Blog Comments Build Relationships. Do You Leave Blog Comments?

Blog comments help build relationships, but do you comment on other people’s blogs?

Whether I leave a blog comment is driven by how I feel when I read a blog post. If it’s interesting and stimulates some thought then there’s a chance I’ll leave a comment. If I’m confident that I can add to the information then I’ll comment. I certainly won’t comment just so my name appears and only for the link. That means, for me to comment, blog posts need to be more than information: blog posts need to stimulate an emotion – just like all the best marketing!

There are definitely some things that mean I won’t leave a comment:

• When someone makes it difficult for me – asking for too much information (no you don’t need my company name or phone number!) or making me jump through hoops (asking for a captcha I can’t read).
• If there’s nothing left to say. The blogger has made the point and there’s nothing to add. I rarely say ‘thanks’ unless the information has solved an immediate problem for me AND the blogger asks me to …funny that one, probably says something about me!
• The blog post is so boring I lose track before I reach the end!
• The blog post takes so long to load I’ve already moved on.
• It’s a ‘same old same old’ ‘read it before’ ‘nothing new here’ type blog post – although if it’s the same old information presented in a new way then you might just grab my interest.

And rather than leave a comment, if I find a blog post interesting I tend to pass on the blog post through Twitter rather than adding to the debate… bit lazy of me really!

So What Makes You Leave Blog Comments?

There are lots of good reasons to comment on blogs but here are two:

1. To help the blogger and other readers by adding further information. Make sure it’s not a sales pitch for what you do, but a genuine wish to help and add information … and it’s usually fine whether you agree with the blogger or not. Debate in comments is a good thing. We don’t all agree all the time and friendly debate is healthy.
2. To attract a visitor to your own blog. The blogger (and possibly other people) may visit your blog to find out more about you.

These start to build a relationship. If you build the right relationships then you’ll do more business – whether that’s building relationships online or offline.

So when you write your next blog post, think about what might make your next reader leave a comment.
And how about helping me out? When did you last leave a comment on a blog? And what made you do it? Tell me below…

You might also like:

1. Adding Comments to a Blog
2. Tips Tuesday – Twitter Tips
3. Tips Tuesday – Better Blog Posts

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