BT: Answer me this: Comments + Promotion

Brainstorming questions and ideas

Last month, I introduced a new category to this site – “Blogging tips”. These monthly installments are meant to serve as a brainstorming session so that we can all optimize our experience and maximize our enjoyment here in the blogosphere.

For an intro post, and the first question, feel free to head back here.

Below, you can find a comprehensive summary of last month’s answers, and a new question for you to answer at the bottom.

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JANUARY’S question:

What makes you comment on other people’s posts?

OUR answers:

  • an interesting subject
  • a thought-provoking post
  • a post a reader relates to
  • a post with which a reader agrees
  • a post that allows the reader to see things from a new perspective
  • a post from which a reader learns something new
  • a post that moves the reader/ makes them laugh
  • questions posed in the post
  • desire to share one’s personal experience and opinions on the topic
  • desire to appreciate the work put into the post
  • having an interesting tidbit or an explanation to share
  • a consistently empty comment section
  • relationship with the author/ knowing that they will appreciate the comment
  • wanting to support a blogging friend
  • a desire to leave a proper feedback, specifying what spoke to the reader and why
  • having something to say on the topic
  • a catchy title
  • wanting to initiate a relationship with the author
  • reciprocity
  • being bored
  • not being clear about the contents of the post and wanting to clarify

P.S. I also asked a follow up question, which I think might be beneficial for you to find out about.

Q: When do you refrain from commenting?

A: when the topic is sensitive

A: when the topic is not interesting

A: when a comment can hurt the author of the post

A: when there is history of the author replying with a generic answer to the comments and not engaging

A: when there is history of the author not replying at all

A: when there is not much to say/ the reader does not have anything to contribute, or cannot find the right words

A: when the post is bitter and negative

A: when the post is filled with specific and strong opinions, and the reader does not want to start a battle that will lead nowhere

A: when the post is plagiarized

A: when the reader does not relate to the post

A: when the post is informational, instead of personal

A: when the reader does not think the post was well done

A: when the post leaves a bad taste in the reader’s mouth

A: when there is belief that the comment will be misunderstood/ twisted

A: when the reader does not have much time

A: when a reader is forced to log in/ filled out a form in order to leave a comment

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FEBRUARY’S question:

How do you promote your blog?/ What do you do to get others read your posts?

(It is a 2-in1 question. Or 2 for the price of 1.)

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A huge THANK YOU to those who participated last month. You are making this blogging world a better place. Please consider contributing this time around, too.

To make things even more exciting, please feel free to go through my Contact page and share with me what YOU would like investigated and answered by the Community next month.

Stay golden,

signature5c0482f66325e1

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98 thoughts on “BT: Answer me this: Comments + Promotion”

Add yours

  1. Nice summary!

    I don’t do active blog promotion, but I include the link in my email sig and in other social media, such as Twitter (I’m not on FB). I think if you’re active in the WP community that can generate new readers too, though not necessarily at a huge pace. I get maybe 5 or so new followers per week.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Yea, I think my traffic is generated mostly through WP. My links automatically post to Twitter, but I haven’t been on there for a while, so I’m not sure if anyone cares.
      Putting it in your email sig is a great idea. IF you want to share your blogging with everyone in your personal life. I don’t.

      Liked by 2 people

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  2. well, on the promote part, I sometimes (and sometimes is a loose term here) post the link on twitter. I have a fb page but i don’t put my blogging contents there.honestly, i don’t really promote my blog – in the sense that i want to promote.
    As for readers, i like to engage on topics and blogs i enjoyed, and most in the blogging community are the same. Readers eventually come by when you blog about interesting topics.

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. My twitter account is mostly about books, writing, and hmm, books. my blogging has personal contents, parenting and funny stuff. I don’t want to mix everything, so i just choose the pertinent posts and link them.

        Liked by 2 people

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  3. Because you’re Golden! Lol. To answer your question, one is because I enjoy the content of course. I do so if I have a relationship with the poster if I relate to the post and I genuinely liked the content.

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. That’s a good question. In a perfect world is like to reach more. But I use various social media platforms except for Facebook… I hate FB. Word of mouth sometimes. Of course, I would love more exposure but it’s a process. WP is my main source of viewership.

        Liked by 2 people

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          1. I do yeah. I have used Twitter from day one as it’s my favourite social media. Not so much with Instagram but I have posted there. Been trying Pinterest too but it’s all quite a time consuming and you always need to babysit so many things. How about you?

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            1. I auto-post to Twitter, but I don’t engage much.
              I’ve been thinking about expanding somehow and everyone suggests Pinterest.
              The problem is that I don’t have much time to spare for that kind of stuff, so I’m torn.

              Liked by 2 people

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              1. I know right, between being inspired enough for the content and then having to research ways to reach an audience can be counterproductive in a sense. So much to have to think about so, I completed relate.

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      1. By promoting other people’s blogs. I figure, the more free advertising I do for others, the more inclined they are to advertise me for free as well.

        Like the power of “word of mouth” advertisement. It’s not simply a sign, but other bloggers you already enjoy, saying how much they enjoy these other bloggers.

        I am more inclined to read and follow a blog that was recommended to me by a fellow blogger that I interact with on a regular basis than I am to simply go out and find other bloggers.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. I thought so, but I didn’t want to ASSuME.

          Makes total sense. I have to agree with you on that one. However, I do find to have a particular taste and what others like isn’t always what I do, and vice versa.

          Liked by 1 person

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  6. Nice summary! I learnt something from other people’s views.
    Er, I want to up my blog promotion game. I don’t think I promote my blog actively.

    After I publish a post, I would post the link to Facebook and IG. Then I would send the link to five of my friends who have taken it upon themselves to share my links on their social accounts every time I publish a post.
    I’m in this blogging support group on WhatsApp, and on Saturdays, we share the links to the articles we wrote that week and take the time to visit each other’s blogs.
    As impressive as this sounds, it only rakes in a good-but-not-so-impressive blog traffic.
    Hopefully, from the comments this post will get, I’ll learn more effective ways to promote my blog.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. That’s the whole point – to learn from one another and to better ourselves. I’m glad it’s working.

      Same. I feel like with a full time job and life and blogging, there isn’t much time for active promotion. I’m curious to maybe learn a secret or two.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. I do not actively promote my blog. While I do hope it will be helpful for people, I also worry about offending people. Although my blog is meant to be inspiring and helpful, I am also aware that my own sense of humor and use of sarcasm can be offensive to some. I do NOT enjoy hurting others and I Accept that by being human, and my own unique self, It is inevitable. So this also answers why I don’t often post comments on other people blogs or social media.
    I appreciate your very thought provoking questions and I am glad to have found your blog. Thank you for inspiring me.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Pleasure is all mine. Thank you for reading and commenting.

      I don’t enjoy hurting others, either. I think most of us don’t, really. If only some people realized that we aren’t doing it on purpose… Like you said – it’s inevitable. But how can you be you, and be happy with who you are if you need to censor yourself?

      So is it fair to say that you only get viewers the natural way – they reciprocate, or somehow stumble onto your site?

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Yes, that is correct. People basically accidentally find me.
        I did post a link to this blog on my FB business page once.

        To address not hurting people,
        I think we can be ourselves. Part of who I am is trying not to hurt others with my words. Also part of who I am, is knowing I will hurt some people. It’s almost never malicious behavior on my part. I accept that I can not control how anyone else thinks or feels. I do not burden my self with trying to please everyone. I do however, burden myself with the task of being me. And because censorship is such necessary behavior, I have to constantly work on improving my delivery methods. I am human, I do have strong opinions about things, and I do voice those opinions. I’m not always proud of my actions but I am allowed to make mistakes and I am humble enough to want to continue improving my life.

        In my daily work, I talk with different people about very emotionally driven topics. I advocate for equality and change everywhere I go. I am constantly working on acceptance of all people, despite what society tells me I should think or feels. To me, we are all perfectly imperfect.

        I believe I will continue to enjoy reading your blog posts. I appreciate your candor and willingness to talk about sensitive topics. Well done!

        Liked by 2 people

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  8. I don’t really actively promote my blog. Sometimes I make note of it on my Instagram page and it’s a link in my Facebook profile as well. I think I don’t worry about followers so much because I’m not sure I should be blogging to begin with.

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. Its a two thought process. One: it’s fun to share so blog away!
        Two: does the world really need another blog
        As a graphic designer working in publishing content is king. We publish in print and online. Blogging just to blog doesn’t do anyone any good. Engaging content is valuable in many ways. Just because I have an idea doesn’t mean I should blog about it.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. I hear ya. That is something I wonder about sometimes, too. But then I see all that silly content and I think that maybe mine is better. Wouldn’t you like the good content to overshadow the bad? I’m not trying to sound stuck up, or cocky, but…

          Like

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                    1. I don’t get insulted easily. Sure, if you call me names, I will get defensive, but if you word your arguments in a reasonable way, I will listen and see what I can learn from that.

                      Stay golden!

                      Liked by 1 person

  9. Interesting insights. Personally, I do don’t promote my blog, just follow others if I enjoy their blogs, comment if I have something genuine to say, feed back, or add to the discussion, and they may follow me back, a minority becoming regular readers and commenters… Of course, this minimalist approach may account for a lot 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  10. Commenting because you’re bored. Haven’t thought of it in that way!

    I think you can have two kind of readers:
    1. People from WP
    2. Random email subscribers.

    The first one is easy to promote.
    Despite that people think you have to leave your link anywhere and everywhere, YOU DON’T.
    If you leave a comment, people can click on your name and get to your site.
    Interacting with others is the best thing you can do to promote yourself on WP.

    For email subscribers you need social media.
    I don’t use that and never have for blog promoting purposes.

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. My blog posts automatically post to Bloglovin, my Facebook business page, LinkedIn account and Google+ account – I edit those auto posts to be more “readable” and add hashtags for search purposes. I share my FB business post to my personal page and a couple of groups. I also post links to my posts on IG and Pinterest. WP brings in some traffic on its own – that’s hit or miss.

    I need to get better about emailing my blog post links out to people I know personally that I think would be interested in them to obtain more email subscribers – I did that regularly when I first started my blog, but stopped soon thereafter.

    I have done a blog collaboration which brought in a good deal of traffic at the time. I also link to other blogs/bloggers from time to time which brings in traffic.

    Interaction has generated the majority of my traffic/subscribers by commenting on other blogs and posting links to past posts that address specific questions on social media.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. I thought the automated posting to Facebook doesn’t work anymore. Hmmm….

      I think it’s great that you post links to your blogs on other platforms. Is your blogging related to your career goals?

      Thank you so much for sharing so many great ideas. They won’t all work for me, but that could be a wealth of information for others.

      You’ve got me thinking about collaborations. I already had something like that on my mind, but now I might decide to expand on it.

      Thanks for the inspiration.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. I think you can only have your posts auto post to a FB business page, not a personal profile.

        My blog is related to my side gig as an Avon lady, not my main career. My blog is something fun to do and doubles as marketing. Win-win.

        Collabs are great! As are guest posts/reblogs. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

        You’re welcome!

        Liked by 2 people

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  12. This is a great idea! Sorry I didn’t see the last one, I would have loved to participate. Oh and funny story, I’ve also added a ‘Blogging Tips’ category to my website! Twinsies!

    How do you promote your blog?

    1) I use tags in all of my blog posts so I can be found via the WordPress reader
    2) I have included links to my blog on all of my social media accounts and I often get traffic that way. My blog also automatically posts to my social media accounts for me –win!
    3) I interact with the WordPress community and make sure my profile links back to my website (I’ve noticed some people wondering why their blog gets no attention and it’s because they haven’t set up the link on their profile properly)
    4) Collaborating with other bloggers and making lists of bloggers (I.e. The Nine Newbies of WordPress)
    5) I sometimes try to SEO my posts, but not always, it’s not fun
    6) I make my family and my housemate read my blog
    7) Most importantly, I NEVER push my blog on someone else (besides my family lol) or plead with them to visit my blog (again, except my family). I hate that so I would never do it to someone else (oh, my poor family.)

    What do you do to get others read your posts?

    1) Hook them with an interesting title (but no clickbait!)
    2) Include high quality stock photos from sites such as pexels or pixabay
    3) Use headings and small paragraphs to break up the text
    4) Create content that is interesting, engaging and relevant for my subscribers. They didn’t sign up for a food blog, they signed up for a writing-centric blog!
    5) Editing! I use Grammarly to ensure my posts will not send readers insane with typos and poor grammar

    Liked by 1 person

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    2. You cracked me up, Milly! #twining
      Thank you so much for participating and sharing SO MUCH!

      I need to look into some of them (like Grammarly).
      I’ve been meaning to start SEOing, but it always gets pushed aside for when I have more time (which never comes).
      You have people from your life read your blogs? Is that before, or after you hit publish?

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Hahah you are welcome!!

        Quite often friends and family read my blog – but only after I hit publish. My mum, in particular, reads every single blog I publish PLUS all of the comments. My mum has mentioned you a few times! She’ll be like, “who is this lovely floating gold who comments on your posts all the time?” or “look floating gold commented again! You’re so lucky Milly”. Hahaha.

        Oh and my blog is linked to my ‘The Cat’s write’ facebook page, which a lot of my real-life friends follow. At one point I was sharing my blog’s on my personal facebook, but I got a bit nervous doing that and I felt like I was… promoting myself in front of my friends. I kidna felt pretentious doing that so I stopped.

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        1. I’m famous! Someone outside of WP knows me.
          Your mother sounds like a sweet lady. I’m flattered.

          That makes sense. I know some of my real life friends use Facebook to plug in their businesses, but like you – I probably wouldn’t do that.

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          1. Yes!! I have indeed come across a few Grammarly corrections that I disagree with. Sometimes it’s a word or colloquial spoken phrase Grammarly clearly has no clue about (like aussie slang!) or it’s a grammar choice that differs between Microsoft word and Grammarly. I am still trying to work it all out. Half the time I just wing it and use my own discretion.

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            1. I’ve noticed that punctuation is something that makes me wonder. I might be using too many commas. Or it might just be Grammarly. You know, after a second consideration, the verdict is: “I find Grammarly guilty!”.

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  13. My Blogs post automatically to twitter and facebook and tumblr and occasionally I’ll mention a specific one on instagram.
    A link to my blog is in all my online profiles. I also have a page on facebook specific for my blog.

    I blog for my self at the moment I appreciate those that read mine and take the time to comment on them and I attempt to reply to everyone and have made some good connections. I am going to try and increase my blog variety and spectrum of readers that I may capture so I may broaden my blogging content.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. Much the same as any other social media. However it was once a more adult a version of Instagram but now it has stricter policies on what images can be uploaded there.
        But you can basically post a variety of different forms of post their. From blogs, photos, gifs whatever really.

        Liked by 1 person

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  14. I used to promote my blog through Twitter by engaging there, but I realized it was too much work, and I don’t enjoy promoting my blog through Twitter as much as I do writing for the blog and engaging on WordPress. So I’m not that present on Twitter anymore (it also automatically updates when I publish a new post.) I decided that the time I spent on Twitter promoting the blog, I could be using to write more blog posts per week 🙂 So it’s changed my perspective on my ability to post daily (don’t know how long this will last though).

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  15. Pingback: BT: Answer me this: How to Promote Your Blog + Advice for Newbies – One day at a time…
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  17. Interesting answers that everybody gave!
    I have tried Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Whatsapp and even Snapchat.
    But then the promotion works only when you’re regular to share the posts. To be honest, I find it a task to be regular in promoting.
    I find that dropping comments on other bloggers’ posts to get them to my blog is a better option to promote it.
    In fact these shoutouts that other bloggers give via weekly events (definitely not talking about the ones on Twitter) or the awards, they are a good way to promote.
    Wordpress community pool, First Fridays, Daily promts were lovely.
    Participating in writing challenges has promoted my blog (thanks to the pingbacks).
    These are the things that are visible. Other than this- using the tags has also helped me a lot.
    At the end, if you compare getting ten views and one appreciative comment- I’d prefer the latter. So I sometimes still share some specific blogs with my friends via Whatsapp.

    (I was planning to keep it short :P)

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    1. Also, my blog link (and/or name) is there everywhere- on my fb, instagram, twitter, whatsapp, linkedin and my resume and portfolio too 😛 😀

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      1. That’s what I meant by saying my audience would be bigger if I blogged under my real life name. That’s good that you have it available everywhere. You never know who find you. Didn’t Usher discover Bieber by just viewing his video randomly?

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    2. It looks like you’re a good Pokemon collector (you caught all of the social media).

      It was short.

      I think having people you know in real life read your stuff is a great thing. I like to think that if I wasn’t anonymous I’d have a bigger audience. But for now I decide to keep things as they are. For me, the regular promotion is tasking, too. If I didn’t work, I’d attempt it. It probably would take as much time as a full-time job.

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      1. HAhaha…. yeah..tried and tested everything. I know, right? It is a full time job. If somebody paid me to promote my own blog I’d have happily done it 😀
        Yes, people who know me in real life do increase my audience. But I am very particular when I share my posts with these people.

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            1. It’s become very popular recently. You create a page and raise funds for anyone, or anything. It started off as a way to help fund people’s medical bills, and other serious issues, but is used for anything these days.

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              1. Oh we call it crowd funding here. I was guessing you meant that only, but just wanted to confirm.

                Would people really donate their hard earned money to help us? 😛

                Liked by 1 person

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                1. I never went this direction for that exact reason – I feel like I would be robbing people. But then I see people supporting one another on WP with “Pay for my coffee” or whatever, and it gives me hope.

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  18. Pingback: BT: Answer me this: Creating a following + Finding a Niche. – One day at a time…

  19. Hey! I don’t use any social media platform. So this was an actual question to which I needed answers. I had asked a blogger (Cristian Mihai) regarding this and he’d told me that WordPress is a community and it is all about making friends. What better way to gain readers than to become a reader, right? He conducts these sessions where you can ask him anything regarding blogging. He had actually shared a great syrategy with me regarding the whole thing and I can share the link with you if you like. So, to answer your question, I’m following his advice…

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. I’m trying to find it but I’m not able to. Sorry.
        The strategy was that in order to make new friends on WordPress, I need to visit new blogs every day and to do so, an easy way is this: Comment on 15 new blogs everyday. It is time consuming but then so is social media…

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  20. Pingback: BT: Answer me this: Finding a Niche + – One day at a time…

  21. I’m still trying to get readers on my blog, ain’t easy. I use twitter and Facebook. Wp gives me few reads but I feel my reads comes most from FB and Twitter .but its time consuming. I want to guest blog but don’t know who to submit to lol.

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