Question:
I am a MckLinky subscriber and an amateur blogger. I have a question for you- the professional! I have a blog (www.homemakerchronicles.com) that I am attempting to have some advertising and make a little money at. On my sidebar I have included a section with all the information a privately-owned business site would need in order to advertise with me. I charge a small fee for a button or text link on my sidebar.
How do you deal with people who leave comments and enter their business, blog or ad link into the comment. I don’t mind if people put their blog links in that box, but I am trying to make some money off of my blog and when people continually “advertise” their business in the comments section of my blog I can’t make money. I can manually remove that link, but I didn’t know if you had some advice for me first.
- – - – - – - – - – -
Brent’s Answer:
First, why can’t you make money if people leave appropriate links in comments? If your website has the traffic, content or value necessary to attract advertisers, then links in your comments will make no difference.
Next, it is common etiquette to allow a link or very short tagline to a blog or product with each sincere, relevant comment.
Spammers and Robots
However, it’s common today for spammers, automated software or very low paid foreign companies to leave thousands of comments with spam links. Most of them will say something generic like “great post!” or “love your blog!”. You’ll recognize these techniques because the comments are very general and repeated over and over again. It won’t take a new blogger very long to get the experience needed to spot these types of comments.
MY RULE:
If a comment is not sincere,
relevant to the post, and substantive,
I delete it*.
*Of course that only applies to comments with links in them. If a general reader leaves a comment and says “Great post! I loved it!” and leaves no link, then it’s not spam (usually; sometimes it’s just creatively disguised spam). If the comment comes from a reader who frequently comments and you know them by “name”, then a short “loved the post” is not spam. If one of my loyal readers say “thanks Brent, cool post!” AND left a link, I would leave comment that because they’ve earned it by their repeated commenting and loyalty to my blog UNTIL…. they started abusing the privilege and just spammed me all the time.
It’s a Balancing Act
In the end, it’s your blog and you can do whatever you want. However, if you want readers to invest in leaving good comments, you should allow them a link a back to their blog or product, as long as it is tasteful, short, and part of a comment that is an obvious response to your post.
It’s a balancing act. Good bloggers allow other good bloggers the courtesy of linking in their comments unless they just get really “spammy”. How that is defined, is up to you. You should at least allow the same standard that you use yourself when you leave comments (The Comment Golden Rule). So if you put you a blog link and little tagline with your signature when you comment, you should allow the same lest thee be labeledeth “thou hypocrite”.
Even if you do NOT put a link with your comments, you should think about letting your sincere readers leave a link. It is common blog etiquette and accepted practice. Links are the “veins” of blogging. Think of it like this: if I’m going to be loyal to your blog and read your posts, then I should be rewarded by having my link included with my relevant, appropriate comments if I so choose.
It Is Very Easy to Run Off Readers
Remember, there are a gagillion blogs out there, and if you become too strict, people will go somewhere else. I know one lady with very stringent rules about posting a link to her blog! That’s blog suicide. People aren’t going to jump through hoops just to post a link TO YOUR BLOG! They are doing you a favor and you are imposing inconveniences on them. Saying “no links in your comments!” is the same sort of strictness that will run people off.
But… you don’t have to allow SPAM either. It’s your blog. Here’s my thought process when I look at a comment:
- Is it obvious by their comment they read the whole post?
- Is the comment relevant to the post and will other readers appreciate it?
- Is it obvious the comment is just an excuse to leave a link or ad?
After you’ve blogged for a while, it becomes pretty easy to spot the spammers. Summarizing, it is my advice that bloggers should allow appropriate links in comments which would include a blog link with their signature, a link to relevant referenced blog post, or a link to another blog or website that is relevant to your post or their comment.
Delete obvious spam without hesitation but err on the generous side when in doubt. Pretty soon, you’ll spot the spam, no problem.
 |
I would be very grateful if you
|
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Brent,
I did a post yesterday about your article on the 5 worst mistakes bloggers make. It was great. I put a link to your website and article. I love spreading the good news!
By the way, someone has been linking to my posts and they have never left a comment of any kind. I am in their blog roll so I assume they are following me. Are they actually physically clicking a button and linking to my posts. They’ve linked to several of my posts in a row. But nary a word comes from them. It seems rude but I didn’t want to overreact. As you say, followers are hard to come by and I don’t want to chase them off. It doesn’t appear that they are doing much besides advertising for their blog. I don’t actually care for their blog all that much.
Just curious…
Can you delete an individual link from a MckLinky? I just signed up and don’t want the same person abusing it.
A list owner can edit or delete any link from their list using their User Dashboard.
Akismet is working for me and of course I always review those on the spam filter before deleting just in case a legitimate message was filtered.
I once edit a comment by deleting some of the links on the reader’s signature. It’s his first comment on my blog. The message is sincere but putting 4 links in one comment, I think it’s not ethical anymore.
Sounds like a good approach… BR
Excellent advice there – one gets to know what to delete with experience – thoroughly agree with quiltworks about automatic music – I’ve commented on it sometimes on blogs but was often told “you can turn it off if you want” – well yes but I shouldn’t have to – I should have the choice to turn it off – or “sorry you don’t like my choice of music” – it is not a matter of whether I like the music or not. Blogs crowded with ads or overpowering backgrounds are my next put-offs.
I don’t like music forced on me either. Not because of the song choice, but because the music player is typical buried way down low in some obscure location and I have to find it, and turn it off every time I visit that blog. My OPINION: put your music player at the top, and INVITE people to listen and enjoy your selections. If you MUST turn the music on automatically, at least put the OFF button up high in an immediately discernible location and make it CONVENIENT to turn off. That is just good manners and being courteous to your readers.
But… it’s YOUR blog. There is no “right or wrong”, just opinion on this. Do whatever YOU want for YOUR blog, but at least make it easy and convenient to turn off the music for those who don’t prefer it.
I went to my blog and actually deleted the entire playlist gadget. I had just added it two weeks ago..guess I always wanted music on my blog. The thought that people might quit visiting because of the music just gave me the willies! I hate to think of all the work I put into writing only to lose readers! Later, I found out that my daughter-in-law complained that it took too long to load the pages. I didn’t even realize she was reading it! I’m so glad I read your comments on music on the blog. I’m one of your readers who WILL take your advice. I want my blog to succeed.
I’d like to make a suggestion for a poll that might be helpful for the users.
What turns them off from a blog? It might very helpful for your readers.
For me, it is music, for example. I am usually doing something else and a music from a blog make me immediately hit back button, because it interferes with what I am listening to while browsing. It takes precendece over the content.
Sometimes I turn off my speakers, but typically just hit back button.
I’d be interested in knowing other turn offs, so I can avoid them in my blog.
Excellent post! I totally agree with the balancing act you described.
Blogshere is a cooperative society. I don’t see people networking via blogs as “generosity” so much as as cooperative eco-system. It cannot be one way in either direction. A fantastic blog with lots of followers will attract advertisers as the those are much more promient than links in comments. If someone had traffic from links from comments, they are much more likely to advertize on that blog! And you can tell where the links are coming from statistics.
Brent, very useful advice as always. For new bloggers starving for comments, having some criteria on which to base ‘acceptance’ decisions is crucial for starters. The next step is to gain the experience to be able to discern the borderline cases.
A quick question here if I may. I use Akismet to screen the spam on my blog. According to the program’s stats, it has filtered out far more spam comments than I actually got a chance to see and make a decision on. Is it possible that some of those comments might have been good? Shouldn’t I still be able to have the final say on whether or not to accept comments? What is your advice on comment screening plugins?
All the best from Toronto,
Russ
Maybe, but for the most part Askimet is pretty accurate. I’ve seen it catch simply replies like “great post” that may be from legitimate readers. For the most part though, it’s pretty reliable.
Brent,
I do appreciate what you do for us! I am one of those who has left just a few words..
Thanks so much Brent. This makes lots of sense and has really helped me see that a little generosity can go a long way…you have to give a little to get a little, right?
Honestly, it’s not ALL about making the money (for me). I love the connecting and the friendships that have developed from blogging. Money or not, I am just thankful for devoted readers…heck, any readers!! I am certainly not willing to run anyone off due to strict guidelines.
Again, thanks for the great advice!
Angie