Committed to Commenting: A Blogging Resolution

Committed to Commenting: A Blogging Resolution I’m not really one for New Year’s Resolutions, and there’s certainly been no shortage of those in the blogosphere lately, anyway.

I am, however, one for blogging resolutions.

In some form or another, I’ve been blogging for over a decade now. One thing that I’ve never managed to pin down was a regular process for commenting on other blogs that I read and love. There’s really no good excuse for this; it’s just an aspect of blogging where I’ve dropped the ball. Though I know how important commenting is for personal reasons (show love for your blogging friends!) and professional ones (SEO, anyone?), I’ve never managed to stay on task.

Pretty much like every time I’ve decided to take up going to the gym.

The part that’s sort of funny is that, as an editor for Business 2 Community, I read so much … and I love it. B2C has such a wonderful host of contributors — it’s pretty much where I’ve educated myself as I’ve transitioned from teaching to the world of social media. I’m always learning something new, expanding previous knowledge, forming opinions about post topics, and feeling the need to pass really stellar posts on to my Twitter followers. Many times I’ll even send a tweet to the writer regarding the post. So what’s stopping me from hopping over to those blogs and leaving a comment? Who knows. But I have a plan, so here’s hoping it sticks.

Making Comments a Part of Blogging

Blog Comment Communities

I’d been toying with the idea of really committing to blog commenting for a while when one day the blog gods parted the clouds and sent me a sign in the form of the fabulous Amie Marse, CEO of Content Equals Money, whose work I knew from B2C. Amie connected with me and invited me to become a part of her LinkedIn group, Content Generation Firms, a group that — you guessed it! — includes a community of bloggers commenting and sharing each others’ work.

This was obviously the perfect way to make myself accountable for blog comments, so of course I joined right up. While the group is a good pace for me, personally, there are many other communities devoted to blogging, commenting, sharing, and so on. Another one you might want to check out is Triberr.

It is my sincere hope that I will continue taking an active part in this group. Not only does it keep me commenting, but it also motivates me to blog more frequently.

Dusting Off Ye Olde Google Reader

One of my tendencies is to, with the best of intentions because I’m genuinely interested in the topics, overload myself with blogs to follow. I’ll open my reader and see that I have 56 unread posts and, after having already read dozens of others, it seems like a losing battle.

No more.

I opened my Google Reader yesterday and cleaned it out. My intention is to add blogs back slowly and work on building up my comments (which isn’t to say I will never comment when I come across a great post on the Web, but I’m going to give myself a few of my favorites to focus on first).

Job Search + Blog Comments = Love?

I’m always thinking about the various aspects of my social media participation in the context of my quest for full time employment. Like any serious job hunter, I’ve got a solid idea of where I’d like to work and what I’d like to do (if you’re in the Philly area and you’re looking for a writer with a strong interest in social media and content creation who wants to continue learning, email me!) I also have a list of agencies and businesses that I keep my eye on. I hope it’s not unreasonable to think that if I am active on their blogs, that might help my resume get a second look someday.

And you?

Do you have any kind of process for blog commenting? I’d love to hear about it! If you don’t have a process yet and are wanting to comment more, what steps will you take to make that happen?

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http://www.theconfidentintrovert.com/ Susan M Steele

I’m a pretty religious user of Google Reader. But even so, I still find it hard to comment. I wish there was a way to comment inside of Google Reader, although I guess you can if you sign up for the comment feed from a blog. But that seems to separate the posts from the comments, which doesn’t work for my too logical brain!

For me, it’s sort of a combination of my commitment to commenting as well as being inspired by something I read. If a blog post really resonates with me, I’ll comment.

As a blogger, I always respond to comments on my blog. Each comment is a confirmation that someone took the time to write something to me — and I generally respond to every comment I get with my sincere thanks.

Because I thank my blog commenters, I get really annoyed when I comment on a blog and get no response at all — especially if it’s my first time commenting. If you don’t respond to your commenters, then why are you blogging? If it’s just to hear your own voice, then turn off commenting. That way, your readers know there’s no need to bother interacting with you. (Sorry — got a bit cranky there at the end!)
- Anonymous
  
  You’re absolutely right — the difficulty of commenting within Google Reader is a major drawback.
  
  I’m right with you on the responding. I make it a point to always respond to my comments, even if, like you, it’s just my sincere thanks. I appreciate when people read (just as I hope they appreciate when I write). If I ever go without responding to blog posts it’s because something really bad has happened. :) Sometimes it might take me a little bit to get to them, but I always get to them.
  
  Same goes for when I comment and the blogger ignores me. If I’m just throwing a comment out there and it hangs in the air, that’s uncomfortable. If it happens again, I’m not likely to go back to that blog.
  
  Thanks for commenting, Susan :)
- http://www.ContentEqualsMoney.com Amie Marse
  
  I use Feedly to keep my blogs together. You can break them up into feeds or newest or whatever, then it shows you part of the blog in the preview. If you think it is interesting, you click through and leave the comments. I hope that helps :)
  - Anonymous
    
    Thanks for the suggestion!
http://www.theconfidentintrovert.com/ Susan M Steele

I’m a pretty religious user of Google Reader. But even so, I still find it hard to comment. I wish there was a way to comment inside of Google Reader, although I guess you can if you sign up for the comment feed from a blog. But that seems to separate the posts from the comments, which doesn’t work for my too logical brain!

For me, it’s sort of a combination of my commitment to commenting as well as being inspired by something I read. If a blog post really resonates with me, I’ll comment.

As a blogger, I always respond to comments on my blog. Each comment is a confirmation that someone took the time to write something to me — and I generally respond to every comment I get with my sincere thanks.

Because I thank my blog commenters, I get really annoyed when I comment on a blog and get no response at all — especially if it’s my first time commenting. If you don’t respond to your commenters, then why are you blogging? If it’s just to hear your own voice, then turn off commenting. That way, your readers know there’s no need to bother interacting with you. (Sorry — got a bit cranky there at the end!)
http://www.ContentEqualsMoney.com Amie Marse

Rock on lady! It’s true – blog commenting is like a muscle, you have to build it up. I think it is a perfect plan to be really devoted to a few blogs at first. That way you aren’t spreading yourself too thin. A few months back I assigned 40 comments a week to myself but I received very few comments back. I doubt it is because my blog isn’t rocking, lol but that I was one of those one-off comments.

And thanks for sharing the love in the LinkedIn group! We are still taking new peeps if anybody is interested :) Thanks!
- Anonymous
  
  Totally agree. I’m just taking it one day at a time. On super busy days, if I can comment on one or two blogs, I’ll be happy. I also need to remind myself that I don’t necessarily need to comment every single day (although it’s not bad if I do). I have a tendency to be an overachiever with such things ;)
  
  Thanks again for inviting me to the group! I’ll keep my eyes open for anyone else who might benefit from it or want to join!
http://www.jonanscher.com/blog Jon Anscher

Great suggestions. I love the idea of commenting on blogs of the companies you want to work with. I’ve already started to take that suggestion to heart :-).
- Anonymous
  
  Definitely! I think it’s a good way to get noticed, especially because some small businesses don’t get a lot of comments, so the communities there are on the small side. Easier to be interacting.
Hungrigyrl

I almost always leave a comment, even if its a short one on any blog I read. Just an acknowledgement that their post was read. I know on my own blog I see so many more page views than comments and I wonder what the reader was thinking! I don’t want to leave any other writers hanging that way. :)
- Anonymous
  
  Ambitious! :) I agree, though, that it’s nice to let the writer know you dropped by. And thank *you* for dropping by! I appreciate it.
Anonymous

Hi Renne,
I know how important commenting is, yet sometimes I must admit, it slips down the line of important tasks.
Like you I fully intend to get back in the grove of commenting regularly for many reasons.
1. Helps you develop a community
2. Hello SEO
3. If I have taken the time to read the post then the author has produced compelling content and they therefore deserve to know.
Thanks for the kick up the behind,
James
- Anonymous
  
  Thank for the comment, James!
  
  The more I think about it, the more I feel like commenting is kind of like practicing good blog manners. I don’t want to be a bad-mannered person! :)
  
  And then, of course, there’s everything you mentioned about community and SEO and letting the author know they’ve created something compelling. It’s funny how comments don’t really need to take a long time, but in our minds, we seem to think they will. For me, anyway, that’s the first hurdle to get over.
  
  I always enjoy hearing from fellow bloggers who blog about blogging. :) Appreciate you dropping by!