5 Reasons To Leave Comments On Other Blogs

I admit that I love getting comments here, and I truly appreciate those readers that leave comments and feedback for me to read. It helps, really… And it shows me that there are a few faithful readers out there. And I thank you.

I myself need to comment more on other people’s sites. But I do try to comment whenever I can.

So, here are 5 reasons why I think it’s good to comment on other people’s journals and blogs:

1. Leaving A Link Back To Your Site

What this does is create essential links back to your site, so that others can find your site. But also, because search engines like Google will index and note down the number of links to a given site, which can boost your site’s importance and rank on the Web.

Though it is beneficial to leave comments on newly visited sites, it’s important not to blatantly SPAM a site just for the link back. For netiquette reasons as well as personal reputation on the Web, it’s always important to leave a meaningful and thoughtful comment that relates to the site or entry.

2. For Constructive Criticism And Feedback

Sure, it helps that the writer gets some sort of positive feedback and encouragement. It’s nice to get a reply to something you’ve written. Of course, negative feedback could be constructive, but can be interpreted as hate mail. So generally, positive feedback is always good. And if you , wish to write the author about something negative about the site or the entry, then a private email is the best thing.

3. Helping The Writer Know The Audience

For people maintaining blogs and online journals, I think it helps that the writer know his/her audience. And this can guide the writer to post more entries geared toward that audience in order to build a following. Of course, if you only write for yourself, then that’s okay too.

4. Creating Dialog and Discussion

The whole commenting system is great for starting up discussions. If you treat each post you create as if it were a brand new topic on a discussion board, then you can be sure to entice more people to comment and reply. Comments are a great way to interact with the writer, as well as with other readers who have commented.

5. Because It’s Good Netiquette

Well, perhaps this reason isn’t really necessary. But let’s say you were speeding through all your favorite blogs and journals without commenting on any of them. So, you enjoyed at least half of them immensely, but how would the writer know if people out there enjoyed the entry? Okay, this one ties with all the reasons above, but I simply think it’s “good netiquette” to leave a comment if you really enjoyed reading that entry.

. . . .

In Summary

Some readers write for themselves, and other write for an audience. I guess I try to do both. After all, my site isn’t password-protected, so it’s obviously open to the general public. I do know that family, relatives, friends and musical colleagues stumble upon my site now and then. But none of them comment. Only other bloggers and online diarists.

Okay, these are mainly notes and observations for myself… and I just wanted to show my gratitude to the following readers who leave comments here on a regular basis. Thank you so much:

TokyoRose from The Moon Rose, Pat from Splog3, Sue from Arizona Butterfly