Blog Commenting Etiquette Basics 
96 Comments
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Welcome to the first installment for a weekly blogging tips series. I have featured some blogging tips in the past, but with all I’ve learned so far I thought it would be a good idea to turn it into a weekly feature.
Some of these tips will be written by me, but it would be great to get some submissions from other bloggers too. I’ve only been doing this blogging thing for a bit over 4 months. I’m sure that getting some advice from more experienced bloggers would be much appreciated.
Since I just installed a most active commenters widget, I thought it was appropriate that my first tip in this series would be about blog commenting etiquette. One of my fears of installing that plugin was that I would attract more spam comments. I was also wary of people taking shortcuts when commenting just to pad their comment total.
So far though I have been pretty happy with the reaction. I’m seeing a bunch of first time commenters and older posts are getting more comments. Plus more people are responding to my replies to comments. Overall it’s adding a lot to the comments.
Time will tell if things continue to go smoothly.
Etiquette For Blog Commenting
Most of the people who comment here leave awesome, well thought out comments and I really appreciate that. That’s not to pick on anyone who leaves less beneficial comments though. They may be used to blogs with different expectations or just never realized what kind of comments are ideal.
While I might have high expectations for the comments posted here, other blogs will have different standards. My general rule of thumb is to look at the existing comments and try to leave a similar quality comment.
If pretty much everyone else is leaving one line comments, it’s pretty safe to follow suit. In that case the blogger is probably more accepting of those kinds of comments.
On the other hand, if all the comments are at least 2 or 3 well thought out sentences, do you want to be the person leaving the very short comment? It would look out of place right?
The problem with those short one line comments is that they rarely add much to the conversation. Plus they often reflect that the person likely only skimmed through the post or read just part of it. In the website marketing world there’s a name for those kinds of comments ‘drive by comment spam’.
In the past that was actually a decent marketing strategy. Sure lots of people would block the comments if they were too short, but you could build a large amount of links quite quickly. These days though, Google has really devalued the weight of comment links though. So if you’re doing comment spam like that, you’re getting very minimal benefit from those comments. Plus you’re not doing the blog owner any favors.
The big part that those people are missing out on is the connection with the blogger. If you’re not reading their posts and really interacting in the comments, you’re not getting to know them. It may even slightly annoy some anal bloggers like myself. I know I feel less obligated to comment back on their blog when they only leave lower quality comments. I just feel a bit used as if my posts weren’t worth their time. Like they didn’t even stick around for a bit of cuddling afterwards.
You’ve probably noticed that even on my blog update posts I make a point of asking some random questions to help prevent those short comments.
I guess I should have a comment policy since I’m picky. I just assumed that the people the policy would most apply to just wouldn’t take the time to read it.
Some other things that could be covered in such a comment policy are respect for other commenters, stance on foul language, acceptable commenter name types, avoiding self promotion, etc. I’ll let you discuss those other things in the comments.
Do you have any other blog commenting etiquette tips? I mainly focused on overall quality of comments and length of comments. Maybe you have other specific blog comment pet peeves.
96 Comments
I’m a bad commenter. I often read whole blog posts, and really enjoy the content, but then I can’t come up with anything constructive to say. I don’t ever read other comments because I fear that everything that jumps to mind for a comment has already been covered, further reducing my options when it comes to commenting. That’s why I’m a shareaholic instead of a big commenter. Thanks for the tips though, hopefully I’ll be able to consistently leave constructive comments here since you’re so good at doing it on my blog.
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For that very reason I try to be one of the first commenters on a post. Then I don’t have to worry about repeating other people’s views. As a result though, I comment on very few higher end blogs. When a post already has dozens of comments when I get to it, I feel that my comment just gets lost in it all.
To be able to say something constructive it helps if the topic is something you really care about. Then you just naturally have some kind of opinion on the matter. I also found that it became easier over time as I got to learn more about all of these topics, since they do tend to get repeated a lot through the finance blogging niche.
For me as long as someone leaves a constructive comment it doesn’t matter if its one sentence or ten. Just don’t leave a comment telling me that I suck
Yes, some one sentence comments aren’t too bad, but if it’s the only kind of comments they leave, it gets old fast. And sometimes those one sentence comments just scream that they only read the post title. Ultimately though, those short comments provide the least benefit for them and the blog owner.
Forgot to add that I appreciate the mention in your article. Always happy to help out friends.
No problem Sean. At least forgetting helped move you up on the most active commenters widget lol. It seems that more people are forgetting to add something since installing that plugin
I usually leave more than one sentence, but if that’s all I have to say I dont’ stress. Sometimes, I just don’t comment, because I don’t feel I have anything constructive to say, but I’ll still post to Twitter, etc.
I wouldn’t delete one liners off of my blog, but I of course prefer and appreciate thoughtful responses. You almost always comment really thoughtful comments, Jeremy, and there are a few people who I have seem the pattern with as well.
Thanks for the mention! I don’t understand why more people don’t use Google+. It’s a Google thing, as you’d mentioned, so it must have some sort of weight on PR!
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I personally don’t delete the one liners unless it’s from some commercial website. I just don’t feel I owe those people much. I agree with the strategy of posting stuff to twitter if you’ve read the post but don’t have much to say. Then you’re still helping out the blogger and you’ll likely get that favor returned. I try to think of it from the viewpoint of how it helps them and how I’d want people to treat me.
As for Google+, I do think that more bloggers should use it. I don’t think it has anything to do with PR, but it very well might affect search engine rankings more than tweets or likes.
i prefer to not have any “method” for commenting. if the post left me wanting to say something about it, i just say whatever comes to mind. I don’t read other comments before commenting for fear of forgetting what i was gonna say. my mind is frivolous like that.
Crystal Evanisky recently posted..Wordless Wednesday June 12, 2012
As long as you put some effort into it, I usually don’t mind, especially if some of your comments are sometimes longer. When it’s always short, it’s like telling someone a big story and they reply saying ‘I like pizza’. Then it’s like, maybe I should’ve told my story to someone who is more interested in it.
Fine, you caught me. Sometimes I skim through the content and leave a half-ass comment…but it just depends on if I’m busy or not. I promise it’s not your content, it’s me.
I do my best to read entire blog posts but it really does just depend on my schedule for that day. I think it still helps the blogger that I visited as it helped their analytics, helped their Alexa rank, and I made them aware of that by leaving a comment (albeit half-assed). The majority of the time I do try to add value though.
Thanks for the honesty Jason. Most of the time I will read full posts too. There is the odd case where the content is rather generic, particularly with guest posts, where I do skim part of it. In those cases I figure I can still leave a decent comment without reading the same thing that’s been said on hundreds of other finance blogs. I guess that’s part of the reason more personal stories tend to do better.
You’re right that at least a half assed comment does help a bit, but in limited ways. Another analogy would be a friend who always drops by just to say hi, but never sticks around to actually have a real conversation.
I agree with you on the last part but much of what we read around the blogosphere is generic information that has been said before by somebody else.
With that said, I do read the majority of your posts because I’ve found your content to be different than most.
It does bother me when somebody asks a question or states something in a comment that I already answered in the post (it clearly reveals that they didn’t read the whole post).
With that said, I understand better than most that we’re all busy and I still appreciate somebody making the effort to get to my site and comment.
Yeah I have been trying to avoid the generic posts, but I’m sure it’s a matter of time until I run out of personal stories and have to write something less interesting. It is nice letting the guest writers cover some of those topics.
People are super busy, but in the end you get what you put into it. It is easy enough to help the blogger out in other ways such as tweeting or a friendly e-mail.
What annoys me aren’t short comments, but comments where it was obvious the person didn’t read all of the post. Maybe they make a suggestion that I already addressed, or didn’t read carefully enough. I don’t mind shorter comments from regular readers. Need to remember that in real life, some people only speak in short sentences and can be very quiet.
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I hate that too! [notice how this comment is one sentence? Jeremy's probably annoyed]
No you get a free pass as someone who regularly leaves quality comments Erika.
John I do agree that those types of comments are much worse. Like when someone just thinks of something random to ask, when it had clearly been addressed in the post.
I live for commenting:P I actually am trying to be #1 on your top commenters widget, but I have a lot of competition. I guess I should go back and comment on posts I already commented on. Sheesh, gotta make us work hard for some recognition huh?
I think that for the most part, I leave comments that are way too long. I end up ranting and sharing my thoughts but I think it shows that I actually read the whole post and gave it my 100% feedback. I like it when readers do that for me, so why not do the same for others?
If I don’t really have anything to say – I just won’t comment. Simple as that.
From Shopping to Saving recently posted..The Power of "Unlimited"
Yep you’re working hard for it lol. I think just commenting on most posts and replying to other people’s comments is all it really takes. It’s always nice to get some comments on older posts too though. It keeps those fresh in the eyes of the search engines.
Regarding long comments, I like those since it shows a lot of effort. It can get a bit out of hand with some people though. Instead of leaving a comment they are telling their life story.
Oh ya, thanks for the mention.
No problem! Thanks for the social shares. I love giving recognition to people who help out. That’s why I usually give people both an acknowledgement like this list and also try to return the favor with their posts. It would seem I’m getting the short end of the stick, but the satisfaction of helping good people is always nice.
I tend to leave shorter comments. I almost always read the whole post, but I’m just usually short and to the point with what I have to say. I do LOVE commenting though!
Yes I’ve noticed you comment a ton lol. Just keep in mind some of the benefits to leaving some longer comments. I know when I first started marketing my blog I was all over the place trying to get in as many comments as possible. Eventually I scaled back and found it a lot more enjoyable to comment on less blogs and really get to know them all.
I don’t really comment just for the marketing. I read a TON of blogs everyday and I enjoy leaving comments. I’m weird haha
Fair enough. Commenting can be quite enjoyable, although I find it better when focusing on less blogs. Just keep in mind what kind of comments each blogger prefers. The better impression you make, the more the blogger will appreciate your comment. Quality comments are also more likely to generate direct traffic.
Jeremy – You’re the king of blog comments. Not only do you find time to hit all our blogs, but yours is always filled to the max with them as well. You’ve done a nice job of building this up in such a short amount of time.
My etiquette is not to leave a novel. While there is nothing wrong with laying out a well thought out message, from time to time I get a comment where the person wrote more words than my blog post. What’s up with that? Perhaps a private email would have been better suited.
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haha thanks MMD. I dunno if I focus on blog commenting too much, but the interactions are pretty enjoyable. Plus you just learn so much.
I laughed about your line about the comment sometimes being longer than your post. I know one particular commenter who tends to do that a lot, but that person doesn’t come by here much. I guess some people just have a to say, but it’s not really what comments were intended for.
These are some great points, Jeremy. The point of leaving comments on posts is to not only share ideas, but also to engage other readers in conversation. Personally, I don’t have any particular thoughts on how lengthy a comment should be. However, I do believe that readers should leave thoughtful and quality comments whether they be one line or more.
Also, the active commenters widget sounds like a great idea, and I’m thinking of implementing it on my blog (especially if it adds greater benefit to my blog and visitors).
Oh, and thank you for the mention.
No problem Anthony. I appreciate all your tweets.
You are right that a comment can be meaningful even with one sentence but I find that’s rarely the case. I know it’s not the case to the search engines for sure. I’ll keep people updated how that widget goes. So far so good, but I have been particularly careful to not mention the real name of the plugin so as to avoid the spammers.
I always feel that when I’m commenting that I’m being too long-winded (I was an English major, I kind of can’t help it). I always feel like I”m giving a thoughtful response, but then feel it’s too long for someone to want to read. It’s good to know that longer, more thought out comments are actually appreciated and not considered annoying!
Well there is a limit to that as some people have mentioned. I know occasionally I leave some rather long comments, but only if I have a lot to say about the matter. I’m sure people prefer long comments over very short comments.
I’ll keep limits in mind then, and try to keep my long-windedness under control
. Thanks again for these tips! I’m relatively new to blogging so this is really helpful!
Good to hear the start to this series is helpful for people. Some of it is bound to be common sense, but some it is stuff that people just won’t end up learning.
You probably don’t have to limit yourself too much with length, but if it is more than about 2 or 3 paragraphs, you might be going overboard.
I too share your style of commenting and prefer to leave more thoughtful comments on a smaller number of blogs, instead of a ton of short one-liners. I prefer to get to know the bloggers and I enjoy reading their work while hearing their perspective. Plus I’m not that good at neutral commenting (leaving a comment that could apply to multiple topics). I read a lot of blogs, but I pick and choose the ones I leave comments on.
That’s probably the best way to keep commenting beneficial for everyone and keep yourself happy. Then you’re enjoying the interaction and focusing on topics that actually interest you. Early on I got burnt out because I was just trying to read too many posts and commenting when I really had no business doing so considering my knowledge of the subject.
So don’t skim the post and write a one-liner? Got it! Thanks for the tip! <—3 sentences. G/G…HOLLA!!
)) I so funny! I agree with you completely. I try to be a nice commenter and let my friends know that I actually was paying attention and enjoyed reading their blog posts thoroughly! I don't have a lot of free time, so lately I've been reading my favorite bloggers' posts while eating my lunch and commenting if I find it interesting. I don't get upset necessarily when I'm hit by a drive-by commenter, but if that's all you ever leave on my site, I'm probably going to do the same on your site. :p
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lol sounds like a good way to pay them back, but then I’d still feel guilty. And usually when people do that those are the kinds of comments they get back anyway. I’m glad to know that I managed to make it as one of your favorite bloggers with your busy schedule. And I’m not sure if you noticed on the yakezie forums before they so kindly deleted my thread, but your concern isn’t a problem with the most active commenters widget. It is based on url and e-mail. So you and Jeff’s totals get combined.
I did see that actually! Thanks for extinguishing my admittedly crazy concerns.
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No worries. You and Jeff are in a fairly unique situation with both of you doing commenting for your blog. So this is one of those situations where that could potentially be a problem. Luckily it’s not though.
I never really thought about etiquette until I started my blog. Now, it’s REALLY EASY to tell is someone is just leaving a comment for the backlink. i don’t mind too much, because I’m such a newbie and my blog won’t get them many hits, but it is a little annoying. I always prompt my readers with a “comments” section at the botom of each post. I also usually write something ridiculous in there, just to see if people are reading all the way through. If I don’t have something to say about a subject, I usually don’t just comment. I learned this from being on a few web forums where those one-line responses can get you an infraction or banned if you do it too much.
That being said, please don’t ban me if I leave a one sentence comment. I’ll make sure it’s a run-on sentence
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Haha nope I would never ban and good commenters even if they do leave short comments all the time. Just know that this picky blogger will be glaring at your name on my monitor if it happens too often lol. I know I’m much more sensitive to this stuff compared to other bloggers just because I have been on the other side of the fence. Now that I’m a reformed ex-spammer, I’m allowed to be a hypocrite.
When I first started commenting a lot, I made some of those short little one lined comments just to let the blogger know I had visited. Now that I have become slightly annoyed with the seeing one lined “great post” comments I try my hardest to make the comment meaningful.
This means I also have stopped commenting on posts that I cannot add anything to. Like investing in the stock market, which I know nothing about. I definitely feel more of a connection with the bloggers who I feel take the time to read what I have written. (Like you for example)
Glad to know you feel a connection with me. I’m still waiting on your e-mail with a request for some twitter help.
It is pretty common to make this mistake early on with blog marketing, which is a big reason I felt compelled to share this tip. If everyone is leaving quality comments then we all benefit. And we get to know each other better and can be one big happy blogger family.
In all honesty, I mark the “Great post!” comments as spam, unless it leads to an actual comment.
I can’t tell you how many comments I get along the lines of:
“Great post! I must share this excellent knowledge on your topic with my facebook feed!”
Great heaps of praise for my “content” without any indication that the commenter actual read the content.
Equally annoying are the comments like:
“I bookmarked your site to come back to”
Really? What does that add to the discussion, other than your name with a link to your MLM site?
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It sounds like you might need a spam filter on your blog. Or at least the plugin I use to make people click the checkbox before commenting. I think that eliminates a lot of the automated software spam.
Oh, I have a couple.. those are some of the examples I used to get before the filter. Sometimes I take a peek at what’s in the filter… just for giggles.
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I remember someone posting about a commenting fail where the comment they received was just big list of hundreds of generic responses. Either their comment spam software was configured wrong or they accidentally copy & pasted their whole list of spam comments.
I try to only leave comments if I feel like what I have to say adds to the discussion or answers a question posed in the post. I try to make sure that I don’t come off as insincere because I am not just posting to link build. I like networking with other bloggers and hope I can do that through my comments. I also like when I can subscribe to replies to my comments
Thanks for the option.
Well I figure since I take the time to reply to almost every comment, some people might want to read those replies. Maybe even more so with the most active commenters widget. I definitely agree that it is important to be sincere with your comments. If you look like you’re just using them for a link that’s not go very far with building a connection with that blogger. Those connections are so much more valuable than the comment links.
I’m relatively new to blogging (almost 4 months), and I’m still working on the art of commenting. Like some of the other commentors, sometimes I read a post and really enjoy it, but can’t find anything constructive to add to the conversation. Is it ok to just comment and say I really enjoyed the post? Or is that considered just ‘comment spam’?
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Yeah a comment like that would likely be looked at as spam. Some spammers specifically use phrases like in mass automated comments. You can say that, but add a line or two about why you liked the post or how it applies to you. Sometimes in that case it is easier to reply to someone else’s comment.
It depends on the sitation. I do try to give my take on the situation and perhaps provide an ancedote. But I don’t always have something valuable to add. But I’ll still want to comment, especially if it’s a blog that usually doesn’t get too many comments, like mine does. It’s nice to know there are people reading my blog!
Remember that the better comments you leave, they will make the blogger feel more inclined to return the favor. If you are finding it too hard to come up with something to comment on, it could be a sign that you are not following blogs that interest you enough. Acknowledgement is nice, but when it is always the case it eventually just turns into being used for comment links.
I simply appreciate comments either they are short and brief, long and well thought. The bottom line is that they read your post and find it good to be shared. I usually drop comments if i found a post that really strikes me, informs me better and sometimes entertain me. I just love to credit the author for a job well done.
Yes I probably shouldn’t have focused mostly on just comment length. A comment can be short and well thought out. It’s just that the short comments are more often from people not reading the post making it more like graffiti.
Facebook touts it has so many registered users. I expected them to do a better job making their services more accessible to integrating with other sites and blogs. Thanks for the mention, and for returning the tweets
I think most commentators will add thoughtful comments if they think the original post is well written enough to deserve their attention and time. 
And of course the subject matter plays a big part too. One thing I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in people’s comments are smiley faces. Sometimes when we type, the tone of our intent gets lost (>_<)
hahah yes I’ve noticed you’ve got a thing for the smiley faces. I recall giving you the heads up about some smiley faces on your blog that weren’t properly showing up.
That is true that subject matter plays a big part. So I don’t feel so bad when commenting on something like a blog carnival where the content is entirely a list of links with minimal intro. The blogger could easily address that by throwing in some questions or a longer intro that sparks conversation.
Awesome
Nice one.
Joe Morgan recently posted..Credit Card Debt Down, Defaults Up.
Haha thanks for proving my point guys. I was about to give you both shit, but I know you’ve left legitimate comments. It may seem exaggerated alongside everyone else’s comments, but some people pretty much do leave these kinds of comments, with or without automated software.
You’re absolutely right that the comments are essentially part of the post content. Without all your awesome comments, a post is just a static article. A major part of the blogging format is the interaction.
I know not everyone replies to comments, but I personally prefer to reply to most. It’s just a way of acknowledging their comment and building the conversation further. It just seems a bit impersonal when there is a whole bunch of comments but no replies from the blogger. I kinda wonder if they even read those comments.
When I started blogging, I just left little comments everywhere; but now that I”ve been blogging a little while, I leave less comments, and the ones I do leave are a little better thought-out. None of it was conscious, it was just that after awhile you start to develop relationships with bloggers and so it doesn’t make sense to leave them with a crappy comment.
Probably a good rule of thumb would be to pretend someone’s post is something someone just said to you in front of your face. And the comment you leave would be your verbal response to them. Woudl you say, “Cool” and walk away? No, you’d be a douche doing that. You’d actually say something of substance, right? Exactly. So that’s what you shoudl do when commenting on blogs!
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Glad to know that the quality comments have come natural with you. As you comment on the same blogs over and over you do develop a connection with those bloggers. So it does really make sense to comment respectfully and try to contribute. And your analogy is good too. Just leaving a very short comment does just seem like an unnatural interaction. It’s not like instant messaging where you can go back and forth with short one lines properly.
Thanks for the recognition!
My only comment about commenting is that I try not to get too hung up on the length. I routinely see comments of great length that ramble on for ever, so much so that my eyes simple gloss over them.
I hate to say it, but I don’t have time to read a lot of long and drawn-out comments.
Brevity being the soul of wit, sometimes short really is sweet.
Joe Morgan recently posted..Credit Card Debt Down, Defaults Up.
Ideally it should just come natural. If you don’t really have anything to say, it’s sometimes best to not comment at all. As long as you are leaving quality comments, you don’t really have to worry about comment length. But yeah, the super long comments can be just as awkward even though they can add a lot to the conversation.
#1 – I love Emily Posts book… never really thought I would, but use it a fair bit. I even wrote a post on it as a gift item.
#2 – One thing I try to do and appreciate when others do, is thank people for sharing information or providing something that I didn’t know. ie – I wrote a post on air BnB and wanted to link to real-life reviews that weren’t from the company’s website. They were a little bit hard to find and I thanked the folks for posting them.
lol I’ve never read the book. It just came up on flickr for ‘etiquette’ and her name has ‘post’ in it. So I figured it worked.
Good point about thanking people. It’s always good to show some appreciation. I’m the type that says thanks too often. So I do tend to limit it in comments unless they happen to be complimenting something.
Post’s* sorry… grammar.
No worries. I haven’t noticed any grammar nazis here other than myself, but I only worry about my own mistakes. Sorry I wasn’t calling you a nazi lol.
Naw, just me calling myself out, no biggie. Sometimes I write things early in the morning then freak out when I reread them later. This one I caught really quickly.
Honestly, sometimes I really don’t have a lot to stay, and since I’m concise with my words, I can normally sum up what I want to say in a sentence or 2. The ironic thing is that that days I try to leave a long thoughtful comment is when my internet times out.
haha your internet just can’t handle all that bandwidth. I have no problem at all with 2 sentences. If it’s only 1 sentence though I tend to be more critical of it to see if it’s showing they read the post and whether it adds anything. Then again, I don’t do anything about it other than bitch about it in a post like this or maybe grit my teeth at my monitor and make a point of leaving a way longer reply.
I will only comment if I feel I really have something to say or contribute; otherwise, it doesn’t feel very genuine to me. I will leave that comment as an exception
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lol did I guilt you into adding that last sentence?
The genuineness is important. Some people can show that in less words, but writing at least 2 or 3 sentences makes it more clear that you’re being genuine.
Okay, now I’m gonna feel self-conscious every time I leave a comment. You’re just mean, MM!
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hahaha nah you just have to watch that around here. Do some drive by commenting on other blogs and it’s not my problem. Then it’s up to those bloggers to say something if it bugs them at all. As long as you consider what kind of comments you would want to receive you should be fine. If that comment seems way shorter than everyone else though, maybe be self-conscious
I have accepted one sentence comments but only if it has some relevance to my post. Unfortunately that’s not easy to do and more often than not they get deleted or spammed.
I also look at the grammar of the comment. If it’s really poor or non existant the comment will usually be deleted, unless the commentator had something really worthwhile to say.
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Interesting you mention grammar. I can’t say I really have that problem around here, but then it’s just the same 20-30 bloggers commenting for the most part. I guess you attract a bit more spam with your dofollow comments. Plus you probably get a lot more search engine traffic than me.
You’re actually one of the ones who smartened me up about comments a while back. I recall you doing a post about what constitutes an acceptable comment. That really showed me the other side of it since I wasn’t a blogger at the time.
As you probably know Jeremy, comments are very important to me but as important as they are my blog is more so. That is why I always try to cultivate good comments and try to teach my readers how to improve theirs. One day I’m going to have to go through my posts just to see how many of them I’ve written about commenting
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I’ll have to keep that in mind. I guess as my readership revolves, the occasional reminder might help.
I usually just speak from my heart and don’t worry about length. I figure that if I sharing my real opinion and emotions on the subject than quality will follow suit. I try not to be redundant with what someone else has said but if I agree with a previous comment, I will mention that I agree and explain why.
Ps: Sorry I haven’t Retweeted the last week or so. Just been swamped. I will get back at it this week.
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If you are commenting from the heart, the quality will speak for itself. That’s a big part of why I cut back to commenting on less blogs. My heart just wasn’t into some of those blogs and some comments may have come off as forced.
And no worries about the lack of tweets. I’m sure my new weekly recognition for social shares will help a lot with that.
Hi Jeremy,
I read tonnes of blog posts and for the most part leave a comment even if it is to say;
-I understand what you are communicating…
-I agree or disagree and this is the reason why…
-Thanks for making me smile today…
I acknowledge all the people who comment on my blog -minus spam because I realize not everyone may be able to communicate in a way that we perceive as ‘acceptable’.
I know many people that have Dyslexia or an injury or disease that prevents them from typing alot but want to contribute. I take every comment as a means that someone is saying “I was here”, “I read your post” and I enjoyed it.
I also acknowledge people that have schedules that are packed and don’t have time to write me back a paragraph or 2 but they post a short comment or one liner. I will never know for sure if they read my posts, and that’s ok… I can’t change the world but I can make a difference even if it’s only to 1 person it’s worth it to me.
I posted this picture on my Facebook page today it’s of 2 characters both holding their carrot plant which is in the ground. One of them has an abundance of growth above the surface and the other has very little. Most would judge them thinking the one with the large amount of growth has the successful carrot. We go on to see below the surface where the character with the abundance of growth above has a tiny carrot and the other who has very little growth above has an enormous carrot- “Success Is Not Always What You See”. So when I get a comment that is short the meaning may be huge. I always like to think outside the box.
Great post …. cheers mate.
Mr.CBB
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Ummm are you calling my carrot tiny? lol
It sounds like you’re pretty understanding with your commenters. I know I’m a lot more skeptical with my website marketing background. To me when I see someone leaving a short comment I generally don’t give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are just after a quick link. It is a bit different when it is a regular reader and you can tell they are at least making an effort with their short comment. You’re right that you can’t change the world, but by reminding your readers what you prefer, it can change the community on your own blog.
Ha! I didn’t say a thing about your carrot! In terms of my community, yes for the most part I am very active so I talk to almost all of my fans on a regular basis. I am a very understanding bloke and don’t sweat the small stuff (no I’m not talking about carrots:). When leading a team a group or page I think it’s important to allow people to express themselves so I can get to know them or explore further. I enjoy asking questions and getting to know my fans, it brings them out of their shell. (the quieter ones)
Cheers mate…
I don’t expect everyone on the team to be the same and realize that people communicate differently whether it be one sentence or a short story. Similar to how I can’t control who comes and goes but I do enjoy a diverse group of fans. I find we reach all levels of finance and get everyone’s perspective whether it is professional, or simply people looking to learn and educate themselves further.
I do rather enjoy engaging in some great debates and conversations though. Off to make a carrot cake with my big carrot!
Oooh you’re really stirring things up with your carrot comments. Personally I prefer to use a spoon for the stirring.
Well all your understanding is making me look like much more of a comment Nazi by comparison. Does that mean we all have the green light to stop by and leave a bunch of 1 sentence comments?
I do try to get to know the community here too, but I think that’s much easier when they speak up with a longer comment.
You’re hilarious mate! Now you bringing out the big gunz… shall I get my shield and horse….;-)
I know you are a friendly bloke..and I’m not saying there is anything wrong with your approach at all.. so don’t sweat it! I love hanging out at your blog reading and chatting… it’s your choice if you like long comments.. I just take them as they come and build from that if I can.There is no blog manual that says what is wrong or right, it’s the owner that starts the party and has to keep it going. So, on that note mate.. Go grab a beer and turn on the tele and watch some footie… you can fist pump the fans with that spoon of yours, I have some carrot cake to eat! Cheers Jeremey.. have a good night. Mr.CBB
Canadianbudgetbinder recently posted..Mr.CBB’s Weekly Blog Post Picks-June 15,2012
Yeah I guess I would prefer to fist bump the fans with my spoon rather than the alternative that you seem to be implying. Then again I don’t know how you UK football fans celebrate. I guess that’s why you guys need to get so drunk first. I don’t think I want to hear more details of that. I don’t want to waste a tasty sushi lunch.
And yeah since I started the party here, I can rip on anyone who doesn’t leave a long enough comment haha. Maybe it’s scare away the quiet & brief people from commenting, but then my party can be all intellectual. Well other than half of our little conversation here.
I’m really not that picky with comments on my blog, probably because I’m a crappy commenter myself. I rarely read comments on other blogs and even if I love a post, sometimes I’m not sure what to say. As a blogger though, you have to leave comments around; plus if don’t leave them, the blog owner will never know you were there. I usually read about 10-15 for every comment left as it is.
On my blog, if it’s obvious the person didn’t even read my post, I’ll spam their comment. The one thing that drives me nucking futs is when people put links in the comment box. They’re already getting a link, that should be sufficient enough.
Oh, thanks for the mention.
Jen @ Master the Art of Saving recently posted..Avoiding Having Kids Costs Money Too
Haha yeah I should’ve mentioned links within comments as something to avoid with commenting etiquette. I tend to not like that either, but it’s an easy enough red flag to notice to delete their comment. Usually those types of comments are low quality anyway.
That’s crazy that you read so many more posts than you comment on. That’s exactly why I get up early to be able to get a decent comment in on posts before they get overwhelmed with a ton of comments. If there’s too many comments already, I usually don’t bother trying to leave my 2 cents.
Hey very true and nice post, i started commenting for backlinks before but now i got it as an addiction thats y i usually read 10 -20 blogs in a day
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I think anyone blogger who is serious about marketing their blog needs to read & comment on at least that many. It does seem that when blogs get to a certain level the blogger just really cuts back on commenting and lets their momentum carry them forward.
I am quite impressed that you’ve only been doing the pf blogging for just a few months and you already have quite the following. You have definitely put a lot of time and effort into this and it shows. You really care about your blog, its content and the comments.
Thanks for starting this blogging tip series. I am quite new to the blogosphere (practically a newborn) and definitely could use some help and tips. The fact that you are also focusing on the technical side of blogging is great. I have read about blogging being a lot of reading blogs, commenting on posts and writing posts, but I never realized there was such a technical side to it.
Well in my defense I didn’t have a job when I started this blog. So I had a ton of time to spend plugging away. I actually didn’t have many real responsibilities during that time beyond feeding my cats. So that played a big role in the quick early growth. And yes there is a lot of technical stuff involved in blogging. If you just write posts and comment lots, you won’t make a whole lot of progress.