Blog Etiquette & Commenting: They go hand in hand

"When you write comments on other people's blogs, is it okay to include a link to your own blog? If not, what's an acceptable way to give your blog URL?" Cheryl in Santa Clara asked in our Law of Action 2.0 program.

Recently several people have commented on this blog leaving their blog addresses and referring to their own posts on their own blogs. I had to go in and edit them in cases where I felt they were using the comments section primarily to market their own stuff.

I had a hard time deciding and each comment needs to be discerned on the basis of the intention.

Look at it this way: if you were having a conversation with someone at a party, would you jump right in, start talking about your own stuff, tell everyone why they should go read your post, turn around and leave? Would you think that would be smart and effective?

This is a great question Cheryl asks and there are no easy answers. Here are some smart ways to use comments on other blogs:

1. Make sure you write something meaningful in the body of your comment
2. Don't just say 'nice post' then start talking about yourself and your stuff
3. Contribute something new to the conversation
4. Stimulate readers to think and stir things up if you can
5. Always be respectful but don't hesitate to express a different viewpoint
6. Leave your real name, real email, and blog URL in the comments section where you are asked for them
7. If you can, sign your name with your business branding: Patsi, aka The Blog Squad

If what you have to say is interesting and people want to know more about you and what you have to say, they will click on your name and be taken to the url you've indicated as you signed up to make the comment.

You don't need to blatantly talk about your blog and give the URL in the body of the post. That's overkill.

However, Denise suggests that if you've recently written about the topic you are commenting on, then in that case, it is appropriate to give that link. Put the emphasis on what you have to say in the post, however, so that you really want to add to the conversation, not just drive traffic back to your site.

Remember, when you comment on someone else's blog, you're a guest at their party. They own the site and can moderate, edit, and delete your post if they don't like it.

Comments

[Xina]

That's really useful. I'm just getting into blogging and I really need to know the ropes. I've bought your mentoring package and I'm reading as much of this information as possible before starting my own blog.

This entry is also helpful to me because it gives me guidelines on how to edit not only myself when adding comments, but others too when they comment on my blog.

Many thanks

Xina
Nature's Parlour

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Glad to help, Xina. Actually, I think 75% of the people who leave their own blog url in the body of the comment aren't malicious self-centered marketers, they simply don't know. And, like most in life, it's not what you do but the way that you do it that matters! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! All the best,

[Billy, aka BillyProBlogger]

It seems to boil down to common sense. I like your suggestion of thinking of it as a party conversation. If the link is appropriate to the conservation, and not a non-sequitur, then include it. Otherwise, settle for the URL link in your name.

Great suggestion on the "aka" signature, btw. I like it. I'm trying it out now for the first one.

[Mitch]

I'm not sure if Typepad has anything like this, but Wordpress has a plugin called CommentLuv which automatically pulls in the last blog post of the commenter. With it doing that, a commenter doesn't have any reason to talk about their blog, and hopefully they'll just stay on the point of your blog post, which has happened for me since I added it.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Mitch, that's a great plug in! No, I don't believe Typepad has that, but maybe they'll get around to adding it since they are constantly adding and upgrading. Thanks for stopping by.

[Xina, aka Nature's Parlour]

OK, I've just realised that I didn't use the signature in quite the way you recommended.

I also didn't create a link to this area so that I'd be updated of any responses (thank you for responding to me!). I'm going to create a link now.

I don't know what browser you guys use, but for keeping site of your blog site & links, I'm finding that Flock is superb. Have a look at it and let me know what you think! In fact, if I didn't have Flock I wouldn't have considered blogging because I thought I'd just get confused by all my e-tasks. It's really very good indeed.

All the best,

Xina

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Sorry, Xina, I have no idea what Flock is, and have a plate full of tasks that need to get done soon, so I'm not going to be able to check it out.

[Xina, Nature's Parlour]

Hi Patsi, it's just an alternative browser to IE or Firefox, etc, so it's not something I'm selling/commissioned for, it's just something I've found useful as a blogging multi-tasker so I thought I'd mention it just in case someone else here would too.

Probably the wrong place to mention it? I hope I haven't broken any etiquette rules, if I have, I sincerely apologise :-/

All the best,

Xina

[Anamika]

This is indeed a nice post! Comments bring in traffic to us and is valuable for anyone who blogs, but there are lot of Bloggers who leave their url's though it is not necessary at all.

[Xxypher]

This is absolutely ridiculous, I blogged for many years now, and I never needed a guideline on which to base my blogs off of. Blogging isn't some sort of book or reference you need to type perfectly without a single flaw. Blogs are internet communication styles, like conversation with a friend or discussing a normal topic. You have totally lost what the true meaning of blogging used to be, an online journal where you discuss your life with others. Have you ever used guidelines to say hello to someone? Have you ever signed and addressed a goodbye to a friend leaving? No you haven't, because it is unneeded. I would type more, but I have an essay to write about the disadvantages of blogging etiquette. This isn't just a comment towards this very blog here, this is a comment towards most of your blogs discussing "how to blog right." There is no way to blog right.