There are any number of reasons that you or your company might have started blogging. Whether it be to reach existing customers, attract new ones or make a steady flow of income off affiliates ads, it all equates to one thing readership. Without readers none of the above will happen.
So how do you get readers? A number of ways I imagine, good writing, excellent SEO, advertising elsewhere etc. What about commenting? Are you really taking advantage of this oh so important aspect of blogging like you should be?
To start take a look at the last 5 or so comments that you have left elsewhere. (If you have been at this more than a month and you can’t count 5 comments left elsewhere you need to start right now!) Anyhow back to it, 5 or so previous comments. Do they all go something like this, “Great article, thanks for writing”. Don’t get me wrong it is nice to give people a pat on the back for an article well written but that aside what have you really added to the conversation?
As a blogger myself, I personally have gotten comments like this and although appreciated I really don’t have any way of responding to that other than thanks, end of conversation. I am more likely to start a dialogue with someone who start’s out like this, “Great article, well written, here is what I find most interesting…blah blah blah, and this is what I would add to the list…blah, blah, blah.” Ahh, very nice commenter #6, Bob, interesting thoughts on my article blah, blah, blah.
See not only did commenter #6, Bob let me know he enjoyed my article but he let me know how it was useful and even added his own insight, which in turn warrants a response and more than likely a click through to his own site to see just who Bob is. Turns out bob is a marketing guru who blogs daily about the uses of social media for small to medium size businesses. Guess what, Bob just got himself a new reader. Even more interesting is the fact that two months down the road when I am writing a short article on marketing via social media, I remember a piece I read over at Bob’s blog and now find that it would be extremely useful for my readers if I linked to it from this particular article.
Ok there is the first relationship Bob has formed from simply leaving a thoughtful comment on my blog, let’s have a look at the other benefits.
Cindy, searching Google for “Commenting on Blogs” turns up my post here on Viral Thinking. She reads through the article and notices a number of comments. Like me she thinks it was very nice of Jimmy (comment #1) to tell me I wrote a great article, but she is more interested in what Bob has to say. Hmm Bob brings up an interesting point, Cindy says to herself, let’s see who Bob is. Wow, turns out Bob is in the business of consulting small business on how to use social media to market their product! Guess what, Cindy owns a small boutique and knows that she could be reaching out to a whole slew of new customers if she could just figure this facebook thing out. Bob just scored himself another new reader and more than likely a new client.
Commenting is about getting involved, sharing ideas and adding to the conversation. It’s how you build relationships, meet prospective clients and grow your online presence. It is one of the most powerful tools you have for marketing yourself, your blog and your business. Make it useful and make it count, and by all means, make it a priority.
