photo credit: woodleywonderworks
This sounds unimportant, but it’s one of the most effective uses of your time. When you comment on the blogs you read, you:
- Build your relationship with the writer.
- Connect with other commenters.
- Advertise your website for free.
- Engage more with the topic: you’re more likely to get results from whatever wisdom you’re responding to.
It’s hard to write a good comment and not just add “Great post!”. I’m one of the most talkative, gotta-tell-you-what-I’m-thinking people you’ll meet and I still had to deliberately schedule this in my daily diary so I wouldn’t squirm out of it. Here’s the recipe:
1. Read the entire post first. (You don’t want to be the commenter that everyone eyerolls about.)
2. Spend a minute thinking about the idea behind the post and your thoughts on it.
3. Does some part of the post not make sense to you? Start your post with a polite request for clarification. (“I don’t quite grasp what you were driving at in the second paragraph where you said blah blah blah. Do you think Doohickey is the new key metric we should be measuring?”)
4. If you disagree, add your opinion and reasons why. Don’t be strident or angry, just let your voice be heard.
5. If you agree, add an example from your own experience or talk about any further implications.
6. Don’t sell anything.
7. Follow up on any further comments. Get involved in a conversation. Make some new contacts. Enjoy!
Want somewhere safe to start? Come leave a comment here!