When I first started writing my blog, everyone told me that leaving comments on other sites was a great step to building traffic. It’s true, commenting on blogs helps you become connected to the community, makes you stand out, and can drive traffic to your own blog.
For me, though, convincing myself to write a comment was difficult. I was considered a lurker – I’d read the article, have an idea, but never share it with the writer.
I worked hard to train myself out of that mentality. I now share my thoughts whenever possible. It not only helps build myself as a leader in the industry, but it also lets me help other bloggers explore new ideas.
So how did I do it? Here are some of the steps that I went through:
1. Stop Being Afraid of Being Wrong
Seriously, the first step is to stop being afraid of being wrong. I used to be afraid of making a mistake, afraid that someone would jump on me for saying something wrong.
Whenever I felt like I could be wrong, I reminded myself that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The worst that happens is that I’m corrected and I’d be better for it.
Share what you’re thinking. Someone might say that you’re wrong, but who cares? Learn from your mistakes and make yourself better.
Bloggers want to know what you think about their article. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas.
2. Start Small and Be Comfortable
I started small, by leaving short comments on my friends blogs. I knew that if it came to a point where I needed to change my comment, they would help me. This made me feel comfortable because I couldn’t make an egregious error.
The comments didn’t always add value, I just wanted to get into a routine of leaving comments. Sometimes it was simply “good post” or “I really agree with…*part of article*”.
It just takes this small step to get into a rhythm. Over time I noticed that instead of writing these short comments, I was writing in-depth analysis. I began treating my comments as mini blog posts. I realized, I just needed to start somewhere.
3. Facebook and Twitter are your Friends
We’ve become used to leaving shorter comments. Look at your Facebook feed or Twitter replies. Most of these comments are no longer than 140 characters, it’s something we’ve gotten used to and it’s ok.
Translate what you do on Facebook and Twitter to blog comments. Publish what you feel, what you think, and don’t worry about length.
4. Keep a First Impressions Journal
When I read blogs, I tend to open up different tabs and read through the articles quickly. That’s great for getting through tons of content fast, but it’s not useful if you’re trying to leave useful comments.
Instead of jumping from one article to another, leave a comment right after you finish your article. You probably won’t come back to the post if you switch tabs. Be focused and don’t put it off.
I like to write notes in the comments field as I read the article. I keep notes on questions that arise as I read the post or how it made me feel. These notes turn into my comment once I’m done reading.
5. Use an RSS Reader
The best tool to make your content consumption more effective is a feed reader. I identified about 50 blogs that I like to read and setup a Google Reader account. In the reader, I can track when each of these sites published a new article.
I then setup a goal – before I can share or “star” an article, I have to leave a comment on it. I don’t always keep up with my goal, but it has definitely made me more efficient and more cognizant of leaving comments. (Oh, you can follow my shared items here.)
I think comments are an important part of the online community. It allows me to share my thoughts and grow as a person. It helps the writer explore his article from different angles and potentially make the publication more in-depth.
Get over your fear and take your first step – leave a comment here and tell me why you comment on other blogs. What drives you to share your thoughts? Do you set a routine for yourself? Has it been useful for you?
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{ 18 comments read them below or add one }
Thanks for your very helpful post. For me, the most useful advice you give is not “don’t fear being wrong”, but “get started”. Sooner or later everyone needs that kick in the pants, and today it worked. See?
It’s really great thing that you think about these types of things. These are basics things but people don’t use these steps usually. This article can make them aware like me. I feel improved myself after read this article and I must follow these steps.
Learning about social media is something I am very interested in now. I have a new site that I want to promote and am discovering social media is the way to go. Although I have a lot to learn your suggestions are a great starting point. I especially like that you reply back to us. It really makes it feel personal.
Thanks,
Vicki
Found this post recently based on the title (which is great, by the way) and thought it was especially good to share with many of my readers who are new to social networking. Thanks for the post.
Very helpful Samir, your advice is spot on. As I was reading I remembered I used to be a leader, but then got back into my old lurker bad habits! Thanks for reminding me to be actively social again! Oh and this is my first comment on any blog for a looong time
Cheers,
Will
Thanks for the comment Will! Glad to see your first comment was here!
This article just inspired a 2010 ny resolution. Thanks!
For a serial lurker like me, this is very handy. Thank you Samir.
Samir
the link to view your shared items was not included…
great piece btw
Z
Whoops made a mistake – I updated the article. Here’s the link too: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/Samir.Balwan
Great article! I’ve been a lurker too…for too long. And usually because I’m afraid of being wrong. Thank you for these practical tips.
Thanks so much for your article, Samir. It was a great read and contained some great advice, especially to a new-comer like me who is just starting to leave comments.
I love the bit about having a personal goal to leave a comment on a site before Tweeting about it. I may borrow that one!
Thanks, Olivia.
haha please take the idea. It has helped me a lot! Thanks for your comment Olivia.
Here’s to not lurking anymore!
A very good read, thanks for the tips.
haha Congratulations Erik! Thanks for leaving a comment.
These are some great and practical steps for just doing it, just getting out there and interacting. There are a lot of good reasons to comment on other blogs.
I’ve always reminded myself that I want people to comment on my blog, not only to show that they are reading what I’m writing but to also help make me better. Thank you for the information.
Your so right. That fear of being wrong or not interesting enough on someone’s article certainly plays a role at times about commenting. I think we we also feel sometimes that this is not contributing to the other things we need to get done for ourselves and or own biz. It’s so easy to get caught up in other peoples writings, Facebook, Blogs etc…it’s easy to lose time and then to add a comment on top can feel like even more wasted time. All great points…thanks for the post.
It definitely makes you feel good when you get a comment. The more comments I get, the better I feel about an article!