a call to action for the Fourth of July

First thing I do when I log onto my Word Press admin is check out comments left by readers. Bloggers love reading and responding to comments. But receiving those comments is often another story.

Paul Cunnngham, of Crane Factory recently wrote, I got  “thinking about all those blog posts out there that people are reading and finding useful that still receive no comments at all by visitors.  Unless you’re an A-list blogger with thousands of loyal subscribers it seems most blogs are read by shy folks who don’t want to be the first to write a comment.

I guess it is just human nature to avoid being the first to speak up in a crowd of strangers.”

Paul continues, “I’ve decided on a new commenting policy for myself when I’m reading other blogs.  From now on whenever I read a blog post that I enjoy but that has zero comments, even if there is nothing much more to say than “thanks, I enjoyed that” I am going to leave a comment on that blog post.

Imagine if we all did this how encouraging it would be for more bloggers out there.”

What a great call to action! It’s simple and achievable. Plus it’s democratic. Did you notice Paul said all bloggers.

The upside for commenters?, good comments can generate good discussions and trackbacks, drive some linklove, even “go viral”. Eight quality comments a day would sure help make it all a carnival.

Since the goal of this blog is to help fabric artists improve their web presence by a professional level approach to marketing our art via Internet blogs and websites, I encourage you to get into the habit of making effective comments on a regular basis.
All the pro bloggers say that if we persevere in this, that over time blog and website traffic will increase and hopefully, so will sales of our art. Fine Art Views discusses these benefits the best of any art blog I have read.

When we comment on the blog post of another fiber artist, we add value to their discussion and help build our own profile at the same time. Respectfully and politely disagreeing can stimulate their discussion. Adding a point that was overlooked could move the conversation along some more. Same for correcting an error or clarifying something confusing. Commenting again later on can add even more value and shows you are still following the thread.

And if another blogger sends readers to your blog, they are in effect approving you. That’s encouraging for any blogger and is what’s so great about online community building.

World Wide Web, yes indeedy.

Do you have a question about this post?
Please let me know, I’d love to hear your comments!