I've decided to get back into blog commenting in a big way. I know it works if done well. And I do want to build some momentum with this blog.
The main reason is that I have chosen an extremely crowded niche, so I have been getting very little search engine traffic to it. Social media has been a more fruitful avenue, though it's taken a lot of work and time before I've seen some benefit.
But I've long known that quality blog commenting is perhaps the most reliable method of bringing in some clicks pretty quickly -- not to mention the indirect, long term benefits it brings. Still, I haven't done any for ages until just recently. I've been reluctant to do it for some reason ...
I think it's got to do with the fact that I come from a writing background. Whenever I start putting my thoughts down online I'm thinking I've got to turn what I'm saying into a reasoned, thoughtful article of a few hundred words that people will hopefully enjoy reading. And this tends to happen even when I'm commenting on a blog.
I start by replying to the blogger, then I sort of forget about him and think of this imaginary audience. Then quite often I decide not to submit the comment, then cut and paste what I'm writing into a file for later use as the basis for a blog article!
That's all well and good. I do use this stuff from time to time. But if I do that too often it means that I'm losing the benefits of a concerted commenting campaign.
So I've decided that I've got to change my attitude to what blog commenting actually is. It's not so much writing in the traditional, purist sense. It's just a conversation with one person that others can read if they wish.
Since I've made that shift I've found it a lot easier to get into commenting again and follow through with my contributions. I'm not being miserly with my words any more.
After all, I wouldn't have the same problem if I was just chatting with someone about a subject we both share an interest in. So it makes no sense to do so if I am responding to a blog post online, in writing.
The main reason is that I have chosen an extremely crowded niche, so I have been getting very little search engine traffic to it. Social media has been a more fruitful avenue, though it's taken a lot of work and time before I've seen some benefit.
But I've long known that quality blog commenting is perhaps the most reliable method of bringing in some clicks pretty quickly -- not to mention the indirect, long term benefits it brings. Still, I haven't done any for ages until just recently. I've been reluctant to do it for some reason ...
I think it's got to do with the fact that I come from a writing background. Whenever I start putting my thoughts down online I'm thinking I've got to turn what I'm saying into a reasoned, thoughtful article of a few hundred words that people will hopefully enjoy reading. And this tends to happen even when I'm commenting on a blog.
I start by replying to the blogger, then I sort of forget about him and think of this imaginary audience. Then quite often I decide not to submit the comment, then cut and paste what I'm writing into a file for later use as the basis for a blog article!
That's all well and good. I do use this stuff from time to time. But if I do that too often it means that I'm losing the benefits of a concerted commenting campaign.
So I've decided that I've got to change my attitude to what blog commenting actually is. It's not so much writing in the traditional, purist sense. It's just a conversation with one person that others can read if they wish.
Since I've made that shift I've found it a lot easier to get into commenting again and follow through with my contributions. I'm not being miserly with my words any more.
After all, I wouldn't have the same problem if I was just chatting with someone about a subject we both share an interest in. So it makes no sense to do so if I am responding to a blog post online, in writing.