How to RESPOND to a Comment on Your Blog
A few days ago I wrote an article on, "How to Leave a Comment on a Blog." Today, I want to follow up that post with, "How to Respond to a Comment on Your Blog." Here are a few ideas for you to explore.
1. Decide on How You Will Respond
Are you going to personally email everyone that comments on your blog or leave comments within you blog, that is the question? Currently, I do both. I usually send a personal email and if I can keep the conversation going I will leave a comment on the blog. I usually don't respond if the comment is just a link to another blog or site.
2. Always Show Appreciation
I always show appreciation to the individual who took the time to comment. I truly am grateful to anyone who leaves their thoughts, appreciation or even those individuals that disagree. It's all about listening and learning.
3. Build Upon Their Comment
If at all possible I'll try to add something to their comment. I don't force this, but when I can I will
4. If the One Comment is a Blogger Visit Their Site
This is a great opportunity to discover a new blog, network and join the conversation at their blog.
That's it! How do you approach responding to comments on your blog? What would you add or leave out? Leave a comment and share your tips and ideas.
Technorati Tags: blog comments, blogging, howto
Hi David! Thanks very much for this post.
Item #1 really made me stop and think because I don't have a default approach for responding to comments. So far, I've been handling things on a case-by-case basis.
I've also never thought of sending a reply directly via email, mostly because my blog commenting software (Blogger) doesn't ask for email addresses... but having received your emails, I can see why they'd be very effective.
Thank you so much for giving me food for thought. 8-)
Cheers!
Posted by: mdy | June 21, 2007 at 12:08 PM
Excellent points, David. I am always impressed when a blogger emails me to thank me for a comment. Granted, if you receive lots of comments, you can't always do this. However, it's nice to at least acknowledge the commenter in your own additional comment, right? (See, now you have to answer me!)
Posted by: Donna Papacosta | June 21, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Hi, Added a new value add to my blog this weekend - a news widget from www.widgetmate.com. I always wanted to show latest news for my keywords in my sidebar. It was very easy with this widget. Just a small copy paste and it was done. Great indeed.
Posted by: Mark Vane | June 23, 2007 at 08:46 AM