R TEAM Blog recently had our first comment thanks to Rebecca Kuno of Red Brick Blog. Why would someone comment on a blog, you ask? This is a way to get involved, ask a question, provide your opinion on an article (or post) that someone has written...it's participation. Comments add content and can almost create a life to your post.
Overall, comments on your post are a very good thing. It shows you have readers (readers are a nice benefit) and that what you wrote on your blog was interesting enough that someone else wanted to be a part of your "on line" conversation.
Here is R TEAM Blog's first comment:
"Thanks for the compliment. Blogging has been fun but slow going. My biggest struggle has been creating the habit of blogging on a daily basis - life and "business" sometimes seem to get in the way! :)
Overall, blogging has been an interesting journey and I am excited to see where it will continue to take me."
This comment appears underneath Help from one of my blogging mentors, Dustin Luther and you can also find recent comments on the right side of this blog in "Recent Comments". Clicking on the comments bring you back to the post that has the comment attached to it.
When someone leaves a comment on a post that I have written, I try to respond to it by adding a comment to the same post. It's nice to keep your blog interactive with your readers. Not all comments require a reply. Sometimes you might get a comment you don't agree with. I had this happen recently at Mortgage Porter where someone did not like my post on Option ARMs and they a strong comment about how they felt I was wrong. I replied back to this person to explain how in fact, my information is correct...and I've not heard back from that reader...which is fine! If you receive a comment that is offensive or spam, delete it! It's your post. Out of the couple hundred posts I have written, I have only had to delete a comment twice. It really doesn't happen often.
On my other blogs, I have comments set up to be approved by me first. I receive an email showing the comment is waiting for my approval and I simply review it and click yes or no...voila, I have a comment on my post.
With a Typepad blog, you set up your preferences for comments by clicking the configure tab, then click feedback. You'll notice the different options for controlling comments on this page.
With Typepad, you can always reference their help tools if you get stuck setting up your blog...I've utilized their support many times!
I encourage you to comment on someone's post. To start with, it can be a real simple "Nice article, I enjoyed reading this". Or maybe you have a question to post... it's all good. Once you comment, it becomes a part of that post forever. With that said, it's not good to spam or promote yourself on someone elses post. I would not recommend saying "Nice post, please visit my blog at www.mortgageporter.com." Often times when you comment, a link back to your blog or website is included on the comment...or sometimes you can comment under an alias...but do that?
Taking this a step further, imagine finding blogs in your target neighborhoods where you list and sell homes...commenting on the blogs is a nice introduction to not only the blog authors but also their readers.
You're welcome to comment on R TEAM (or any of my blogs) if practicing here makes you feel more comfortable. Homework!
Stumble It!
