Networking Through Blogging – Commenting
The best and most straightforward way to utilize your blog for networking is commenting on other people’s blogs. Here are a few tips for commenting.
Maintaining a blog is an excellent way to present yourself on the web. Contrary to social media sites, a web log enables you to control the design, write how much you want and set the agenda.
Having your own domain name also enhances your presence on the web and makes it easier to find you via search engines.
So my blog helps me present myself, but we’re here to talk about networking, right?
The best way to communicate with a blog is commenting on other blogs. If you wish to communicate and connect to another person who has a blog, head there and comment on one of the latest blog posts.
Commenting Tips
It’s important that the comment won’t be something like “Nice blog, please come and see mine” or “Hi there, please talk to me”. The comments should be related to the content of the post. The community around the blog (or blogger) appreciates serious comments. And so does the person you’re aiming to connect to.
It’s OK to disagree with the content of the post and to offer a different opinion. You shouldn’t try to be provocative to draw attention. This has drawbacks and might be considered as offensive. Explain why you don’t agree in a polite manner.
If you agree with the content, adding another angle is better than just writing something like “Great post!” or “I totally agree!”.
While everyone likes compliments and feels good when other people agree with him, such comments don’t have real added value. When there are many comments to a blog post, these small comments are don’t stand out and don’t draw any attention.
The Next Phase
By commenting on another person’s blog, you draw his attention to see who you are. He might check out your blog and also leave a comment. Initial networking has begun – a small virtual relationship is under way.
After becoming familiar with each other, it’ll be much more appropriate to approach this person via a private channel such as email. You’ll feel more comfortable doing so, and the other person will already know who you are when you approach him.
In future posts, we’ll discuss other aspects of networking through blogs.
