Whether you’re a writer or not commenting on other people’s blog posts and articles may be a common occurrence. You may want to offer some extra information, debate a topic, or just congratulate a writer on a job well done.
However, before you start writing, it’s important to think about what your comments will really do. Your comments can come up in Google searches (I’ve found that out just by Googling my own name) and they affect the blog positively or negatively. Some blog owners will also have strict rules on comments.
Here are three quick tips on how not to comment on articles and blog posts.
Don’t Spam With Your Own Links
Sharing a link that expands further on a topic can be considered helpful. However, far too many people leave a link as a way to get people to visit their blogs. The comments isn’t a place to do that. I just had to delete three comments from one of my blogs because of the same comment promoting the same link.
Spamming isn’t taken kindly. You could find yourself blocked from commenting on the blog and having your comment deleted entirely. If I can and the comment was useful without the link, I sometimes just edit the comment to get rid of the link.
There’s really no need to leave a link in comments. When you’re asked to leave a comment, there’s a place to add a website. You can use the link there. Your name then becomes the hyperlink. Some people also have Commentluv on their blogs, which will allow you to show the latest post you’ve written.
Avoid “Nice Post” or Anything Similar
Stopping by and saying “nice post” used to be a quick way to get a blog ranking highly. But now it can cause the blog to drop dramatically. That “nice post” or “thanks for sharing” isn’t helpful, and is another type of comment considered as spam. Chances are you will get your comment deleted.
Not only that, but you look like you haven’t even read it. What about the blog post was nice? Why did you like the article?
Writers want to know what you agreed with and what you liked. They want to know why you visited and whether you’d visit again. Think about how you would feel if you just saw a quick “nice post” comment.
I’ve received a few of these, and quite frankly I tend to delete them. I definitely don’t respond to them.
Don’t Attack Someone Personally
Debating with someone in comments is respectable and often accepted. I happily debate with people, especially when I’ve written something controversial.
What I don’t like seeing is someone being attacked personally, and it happens a lot now. One person writes something that others don’t agree with, and they’re called “stupid,” “unintelligent” or “an idiot.” I’ve even had someone tell me to kill myself because of an article I wrote, all because she didn’t agree with the view.
Now, those types of comments don’t bother me. I roll my eyes and delete them. Sometimes I keep one comment, respond to it with why it’s not helpful and why I will delete others and then move on. The problem is they can really hurt others.
Yes, writers need to have strong backbones, but they don’t deserve to be attacked in that way.
Instead of attacking, bring up the point that you don’t agree with and sensibly and calmly explain why. Share your own opinion and viewpoint, but respect that others have a different one. Differences make the world interesting. If you can’t respect other people’s views, why should they respect yours?
Think before you write. Are your comments valuable and helpful? Are you spamming or attacking someone personally for something they’ve written? Be courteous in your comments, and then you’ll be treated in the same way when you’re writing.
Hello Alexandria I just started the 30 day blogging challenge for my third time, this is a defo must read as we all are sometimes caught with the nice post or great article comment but we are not perfect writers we intend to gather responses and opinions and that’s what makes blogging interesting.
It easy to get caught in that when we’re trying to comment on so many. I always ask myself, “why do I think it’s a nice post.” That way I can expand on it and give the blogger some extra feedback. That’s all it really needs. Good luck with round three.
I haven’t really had anyone try to slide in their own links except obvious spammers. Sometimes the easiest way to tell something is spam is that they drop in a link and some kind of a comment that is totally unrelated to what’s being discussed in the post. I don’t delete “nice post” comments unless they are from people with obvious spam names/links, but I do prefer if there’s some reason given for the opinion (especially as, like you say, it’s possible they never read it if that’s all they say). It’s really sad that people have to be told not to personally attack bloggers in the comments. I would like to think that the people doing that are not, themselves, bloggers, but if they are they should think of the “golden rule” to treat others as they’d like to be treated.
I’ve had it only a small number of times. Unfortunately, it happens. The obvious spammers are a lot easier to deal with. The problem with “nice post” comments and just “nice post” is that they can harm a blog’s reputation with Google. I’m not sure how much, but I know that they can. You can’t create the dialogue with the other person because of it. It is sad that people have to be told it’s not nice to attack someone personally, but I see it all too often, especially with Facebook comments…one reason why I don’t have that option on my blogs!
Sometimes it can be difficult to define exactly what you liked about a post because what you were drawn to was the writer’s personality and voice as supposed to any particular thing they said. I don’t think it’s always meant as spam, sometimes it’s genuine appreciation of the article even if it’s not a helpful critique 🙂
Tip three is right on point- you put it extremely well! Calmly sharing your opinion is a much preferable way to calling someone who’s put a lot of time and heart in writing something. Plus, it just makes you- not the blogger- look a bit silly.
It’s not always meant as spam, but it does lead to the question of “did you read anything?” It’s viewed as spam by others. Sharing that you were drawn to the voice or personality is just what writers need to hear. It may not sound helpful as a reader, but it’s great for a writer because they know they’ve done something right.
Yes, there is definitely a commenting etiquette that everyone should follow. I can’t stand “spammy” comments.
Haha! You and me both. I get a lot of them, which my spam folder catches in most cases. There’s always the odd one that slips through but quickly handled.