Hi all,
So perhaps, like me, you’re still working on getting traffic to your blog. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are many different ways to do this. There are paid options and there are free options and perhaps, if you’re a newbie who’s just getting your head around the whole traffic giant, you’re focusing on the free options. I say “free” but these methods still cost something – your time. But if I use the word “free” then you’ll know what I mean!
I could write a whole lot on the subject of traffic but I’m going to focus on just one area for now, that of blog-hopping. Now if this is a new concept to you, what this basically means is that you find other people’s blogs in your chosen niche and submit your comments to their blog posts (always remembering to submit something of value and NEVER spam or advertise!). What you’ll usually find is that at the bottom of the blog post there are fields (or, if you like, boxes) for you to submit your name, your e-mail address, your website address and your comment. Take a look below this post, for example, and you’ll see what I mean. Now when you input your website address into the relevant field, what’s really cool is that, once your comment appears your link will automatically be embedded into your name as a hyperlink. This means that if someone finds your comment interesting then they may wish to click on your name to have a look to see what other useful stuff you may have on your website. Just as a side note, if you take a look again below this post you will see a reference to something called CommentLuv. What this is is a handy little WordPress plugin that automatically provides a link to your previous blog post on your own website. So if this is displayed on the comment that you’ve posted on the site you’ve visited, it draws attention to the subject of your latest blog post and can offer an incentive for visitors to click on it and go straight to your post. As a newbie who doesn’t yet know that much about SEO, I do believe that using CommentLuv can help improve your SEO, which is always desirable! So I highly recommend that you get this, it’s a very cool, useful plugin!
Okay, back to the subject at hand. So, now that you have posted a few comments to various blogs and you have included the link to your own blog, this does a few things: it gets you around and people will start to notice you and recognise you. If you ensure that you always make relevant, valuable comments then not only will you build relationships with the bloggers whose blogs you’re commenting on but you will also build a reputation among the other visitors and, in turn, you can build relationships with them when they visit and comment on your blog. All this creates much-needed activity on your blog and on the blogs you comment on, so everyone’s happy! 🙂
So you’ve decided that you want to try this approach and you sit down ready to scour the almighty Google for some blogs to post on. How do you choose where to post? Well how about the biggest names in your niche? That’s surely a good place to start! So you do a search and you find the blog of one of these big-hitters. You look at the last blog post. It was made a year ago…. Now, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from posting here, but you’d be making much better use of your time by posting on a blog that’s currently active. So you search again and find someone else. “Surely they’ll be posting regularly!” you think to yourself. You arrive at their blog – 2 years ago was their last post. You do this for half an hour, each time hitting a dead end. Is all lost? By no means….
Remember we talked about the hyperlink in your name when you leave a comment on someone’s blog? Well it’s this that you will use to your advantage. Once you have found a blog that’s up-to-date then just look through the replies of other visitors and when you see that you can click on their name, do so and visit their blog. If you can contribute something of value here then go ahead! And basically, rinse and repeat, hopping from one blog to another. The beauty of this approach, in addition to all the other benefits we’ve already considered, is that you know that the posts are current and you’ll therefore always be visiting up-to-date blogs.
Hopefully that’s provided a bit of direction for anyone who’s thinking about using the blog-commenting approach. I can confirm that, although it can take a little time to see results, this method absolutely works. By doing this I’ve already built up a list of a number of blogs that I visit and comment on regularly and I often find some great content too. So bearing in mind all that I’ve explained in this post, don’t forget to leave a comment below! 😉
Hi Glenn, Terrific blog post! Full of info on blog hopping. I have a lot of work to do in this area. I’m shy and find it hard to share with people I don’t know. Leaving comments in iPro and other courses is helping me a lot to come out of my shell. I sent the wrong information to Warrior Forum and I got myself kicked out forever, not for a day, a week, or a month but forever. I made a Huge mistake. They would send me advertising emails and when I opened them they would say kicked out forever but for some odd reason lately, they are allowing the advertising emails to go through. There I got it out! Thank you for all your help.
Linda Schrier recently posted…Making Money Online
Hi Linda,
I’m glad you found this post useful. I’ve tweaked the strategy somewhat since I wrote this post and I cover the added components in my free, subscribers’ e-mail course. I think I recall seeing your name on my list so I’d certainly recommend you check out the free, 7-part course if you haven’t already. 🙂
I’m sorry to hear you have been banned from the Warrior Forum, that sounds a little harsh. Having said that, the Warrior Forum can be overly harsh at times and although it can be a useful tool there is a lot wrong with it. Hopefully the new owners will help things to improve over time.
Keep on plugging away! 🙂
»Glenn«
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Live Events Can Be Life-Changing Events
Hey nice post on blog hopping. You are right it does take time to results. I find it to be quite a boring way of driving traffic, but i still do it because it’s free and as you said, it works!
Ryan recently posted…Proven Amazon Course Review: Selling On Amazon
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment 🙂
Yes, some of the ‘free’ traffic methods can get to be a bit boring, but personally I find blog commenting to be my favourite method so far as it helps me to discover good content, new things and to network with other marketers and build relationships. It can sometimes be a challenge to keep up the momentum but there’s no doubt that it’s a sound method
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…You Have the Knowledge!
Awesome post once again Glenn. This strategy works very well and can rather rewarding in the long run. But the key is to stick with it and be consistent.
Thanks Jerry. Only today, in fact, I did a refresher of how Alex Jeffreys talks about blog hopping (or oil rig hopping, as he likes to call it). It certainly is a rewarding strategy so long as we keep going and think of the long-term
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Blogging for the Future
Hi everyone,
good advice on blog commenting, Glenn. I use it myself a lot and it helps me to drive traffic to my sites. It is free as you’ve said it cost only your time but I think it is worth it.
The only issue I’ve got about this post it is that your paragraphs are to big. It would be easier to read if you could place more empty space. I think two or three lines of text is right but you have got lots together. But this is only my opinion. But the content is good.
Thanks Erwin.
Hi Erwin,
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. Thanks for your input about paragraphs, this is something I’m working on! As someone who has a good background in written English it goes against the grain completely to place paragraph breaks after every sentence or two, but I do appreciate that in things like blogs and e-mails it’s advisable to do so. Therefore this is something I am trying to force myself to do, although I do keep slipping!
Thanks again for the input, it’s much appreciated. I’m glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
Glenn
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…The Hunt for Blogs and Traffic!
Very informative post.
Very good is also that you have a picture next to the name (gravatar), which certainly attracts the attention of a visitor.
sandi recently posted…Homeless man who slept in Cambridge University library
Hi there Sandi,
Thanks very much for stopping by and leaving a comment. Yes, I think it makes a huge difference to have a gravatar. It makes for a much more personal experience I think. I’m happy now that I’ve finally figured out how to do it! lol!
Thanks,
Glenn 🙂
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…The Hunt for Blogs and Traffic!
Yes, you have to start somewhere. Remember that persistence pays, and it usually pays pretty well in the end. Learn all you can and use all of it as well.
Thanks for the insight.
Insite Online Cash
Hi Wadud,
Thanks so much for stopping by and for leaving a comment, I appreciate it very much 🙂
You’re right, persistence definitely pays. If you allow yourself to become disheartened and distracted then you’re only inviting further disappointment and distraction. And yes, everyone has to start somewhere. If you look at the top names in the industry, were they born as instant successes, automatically knowing all they needed to know in order to succeed? No, of course not. Everyone is in exactly the same position at some point and all have to start at bottom and work from the ground up. So there is absolutely no reason why it cannot happen for each and every one of us in this industry. I’m still very much a beginner but I’m growing and learning all the time and this year WILL see my success!
Thanks again & all the best,
Glenn 🙂
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…The Hunt for Blogs and Traffic!