Hi Everyone! My name is Thomas Sinfield and I am 22 from Australia. My blog is www.standoutblogger.com it is a blog that challenges people as bloggers to continually strive to improve their blogging and their networking and the overall quality of their blogging – ultimately to help them achieve a greater level of success and income from their blogs.
1. How many different blogs do you comment on per day? Well I have never actually counted, I have over 100 blogs in my RSS feed reader and I try to comment on any new post as it comes through. While I am commenting these blogs I do a bit of ‘blog hopping’ by visiting the other blogs that have commented each post. This allows me to frequently be meeting new bloggers – and if I like them I subscribe and frequently comment them.
Coming back to how many comments I leave each day, I would estimate between 50-100.
2. How many different blogs do you comment on total? In total, I would honestly have no idea. I have commented on that many blogs in so many different niches that I would have no clue how many I would have commented on in total. But the benefit of commenting outside my niche is that even if they blog in a different niche – they still blog (and that is my niche)
3. Why do you comment on blogs? I comment on blogs for a couple of reason:
4. For Traffic and Link Back: I know it seems selfish, but commenting has become the majority of my traffic so this is definitely one of the reasons that I comment.
5. To Add Value To The Post And Encourage The Blogger: I know that as a blogger I love it when someone is able to learn from what I wrote or found value in what I was talking about – and when they comment me to add to what I have written or even just to say that they enjoyed reading it, that makes me feel good. So I love returning the favor!
6. To Network: When you start to frequently comment a selection of blogs, you really start to get to know the bloggers behind them. This brings forward opportunities that would not be available if I hadn’t been an active commenter on their blog.
7. What are the benefits that you get from commenting? Pretty much the same as the reason why I comment, but I’d like to add the link love that I seem to get from the blogs I comment on. I am frequently being included on weekly link-love posts – which I really appreciate.
8. What are your opinions about the blog commentating plugin? Are you talking about programs such as ‘comment Kahuna’? I have tried a couple of these programs but find it just as easy to comment manually. That way I get to visit the blogs and it is much more personal.
9. Do you prefer to comment on blogs with this plugin? No, I find it more fun to ‘blog hop’ – where I just skip from blog to blog via the commentators of each post.
10. What are the top five blogs that you like to comment on? I can’t really give a top 5 because I enjoy commenting on so many different blogs. If we were talking favorite because of referral traffic I would say, JohnChow, John Cow, ZenHabits, and Problogger (all of which I have gained over 15 visitors from one comment)
But to be honest I prefer blogs like ThouShallBlog and Power-Max.com where the blogger actually responds to your comment. This is one of the best qualities in a blogger – when they reply to their reader’s comments.
11. Is blog commenting a waste of time? Definitely not in my case. Not only has it created a strong traffic flow, but the relationships that I have built through commenting has been more than worth the effort that I have put in.
12. How many comments does your blog average per post? At the moment I am looking at anywhere from 20 to 50 comments per post. This varies due to the nature of the post as well as how long it takes for me to post my next blog. My goals for 2009 post has been my most commented post ever with 53.
13. What types of post do you create to get readers to comment on your blogs? I have noticed that my readers seem to like my analogy posts. Where I find something that I have done in my life and relate it back to blogging. A good example of this would be one of my recent posts where I went mountain climbing and related it back to achieving your goals. This post was commented 41 times – so far.
14. Do you remove any negative comments on your blog? I don’t really get many negative comments; in fact I can’t remember my last negative comment (well one that was sent to be purposely hurtful). However the policy I have with accepting comments is I will not post comments with foul language and I will not post comments that are hurtful for the sake of being hurtful. Of course I always post comments that are constructive criticism, even if I don’t agree with them.
15. Why should people read your blog and post comments to it? I would hope that people read my blog because they find the content that I write to be fresh and interesting, while in the same time helping them look at the way they are blogging. If they are reading because of this then they will leave comments If they feel they can add value.
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Great interview,
I read the whole interview. Thomas actually also recently left a few comments on my blog so i know he likes commenting and comments quite a lot. It brings in back links, traffic and builds new relationships.
Teen Blogger´s last blog ..Make Some Quickie Money Creating Websites For Businesses
Blog commenting is a good way to network with other bloggers but the principle is true that vast majority of readers leave a blog without leaving a comment or contributing to it in any way.
UK Webmaster Forum´s last blog ..Please kindly review my finance blog – London Fields
Hi,
No doubt you brought out significant concerns about blogging and really they are useful a lot. Blog comments are indeed a great deal to encourage the blogger and not only it motivates blogger(s) to write more informative stuff but also it helps learning as I mostly get to learn the new things coming over the web. Anyway, it is great to see this interview…quite informative. Thanks.
- J.
Web Designing´s last blog ..Tips To Design An Eye-Catchy Website
Blog commenting is a good way to make a network which is helpful for communicate on the web and get traffic
For me sometimes it really matters that I comment on content that is useful and I get to know at least something new…also few other things do matter too like having some link credit, some traffic concerns and so on…but I must agree that blog commenting is a great way to learn and get benefits.
Web Solutions´s last blog ..Graphic Design Company To Deal With Clients
I prefer when bloggers respond to comments as well. It’s one of my biggest critiques of local Dallas Morning News reporters/bloggers. They get 15, 30, 50 comments on some of their online articles, but they never seem to respond.
Once you make a name for yourself, you might be able to get away with just broadcasting your opinion, but you won’t endear yourself to your readers like you could if you answer questions, acknowledge insights, and state your disagreements. People want to feel like they’re touching a person when they comment, not just leaving a memorial comment for future generations.
DanielthePoet´s last blog ..My Blogs Have All But Failed
Nice post! As a blogger, i love the number 4 and 5. I would like to be honest too, it is the main purpose why we comment on blogs.
Great thanks!
I agree that blog commeting is not a waste of time but in fact its a great way for good traffic and you can communicate too with a huge number of people from this way.
i do blog commenting not only because i want people to know that i have a site too and that i want to have links but also because the topic interests me. I don’t comment on blogs that I have no interest with or those that I don’t read.
Typically I Would Agree with This Blog Posting
I however can’t. I’m normally a avid reader of your blog however am pretty dissapointed in this posting.
Great Interview. Thanks for being so transparent and simple with your answers. Successful blogging really is not complicated but sticking with it is neccessary for much longer than most are willing it seems. I share this theme and as I learn to use it better I enjoy blogging more and more. Thanks!
Joe @ Home Business Ideas
business ideas´s last blog ..One Opportunity Home Business Entrepreneurs Miss
One great thing about blog commenting is that, the readers of those blogs that you comments on regularly will recognize you as a subject expert which will build good to your credibility and may even grow an authority on the field.
Web Hosting Blog´s last blog ..How cheap is cheap web hosting?
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. Look forward to read more from you in the future.If interested in link exchange please contact me.