What does a blog about building a writing platform have to do with self-reliance, you might ask? Well for those us writers trying to get published in today’s climate, it’s all about self–reliance!
In today’s publishing world, it doesn’t matter whether you have a book deal with the traditional guys in New York, use a boutique, or set up your own company to publish your book – we all expected to do our own marketing – which brings up that “platform” word again.
Yeah, I hear the groans and I feel your pain. We’re all struggling to carve out time to write, and now we are told that we must also do social media…and blog…and…the list seems never ending. But here comes Anne R. Allen to the rescue!
I encourage you – no – I implore you to read Anne’s blog:
Are You Ignoring This Simple Platform Building Tool? How to Comment on a Blog
The main focus of this particular blog is how making Comments on others’ blogs (especially high profile blogs) will help you in the search engine world, increasing your own page ranking. And then she goes into great detail on how to make those Comments – step by step! No more excuses for you!
But this blog is so chocked full of wisdom, and tips, and just plain inspiration, that I believe you will bookmark it and use it more than once for reference. If not – don’t whine later that you “don’t know how to do this.”
I strive to routinely comment on blogs that I follow because I enjoy the interaction, and as a way to give support to my fellow writers. But it’s nice to know that taking time to do this has some rewards for those of us making comments, as well. Cool beans – I say!
I never knew this, Indy, but now that I do, I’m commenting.
Question for you: I notice you have the same WordPress comment form I do. I rarely get comments, and I wonder if it’s because people don’t want to give me their email address. Other blogs use Disqus or Google+ accounts. Do you know how those work? Is it possible to add them to a WordPress blog?
Hi Larry! Glad you found the blog informative. As to your question…The number one reason I require an email address for my comments is so that Aksimet can use it to filter for bots and spam. And so that I can Moderate the Comments before they post to the blog. Personally, I’d rather have fewer comments and know they are legit. As for the other services, I know how frustrated I get when I take the time to make a comment and then have to jump through the hoops of adding my email and password to login to third party services. At times I’ve left without making my comment. I have a lot of readers who are not on Google+ or would not use Discus, etc., so I haven’t looked into using those on WordPress. There seems to be a Plugin for anything you need for WordPress, so maybe there is a way to make that work. I’d be interested in knowing if you try something else and feedback on your experience. Best Wishes!
Thank you for this post! Commenting on blog posts is a win-win-win opportunity for all. I’ve been saying this myself to fellow bloggers — that this is how we help each other. I’ve seen my name pop up on searches for comments I made ages ago! I did not know that when I made those comments — so be nice folks, cuz it’ll come back to bite you. Even if I do not agree with certain points the blogger has made — I comment on what I did like. Too much negativity out there already for us to be adding to it by nit-picking silly things fellow bloggers have posted. Life is too short not to be kind.
And Thank You Dharlene for taking the time to comment here on this blog! I so appreciate knowing that I’ve been able to help a reader out there, or inspire someone, or even just make them laugh. It makes my day. I agree – karma always comes back…
Thanks so much for the shout-out, Indy! Commenting on blogs is one of the easiest–and best–ways to get your name known in the blogosphere. I hate seeing authors spend endless hours blogging and tweeting to nobody. They need to connect with people by visiting OTHER people’s blogs.
Thank YOU Anne for sharing your experience – it’s such a benefit to those of us just starting out in this game!