Being at the most frequent commentator on any blog with the Top Commentators plugin always brings in a lot of rewards. Not only are you getting to become an active part of the blogs community, but you will bring in traffic to your blog.
Imagine being at the top of the list at a blog like John Chow’s, the amount of traffic you could receive. The only problem getting to that point is that you need to comment a lot, and keep commenting. It’s all about consistency, and it’s like a competition with you and the rest of the community to be at that #1 spot.
So, how can you always find ways to get to the top of those lists and stay there? It’s not always at easy to get to #1 and keep the spot, especially on popular blogs. Obviously it’s easy to stay at the top of smaller blogs, but it’s not always as beneficial.
Post Comments You Know Will Be Replied To
If you can start discussions within the comments section, the number of comments you have total will increase. Back and forth discussions between you and one person, or even better – you and multiple people. Sure, the people you’re talking to will also get higher numbers as well, but as long as you can do the little extra, everything will work out.
What are the best conversation starters? Here are the three best in my opinion:
Questions
If you ask a question, it has to be replied to. Hopefully the blogger is decent enough to reply to you, and maybe even someone else will. You can even know the answer to the question, no one will really know.
Additions
If you think something can be added on to the topic, then by all means go for it. You are probably teaching the blogger something they didn’t know about the topic and even the people who read the article too.
Feedback/Disagreement
Say something about the post, or even blog that could be improved. I get comments all of the time in random posts telling me that they love our design. Of course I reply with a “thank you,” and maybe a little extra to chat.
Even disagreement works. Hell, it works better than agreeing. Read their opinion the topic and share yours. Bam, an instant debate will start.
Reply to other comments!
One thing I have noticed a lot when I comment on other blogs that the time anyone comments is when they are posting their own independent comments.
I feel like instead of always adding our own opinions to the topic, we should expand on someone elses, or share our opinions about their opinion.
I think that by doing this, you can score some extra points with the blogger, and even the person who you reply to. You are doing the bloggers job by replying to the comments, and earning some higher numbers in the top commentators section.
Write A Guest Post and Reply to Every Comment
Guest posting is a great way to get traffic to your blog, and opens up a great opportunity for you to get a lot of comments out of the way.
I wrote a small mini series about the benefits of guest posting by leaving a mark in the community and how to impress the blog owner through guest posting, so you can see how guest posting is great for traffic.
My Past Experience With Guest Posting & Commenting
When Janith wrote his guest post at ThouShallBlog, 49 Tips to Become A Better Blogger, he was required to reply to all of the comments the post got. Well, that blog gets quite a few comments per post, and Janith needed some help from me.
The post probably got about 50 comments, so we had to reply to them all. Lucky for us, ThouShallBlog has a Top Commentators plugin installed, and both of us dominated the #1 and #2 position for the month that article was published.
Create a Bookmarks Folder Full of Blogs With “Top Commentators” Plugin Installed
This is something I have started doing for my new blog Asnio. I created a folder in my Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox and added a list full of blogs that have the top commentators plugin installed on the blog. I have about 5-6 blogs in it, and I consistently go to those blogs and comment on posts.
As a result of keeping an organized list of blogs to comment on, I can always know what blogs I should comment on and never lose track of them. As a result, I will get a high position on the top commentators list.
Organization is a great way to hit success. What better way to do that then make a list?
What Are Your Tips For Ranking High?
What are your tips for ranking high on blogs that use this plugin? I think the tips I listed here are pretty good, and would love to see you guys apply them to your comments for this post!
Photo by Giampaolo Macorig
{ 1 trackback }
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
@Alex: Have been thinking about this for some time. Being top commentator starts with subscribing to RSS feeds so that you can respond to new posts as soon as they are there.
Responding to other commentators and replying to comments on guest posts is something that I have tried before and it works like a charm.
That’s cool, usually when I go on blogs it’s just one way conversations. Not that many people (besides the blog owner) communicate with each other.
Awesome post Alex. I love the way that you guys can write a whole post about such a small topic
Last month I was on the top of LOADS of top commentator plugins. If I saw a blog with the plugin and thought I might have a chance, I’d stay there until I was on top, or at least in a position to be at the top in the next few days. I also love it when I reset the plugin on my blog as there’s loads of competition to get to the top… which means more comments for my site!
One thing I think I should make clear though is that you shouldn’t spam or post crap comments to get to the top. Remember that someone has put a lot of hard work into that blog, so don’t ruin it for them!
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Tips For Monetising New Blogs
And you’re not exaggerating even a little bit, you were everywhere dude. I think that’s why Teenius is turning out to be so popular.
Yeah, I think I was on top of 30/40 lists. Unfortunately this month I’ve been really busy with school and therefore have had less time to comment, and, if you go over to Teenius, you’ll see the drop in comments on my posts (even if the traffic is slowly rising
)
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Article Ideas For Those Uninspired Days
I understand the principle behind top commentators and increasing back links. However, I have read that commenting on sites that are not really related to your business and actually hurt rather than help your rankings. Is this true/
Hey joe,
Any link is a resources, though a quality link is the related link, however a link will not hurt you though it may not have much effect except its from a bad neigbour.
Web Hosting Blog´s last blog ..Bing begining to dent Google’s dominace
Yes I think this is the main reason why people keep commenting on John Chow or Shoemoney blogs. For me those commentators are like small plants who are on the shelter of big plants like John Chow and Shoemoney.
But with that you will be able to create your own community and if you are able to comments good words than very soon you will be familiar place at there.
John Chow’s content isn’t that great in my opinion, but I would love having a link to my site on his blog, that’s for sure.
You’re quite right. http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/search-engine-optimization-new-rules/ is a guest post. Currently at 238 comments, you can easily tell how the author was #1 commenter for April.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..May Top Commenter Contest – Sponsors & Prizes
Wow, well there you go! A prime example of being #1.
I usually only comment if I have something to say, not with intent of becoming top commentator.
However, I do reply to all the comments I get when I do a guest post and like you said Alex, this often get me to become one of the top commentator.
Nicolas Prudhon’s last blog post..Optimizing for Keywords that Get Clicked On
Have you noticed you’re up over 300?
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1
Using Google Reader is great for this because you can sort your subscriptions into folders then mark one DoFollow and then you wont is a chance to comment on new posts. i used to be much more active with my blog commenting but have gotten lazy lately, I will use some of these ideas to get back into the swing of things.
I’ve never used Google Feed Reader. Sounds cool though, I’ll check it out.
15 years old? Nice work Alex! You’ve got great tips here on the Top Commenters plugin. Where’s yours? [grins]
Joe’s last blog post..Colleen Lane: Cool And Composed
Thanks Joe!
We do have a Top Commentators panel actually. :p It’s in the sidebar, under “Most Talkative” under the “Community” section.
I see than now Alex. Thanks. I’ve subscribed btw.
Joe’s last blog post..Colleen Lane: Cool And Composed
thanks for the review guys… but can i ask? how many post i should have to be a top commenter?
This is a very dangerous question. Being overly aware of how manyyou have and how many you need can easily lead to garbage “spammy” comments even when you don’t want to. A couple tips:..
Subscribe to the blog to make sure you see every post.
Just comment naturally following the tips above.
You WILL soon see your count rise organically and you WILL become recognized.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1
If you write about it why dont you implement it in your blog 2? : )
Come on, man. No one can do everything.
I see than now Alex. Thanks. I’ve subscribed btw.
In addition to being a top commentator, I also believe that leaving the first comment is a great way to drive traffic to your blog as well. In such cases, subscribing to a popular blog’s feed is a great way to stay in the loop when a new post is made.