WritingThoughts

56 responses so far ↓

• 1 Randa Clay // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I am so encouraged when people take the time to leave comments on posts on my various blogs, and I want to encourage people in the same way. This was a good reminder of all the good reasons there are to leave comments!

• 2 Mike Sieber // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I definitely leave comments on all of the blogs that I visit, although, not for every post.

  It’s a good way to create a community of like-minded people.

  Good blog you’ve got here.

• 3 laura // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Thanks Randa!

• 4 Hans // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Most of the time I don’t comment because I would think there’s nothing to add to the conversation. I just don’t feel like at ease to drop at every post I read and just say hello or thanks for the read, it’s been a great one.

  I also read a lot of posts and you are perhaps right, leaving comments might tell the author you were there. But would some bloggers be interested in knowing you were reading its content. Some bloggers and even top one, would just produce content for the mass audience or others to earn impressions for their ads.

  I would perhaps put it like this : leave comment after some time, after you know how the blogger reacts,etc to conversation : are comments welcomed in? Does he wants feedback? You can read this from the post itself. Many bloggers just discuss about a service or something and leave it there whereas others would ask you your opinions. The way you did at the end :

  Do you have a reason why it’s good to leave comments on blogs? Leave a comment here and let me know about it.

  nonetheless, nice read 🙂

• 5 WebStractions // Jun 1, 2007 at

  “Do you have a reason why it’s good to leave comments on blogs?”

  Because it is the sociable thing to do! Plus for every comment you leave, you gain a chance to pick up not only a drive-by visit — but a new reader as well. Subscriptions are the name of the game.

  (BTW, your DoFollow link to Paula Mooney’s blog is malformed — need to fix that)

• 6 JHS // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Here via Blogg-Buzz . . . I try to leave comments. Sometimes time doesn’t permit it, though.

• 7 Dana // Jun 1, 2007 at

  It is nice for the author to know that people are indeed reading what they write, and thinking about it. Even when they disagree with me, I appreciate all my comments.

  Well, not the spam and the cursing, but I don’t get a lot of that!

• 8 Wendy // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Good to know about the dofollow movement! There definitely are many advantages to commenting on other blogs. Great post!

• 9 Charles // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I find a lot of good information and sites though the comment sections of various kinds of blogs.

  Studying copywriting is one of my present interests and I track resources in this field on a daily basis through blog comments.

  C. Oxford

• 10 Jeanne Dininni // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hi, Laura!

  Found this post on http://www.Blogg-Buzz.Com and thought I’d drop by and check it out. Haven’t been able to stop by quite as often as I’d like lately!

  One reason I think it’s great to leave a comment is to give the blogger a small reward for all the often-hard work involved in writing the post!

  Your blogging friend,
  Jeanne

• 11 Michelle Knudson // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hi ,

  I found out your blog from WAHM. You have a wonderful blog. I enjoy reading your writing. You are a very amazing talented individual. Please keep up the excellent work!

  Michelle Knudson, Freelance Writer
  http://www.michelleknudson.com

• 12 laura // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hi! I have just visited the blogs of all the bloggers who have commented here. I left a comment on all of the blogs but three. I even stumbled a few of the posts. Wendy, for some reason your blog won’t let me comment (I sometimes have trouble with blogger blogs). Charles, I saw no way to leave a comment at your site. I apologize if there was a way to comment and I didn’t find it. Michelle, I left my comment in your guestbook.

  Anyway, this is what I’m talking about! I found at least four interesting sites that I had never been to before just by following the comments.

  Hans, I am a little confused by your question. Some bloggers who don’t want comments usually turn their comments off. Of course you if you can’t leave comments, then don’t.

  Also, you wouldn’t want to leave a comment on a blog that you hate and never plan to visit again.

  I think that comments are appropriate in most other instances. It’s not just about adding information. You can also ask a question (like you did).

  Webstractions, Thanks for pointing out the broken link. I usually check those before I post, but I missed this one.

• 13 Rory // Jun 1, 2007 at

  These are excellent reminders.

  It goes without saying that comments are left meaningfully – happily, I think it is a minority that leave a comment purely because of the bonus to themselves. And, you know, part of me says, “So what!” at least they visited and gave the darn thing a chance.

• 14 Laura // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Thanks Rory!

  The reasons were really listed in no particular order. Besides, you never know if someone has their nofollow turned off, or not.

  Still, especially if you are a regular reader, I think it can be helpful to make your presence known.

• 15 pickel // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I always love to see new comments on my site. It gives me encouragement and lets me know what readers really want to see. On my other blog I rarely get comments but over 200 visits a day. Go figure.

  http://www.discussingautism.com
  Pickel

• 16 Peter // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I have had several blog authors ask my opinion as they know I am a regular visitor through the comments I leave. It is equally enjoyable as receiving comments on my own blog. It’s all about community.

• 17 Paula Neal Mooney // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hey, I should’ve been hot linking my website all this time!

  Happy Weekend,
  Paula

• 18 alicia // Jun 1, 2007 at

  I always leave a comment if I have something to say – sometimes even if I don’t have anything to say, haha.

  Alicia
  

• 19 Online Marketing Should Be Fun! » It is fun to market online… // Jun 1, 2007 at

  […] When you do marketing, especially on the Internet, it can get a little lonely. So, where is the fun in all the work? One of the ways to market is through blogs. My friend Laura has a great suggestion. In fact, it is not a suggestion, it is good instruction on how to optimise your online marketing! She says “… 5 Reasons Why You Should Leave a Comment“. […]

• 20 Laura // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hi Pickel, Peter, Paula, Alicia, and Calvin!!!

  I visited all your blogs and left comments on all of them but Alicia’s. (Alicia, did you know that your comments are closed?)

  Thanks for the link, Calvin!

• 21 KWiz // Jun 1, 2007 at

  Hi Laura,

  I think it’s important to comment for all the reasons you mention in your post. But I think it’s also important because it lets the author of the post know that what he or she has to say is making some sort of impact on their readers lives, especially if they take the time to leave a comment that’s relevant and insightful (that doesn’t mean LONG).

  Great post, Laura! I truly hope your post will lead to more reader comments! (And, by the way, thank you for commenting on my site!!!)

• 22 GROW YOUR WRITING BUSINESS - For Freelance Writers Who Mean Business » Blog Archive » Do You Make Readers Run a Comment Obstacle Course? // Jun 2, 2007 at

  […] Laura, my writing colleague in the virtual cubicle next door has been reading my mind (again) with her excellent post about comments on blogs. […]

• 23 Lillie Ammann // Jun 2, 2007 at

  Laura,

  You give excellent reasons for commenting. I comment if I feel like I can add to the conversation or if I want a blogger to know that a particular post touched, informed, or inspired me. If I read a blog regularly, I will find reasons to comment periodically.

  I enjoy getting comments on my blog and always visit the sites of commenters and respond to comments – if nothing more than to say thanks. Sometimes comments really extend the conversation with new ideas, different opinions, and questions. Even when commenters disagrees with me, I like carrying on the discussion as long as they are respectful (and so far all have been).

  And as a couple of people have mentioned above, comments help me determine what posts are most interesting and useful to my readers. Sometimes I post something that I think will generate interest … and get zero comments. Other times, I post something that I’m not sure about … and generate lots of comments.

• 24 VivienneQuek // Jun 2, 2007 at

  hi Laura … Knew you from the technorati exchange. This is the first time I’m visiting your blog and thought it was informative, interesting and rewarding. I’m sure I will visit more often, especially your line of work is pretty related to mine. I’m in marketing & advertising and therefore often touch base with copywriter.

  I made it a point to leave a comment if I have something meaningful to say. Even if it was a simple “Very interesting”, it would be an honest feedback. Always felt that blogging is about conversation, dialogue, exchange, interaction, relationship. My mind went bonkers when a famous blogger intended to charge $10 per month for comments. Blogging without chatting a one-way communication, so boring!

  It is also quite interesting that there are people who prefer to use “Contact Me” to send an email rather than leaving a public comment.

• 25 Laura // Jun 2, 2007 at

  Hi KWiz,Yvonne, and Lillie!

  Thanks for commenting! Thanks Yvonne for linking to me. I’ve left comments on your blogs.

  Welcome VivienneQuek! I hope to see a lot more of you around here. I’ve left a comment on your blog.

  I think comments are appropriate in most instances. The Contact Me option is less of a conversation, but still good feedback. I would use that before I would embarrass a blogger, though. Of course, the Contact Me option is good for making business contacts.

• 26 Mihaela Lica // Jun 2, 2007 at

  See what happens when you encourage people to leave comments on your blog? They invade you. He he!
  You are right, Laura! Conversation is important. After all, that’s why we blog. I don’t have nofollow links on my blog, and I found no sense in showing that to the visitors by adding the U comment I follow button. I thought it is common sense to give link love to those who read my blog and express their thoughts about my writing. But after seeing that John Chow asks people to pay so that he takes the rel=nofollow out of their comments, I understand why the dofollow movement is so important.

• 27 laura // Jun 2, 2007 at

  Hi Mihaela!

  I don’t mind people leaving comments at all. It’s so much better than blogging in a vacuum (which is sort of talking in an empty room).

  I couldn’t believe that John Chow would charge anything, let alone $10, to remove the nofollow from comments. Would you pay that? Although I see that Google has given him a 6/10 page rank. At that page rank, he’s might be untouchable and such a move won’t impact his following at all.

  It would be an interesting experiment to pay the $10 one time and track how much traffic it generates. I’d like to see a blog post on that one.

  Well, I’m off to comment on your blog.

• 28 ndpthepoetress // Jun 2, 2007 at

  Laura how true! Those are 5 valid points! Perhaps you would enjoy another opinion on “Why You Should Leave A Comment” titled Blog ruminations, hint “Comments are like Christmas presents”.

• 29 ally // Jun 2, 2007 at

  I know a reason–free advertisement hahaha… Just kidding, kinda.
  I found your blog on WAHM and am now bookmarking- LOVE IT!

  Allena
  GardenWall Publications
  Visit My Website: http://www.msu.edu/~tapia
  Visit my newest column:
  http://hubpages.com/profile/GardenWallPubs

• 30 Laura // Jun 2, 2007 at

  Hi Ndpthepoetress and Ally! Thanks for coming by.

  Ndpthepoetress–that was a good post. I left them a comment.

  Ally, I’m glad that you found my blog and decided to stop in. I hope you stay. I also left you a comment.

• 31 alec // Jun 3, 2007 at

  I like comments because it makes me feel acknowledged in the vast world of Internet tubes. Plus, someone needs to stroke my ego.

• 32 mdy // Jun 3, 2007 at

  Hi Laura. 😎

  [ Kindly delete my earlier comment. I think I messed up the HTML markup. ]

  I’m a first-time visitor and found your blog via your comment in Problogger’s Biggest Day of Traffic post. I found Problogger only today through a post in Connie Reece’s Every Dot Connects blog. I better make a point of telling her later that it was ‘connecting the dots’ that led me here. I think she’ll get a kick out of that. 😎

  Like you, I use MyBlogLog, which IMHO already addresses the first two items in your list. So when I visit a blogs that have the MyBlogLog widget, I usually don’t leave a comment unless I have something to contribute to the conversation.

  I also make sure to “check in” by visiting the actual website so the blogger knows I’ve visited, even if I already subscribe to their posts through a feed reader.

  I have a real reluctance to leave comments that just say “hi,” or which just echo the sentiments of the post because I’ve read so many negative write-ups about how bloggers are all in some kind of virtual “echo chamber.”

  I think in this case, Hans (comment #4) was spot on when he said it’s better to wait first and get a feel of the community before commenting. If the blogger is the type of person who likes receiving simple greetings, then I guess it would okay.

  Anyway, I’m glad I found your blog; it’s another feed I will surely add to my reader.

  Cheers!

• 33 The Descent into Blog Nihilism | Prose Before Hos // Jun 3, 2007 at

  […] four foot ledge makes an excellent suicide platform, Pundits are always wrong (how did he know??), you should always leave comments on blogs (specifically with your name and phone number so I can call you at 4 in the morning and tell you […]

• 34 Barbara // Jun 3, 2007 at

  What a great idea. I’ve often wondered why some sites I comment on leave a back link and others don’t.

• 35 Ashutosh // Jun 4, 2007 at

  Well, I don’t have much to say, but the post itself has compelled me to leave my prints here :-). Will try to follow what is said here in future too. But doesn’t this philosophy generate unwanted or meaningless comments sometimes? More comments without much substance in it kills time and efforts of the serious readers who often wade through all comments to get the complete picture of the story. Any second thoughts???

• 36 laura // Jun 4, 2007 at

  Welcome Alec, Mdy, Barbara, and Ashutosh. I left comments on each of your blogs.

  Mdy, thanks for your detailed post. It’s always good to find out where a reader comes from. In this case, you saw my comment on a post at another blog–that’s good to know. I hope to see more of you around here.

  Barbara, thanks for coming by. Some sites have the nofollow feature disabled, others have left it turned on. If it is turned on, then no link is generated.

  Ashutosh, wow, what an insightful question. What I’m suggesting is a principle, really. It’s not necessarily a rigid rule.

  The post was inspired because my stats show up to several hundred visitors. Yet, because I respond to comments and read my reader’s blogs, I know that only a few dozen of those hundreds of viewers leave comments.

  Who were the other readers? I had no idea. What are they interested in? Without interaction, I have no idea.

  Even just saying hello can be meaningful because it provides a link back to the reader’s blog where I can discover what is important to him or her.

• 37 Melissa R. Garrett // Jun 5, 2007 at

  It’s the commenters who truly keep me going. I just wrote a quick post on my personal blog http://www.LittleWoolgatherings.blogspot.com questioning why, out of all my daily readers, only a handful ever leave comments. After awhile, my confidence really begins to wane when I don’t hear much response, and I start to question my abilities as an effective writer. If my content were more engaging, then hypothetically I would have more commenters. I’m still working on that one 🙂

• 38 mdy // Jun 5, 2007 at

  Hi Laura:

  Thanks for visiting! 🙂

  To answer your question re: Twitter…

  There’s really not much to learn, because there’s no right or wrong way to use Twitter.

  You just answer the question: “What are you doing?” anytime the mood strikes you… and you can use SMS, the web, IM, or any one of the many third-party applications available to post your answer.

  The fun part: each post is limited to 140 characters.

  If you do sign up, I hope you’ll mention it in a future blogpost so I can ‘follow’ you (i.e., subscribe to receive your Twitter updates).

  Feel free to drop me a line if you have more questions about it. You have my email address.

  Cheers!

• 39 Laura // Jun 6, 2007 at

  Hi Melissa! I left a comment on your blog (at least I think I did, it’s probably waiting to be moderated). I love the fact that you have all of those photos on it.

  Hi Mdy! Welcome back, Twitter is on my (admittedly long) list of things to look into when I get time. It does seem fun, though.

• 40 Alex // Jun 6, 2007 at

  I love leaving comments when I have something to say, but my main problem is that I have 300+ RSS feeds in my reader. I got used to just scanning first the title, then if that interests me I’ll scan the first few sentences, and maybe read the whole thing after that.
  Easier to keep track of all the bloggers you enjoy, but a pain when it comes to interaction with other bloggers since I just tend to read in the RSS reader, and not visiting the blog for comments. I promise I’ll try to comment more often from now on :).

• 41 Laura // Jun 6, 2007 at

  Hi Alex!

  Thanks for stopping by! I understand about following a lot of blogs. I’ll definitely be looking for you on here from time time.

  I’m off to look at your blog.

• 42 WritingThoughts » Blog Archive » Another Look at Blog Comments (Results) // Jun 8, 2007 at

  […] Last week I posted on the importance of leaving comments on blog posts. […]

• 43 ecd // Jun 11, 2007 at

  It just feels good to open up your blog and find responses. Like planting seeds in the garden and finding that they have sprouted when you return.

• 44 Jess // Jun 19, 2007 at

  Responses are the only way we can judge what the reader/customers want without getting an email or call.
  Most readers (at least myself and the fellow bloggers I know) read online blogs sort of like the first part of the paper on a lazy sunday.
  Unless you are checking up on a blog for material reference or business its to be enjoyed !!!

  Good post and comments..
  Jess

• 45 Matt Keegan // Jul 18, 2007 at

  Yep, I was here! Several times as a matter of fact, especially since you have been the recipient of quite a few stumbles already today.

• 46 Laura // Jul 18, 2007 at

  Hi Ecd! First I want to apologize for overlooking your comment. Second, here’s a belated welcome to my blog. I left a comment on your blog.

  Hi Jess! I saw your web page but didn’t see a place for comments.

  Hi Matt! Thanks for coming again.

• 47 Some of the Best Things About Blogs are Free : The Blog Herald // Jul 25, 2007 at

  […] you’ll want to market your blog, through links and trackbacks to other blogs (free). You can comment on other blogs and leave behind your blog’s URL (free). You can submit your blog’s feed to Technorati, […]

• 48 Voter // Oct 23, 2007 at

  Comments are good to leave feedback for the blogger.. Not so good to manage a debate/discussion between the commenters.

  – Seth
  Vote Online for your Presidential Candidate at http://ourvote.us

• 49 Laura // Oct 24, 2007 at

  Hi Voter! I’m not sure that I agree. I’ve seen several comments between commentators.

• 50 James Lee // Dec 3, 2007 at

  I’ve actually built a few long lasting relationships and business contacts as a result of leaving, and getting comments on blogs. I appreciate a legitimate comment so much more because mostly what I receive is spam and trackback stuff.

• 51 Natalie Friedburger // Feb 4, 2008 at

  Search engines are actually punishing website owners if they have too many blog comments. I don’t think this is fair and I think it’s making some people scared to even share there site when they post a comment. I hope blog owners continue adopting the DoFollow.

• 52 flower girl // Mar 1, 2008 at

  Let’s not forget something I’ve noticed. Blogs that offer do follow tags actually get read! People want their inlinks to stick. Guess what, you have to actually respond to the content and read it. I read these posts carefully. Who knows, maybe half way through the writer is inviting you to 10 more do follow blog that he or she would like you to post on. Maybe this is just a fad and the spammers will flood back in no time, but for me do follow tags are the difference between blogs I skim and blogs in which I invest my time and though ts.

• 53 Make comments part of your writing routine | Confident Writing // Aug 5, 2008 at

  […] are countless other reasons why comments are worth spending time on.  Laura at Writing Thoughts has been compiling a list of the ‘top 5′ reasons for commenting on blogs. Here’s […]

• 54 profit blogger // Feb 18, 2009 at

  Hi, i’m new with blog. So, if comment can make good thing like know each other. Why don’t try to do it?

• 55 Gold Coast Website Design // Jul 24, 2011 at

  Great Article, not only do comments increase the ranking of the post by adding content, that Google loves, but it also can help out by letting other websites gain a back link….Share and be rewarded…It’s a win win.

• 56 Laura Spencer // Jul 26, 2011 at

  Hello all–I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for your comments.