Blog commenting can be an effective PR and marketing technique that offers a wide range of benefits when done properly. Effective blog commenting can help you:
- Increase brand awareness
- Build relationships with your target audience
- Position yourself as an expert
- Drive traffic to your website
- Connect with bloggers before making your pitch
- Harvest ideas for future blog posts
I could go on and on, but you get the point. Blog commenting could be a valuable part of your online marketing and PR campaign.
Of course, there are right ways to leverage blog commenting and wrong ways to do it. Let’s go over some dos and don’ts so you can be a better blog commenter.
- Do take the time to read before commenting – I shouldn’t even have to say this, but you wouldn’t believe how many comments I get that clearly come from people who didn’t bother reading anything beyond the headline. Whenever you comment without reading, you risk looking like a fool and a spammer. Read. Comment. In that order.
- Don’t leave self-promotional comments – Yes, blog commenting can be used for PR purposes, but that doesn’t mean you should treat other people’s blogs like a forum for advertising your company. Self-promotional comments have no place in the blogosphere, and they’ll get your flagged as a spammer.
- Do leave unique, insightful comments – If you want to position yourself as an expert through blog commenting, your comments have to exude expertise. In other words, your comment needs to go deeper than “I agree” or “Good post.” Your comments should add to the conversation and push it further.
- Don’t use a keyword as your name – Some blog commenters see commenting as a means to build links back to their website. They choose blogs that offer “do follow” on comments, and they spam away. Instead of using their actual name, they use a keyword in its place so they get a keyword-rich link. Problem is: Comment links carry little to no authority with Google, and it just reeks of spam. It also makes it hard to build relationships with others when you’re hiding behind a keyword as your name.
- Do interact with other commenters – Blogs are like mini-communities. You can network with others and increase name recognition when you become a known member of the community. The best way to achieve this is to interact with other commenters. Respond to the points they make, and just strike up conversations.
- Don’t get into a fight – Whenever you become an active participant on blogs, you’re going to run into people who disagree with you. Some may even be nasty about it. Don’t engage them. Don’t fight back. You’ll only wind up looking unprofessional, ruining your image. Handle negative blog comments with poise and professionalism.
- Do sign up with Gravatar – Take a few minutes to sign up for a Gravatar. This allows you to create an icon that follows you from blog to blog, appearing beside your name whenever you leave a comment. It’s a small branding tactic that can go a long way to increasing your recognition around the web.
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Grab your free 160-page copy of the Big Press Release Book – Press Releases for Every Occasion and Industry here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/big-press-release-samples-book/