Social media doesn’t just mean using Facebook, Twitter and Digg. It means interacting with your electronic audience. Visit those forums and contribute to the communities. As well as using related forums to draw a new audience you need to comment on website posts.
For example, if you comment on this post, you will leave a link to your website. On most websites when you leave a comment it will ask for your name, email, website url and comment. Your website will be linked to your name usually. If it’s a comment people read and like you stand a really good chance of getting click through hits. Tips;
- Interesting
When you leave comments make sure you contribute to the post and other comments that have been left. It’s important to be interesting though, don’t just agree with the post spark interest in the topic.
- Opposition
If you don’t agree with certain parts of the post, then say so. The chances are if you don’t agree then other readers won’t either, so put a different slant to the post. Talk briefly about how you would approach the topic in question.
- Frequent
Be a frequent commenter. Take this site for instance, over 84 posts and by the end of this month their will be another 36 posts, by April that number will be over 300. The point I am making is that if you only comment once expecting it to give a return you’ll be disappointed. Website posts can be buried under more popular posts very quickly, so be a prolific commenter.
- Timing
If you look at some websites, you can pretty much work out the routine for publishing new posts. For example on this site you can pretty much guarentee that their will be a new post when you return the next day. At the minute I’m averaging 2 posts a day. So keep checking and post a comment as soon as their is a new post.
So there you have it, what does everyone think?
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I think you are right i have seen that commenting on other blog bring returns i get comments in return although they may not be consistent but it helps and as you mentioned the big guys like digg and others are not the only site we should be following
Twitter: theblog_log
December 12, 2009 at 21:17
Another educational article. I find you simply amazing and inspiring. After reading some of your posts, I realize that my blog is languishing mainly due to an insufficiency of effort on my part. Thanks for the inspiration and motivation.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 13, 2009 at 01:33
Ray anytime buddy, Keep motivated, if a dumbass like me can do it, anyone can!
Twitter: AussieSire
December 12, 2009 at 22:49
Nice tips., may I add though, when not agreeing to do so with some decorum. Ne polite stating why you don’t agree as this will earn you some respect.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 13, 2009 at 01:31
Hey Sire, welcome back!
You can earn mad respect for saying how it is, as you have proved on your site many a time! Good add
Twitter: lifenotion
December 13, 2009 at 01:04
James,
I have always believed commenting to be the best way to not only share your thoughts but also promote your name and blog. I really liked how you broke it up into these four categories of which are all very true.
Making your comments interesting is something that I try to strive for. Not only does it add to the post, but it spurs even more comments to be made about your comment. I like to think of writing a very mini post when commenting.
Right now I am working on making more comments at a higher frequency and so you can expect me to make comments here in the near future.
Best Regards,
Derek
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 13, 2009 at 01:29
Hi Derek,
You certainly succeeded with posting interesting comments, so kudos there! Your right it really does add to the post value which you will hopefully see some interest on.
Good comment
I agree that you should comment frequently on blogs and bloggers articles that you enjoy, but it is poaching to do this for the sake of trying to grab every “DoFollow” link you have as some people attempt to do with my blog.
There is an opposite effect that can occur if you are the only person that comments frequently on someones blog, you can lose credibility and people can just assume you know the blogger and don’t follow your link.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 13, 2009 at 01:27
Totally agree if all you do is comment for commenting sake thats why your comments need value.
Twitter: travelsofadam
December 13, 2009 at 17:35
You’re right. A decent amount of my traffic comes from sites I’ve left comments on. Definitely a big part of the blogosphere.
Thank you for all the knowledge you are sharing about “infopreneurship”.
Sometimes people think social media are magical tools that don´t need someone behind working, but as you said, we must dedicate constant and frequent efforts in every detail to get the work well done. Otherwise, there won´t be good results or the results we´d like to see.
We are an Entrepreneurship School in Cantabria, northern Spain and our video blog is http://www.ejecant.tv. Of course, we leave this comment here following your tips….!
Thank you Infopreneur !
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 13, 2009 at 17:56
Thanks for te comment. Good to have someone from Spain on this site!
Twitter: AlbanyInsurance
December 15, 2009 at 21:00
I have seen gradual, yet significant increase in my traffic since I started activley participating on other sites. If Social Media is about online communities, and communities are about engagement, then commenting and sharing seems like a no-brainer. This is as important if not MORE important than Twitter and Facebook and Linkedin…
Thank you,
Ryan H., http://www.ryanhanley.com
The one thing that I have noticed is that like follows like. For instance bloggers are leaving comments on blog sites. Designers leaving comments on design sites and woodworkers leaving comments on woodworking sites. This makes sense because we follow what we are interested in. My question is how do your get cross over traffic?
Twitter: darrensingleton
December 16, 2009 at 11:05
I try and actively participate on any blog posts that make me stop and think about what I am doing and how I can improve. Your blog keeps throwing these posts up time and time again and you can be sure that I am going to be returning on a daily basis and leaving my $0.02!
Darren
Twitter: professorbeej
December 17, 2009 at 17:29
I love leaving comments, especially on DoFollow blogs, but my main worry is just being one of the crowd. I very rarely leave any comments on the “big guns” because I am lost in the slew of other people vying for attention.
I’d rather comment on a blog post where my voice will actually be a part of the discussion rather than just white noise. Oh, and ones where the blogger comments back. That’s always nice. I generally try to open up a dialog, and when the poster never replies, I sometimes cancel my subscription in Google Reader.
Professor Beej´s last blog ..The Best Three Books in Existence
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 17, 2009 at 18:23
I think you have hit on something here, the quality of readers that come from leaving comments on my site as opposed to David Risley’s site, who is one of the major players…
Good comment
I have to agree with you. Commenting is so important, and that is sometimes where real, deep insight comes from, and often at the end of a long line of comments the topic has nothing to do with the actual article. Thanks for reminding us to comment and connect with eachother.
Chris Harmon makes a good point re crossover comments. I tell my clients and anyone who listens to comment on any article that you read that is interesting to you no matter what the subject matter. I have made comments about public gardens in the intercity of San Diego which has nothing to do with court reporting or SM. I think if a person writes sincere comments that are interesting, they are going to get noticed. I love being a part of a broad-based community of people with a myriad of interests.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 19, 2009 at 23:18
An excellent point made here Rosalie,
Having a myriad of interests is key to to inspiration too.
Great comment
Twitter: shackledmuse
December 25, 2009 at 08:12
I do see the value of commenting on a variety of different blogs and sites. It just seems like such a mission to me, for some reason I never get around to commenting as much or as frequently as I aim for.
Cheryl Anne Roelofsz´s last blog ..The problem with “no problem.”
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 2, 2010 at 22:42
Hi Cheryl,
You are one of the most seen commentors out there at the minute! Your doing a great job keep it up.
theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Stop Dreaming and Get to Work!
Twitter: Bigredtomato
January 2, 2010 at 20:37
Hi James,
I think you raise some good points here. Thanks for sharing. On posts where there are lots of comments do people actually read all the comments?
Whilst it’s really great to get comments especially where people are adding to the conversation, I just worry think that visitors read the first few comments.
Happy New Year.
Matthew
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 2, 2010 at 22:44
I think on sites where there are literally hundreds and hundreds of comments, a lot of people do read a few then add theres.
By contrast the readers of this site do tend to read the comments and interact with each other.
I’ve seen a few different replies to other comments etc.
theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Stop Dreaming and Get to Work!
Twitter: dboguejmatthews
January 4, 2010 at 16:39
I know this is almost a month old now but I think it is important to not only comment on other posts and blogs but to give real responses to the comments. You do great on here and there are a few others that are almost conversational in the comment section. I for one like that and I tend to respect the blog more when the author is so involved.
just my $.02
Justin
Justin Matthews´s last blog ..Cloris Leachman and Christmas Lights in the Nose…
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 4, 2010 at 22:42
Hey Justin,
It’s great to create an atmosphere in the comments bit of a post, whether your own site or someone elses. Which you have created here so thanks!
theinfopreneur´s last blog ..You Are Nothing Without Your Readers
Best advice so far. After setting up my site and following folks on Twitter, I still wasn’t getting much attention. Then, downloaded an ebook about generating traffic and there it was. Getting to comment on sites with thousands of followers gets you noticed. Now the challenge is to be interesting enough to make people want to follow me. Now I bet there aren’t many ebooks that can teach you that.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
February 3, 2010 at 22:48
Hey Don,
You are right, a lot of ‘experts’ suggest doing it in a way that they themselves actually don’t do, practice what you teach and be everywhere!
Twitter: kookieskrumble
February 19, 2010 at 01:44
Totally agree with all of the above bullets, commenting has drawn more hits to my site than ever before, and besides its great interacting with different bloggers, you get to see what other people are talking about; what makes them who they are. I’ve said it before, even one word could inspire you to deliever your next great post.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
February 19, 2010 at 07:51
Yeah Winnie,
The commenting system is easily the best system in my opinion
Twitter: businesslistpro
February 25, 2010 at 15:49
Commenting in a meaningful way on a 100 blogs would be pretty daunting. I try to cycle through three or four a day. I do see benefits almost every time. I would say, though, that you are one of the few that actually responds to comments consistently. Much appreciated.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
February 25, 2010 at 23:31
Hey Jeff,
It’s 100% vital to reply to everything. I still don’t understand the mentality of people who don’t reply to people who take the time to comment, it really does make a difference
Twitter: bubonicmedia
February 25, 2010 at 20:09
Link Building is one of the best Search Engine Marketing Techniques out there that doesn’t require much more than common sense.
Not only can you get a backlink to your website from the form field to your name, you can create multiple links and deep-links within your comment itself.
Even if a blog is using ‘No Follow’, you have still left a comment linking your site of choice and hopefully contributed some stirring words that have gotten you some attention.
Tit for tat as some say. I give you juice by commenting, and I get juice in the SERPs as well.
Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be keep an I on you.
Benjamin Hur´s last blog ..Don’t Waste Your MySpace!
Twitter: theinfopreneur
February 26, 2010 at 00:07
Hey man,
Thanks brother if you need anything just shout
Twitter: bubonicmedia
February 27, 2010 at 07:20
No problem. Just return the favor from time to time for now.
Maybe we can JV and run a contest or something in the future.
Benjamin Hur´s last blog ..Don’t Waste Your MySpace!
Twitter: theinfopreneur
February 27, 2010 at 08:17
hey man yeah that’s a good idea brother