In spite of contrary belief, many eminent bloggers do advocate blog commenting.

Some may have closed their comment boxes in the past. And some even opened them up again (having realised this wasn’t a good idea).

But generally they recognise the value of blog commenting, and have written about it.

Here’s a selection of what they have had to say:

Commenting know-how

The best way to explain  “How To Write Great Comments That Will Get Your Blog Noticed” is in a visual capacity. Therefore I created an Infographic that reveals 16 elements a blogger should acknowledge to succeed at blog commenting.

Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, offers nine simple rules on “How to Write a Great Blog Comment”.  The subjects explored are motivation, context, respect, pertinence, expertise and focus. Etiquette tips include suitable brevity, link caution and the necessities of proof-reading.

Only Darren Rowse could write the post “The Ultimate Guide to Leaving Comments On Blogs”. Thirty-three pertinent points with a video from Matt Cutts from Google clarifying link usage within comments. Along with seven benefits, eleven tips on effective commenting, and ten blog commenting mistakes.

Torley writing in Lifehack lets us into the secret of how to “Be a Comment Rockstar: 10 Terrific Tips!”.  He touches on writing style, suitable humour, adding value and  backing up with facts. Self expression, beneficial repetition, being selective, effective linking, following up and tracking your comments afterwards are also advised.

Commenting to drive traffic

Shamsudeen provides his “16 Effective Blog Commenting Best Practices” tips. These focus on how to use blog commenting to drive traffic to your blog.  His expertise in SEO, relevancy, engagement, relationship building, writing tips and appropriate behaviour make this post a valuable resource.

Brian Dean from Quick Sprout University explains about “How to Drive Targeted Traffic with Blog Commenting” in an easy to follow video. He also reveals where to find targeted blogs to comment on – something definitely worth watching.

Zac Johnson writing in Search Engine Journal blog has submitted this post “How to explode your traffic and branding with blog commenting”.  Here he also gives his advice in how to find suitable blogs for commenting. He also explains the benefits of commenting on blogs.

This sentiment is echoed by Kristi Hines writing in Search Engine Watch. Her post “How to Use Blog Commenting to Get Valuable Backlinks and Traffic” emphasises the importance of finding the right kind of blog. She sats be the first to comment, become a regular commenter providing value and tweet the post to attract attention.

Commenting to build brands

Ryan Biddulph writing in Daily Blog Tips offers “5 Tips for Writing Comments that Build your Blogging Brand” in which he says: “Blog commenting opens doors for the mindful blogger.” He focuses on the importance of value and the importance of building friendships with authority bloggers.

Getting more comments

Stanford Smith writing for DIY Themes is brutally honest in his post “How to Get More Blog Comments Quickly”.  His statistics reveal the difficulty of getting readers to leave comments, and shares his simple comment attraction secret.

Seth Simonds has gone several steps further in his LifeHack post: “31 Proven Ways To Get More Comments On Your Blog”.  These valuable tips suggest which posts could command a comment, with some extras to add a bit of colour!

Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger podcasts are always well worth listening to, and this one “11 Quick Tips to Get More Comments on Your Blog” is no exception. He covers “everything from simply asking for comments (you’d be surprised how successful that strategy is), to writing style that invites comment, best formats for blog posts, and how to deal with trolls and spam”.

Whereas WPBeginner’s post “11 Ways to Get More Comments on your WordPress blog Posts” give you technical tips in how to adapt your blog to make it more comment worthy with more protection against spam.

However, Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income has created a video to show you his “Tricks to Get More Comments on your Blog”. He suggests adding a call to action at the bottom of posts, and outlines the importance of replying to comments can increase your social proof.

Commenting increase

Neil Patel shows you plenty of examples of what you need to do to your blog in his post “25 Smart Ways To Increase Your Blog Comments”. He also includes a downloadable cheat sheet that outlines his tips in an easy to follow format.

Charleen Kingston in her guest post in Social Media Examiner shares her very practical “7 Tips to Increase Your Blog Comments”. In it she tells about making your commenters feel special and building a community through your replies.

And Alex Ivanovs adds to the tally of increasing commenting tips with his guest post in ProBlogger “5 Ways to Ramp Up Comments on Your Blog”. He suggests name dropping, distributing valuable comments yourself, being confident and loving what you do.

Commenting to get readers

Jon Penland contributes some practical and positive tips in his post “How to Get Readers to Actually Comment on your WordPress Blog Posts”.  It’s about focusing on your readers and adapting your blog to make it easier for them to leave a comment.

Leon Ho discusses “How Insightful Comments Can Bring You Readers” in his Life Hack post. Basically the answer is to authentically contribute something that is valuable and interesting which encourages readers to take notice.

Diana Urban continues this concept in her HubSpot post “9 Ways to Encourage People to Comment on Your Blog”.  These poignant tips tell us how to adapt our blog posts to make them more comment friendly and which kind of posting styles to focus on.

Commenting mistakes

Neil Patel contributes this incredible post “8 Blog Commenting Mistakes You Need to Avoid at All Costs”. It is packed full of situations that would definitely make a big difference to your blog commenting prowess if you took heed of them.

Randy Pickard shares his vast knowledge in his post “Do Not Waste Time Blog Commenting For SEO Benefits”.  These insights are food for thought if you think that blog commenting will help boost your blog’s SEO.

And again Neil Patel is brutally honest in his Search Engine Journal guest post “Why No One Comments On Your Blog And What To Do About It”. It’s worth taking note of the 10 questions he asks in this post and see if you should take the necessary action on your blog.

Commenting engagement

Marcus Sheridan shares his “19 Ways To Build Relationships With Blog Comments” in this Social Media Examiner post. It is packed to the gills with practical advice on how to react to readers who write blog comments, to encourage them to return and leave more.

Aliza Sherman provides “Five Tips for Managing Blog Comments and Community” in the Quick and Dirty Tips blog, in which she discusses the need for moderation and developing blog commenting guidelines.

Blog commenting and content marketing

Julie Neidlinger offers many valuable tips in this CoSchedule post “How to use Blog Comments to Become a Better Content Marketer”. Here she explores the concepts of networking, generating ideas, building a reputation and many more.

Neil Patel in his Crazy Egg blog writes about “11 Ways to Get an ROI from your Blog Comments”.  These extremely encouraging suggestions provide a valuable insight into how blog commenting can make a difference to your blog and business.

Rand Fishkin shares 10 worthy tips in his “Recommendations for Blog Commenting as a Marketing Strategy” in his Moz blog, as well as offering four reasons why it’s important to comment on blogs.

Commenting and spam

The Kissmetrics blog provides a comprehensive and extremely useful post about “How To Identify And Control Blog Comment Spam”. Various elements are explained to eliminate the daunting prospect of what spam can do.

Here are more “12 Vital Tips and Tools To Combat Comment Spam in WordPress” from WPBeginner to protect you against spam and the damage it can do to you and your WordPress blog.

Moderating comments

This post by Corey Wainwright in the HubSpot blog “Should You Delete That? A Guide to Moderating Blog Comments” guides you to whether to definitely delete, consider deleting or not delete a comment if you don’t want to.

Here is a very comprehensive “Beginner’s Guide on How to Moderate Comments in WordPress” from the Editorial Staff in the WPBeginner blog. Every technical aspect is throughly explored and shown with visual examples.

Kevin Muldoon writes in the WPMU DEV blog about “WordPress Comments: A Comprehensive Guide to Styling and Moderating Discussion”. This post provides information on how to optimise your blog for comments, and how to encourage readers to contribute.

Counteracting horrible commenting

Writer’s Digest There Are No Rules publishes this informative post “How to Leave Meaningful Blog Comments” which focuses on how to counter unproductive commenters. This post also highlights five tips designed to attract appropriate attention towards your blog and away from trouble-makers.

Cheryl Connor’s post “How to Handle Negative Blog Comments, in 3 Steps” published on the Forbes blog acknowledges that there are inappropriate commenters and offers her solution to coping with them.

Richie Frieman, Modern Manners Guy, writes in the Quick and Dirty Tips blog about “How to Respond to Rude Comments”. This is exactly what it says on the tin, a quick and dirty solution to a common problem.

Albert Costill writing for the Search Engine Journal offers “10 Ways to Destroy an Online Commenting Troll”. Counting backwards, these common sense solutions mingle with some interesting tips to cope with this phenomenon.

Why you should be blog commenting

Julie Neidlinger of CoSchedule, in her post “10 Reasons You Should Be Using Blog Comments”, first discusses why blog commenting is losing favour in the blogging world. She then follows with her recommendations towards maintaining a commenting practice.

Michael Stelzner records his podcast “Blog Comments: Should Your Blog Shut Down Comments?” in his Social Media Examiner blog. He interviews Mark Schaefer of the Grow blog and Tim McDonald of HuffPost about what they thought about comments and coping with moderation.

Pat Flynn in his Smart Passive Income blog writes about  “What You Need To Know About Blog Comments (And What It’s Been Like Using Disqus the Past 6 Months)“. He discusses why he keeps his comments open and the benefits this gives to him and his blog.

Ginny Mineo writes in HubSpot blog about “Should You Care About Blog Comments?”. Her argument is dependent upon content and marketing goals, what readers do and say, and what is defined as a comment. However she says at the end that business happens with conversation and clicks, not comments.

Have I missed any out?

Let us know in the comments below about any posts you recommend to educate us all about blog commenting. We would love to hear from you!

The post Expert proof why failing to focus on blog commenting can be detrimental to getting readers and traffic appeared first on Fairy Blog Mother.