Commenting On/Promoting a Blog Post

Today’s topic is very basic, but a question I actually get asked quite a bit.  It usually goes something like this…

“I’ve read another person’s blog post and I really like it.  How do I leave a comment, what do they do with the information I have to give in order to leave a comment, and how can I share that post with other people I think might be interested?”

Let’s take this step by step and make the process super easy to understand.

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COMMENTING

If you like a blog post, the first thing you probably want to do is let the author know that you liked it.  The best way to do this is by leaving a comment right on the blog post.  Note: you usually have to be on the individual post page (not the main blog page) to view the comments and the “leave a comment” option.  If you are on the main page of the blog, you want to click on the blog post title to get to that page.  Then…

• Scroll down to the bottom of the post where you see the option to leave a comment.  If you don’t see boxes to put your comment in, click on the words “Leave a comment” (or some version of this).
• There are usually 4 boxes (sometimes one large box and a drop down list) and they are labeled NAME, EMAIL, URL, COMMENT.  Three of these must be filled out in order to actually leave your comment.
• NAME: You must always enter a name in order to leave a comment.  This can be your first name, full name, or even a pen name.  It’s not official, so you can use whatever name you’d like.  If you want people to know it was you who left the comment, you probably want to include your full name, but this is not necessary.
• EMAIL: This needs to be a verifiable (real) email address.  Adding your email here will not put you on any lists, it is simply a way for the blogging software and blog author to make sure you are a real person and not some robot adding spam comments to the blog.  You might think this is unnecessary, but you would be surprised at the number of spam comments this blog alone has gotten that include all kinds of viral links claiming to sell viagra.
• URL (or http://): This is where you can enter your website address and it is optional.  If you don’t have a web address, or don’t want people to be able to find your website through your comment, it is perfectly acceptable to leave this blank.  If you have multiple websites, use the one that is most appropriate based on the nature of the blog post or your comment.
• COMMENT: This is the big box and where you leave the comment itself.  It is not polite to include a web address in the actual comment unless it is completely relevant to your comment and adds value to the topic dicussed in the blog post. 
• Drop Down Box: Sometimes, instead of having to add your name, email & website, you can sign in using your facebook, Google, or other profile.  If there is a drop down box, feel free to select from these options.  There is also usually an option here to use a name/email as described above. 
• Do you want to read other comments: There is often a check box asking if you want to recieve updates by email.  If you check this, you will get an email everytime someone ese comments on that same post.  This is optional and entirely up to you.
• Submit: Once you’ve filled everything out, hit the submit comment button and you’re done.  Some sites monitor their comments… meaning a live person has to look at your comment and press a little approve button before it posts… so don’t worry if your comment doesn’t show up right away.  Check back in about 24 hours (if it’s important to you) and if it isn’t up yet, you might want to go through the process again.

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PROMOTING THE POST

So you really loved the post, have left your comment, and now you want to pass it along to others.  There are several ways to do this.

• Facebook: You can share a link on your Facebook profile or public page.  To do this, copy the address of the individual post (again, not the home page… see above) and paste it onto your profile as a link.  There is a button under where you type your status that looks like papers with a thumbtack stuck in them.  Clicking on this gives you a nifty little place to add your link, or you can just paste it directly into your status.  It also helps to add a personal comment about why your friends want to read the post.  Some blogs (like mine) have a facebook share button at the top or bottom of each post.  In this case, all you have to do is click on the button and you will get a little pop-up window allowing you to quickly post to your facebook profile without actually going to facebook or copying anything.
• Twitter:  You can also tweet a link to the post if you are on Twitter.  To do this, you will first want to make the web address smaller (remember, Twitter doesn’t let you type a lot at once).  There are many services out there, but I recommend TinyURL.  Just copy the address of the post, paste into the box on the TinyURL site and click “Make TinyURL”  Copy the tiny url from the next page and add it in a tweet.  Again, some websites (like mine) have a tweet button right on the post, so all you have to do is click on it and a pop-up window will allow you to tweet without heading over to twitter.  It will also shorten the web link for you to.
• Email: You can even use good old fashioned email.  Just write a quick note to your friend, copy the address of the post into your note and send

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So there you have it.  You can now comment on and promote blog posts like a pro.  Let me know if you need further details or practice what you just learned by commenting below!

Tags: Blogging, Questions, Tips