Commenting and Receiving Comments
When I started blogging, I had my whole anti-social phase. As in, I was scared of every single blogger and read but never commented on their posts. Raise your hand if you can agree with me or you did the same thing...
So I thought that I'd magically write good posts and not have to comment on peoples' blogs and would get amazing comments in return. Major facepalm right? So I've learned that commenting is something I have to work on. And it's something that's essential to spread love across the blogosphere and to get some comments in return!
I'm really angry with giveaways that MAKE me follow their blog with Bloglovin. I have a system with Bloglovin'. I don't follow you on BL unless I'm actually going to read your posts. And just so you know, people, I don't read reviews unless they're books I've already read or books that I have and am going to read. Other than that, I'm not reading the review. So if you're blog is mainly reviews but have awesome features, I'll be a bit like a ghost.
I try to comment on at least 10 blogs or 15 per night. I don't do too well because I usually skip so many blogs (reviews again!) so I need to follow more. But because of my whole "not a hiatus, but it sort of is" thing, I've been so behind on commenting and I don't expect on anyone to comment until I can get myself straight.
But my problem used to be when I comment on so many blogs and I don't get a comment back. I comment back on a lot of people when they comment on my blog. Maybe I don't follow, but I always comment back that one time.
I think I've learned since that 6 months, you don't have to comment on people who comment on yours. I think that it's nice but it can be nuts if you get lots of comments. But I always feel a little sad when I spend hours on a post and thinking it out with absolutely no comments. I'm part of an idea called Bloggers Commenting Back (Readers in Wonderland) so I take this stuff pretty seriously. It's all about being nice and when you have a little moment, take time to find a blog post that piques your interest and leave a creative and awesome comment!
And no, when participating in a meme, saying "great (haul, feature... whatever) check mine out!" is NOT a comment. I will not check out your blog and I will be a bit pissed. I don't care if you "comment" a copy and paste comment; I don't even think you read the post so it isn't cool. Those aren't real comments. Real comments are paragraphs or at least 3 sentences where I actually get your thoughts on the post and what you think can be improved (if applicable). Those are the ones I want and call me demanding, but I'd rather have 1 PARAGRAPH long comment than 5 stupid small ones.
Do you comment on peoples' blogs in return? I do my best but it can be hard! Especially for those big bloggers that get 50 comments a post.
I would say I visit 20-30 blogs a day and comment. I have the blogs I visit every day and some I only visit once or twice a week. Some weeks I'm super busy so when I do comment I read back posts too, which means lots of catching up. I rarely check bloglovin' or anything else. I just comment on the same blogs regularly these days and if someone comments on my blog I comment back on theirs. If they do it regularly then pretty soon it becomes a habit for me to visit them and they become a regular.
ReplyDeleteI comment back on blogs of others who comment on mine, but sometimes it might not be right away. I'll add them to Feedly, and when a future post pops up that I can say something about I do.
ReplyDeleteTanya Patrice
Girlxoxo.com
I try very, very hard to comment back. But I never expect anyone else to comment on mine. If they do, great, but people have lives, and I get it if someone doesn't have a chance, or simply doesn't have anything to say. Because sometimes, try as I might, I simply don't have anything to say on a particular blog post, so I figure they don't need my "fluff" comment. And it is pretty much never right away- I just have too much going on, and basically do all my blogging-related stuff in the middle of the night, so if they commented in the morning, I won't even see it until after 10pm!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I totally feel you on the giveaway requirement. I actually despise any requirement that isn't like, "free entry" or "Leave your info in case you win". I have it as an option, but never, ever a requirement. I wouldn't want to be told who to follow! And I will pass those type of giveaways up, even if it is a book I really wanted.
I always reply to comments on my own blog, but I don't always comment back on theirs. I do visit (although sometimes it takes me a while), but sometimes we just don't connect, you know? And I'm not going to leave a comment just for the sake of doing it.
ReplyDeleteIt does make me feel a little guilty if I get someone commenting on a lot of my posts, but I can't seem to connect with theirs... but then I remind myself that I follow plenty of bloggers who don't follow (or at least don't comment on) mine. It's nothing personal. It's just a matter of taste.