped. After getting used to hearing from him, I was left wondering where he went. Mission accomplished.
By adding value to the blogger's article, the blogger and her visitors will be happy that you left your comment. Depending on how impressive your comment is, many of them will also want to learn more about you.
I originally published this article on the terrific Personal Branding Blog.
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to stand out online.
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Well, with my comment I can accomplish point #4!
Just this week, I had a guest post on my blog by Jake LaCaze that had a similar theme to point #2 ā Jake talked about the importance of having something to say on social media. Adding value to the other person by contributing a different perspective is so beneficial for everyone and should happen more often.
Hereās the link: http://melissacooley.com/2010/12/the-first-rule-of-social-media/
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I really appreciated this post because it showed how to ensure that I would always be providing a value added comment when I take the time to make one š
One additional way to provide a meaningful comment that comes to mind could be to pose a (follow-up) question to the article/post. This demonstrates that you really read the item and were interested enough in the topic to want to learn more about it.
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Well put and hopefully will be well-read. Even if I write something that sucks, Iād rather hear about it than wonder why in the world no one has said a thing. For me this was useful both as writer and as reader/commenter.
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Great to see how you all took this article to heart, and thanks for the RTs as well.
Melissa- nice timing
Dorlee- I liked what you said so much that I added it into the article as the new #8
Laura- hear hear
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Iāve found that the importance of blog comments has diminished over the years and now it is all about re-posting, tweeting the link and responding on your own blog.
I feel guilty about the quality of comments Iāve been leaving purely to win the Captain Up contest. Strangely, I never come across comments from the person in first place on the Leaderboard, but there is mathematically no way to earn that many points without doing itā¦.unless you can use Social Oomph to tweet point-getting links to posts.
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