Blog engagement is a two way street. The only way to improve interactions on your blog is to take the plunge and involving yourself in one. I understand how that sounds difficult especially if you are an introverted bookworm, like many of us are but take a step, we won’t bite I promise.
Remember, blogging is as much about relationships as it is about commenting and engagement. What type of comments would you wanna receive? Think before you comment! And find out more about the commenting etiquette! Share on XBe it a new blogger or a blogger who has been lurking around the corner for a while but never joined for a discussion but want to, this post is for you. I belong to the second category, it took me years to come out of my hermit shell to talk to other bloggers or leave comments on their blog.
Well now I follow and comment over 100 blogs every week (and this is why). If you are wondering how I do that, well take a look at this post for more blog engagement ideas.
Commenting Etiquette for better engagement
I just want to say I understand how frightening it is. And to leave you with a list of etiquette as a reference to follow when you are leaving comments on others’ blog. And I promise, it gets easier.
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1) Start by saying something relevant
Assume commenting as dropping into someone else’s party. All you have to do say a hi and join the conversation that is already going on, ie the topic or the post. I know it might sound intimidating, but once you start commenting you will get better at it.
2) Nothing is at stake
Remember nothing really bad comes of making a bad comment. Nobody is judging you, especially not your comment. Once you start commenting on a few blogs you will definitely feel better And the blogging community is usually nice and nicer to the newbies.
3) Leave genuine comments
Last week someone was talking about how they received a comment asking to check out their new blog and leave a comment there. This type of comments rarely work.
Remember blogging is as much about relationships as it is about commenting and engagement. What type of comments would you wanna receive? Etiquette is all about common sense and giving what you want to receive.
4) Spark a response
No no, I am not recommending to start a keyboard war.
But invoke a response from the blogger by asking a relevant question or sharing an anecdote or experience. Leaving generic comments like “Awesome post! Thanks for sharing.” are okay too, but they don’t call out for a reply, does it?
5) Do not self promote
While it is okay to share relevant links in a comment leaving comments to your own blog is generally frowned upon. Of course you can link your blog from your user name that you use to sign in.
While it is okay to share relevant links in a comment leaving comments to your own blog is generally frowned upon. Let us talk about #commentingetiquette. What are your rule? Share on XWhen that is not possible (read as Blogger or Disqus commenting system) I do leave a sign with my blog name on it. Though I am not sure if it is alright, anymore. I would love to hear some of your opinions on that.
6) Be YOU
Commenting is just more than leaving your links all over. Comments are just a way to brand yourself so make sure your reflect your blog, personality and YOU.
A Final word
As I was mentioning earlier, commenting on others’ blogs is just a part of the blog engagement and is not complete until you start receiving comments on your blog right? I will share on a post on that soon as a part two of commenting etiquette, so watch out.
If you are looking to meet more blogs and bloggers, join my Bloggers’ Comment Junction where you will find like minded peers. Take part in the Comment 4 Comment Challenge and ensure to ‘leave no comment un-replied and un-returned.’
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Let us chat
What is your taken on commenting etiquette? Are there are rules that you follow while you comment on others’ blog? What is your best advice to other commenters? Let us talk.
I meant to read ONE of your posts and now I’ve found myself in a post reading rabbit hole, I’m learning so much! Commenting wise, I typically only comment if I have something (I hope is) relevant to add. I do link back to myself, currently it’s by stating my recent post, in case it’s something the blog owner would be interested in reading.
Thank you for falling into the rabbit hole. I am glad you are taking time to comment on other blogs.
Your blog is already linked to your comments. Leaving your blog in the comments might be considered spamming by some.
Great post!!
I’ve been commenting on a fair few other book blogs recently and I’ve noticing a kind of community forming too!!
One of my rules would to have something genuine to say and not just great post and leaving it like that!
[…] Commenting On Other Blogs – Commenting Etiquette […]
Great advice! My questions are:
What are the expectations related to someone replying to your reply to their reply? Sometimes the back and forth is too much and I get to a point where I can’t think of anything further to add to the conversation and all I can do is hit the like button.
Regarding putting a link to your blog when commenting on someone else’s blog, why would you even need to do that? When you sign in to leave a comment it already asks for the url to your blog, right? So people can just click on your name to get to your blog. Am I missing something?
I usually do the same. As long as their is an interesting conversation I will bite. Some commenting systems like Disqus and Blogger do not let you link your URL with your name.
I like to leave a comment of some sort wherever I’m visiting. My biggest peeve is not being alerted when your comment is replied to. I know some commenting systems allow you to check if you want a notification, but I have found that a lot of blogs I have visited have replied, and I don’t know unless I go back and visit that post again, which I don’t normally do. I think that restricts the communication back and forth that could be instigated with comments.
Take a look at the second part of this series where I address this question. If you are on WordPress you have plugins that can handle this.
This is a great post, and I agree with everything you have said. I know sometimes I can be really slow to reply or reciprocate comments, but I do my best. I think most understand. As to your question about leaving a sign with your blog name along with your comment–I see nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, there are times people will leave comments on my blog (Blogger) and I have no way to find their blog (if they have one). I feel terrible not being able to comment back. But if the person has a common name and there is no link or reference to a blog, no amount of my searching for them will bear fruit. Thank you for this post!
Better late than never, right? That is what I say to myself.
Awesome tips. It makes my day whenever I receive comments on my blog posts. I always try to return the favour. I have no problem with links to blogs in the comments, it makes finding them easier.
I share the sentiment, and I love receiving comments on my posts too!
These are all wonderful tips Gayathri! I still get surprise when another blogger visits me often just to leave a comment like “great review” on a discussion post LOL Bloggers that NEVER visit back are also a mystery to me. I understand we are all visit and we take a while to go around….but NEVER??? 🙁
The ‘Great post’ comments stuns me too. I mean what do you reply to that?
Great post! Commenting was one of the scariest parts of blogging when I first started. Now, I absolutely love interacting with other bloggers through the comments.
I had similar experience too!
[…] Gayathri @ Elgee Writes shared with us a commenting etiquette! Are you following […]
This is a fantastic post and I think that your points are all relevant and useful for bloggers that are not used to interacting with other bloggers.
Thank you for those kind words.
These are great tips! I love interacting with fellow bloggers, it is one of my favorite parts of book blogging, striking up a conversation in comments or/and just showing appreciation, because blogging IS a lot of work and it always feels good to see we’re read and that people enjoy what we put out there 🙂 I agree with you about being genuine and saying something relevant to the post, too, that’s so important and just, just makes me feel like people are here for a conversation and not to self-promote 🙂
Lovely post! 🙂
I agree to your view that book bloggers and community are the best part of blogging.
Love your advice. Half the fun of blogging and reviewing books is visiting other blogs and discovering what they are reading. Even a great review is appreciated.
I agree! I love blog hopping and answering comments on my blog!
If someone leaves me a comment asking for a follow or trying to spam people over to their site, I will delete it immediately (the joys of manually approving comments) and likely never visit their blog. It really is all about etiquette. Great post 🙂
I have not had to delete any comments yet, thankfully.
[…] Commenting On Other Blogs – Commenting Etiquette […]
I currently have a weekly goal to read and comment on 10 blog post. Wow I will have to read to find out how you do 100 weekly, whew! I don’t have a problem when people just leave a link to their blog after their signature. I do that often, cuz I don’t know if it will show up otherwise even if I enter it to comment?? I enjoy the comments relative to the post! I respond to all comments and make a point to comment on a post on the commenter’s blog always!
I do about 10-12 blogs every day and it hardly takes 30 min. But I comment on blog posts that I love not everything I read.
This is all great advice on commenting. I DO leave a link to my blog in my comments on Blogger blogs, and almost everyone I’ve talked to says they appreciate it because it makes life much easier for them. Nobody wants to have to spend extra time hunting down a commenter’s blog so they can comment back. I also have, on occasion, linked to a specific post on my blog if it directly relates to something in the person’s post. For instance, if I had written a post that addressed a question or point you made in your post, I might say that I had written a post on it you might want to check out, and I link to it. The key to this is that most of the time it’s a blogger I already know and they know me well enough to realize it’s not just shameless self-promotion (hopefully). 🙂
I agree with your point that people do not think it is a self promotion when they already know you from around.
this is me!!! ill comment and follow blogs but i never know how to make good comments, i always take time to read peoples blogs and comment and haven’t recently as i wasn’t blogging but your tips have really helped me and i think i need to try interact more, great post !!!!!
See, you made a comment! That is a great start.
Unfortunately there are quite a few bloggers who like to receive comments but never comment on others blogs. I try to comment on at least about ten a day. I like to be sociable.
I follow that as well.
I need to be better at engaging. I’m not great at replying to comments on my blog either. I’ve definitely started interacting more on Twitter though.
Gemma @ Gemma’s Book Nook
I am guilty of that too. But we all start somewhere right?
This is definitely a really helpful post! I know when I first started blogging I was really shy leaving comments, and would dither for ages about what to write, but I try not to stress about it as much these days.
Although I have been really terrible at getting round to commenting these last couple of months, but I’m going to try making more of an effort! 🙂
I think we all shared a similar journey. I used to feel so self conscious about what to say.
I have to agree with many of this points. I had a conversation with a friend the other day. They were surprised that hardly no one returned comments and she leaves the right comments. Insightful and relevant people don’t take the time these days
For every blogger who doesn’t return the comments, there are ten who do, IMO. So do not leave hope, continue commenting and it goes beyond returning comments I assure,
This is a well thought out and useful post. I’m on the shy side and so, sometimes it’s difficult for me to leave a comment. But I think it’s good to stretch yourself, too, and leave your comfort zone. Especially if you like what you read.
On my blog, I try to answer all the comments and make sure I’m doing the same on their blogs, too.
I love your attitude about comfort zone.
Thank you. 🙂
Great Post! This is useful for new bloggers who aren’t sure how to connect with others!
Yes I hope so too!
I’m such a lazy blogger, I don’t engage much, I’d rather be reading.
Well that sounds so inviting.
Great post! I want to be more interactive, but I feel like I usually don’t have anything worthwhile to comment :/
You just have to start somewhere!
Sometimes, I don’t have much to say other than, NICE REVIEW or another mundane topic. I don’t mind when people those those comments on my blog. I think it’s great if the person is just taking the time TO comment.
As for self promotion, I use commentluv too, which you know gives the person the option to leave a link and I think that’s totally okay!
All great tips!
Nice post. I like your tips. It’s easy just to drop in and say “Hi” or “I liked your review. Thank’s for sharing!” It’s nice when others stopping or share my post.
I don’t like irrelevant comments either. But it doesn’t have to be a stressful experience either.
I don’t mind links to blogs in the comments as long as it’s not just that.
Great tips and post!
I am with you on that!
These are some useful tips, LG! I get many comments that are irrelevant or spam. People really could do with following your tips. 😊
I am glad you like it!
This is a fantastic post, and I think your tips will be wonderful for introverted bloggers that are nervous about what to say! I love interacting with the blogging community, it may be my favorite part of having my blog. That being said, while I read every post that comes up in my reader, I am careful to only comment when I have something genuine to say in response to the post. One of my personal pet peeves is when I receive comments that are either self promo or just a “great post” without any indication that they even read my post. How am I supposed to reply to that?! I know that we all want engagement… but I definitely prefer thoughtful and genuine comments.
The ” Great post” comments irk me too! I have no clue how to respond to them as well.
Love this post! I do not comment on every blog post I read – if I can’t think of something to say that relates to the blog post or the blogger themselves, I may not comment. It keeps me from feeling insincere, honestly. I prefer sincerity and genuineness in comments than just the number of comments?
I think you nailed it!
I think being genuine is a HUGE deal for me – there are times I get comments from people I never speak to that aren’t even genuine (occasionally not relevant either). Lime you, it took me YEARS before I got the guts to finally comment back on blogs and start a conversation because I was afraid they would bite or judge me. 😂😂😂
If my name doesn’t say Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts, I usually add it at the end of the comment. I think as long as the comment is still relevant and genuine, you should be perfectly fine as some may want to visit back if they enjoy your comment and see what you’re cooking up.
Yes it is the fear of being judged that held me back too.
All useful and awesome tips!
I’d say the genuine comment is probably the most important.. sure you can comment on everything. But if in the end you only wanna comment for comment and don’t actually wanna say anything, it’s not worth much.
Also- While using blogger and disqus, i think it’s fine if you put like « Kristina @ booksanddachshunds » for exemple as your signature; id say it’s a good etiquette as you aren’t just saying « HEY GO CHECK THIS ». if you’re like me, i usually use the wordpress comment tool, so you can see who i am.. while with the G comments for exemple, it does not… so in some cases I do wonder if people realize it’s me giving their comments back or not..
Yes the ‘go check this’ are particularly weird!
I think saying something relevant is the most important to me. I have had comments on my blog that weren’t even about my post, which was awkward for me, when I was trying to reply.
It is really hard to reply to these unrelated comments.
I just LOVE when book bloggers share their reviews on my post, or suggest books I might like. It’s so fun to meet people that way!
Yes getting recommendation is the second best thing while blogging.