Commenting on various blogs throughout the blogosphere is, in many ways, one of the most effective ways to build a community of readers, whether you are promoting your work, product, or service.

On the other hand, many hard-line “marketers” are grabbing on to the blog commenting method as a marketing strategy such that it has become ineffective in many ways. To be truly effective, it all depends on how you do it. Here are a few dos and don’ts if you want to use blog commenting to promote your book or your blog.

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1. Don’t spam.

Spamming, especially obvious spamming, is so easy to detect these days, it’s not even funny. While it is unlikely that you will pursue the spamming that uses automated software, using even the most innocent spamming methods is really not worth the hassle. Even if you’ve been told that it will help you with in-bound links, it’s really not worth the effort if you approach commenting in this spammy, opportunistic manner.

2. Don’t come across as a spammer.

Bloggers, especially experienced bloggers, have become very sensitive to detecting spammers. As such, even if you leave comments that aren’t produced by robots, it is important that you do not shamelessly self-promote in your comments. Many bloggers will delete comments like this immediately, so always make the quality of your comments take priority over commenting as a marketing strategy.

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3. Do always thoroughly read whatever article on which you will be leaving comments.

Even if you are using blog commenting as a marketing strategy, quality always should take precedence over quantity. Don’t think that you need to comment on a ton of different blogs in order to get the word out about your book, blog, or whatever else you are trying to promote. The best first step to leaving a quality, thoughtful comment is to read the article several times over and to carefully read other comments left, especially if you are responding to comments yourself.

4. Do leave comments that develop or further the discussion.

Image by brody4 via Flickr

After carefully reading the blog, the next step to effectively using commenting as a marketing strategy is to really carry the conversation forward. This is the whole point of leaving comments. If it were just to give a shout out to your friend or to yell obscenities in print then comments would have become obsolete a long time ago. Blogging is a written form that is about instantly interacting. As such, to leave an impressive comment is to really think about how you can shape the conversation among readers and the writer.

5. Do make sure you approach blogs strategically.

If you are trying to promote your book, then comment on blogs that have to do with either book publishing or your book’s subject matter. For one, you will be more articulate since you are writing about something that you know very well. Moreover, it comes across as less “spammy” if you comment on appropriate blogs, thus increasing your chances of success.

Good luck, and happy commenting!

Author Bio:

Tips provided by Patricia Garza, who writes about gadget, technology, design, social media, e-learning related articles at online university rankings.