“The casual conversational tone of a blog is what makes it particularly dangerous.” – Daniel B. Beaulieu
I’m afraid I have a confession to make.
I’ve been blogging for just over five months now, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every day of it. The people that I’ve met and have helped me along the journey will always hold a place in my heart and memories, and I thank them for raising me to up to ever higher levels of blogging wizardry. But now, after this time, and after making a number of changes to every aspect of my blogging life, it’s time to make another change, one which I debated with myself for a number of days.
I’ve decided to cut down on my blog comments.
How Come?
For those that don’t comment that much, you won’t share the same problem as me. I used to comment on other blogs as my only form of blog networking, where I’d go to a blog, attempt to leave a useful comment, and then wait for the reply. I did this for the first three months or so, before I then discovered the power of guest posting. I believe guest posting to be a mighty fine source of gaining traffic and networking with other bloggers that you wouldn’t have come across otherwise. And so, I then began to think about how much time I should be spending on blog commenting.
The most amount of time I’ve spent purely commenting on other blogs, in one session, was about two hours and 30 minutes. Or 150 minutes if you prefer. I usually spend between 75 and 105 minutes commenting, but recently, as I discovered more interesting blogs, the time spent was approaching two hours, and rising. Suddenly, I wasn’t able to spend as much time on other projects, both online and offline, that I would have liked. And what’s more, my actual time spent writing was dropping.
To clarify the importance of this, it’s the writing that first drew me to blog in the first place.
So it was time for a change. But what? I couldn’t just stop commenting on other blogs, that would cheapen the whole experience and would diminish my networking credibility. I thought about it, and came up with this plan.
The So-Called Master Plan
The plan is this:
1. I write a post for this website, and you leave a comment if you wish.
2. I comment on your comment, generally thanking you.
3. I then go over to your website and leave a comment on your latest post.
4. I also tweet your post, provided you have the button enabled.
I’ve started doing this for the past couple of days, and the results are starting to show already. I’ve opened up a lot of time to get on with other projects, and my enthusiasm for writing has started to return. I intend to keep doing this until it no longer works, as I’m pretty excited about future results!
Any Other Changes?
Yeah, I’m going to be posting more frequently on here, and I plan on writing a few more guest posts as well. I currently publish content here every three days, but this will lower to every two days. The next post will be on Monday, and then Wednesday, Friday, etc. I feel that the more I can offer all my readers, the more you’ll benefit, and the more I’ll benefit as a result.
If you wondered why I’ve suddenly stopped commenting on your blog, I hope this explains it. If you have any other questions, please let me know via e-mail, or post a comment and I’ll get back to you. Then I’ll head over to your place with a comment and a juicy tweet 
Image courtesy of orangeacid
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
As of me, Stuart, I don’t think a lot about all this stuff. If there is something worth speaking I comment or I just press my ‘next blog’ button. I don’t take blogging as something about traffic and getting popular. Though it can happen very well, blog is about enjoying the process. If you don’t have anything to say about things, just pass it on. If you do, make sure you tell it.
Seth Godin doesn’t allow comments on his blog. But I’ve talked and discussed with him on lot many of his posts through emails. Well, conversation can happen anyhow. You just should want to do it.
Jaky, I thought that was a brilliant way of looking at it. Sure enough, if it’s worth the time, comment, if not, maybe it’s not for you.
I like it!
That’s kind of the same principles that I’ll go by myself Jaky, if I have nothing reasonable to contribute then I won’t. It’s like the old saying, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all!”
Nice one here Stu,
As long as you keep giving your readers the best, then there will be no problem. Keep up the good work. Rock on!
I suggest you should follow your mind! I also don’t comment on blogs more often maybe because I have a lot to do nowadays
I think we share the same problem Samuel, we both have a lot to do. It’s a case of treating your readers with your highest priorities, for the website is all about them
Stu – I respect your decision and MUST adopt something similar. As you can imagine, commenting takes up more time for me than writing for my blog. I will likely keep on the commenting grind, but with less words!
I’ll always stop by here!
Peace
I did wonder what you’d say about this Jk, I know your comments are rich with detail and wisdom but they must take up a lot of time!
Even if your comments were half the size, they’d still possess the same value as before. We’ve all come to know you as someone who leaves awesomeness wherever he goes, so it doesn’t matter about the size.
And you’re always welcome to stop by here
I think that is a very reasonable master plan! Thank you for sharing the idea Stu – and like Jk said, I need to adopt something along these lines too.
No worries Juanita, thanks for commenting! Glad I could help
sounds like a good decision
wish you all the best Stu
Thanks for your support Farouk
Hi Stuart,
For me, first I used to comment every single day on different blogs. Then I minimized that to going every two days. Now, I go every 2 or 3 days over ALL the blogs that I normally visit and leave a comment. This has many benefits:
1. Build and maintain relationships
2. Read what different blogs have to say, which is very important to know what is going on and to expand our knowledge.
3. Get traffic
I hear you that commenting does take time, but since commenting is “part” of how you get traffic, I still do it. Of course, more emphasis should be on producing more content for your site and doing guest posts. Thanks Stuart and good luck with your new strategy
At one point Dia, I split all my blogs into two halves, then commented on one half one day, and the other half the next day. This worked to begin with, but then I started bookmarking more blogs, until half of my list was as big as a whole list!
I understand your strategy, so I wish you the best with your blogging experiences. You’re doing a great job
Stu – sounds like you’ve made it up your mind and I don’t intend in changing it. The important thing is that you aren’t completely putting a stop to your commenting, just decreasing it somewhat. I can respect that.
I’m positive this is something that most bloggers struggle with. But like Jaky (above) said there is something to be said on a particular topic, then great. If not, simply skip it and come back some other day when you feel like commenting on a particular topic. In fact, I think Marcus (the sales lion) recently posted an article where he mentioned that he knew most of his readers didn’t comment on every one of his articles but he had absolutely no problem with that…
You always have something great to provide on here so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of your work!
I think what Marcus said is true of most blogs out there, that only a few readers will comment.
Also, I admit that the people that comment here came because of my own blog comments ‘in the early days’, but the more blogs I commented on, the more time it took. As you said, I’m not cutting comments out completely, just decreasing the volume.
Thanks for your support Hector, as always
Stu, It’s very timely and interesting you should mention this because I have recently had the SAME EXACT revelation in regard to my own writing and had a VERY similar plan of action therein. I have subscribed to SO MANY blogs over the last few months, and it seems that in the time I spent reading all these blogs (some of which I don’t really share an interest in the content), I could have spent with my kids, with WRITING, or getting to know my REAL blogging friends better and sharing in the discussion.
Also, I recently began a full-time charge into church ministry again, which eats up a lot more of my time. So, I had to give somewhere. I love blogging, and – make no mistake – I LOVE networking with you and others. But, I had to keep my commenting limited more.
So, my system is this:
I still comment on blogs I REALLY like and check out frequently anyway (and yours is one of them – not trying to give you a big head, it really is).
I still comment on those who comment on MY blog.
And I’m going to be doing some more guest posting. (And I think we should do a swap out soon, btw)
Thanks, buddy! Hope to still see you around!
Wow Bryan! That was an awesome comment!
You’re always welcome here, and I’ll always comment on your posts, seeing as you keep coming back here; I think our relationship is one of the few genuine online ones out there! Besides, your content is awesome, and very inspirational
Also, great to hear about your charge into church ministry, happy for you man! You’re doing great, soulful work, I can tell!
Take care mi amigo
P.S. A swap-out sounds great, I’ll e-mail you soon enough once I’ve got an idea cooked up
hello stu
how are you?
thanks for sharing this article and here’s my experience below:
i started blogging over 18months ago with a clear purpose to share my experiences and approach to life with a view to making a difference in lives of people, build my practice and network with people.
when i started out, i was posting 3 days a week and commenting on many blogs.
i tried many routes such as seo, word tracker, unique article marketing blah blah!!! to gain traffic but i am afraid it was my pocket that gained the exposure because they didnt work for me(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO ME)
then i started feeling the strain because i was taking care of my family, studying, working, blogging and mentoring/counselling with different support groups.
i stumbled on steve aitchison who has been a major influence in my blogging and has been there to answer any questions and got my exposure from him. I wrote guest posts on his blog and we did a series together called ask the coach and i absolutely loved it.
i began to study his blogging style and eventually found mine.
as a result i reduced my blogging activities to twice a week but kept the same amount of blog comments on other blogs till i sat down one day and decided i was going to select, read and comment on 33 blogs a week. i couldnt bite off more than i could chew.
however if a new blogger comments on my blog i make an effort to visit and comment on their blogs because thats how relationships are formed.
in the course of visiting these blogs if i stumble on an interesting title in a blog link i may visit & leave a comment .
In 2011 taking into account my role as a dad/husband, work, studying blah! blah!!! i decided i shall only publish posts once a week (twice if there’s a guest post) and i will visit and comment on my favourite blogs from friday through sunday and this has helped with scheduling my time.
at times i could be on a blog page, go out do a few things and come back to the page because there’s really no pressure.
however i enjoy the blogs i visit and hopes to maintain a stable network of bloggers.
has it worked?
yes because i spend time being productive and responding to counselling queries helping people, as well as resting and i daresay my blog stats this year are good with this strategy.
for me the readers and visitors count a lot so i must do the best i can.
however i must point out that more subscribers read the magazine( which happens to be the best decision i ever made in blogging) than posts so i channel a lot into building the magazine.
this may not work for anyone but it is my experience and it has worked for thus far.
whew!! thats me done. i guess one needs to understand the dynamics of his/her blogging niche understand the nature of subscribers and visitors to the blog & value them ultimately.
for me it’s not about building an empire, it’s about affecting lives.
take care of yourself and enjoy the rest of the day.
Ayo, I know you apologised in your e-mail for the lengthy comment, but there’s no need to apologise, because this was awesome! I’d go as far to say that this is one of the best comments I’ve ever had on Unlock The Door, if not the best!
Thank you for sharing it with us Ayo, you’re a true superstar. You’ve got it sussed in terms of blogging, and you’re putting the readers first, which is always crucial. You’re an inspiration my friend
Hi Stu,
I know exactly what you mean. I did the same process that you did and ended up reducing my commenting to the same strategy the you have. I comment back on blogs that left a comment on my blog as a courtesy. They were kind enough to check out what I wrote and take the time to comment so I like to replicate the favor by checking out their latest post and leaving a note. As you, I found out that my time stretched this way. I some times get behind but eventually I’ll make to their blogs. Loving blessings
Yeah, I can see that you’ve got the system set up nicely Andrea, I only hope that I can become as comfortable with it as you have done. Take care
Hey Stu!
Ironically, this is my first comment on your blog : ) I appreciate your insight into the process of blogger networking. I think it’s very important to network, because I believe that so many blogs, have so much value, and how do you expect people to even know you exist? Yes, if you consistently post quality content on a regular basis, eventually you will receive the interest that you desire, but networking is so useful if you are getting started or want to increase your readership. Guest posting I think is an amazing idea, but another idea is to hold interviews with like-minded bloggers, and get them to link it back to you.
Great ideas, I’m following you now, so I look forward to keeping in touch : )
Hi Mike, great to hear your first comment, and welcome to Unlock The Door!
Indeed, networking is very important if you want people to sit up and take notice, but you have to balance it all out. I spent a week or so purely focusing on the design of this site, which has improved, but I neglected the content and networking aspects. Overall, I learned not to skimp on the important stuff.
Interviews are a great idea! I might be able to convince a few people *fingers crossed*
Stu, don’t blame you one bit brother. You’re currently on a journey. What works for you today may not fly tomorrow. It’s all a process. Stage 1 of your blog was comment heavy in terms of activity. Stage 2 (as mentioned above) will be different. As for stage 3? Well, that will come in another 3-6 months I’d imagine.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m proud of you for writing this Stu. You’re a good man.
Marcus
Marcus, you sure know how to make me feel good about myself! Thanks for the awesome comment, I’m glad to see you here, because it gives me an excuse to head over to your site
I’d like to think that this blogging journey will take me far and wide, and I have my goals. I remember reading a Steve Pavlina article, where he said to “be clear with your goals, but flexible with your plans”. I think as long as we get to where we want to go, then we must embrace wherever the journey takes us.
Take care mi amigo, you’re as good a man as any
Hi Stu,
I hear what you’re saying and totally relate. I run a few blogs, and just started a new one that is going to be mainly for clients and prospective clients. Commenting is a fast way to grow a commenting follow, but as your first commenter, Jaky, wrote, comments are not everything.
The problem with comments is that they are like a drug. The more you get, the more you want. What I’ve noticed with my other site (bizchickblogs) is that when I stopped commenting on other people’s blogs, they stopped commenting on mine. At the same time, though, readership went up big time because of other reasons.
So, I like your master plan. It’s a good one. As long as you can keep a good perspective about comments, you will do great!
Cheers,
Tia
Thanks Tia, I hope my masterplan works out well! But if it doesn’t, then I’ll ditch it; as long as I reach my goals, I’m happy with wherever the journey will take me.
Take care
Stu
i think you’ve got to do what’s right for you. The only person who can know what’s right for you…is of course you.
To me the most important part of what you said was about how you got into this for the writing – if the writing part is ‘your bliss,’ as I suspect it is, then that is what you must prioritize.
However you’ll probably find, and don’t need me to tell you, that you will still need to do some blog commenting to help create the relationships that allow you to connect with people for the purpose of guest posting.
I’ve heard guest posting is a powerful strategy – as you know I just published my first over at The Sales Lion. It’s too soon to know how it’s going to pan out in terms of traffic increases, or any of the metric stuff like that. But you know what – I don’t care, I’m definitely wanting to do it again. The experience has been awesome – I’ve consciously answered EVERY comment. And tried to answer them with thoughtful responses – I’ve got a mini series of 4 or 5 posts planned just from those comment answers! If that was all I got the time I invested would have been worth it a hundred fold.
So follow your bliss man. Do the writing! The world needs more writers.
Paul
The world needs more writing Paul, I can definitely agree with you there!
When my guest post for The Sales Lion was published, I saw a marked increase in my site views, so I hope you’ll experience the same. The more guest posts you do, the more sites you’ll reach, and the more people will know you exist
It’s easy to get lost in a sea of blogs and commenting. I tend to keep my commenting to a half hour per day. This way I can still feel connected, yet have more time for things that I need to tend to like producing blog content, answering emails, etc…
Hope that’s working out for you Christian, thanks for the comment!
The master plan that you have written with just four simple steps is commendable. It shows that you have confidence in yourself and in what you write. I too after raeding a few of your posts accept the fact. It shows that it is truthful readers who always help your blog to be on the top.
All the best.
- Ranjith
Ranjith recently posted..The rise and fall of hopes
Thanks for the comment Ranjith!
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