Let’s Go Blog Hopping!
(This Is the Third In a Series of Posts on Blog hopping.)
Okay,
you’ve joined up with Gravatar, and got a cool picture uploaded that you feel is a good representation of yourself. If you’ve made a comment on a blog post since then, you’ve noticed that your photo now shows up beside your comment to identify you. Cool, now you’re no longer a “grey ghost”. You will be represented as a real person, which is great for getting yourself known in the blogging community, and help to build up your brand.
I hope you’ve also downloaded and installed the free version of CommentLuv in the plugins on your blog. Now when you leave a comment on someone’s blog post, it will show the title of your latest blog post on your own blog below the comment. On some blogs, if you subscribe it will even give you a choice of ten of your posts to display. Even cooler.
Blog Hopping is:
visiting blogs that are related to your own niche, and leaving a relevant comment. CommentLuv will then link back to your own blog. This is great for building up new traffic to your blog. Many readers will follow the link back to check out what you’ve got to say, and if they like what they see, may become regular readers of your blog.
There are many benefits to be gained here, among them:
- Introducing readers that would have otherwise never seen your blog, to what you have to offer.
- Break the ice with other blog owners that could be future joint venture partners.
- Create a possible path for a blog owner to link to one of your posts on their own blog.
- Encourage comments on your posts.
- Introduce you to new relevant information in your niche on the blogs you are hopping.
- Give you ideas for future posts on your blog.
There are also some common sense courtesies you should extend to the blogs you are hopping:
- Actually read the post you are commenting on.
- Leave a relevant comment that adds something to the discussion. If you can only come up with something like “Great post” or “I learned a lot, Thanks”, don’t even bother.
- Don’t ever put a link to your site in you comment, it will be considered spammy, and it’s not necessary anyway, that’s what CommentLuv is for
Getting Your Blog Ready For New Readers
Be sure to have an opt-in box on your blog, preferably with a free gift (free report, ebook, video, etc.), to help build your list.
Add fresh and useful content to your blog on a regular basis. If you gain new readers, you want to keep them coming back.
Encourage comments to your posts with questions like: “What would you do?”, “How have you gotten around this problem?”, or “What would you like to see addressed?”.
Comments keep your blog alive, by encouraging interaction with your readers, and can give you many post ideas.
Ready, Lets Go Blog Hopping! (But where do I find blogs to hop?)
Begin by googling your niche. Type “Internet Marketing Blogs” for example in the search box. You can also:
- When you find a good blog, check out other commentators’ CommentLuv at the bottom of their comment.
- In the sidebar of the blog, look for categories such as: “Blogroll”, “Other Cool Blogs”, etc.
- Check out the signatures of people who post in niche forums for links.
- Go to CommentLuv and look for: “Recent Comments”, and “Top Comment Luvvers”.
Keep It Real.
Blog Hopping is something that can benefit you and your blog immensely, and can be both educational and a lot of fun, but don’t get carried away. You can spend too much of your available time blog Hopping and find yourself letting your own blog go.
I would suggest trying to keep it to a maximum of an hour a day at the most. Try to shoot for reading and commenting on five blogs a day at first.
Be sure to let me know if your efforts are helping to build your readership, comments, and/or opt-ins - Steve
Gurwinder Singh B... (1)
Hi Steven,
Great post. I really enjoy blog-hopping. It takes me a lot of time, however, because before I know it I am not only commenting but I am actually exploring the site.
I love your image of frog hopping, clever.
Cheers,
Dita
Dita from Blogging Basics recently posted…Posterous Blogging Platform To Shut Down April 30, 2013
Hi Dita,
I appreciate the compliments, I tend to look around the sites I visit too, but I consider it a good thing. You can learn a lot from other sites.
I look at the layout of the site, the opt-in box(es), as well as the content.
I find other blogs to check out by reading comments on the sites I visit, too.
I usually try to limit my blog hopping to an hour each day.
Thanks, Dita. – Steve
Hi Steven
I love blog hopping, it has brought me a big increase of traffic as well as meeting some great people. It is a good way of building up relationships with fellow bloggers which is important, plus we can learn from some of the great content on those blogs that we visit.
I spend 1 hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon blog hopping, I started off visiting 5 blogs a day but that has increased as time has gone along, some days it can be less depending on what I have planned for that day.
Thanks for sharing, hope you enjoy your day.
Pauline
Pauline recently posted…How To Choose A Niche
Hi Pauline,
I appreciate the encouraging thoughts, blog hopping has certainly increased the traffic to my blog, too.
I agree you can learn a lot by reading others’ blogs, plus meet some really interesting people with similar goals.
I started blog hopping after reading an article by Sally Neill, the “Blog Hopping Queen”, and I would highly recommend looking up some of her work to anybody that’s interested in doing some serious blog hopping.
I think I found your blog while reading comments on someone’s blog.
Thank, Pauline. – Steve
Hi Steven,
I’ve only recently entered into this whole blogging scene.
I had a message to get out there, and blogging was the best method I could see to use.
I have recently started blog hopping, and the results have been tremendous.
It definitely offers the opportunity to increase your traffic to your blog.
Thanks for the insightful post, Steven! Take care!
Regards,
George
George Nieves recently posted…Revisiting Information Overload – Public Enemy #1
Hey George,
I’ve gotten great results from blog hopping too, met some really nice people, and picking up some really interesting information, not only from reading blog posts, but from the comments I’m reading.
A side benefit is finding a lot of common ground in what information people are looking for. I’m getting some great ideas for my blog posts.
I really appreciate it, George. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Let’s Go Blog Hopping!
Oh, and by the way…blog hopping works, because it allowed you & I to connect. See?
Regards,
George
George Nieves recently posted…Revisiting Information Overload – Public Enemy #1
You’ve got that right! The CommentLuv helps a lot.
Thanks, my friend. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Let’s Go Blog Hopping!
Hey Steven,
Great post, I agree with your other commenters.
Blog hopping is one of my most favorite things to do and the sole reason my blog is as popular as it it. Okay, the content has to be decent I agree and people have to want to continue stopping by but that will happen if you ask them questions at the end of your post like you suggested here.
I can’t speak highly enough of CommentLuv and if people are ready to dive in, they definitely need to get the premium version. They’ll find it so much more beneficial and Andy recently include the ReplyMe plug-in upon our recommendation. That will send an email to your readers to let them know that you replied to their comment including both in that one email.
Blog hopping is definitely a great way to meet new bloggers, start building those relationships and get people interested in what you have to share. You definitely hit it with this post. Great job.
Now, enjoy your week and see you again soon.
~Adrienne
P.S. Just FYI, you don’t have your Twitter ID set up in your social button so you’ll want to be sure to get that set up properly.
Adrienne recently posted…Some Anniversaries Are Not Worth Celebrating
Hi Adrienne,
I appreciate you dropping by my blog, and I value your advice.
I love CommentLuv, it’s bringing a lot of new readers in to check out my posts. I will be upgrading to the premium version soon, it’s got some cool features.
I’m working on my Facebook page right now, then I’ll be on to learning Twitter, and Pinterest.
There’s always something new to learn, it keeps it interesting.
Thanks, Adrienne. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Social Media – Who Needs It?
I usually just throw darts at my monitor.
Thanks for the tip, Steven… you saved me a whoooole lot of money.
Micah Medina recently posted…Stop Taking Action Right Now!
Hi Micah,
That’s funny, man.
You’re welcome. Actually, I find most of the blogs I read and comment on, by reading comments on other blogs.
CommentLuv is amazing. When you read comments on some of the blogs you regularly check out, it’s easy to see their latest blog post titles.
When I see a post title that interests me, I check it out and leave a comment.
Thanks, Micah. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Social Media – Who Needs It?
Hi Stuart,
I picked you up at Sergio’s, one of my favorite blogs to visit. In your comment you noted you are from Tennessee…I have that southern Problem also…some people don’t see it as a problem but an assett!
Adrienne gave you the same comment that she gave me the other day..My Twitter Id not set up….Sergio said the same thing….
When you discover how to do it, Let me know how Please!
Easiest is FaceBook where I hang out as ArtaGene or I can subscribe to follow up comments by email
so when you answer I get a Clue.
Cararta recently posted…Creating High Value Content Video or Copy Writing
Hi Cararta,
Glad to see you here, guess we southerners have to stick together!
Sergio‘s blog is one of my favorites too. He’s given me a lot of encouragement.
Adrienne Smith also has a really helpful blog, and she has tons of experience with social media. You can learn a lot from reading her present and past posts.
I found this blog HERE that explains it pretty well, I’ve got to set my Twitter ID up on the button, too. I haven’t done it yet because I just started my Twitter account a couple of days ago. I’ll let you know if it works for me.
Thanks for dropping by, Cararta, I appreciate it. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Social Media: Moving Ahead With a Facebook Fan Page
Blog hopping is how I got here!
I love hopping along to pick up different ideas for the same thing. Also, I enjoy leaving a comment on a site that isn’t all that popular (at least at the time) as it may encourage the blogger. Everyone begins somewhere.
Lastly, I enjoy meeting new people and building relationships.
The image is awesome. I imagine just the shadow would also be neat.
~Dakota
Dakota recently posted…The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift
Hi Dakota,
I love blog hopping. It’s great way to get new readers to your blog, as well as learn a lot from the blogs you visit. Visiting other blogs is a great way to get ideas for new posts on your own blog, as well as see how others set up their website.
CommentLuv definitely helps, along with having a Gravatar image.
I’ve really met a lot of nice people through blog hopping that have helped me out a lot with constructive criticism of my own blog.
The image is from a plugin called Photodropper.
Thanks for your kind words, Dakota. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…A Little Bird Told Me To Get Connected To Social Media (Tweety Bird)
Bloghopping keeps you updated with fresh ideas from different bloggers. It allows interaction and meeting new people. For some reason, bloghopping is like social gathering of sorts.
Dallas SEO Geek recently posted…Don’t Throw Away Another Marketing Dollar! 7 Things You Must Know Before You Buy SEO
Hi Dallas,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve gotten lots of blog post ideas from checking out other blogs.
I usually read some of the comments after I read the post.
You can meet a lot of really helpful people
Thanks for dropping by. – Steve
steven stuart recently posted…Getting Into Pinning (Pinterest – Not a Tail on a Donkey)