A guide to commenting on blogs

My statistics have show that commenting on other sites AND providing a URL has lead to more growth on my site than any other single strategy. You're written a great post here, but you're dead wrong to not include your URL!

I agree, please visit my site. :-)

Only joking. The one that really gets me is the guys who do not answer their comments. I never expect an immediate answer because I realize that bloggers have to deal with the time differences between the bloggers. All I ask, is please just give me some kind of answer whenever you can get around to it. I also do not expect a long-winded, perfectly worded answer, a nice 'thanks for commenting' would normally do the trick.

LOL @ Arnold. :) Also agree about bloggers who don't respond to comments. To me that's a bit rude. Even if it's not every single comment if they have heaps.

Personally I'm not a big fan of people leaving their URL within a comment UNLESS their hasn't been an alternative way offered (ie for a while there blogger wasn't allowing any other option for non blogger users).

Interestingly enough I had my first comment the other day where it was obvious the reader hadn't read my post. Either that or I wasn't getting my point across very clearly because they totally missed the point!

Good point about reading other comments too. I LOVE it when my readers have conversations with one another in my comments. It really builds up a sense of community. At times they'll have the answer to one another's questions which I think is brilliant. :)

With the "nice post" type comment though. I do at times leave a comment like that if I find a blog that is new or doesn't have a lot of comments. Just to encourage the blog writer that their efforts are being heard/read. I guess though I have a passion for helping and encouraging new bloggers. It won't make me famous but I don't do it for the accolades. Plus I seem to have a knack for turning a 2-word comment into a 2-sentence comment. I must just be a "wordy" person. LOL.

Thanks for another great and well-worded post Ben. :)

Douglas - just to be clear, I think it's OK to include your URL providing you put it in the URL field - if, as Lightening says, the field is available. I don't like to see comments where the author puts their URL in the URL field and puts a URL at the end of their comment. I don't use "nofollow" (explanation here if you need it) so there's no reason to include the URL twice.

Arnold - already have! ;) You're right on the money there. Even the bigger bloggers could reply to some of the comments they get in one big reply, or they could write a follow-up post to discuss some of the comments further.

Lightening - agreed on all points. I always find it interesting to hear that someone JUST noticed one of the things I mentioned in my post, as you said about the person who missed the point of your post. I didn't see that comment so I didn't write that bit with your blog in mind. I guess that bloggers see a lot of the same things. :)

Thanks for all the comments!

Not only have I had commenters missing the point of my posts, I have (on one particular blog) had my comments misunderstood more than once. Perhaps it really is my problem....

I don't always read the full post before I comment. When I think of something to say I want to post it before my mind wanders off.

I disagree very much with the first commenter. If you post a comment with your URL typed in I veto it pretty much right away. The way I see it, I put a lot of time and thought into my blog. I'm not giving some fly by commenter a free ride/ link. It is one of the things that really does tick me off.

I never mind someone posting "nice post". Sometimes it is a way to say hello when you haven't got anything to really ad to the discussion.

One thing I would add, related to commenting, is that I really hate word (etc) verification. It's not that I'm half blind but I usually have been sitting in front of a computer 9 hours at work. I don't want to try figuring out some letters just to make a post. I moderate comments and don't use any verification. Works great for me. Why do you use it? I made 2 comments on your blog this afternoon. I had to do the verification 2x for both of them, so far. It really aggravates me.

Thanks for commenting, Atms. :) But does this happen with all of your readers, or just a couple of them? I've found that some people don't always understand things until you explain it a different way. That's OK!

Thanks for the comment, Laura - I'm replying separately as we were commenting at the same time.

I use the verification letters because it almost totally stops all spam. If I moderated comments instead I'd be deleting too many. Over the weekend I changed the verification to a new system that should be a lot better than the previous one, which some people said they couldn't get to work at all. Those same people have said the new system worked first time.

It's possible to avoid the verification if you log in. There's more info in my commenting FAQ.

Just one more about verification. I use moderation through Blogger. It does not delete anything. I just go into the list and read them all. Click on those which are ok to go and they all post at the same time. It isn't automated. I agree that the automated comment checking isn't good. It does allow junk and miss real comments.

I might login to your comment software. I'm not keen on any more logins/ registering so avoid doing it as much as possible. I'm not sure why I am having to do verification at least twice each time here. It doesn't look hard to read but I must be missing something.

I've been enjoying your blog since wandering in through EC. Nice to see you linking to some of the others I have found (and like) from EC too. So many blogs about blogging and it is getting harder to find any that really have something to say. You do. Thanks.

What I meant by deleting comments is that I'd have to delete all of the spam comments that would go into moderation. I wish I didn't have to use any kind of verification but unfortunately there aren't many alternatives - seems like it's either verification or moderation.

I totally understand about not wanting to login, that's why I make sure people can comment without having to log in. With the verification, make sure you're entering the lowercase and uppercase letters correctly - it is case-sensitive, so that might have something to do with it.

Thanks for the praise - glad you like my blog. :) I'll keep blogging and linking!

After having spent an hour last week trying to teach an obstreperous group of second grade Brownies about holding polite conversations, I can attest that your guidance is good for blogging and for live conversation as well. Your advice boils down to being a polite speaker and listener and it's shameful that so many people (adults as well as children) have to be reminded how to use manners, but there you are.

Hi feefifoto, thanks for the comment. Good to know the tips aren't only useful online, I hadn't thought of that.

Unfortunately, much of the problem with online communication is that the written word cannot convey emotion - especially if someone is joking or being sarcastic. I've often been told that someone was joking and not to take them so seriously - but how can you possibly see that when you can't see their facial expression?

Either way, being civil is important in all forms of communication. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this. :)

Ben, regarding verification: I realise you're not using WordPress here, but I find Akismet very effective at weeding out the spam - I'd say it catches at least 95%. Isn't there an equivalent you could use? Personally, I don't find the verification too onerous, but I guess the fewer barriers you put up for legitimate users, the better, right?

I'd like to do away with the verification, it's just a case of finding the time. I'll get to it :)