How To Use Blog Comments For Content Marketing

How To Use Blog Comments For Content Marketing If youve been visiting some of the bigger blogs lately, youll notice an interesting trend: no more blog comments. Copyblogger  and  Michael Hyatt  are a couple  of the more popular bloggers who have pulled comments from their blogs. Other bloggers have entered the debate on why you should and shouldnt include comments with blog posts, or even the value of participating in blog comment sections. Weve even entered the fray, coming out with 10 reasons to have blog comments. What if we took a different look at the venerable blog comment tradition and viewed it as a form of content marketing? In some way, taking part in a blog comment section  is of similar  quality of some of the most common venues of content marketing. How To Use #Blog Comments To Become A Better Content Marketer  via @JulieNeidlinger Blog comment systems are much different than they used to be. Systems like Disqus and Livefyre act like a social network. Each user has a profile, and a record of all their comments across all the blogs theyve commented on that use these systems. Users can follow profiles, and vote on comments that they deem as valuable. Blog comments can also be fueled by social networks themselves, such as Facebook or Google+. In this way, participating in blog comments is quite similar as participating on a social network Blog Comments To Network And Connect Old school bloggers who were blogging years ago will fondly remember (and in some cases, not so fondly) the many connections they made in blog comment sections. Before there was social media, a blog comment section was the place to talk about a blog post. If you wanted to share it, you brought it back to your blog and packaged it for your readers. Now, social media has brought that to an end somewhat. For most blogs, the comment sections aren't as active, nor are they used the same way. Nevertheless, participating in a blog comment section is a way to find new bloggers to follow, and a way for them to find you. It also makes sense that you would meet and converse with people in the comments of a blog on a topic you were both interested in when otherwise, you'd not have connected. Blogs now are particularly niche-focused, making it more likely that you will meet relevant people you ought to network and connect with in the comments. You may never see them, otherwise, in social media. You might not end up in the same forum as they. But you are likely reading the same top blogs. Use #blog comments to connect with peers. Treat it like #socialmedia with unique  insights.Blog Comments For Generating Ideas A blog comment section is a fabulous place to get ideas for your next post. In fact, I've even written posts in response to discussions I've had in a blog comment section when I feel as if I need to flesh out my thoughts in greater detail. Then, once the post is finished, I go back to the discussion I was having and share the link and note that I wrote about it on my blog. As a blogger, the conversations happening in a blog comments section reveal more about what people want to read about than any daily perusal of your RSS feed reader. A feed reader tells you what other bloggers think ought to be written. A blog comment section has the questions and thoughts people are telling you they want written. When we published a post called How To Actually Plan Your Blog And Save A Ton Of Time, Ella had a great question for us. We used that inspiration from her blog comment to write a post called How To Start A Blog When You Have Absolutely No Audience to answer her question (and then we let Ella know when it launched). This is particularly the case on a popular industry blog, where people are turning to the expert for help. They will ask for clarification and help. Why not write a post and be that help? Pay attention to the words other blog commenters are using when they ask questions or comment, so that you use those same words in your own blog posts. Use #blog comments to find your best blog ideas. #bloggingBlog Comments Can Build Your Reputation There are some content marketers who don't actually  have a blog. They write on social media, such as Google+, participate in niche forums, or they focus their efforts on being a serious blog commenter. They build a reputation as an expert based on what they say in these non-blog locations. Reputation building can happen off of your blog. When people start to see your name across blocks in your industry, and see that you are leaving great comments, they remember. Your blog comments are building your reputation as someone with knowledge and expertise. People take notice. It may lead to requests for guest blog posts, an interview, or other avenues to participate in content marketing. Frankly, a knowledgeable post stands out in a blog comment section in this day and age. There is such a thing as building a bad reputation, of course.  One thing I do, when reading a cantankerous comment on a blog, is click on the commenter's name. If it is a comment system such as Disqus, I can quickly see what kind of comments they generally leave, and I assign them a reputation. Some people only leave comments to say disagreeable things. Even if they have their own blog and it is filled with great content, I'm not going to bother. The comments you are leaving are building your reputation. Make it a good one that shows you are knowledgeable and even-handed, instead of a disagreeable jerk with little to add to the conversation. Write knowledgeable and even-handed #blog comments, instead of being a disagreeable jerk.Blog Comments As Your Side Blog Depending upon how thoughtful and how much time you put in the comments section of a blog (going beyond the not-so-helpful "great post!"), you could view a blog comments section as a secondary method for blogging. We've talked about syndicating and repurposing your content on sites such as Medium.com, LinkedIn, et. al. In a sense, the blog comment section of a high-traffic blog can do some of the same. If you have written a great post that would really fit into the conversation in a comments section of a blog post, rework your blog post into a summary and share it in the comments section. This is better than simply saying "I wrote a post about this: http://blahblah.com" because people are tired of spammers leaving links without explanation in the comment section. Getting your content on Medium and LinkedIn works well because you expose it to a new audience. The same goes for a blog comment section, as long as you trim it down and provide a tidy quick-read summary. If you want to include the link at the end, you might say "I've talked about this in a bit more detail on my own blog" and use an inline link so it is visually appealing and seems less like link spam. Provide a unique perspective in #blog comments and link to a post to  flesh out the idea.Blog Comments As Your Daily Routine Most content marketers have a particular daily routine that they use to get ideas, stay active, and stay knowledgeable in their niche. These routines usually involve going through the day's RSS feeds in a reader, planning upcoming content on their editorial calendar, responding to social media, and so on. Why wouldn't you also block out time to leave one or two long comments on relevant blogs? That ought to be a part of your regular routine, too, if you are trying to build a reputation and a following. We talk a lot about long-form blog posts. Let's consider its cousin: long-form blog comment. You don't have to write a 1,000 word blog comment every day, but you can certainly leave a few paragraphs of relevant content to  meet other commenters and earn the appreciation of the blog owner where you left your comment.