The Act of Commenting

 

I'm a blogger. What this means, is I write about things within my niche(books and writing) and compile my thoughts and opinions into posts. These posts are submitted for the public eye to view. Which is kind of scary. But also very satisfying.

 

I find that one of the most fulfilling things about blogging is getting responses from my readers. These are typically(okay, always, really) people I've never met in person before who, for some reason, want to hear what I have to say. It is so, so gratifying to know that others have read my post and thought hard enough on it to write their own responses.

 

When I write book reviews, the best feeling happens when I get the feedback you've convinced me to read this. When I write discussion posts I love to hear others participating in the discussion.

 

On the other hand, when I don't get any feedback....well, that's a little depressing. Especially with a post I feel like I've slaved over.

 

Case in point...comments are important! And appreciated! I, personally, read and try to respond to every one of them. As do many other bloggers.

 

So, here's my advice to other bloggers who have not been taking the time to comment on others' blogs.

 

Do.

 

Please. I know you may not always have time, but I feel like I've illustrated how crucial it can be to building each other up as bloggers. Don't just blog. Be a part of the blogging community.

 

Here are a few more reasons you should comment on other people's blogs. Some are selfish reasons, but hey, gotta know what's in it for you, right?

 

1. They might just comment back. You want more comments on your blog, right? Well, how do you think you're gonna get them?

 

2. You'll make connections. If you, as a blogger, just read and don't comment, no one will know who you are. Do you really want to be an internet nobody?

 

3. It shows that you are capable of forming intelligent responses. This is important. And I really hope you are capable of forming coherent sentences.

 

4. It makes you THINK. Trying to form responses to blog posts keeps you from simply skimming over them and moving on. Which, frankly, is a waste of time.

 

Now, these are just my opinions. I realize that you might have a perfectly acceptable reason for not commenting on blogs you read. (If you do, you wanna share those reasons in the comments? XD Almost gotcha there, huh?) But if you want to build an audience for your own blog, I think commenting elsewhere can be instrumental in that process.

 

I haven't been active in the blogosphere this past week, I'll admit(I was at camp--yay, camp!) BUT the week before I went crazy! I commented everywhere. I discovered some amazing blogs. And several of those amazing bloggers responded very sweetly to my comments. Some even visited The Scribbling Sprite and commented here. That was a good feeling!

 

In honor of my new discoveries, I'm going to be sharing some of the blogs I've discovered within the past few weeks! I may even start a tag. So come back tomorrow for that(and a special announcement).