One of the most common techniques that Internet marketers suggest for building a list is through the use of comments on the blogs of others. It, like many others, is a good idea if you know how to write them.
Fortunately, few of them do; and so in this article I’m going to explain how you can get the edge by doing this better than almost everyone else.
There are essentially three things that each comment needs to include: something positive about the post; some positive insight, and then something deep that demonstrates that you’re the expert.
Positive comment
You’ll find that most people don’t know how to write a positive comment.
You can tell because they typically read something like, “Great post.” or “I’m going to use that.”
A positive comment tells the writer why it was a great post, or how it helped you, or how you applied it to your situation.
Positive insight
Positive insight means that you extend the meaning of what’s been said.
You summarize the gist and then expand on it a bit.
This isn’t the place for an essay, but you could provide an example.
Doing so will help others who read it to understand it better, and it will start to position you as an expert in that area.
(Remember, hardly anyone does this, and so those that do stand out.)
Something deep
“Deep” pretty much depends on who you ask.
“Why” questions are always deep, if only because they so rarely get asked or answered. Few people anticipate them, and so when you do, you demonstrate that your expertise extends far beyond just that post.
But if you ask why, then you can’t leave it just hanging in the air.
You could say something like, “I’ve often wondered why… ” and then say, “but your post has helped me to see that because… “
Now you’re really doing all three in one sentence.
You’re complimenting the host for what he or she said, you’re developing the idea a bit better, and you’re extending the depth of understanding for everyone who reads it.
Another way to “go deep” is to tie together the most important comments and questions of others, and then expand on them, too.
Anything you can do to enable other commenters to grasp the content better and, most importantly, apply it to their own situations, is deeper than the comments of others.
But you want to avoid what I call “flippant remarks.” In other words, you don’t want to waste the opportunity to comment by shooting from your virtual lip.
When people begin to recognize you as the expert on that topic, then they will start coming to your landing page.
But, you have to apply this strategy on a number of blogs.
While it’s true that the search engines will pick up your comments, the real benefit will be that when the other commenters visit those other blogs, they will see that you’ve extended the discussion there as well.
And for them, presence is expertise.
