Blogging Archives - Page 38 of 68 - Jim Connolly Marketing

Why your blog comments don’t get published!

By Jim Connolly | December 21, 2011

Ever wonder why you sometimes leave comments on blogs, but find they are not published?

Well, in today’s post I’m going to share some common reasons why comments are rejected AND share some ideas on how you can get your comments published more often.

Words count

Very short comments are often caught in spam filters or get manually deleted by bloggers. The reason? Commenting with just a handful of words is a common tactic used by comment spammers. They will leave thousands of cut-n-paste comments on sites, like; “great post!” or “Just bookmarked this!” – Comments which could apply to any post on any subject at any time. As a result, genuine short comments can get deleted by accident.

Why do spammers do this? They do this, usually just to get backlinks for their site or client’s sites. Each backlink is seen by Google similarly to a vote. The more backlinks a site has, the more votes it gets and theoretically, the higher that site will rank in Google’s search results. Comment spammers place these links into comments and then use software to attack thousands of sites; trying as many sites as they can, that have no spam protection. Sites with no protection are flagged as weak and their URL distributed, meaning they get more and more spam!

Today, with tools on most blogs, such as the Facebook ‘like’ button or the Google+ 1 button, it’s easy to genuinely let the blogger know you like their post, without a 3 word comment.

Are you blacklisted?

If your comments are regularly not published, it’s worth finding out if you have been blacklisted (DNSBL’d). Check your ip address. Sometimes, a person using the same ip address range as you has been sending spam and been blacklisted. This can result in you and everyone within that ip address range, being blacklisted too.

You can check your ip address for blacklisting on sites like this. Alternatively, just search for “ip address blacklist” on your search engine of choice and try a few more. If you notice your ip address on one or more blacklists, contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and let them know. Then, contact the people blacklisting you and ask for reconsideration. Some are better than others at managing their blacklists, so YMMV, (your mileage may vary)

Using SEO keywords rather than your name

When filling out the form before you leave a comment, enter your name into the name box and not a series of SEO keywords. Some sites are fine publishing comments from someone calling themselves ‘cheap web design in Lincoln!” but others are not. If you just have to insert keywords, I recommend you avoid keywords in that name section, which are commonly used by spammers. These include; free, offer, save, webinar etc.

An ‘effin fast way to get your comment deleted

Avoid cussing or swearing. Many blogs are set-up to send comments with bad language direct to the spam filter. Others, like techcrunch, almost seem to encourage it. If you want your comments published more often, match your commenting style to the particular blog.

Sell by dates

You may be commenting on a post that has had commenting disabled. Many blogs disable commenting on posts, which are over a year old. There are 2 reasons for this:

Firstly, because people often fail to read the date on a post, you get comments on old posts saying things like; “HEY idiot, Facebook has 800 million users, not 100 million users like you wrongly state in your post!”
Secondly, older posts tend to have high page rank and are targeted heavily by spammers. Last year, I turned comments off the posts here, which are 12 months old or more, and saw an immediate 40% drop in spam.

Too many links?

Don’t put links into your comment unless you really need to and then, try and limit the number. Putting links into the text of comments is a common ploy used by comment spammers, so many people configure their blog to either moderate or spam, comments containing links.

Additionally, some bloggers do not like people leaving any links in their comments, because they believe these links will cause their readers to click away from their blog. This may seem as odd to you as it does to me, but it’s true.

Their home. Their rules

If the blog has a commenting policy, check that you are not violating it. I have a policy here, which is designed to stop people abusing my commenters and reduce the amount of spam I receive. It works extremely well and you are very welcome to copy it and use it on your site. You can read it here.

Many people who comment on blogs believe they have the right to say anything, no matter what the legal ramifications are or how racist, sexist or simply offensive their comments are, on any blog they wish. The reality is that just as every person is different, every blogger has a different threshold regarding what he or she thinks is OK to publish. In short: When we visit someone’s blog, we stand a better chance of seeing our comment published, if we play by their house rules.

Some people hate being wrong

Some bloggers hate to be proven wrong and will delete your comment, if it shows they were incorrect. A commenter here recently shared a comment with me, which an a-list blog refused to publish, simply because she spotted a genuine flaw in the point made in the post. Other bloggers delete comments, that disagree with them. In my opinion that’s a bad idea, but it’s their site and their rules.

Summing up

Unless there’s a technical glitch, there are only 2 things that will stop your comment getting published on a blog:

It gets filtered automatically, because software has identified the content or sender as a threat.
It gets deleted manually, by the blog’s administrator.

The first hurdle is relatively easy to resolve. However, every blogger has their own ideas on what they will publish, making the second hurdle trickier. In my experience, most bloggers are happy to allow any comment through, which adds to the value of their blog. If you believe you have something worth sharing but the blogger refuses to publish your feedback, it’s their loss – Not yours. Go and find a blog, where the blogger values their community and encourages people to share ideas and insights.

The last word?

By Jim Connolly | December 1, 2011

When it comes to a conversation, the last word is way too important to some people.

The thing is, the last word is really just that: The last word.

It’s not the most valuable word.
It’s not the right word.
It isn’t even the most interesting word.
It’s simply the final comment in an exchange.

The willingness to listen to the other person and then make your point, allowing them to have the last word, is a sign of confidence and professionalism. In my experience, once the dialogue has run it’s course and you have given your best opinion, you can weaken not only your point, but also your reputation, by insisting on the last word.

The last word on winning

Whilst there are a number of reasons why a particular person may insist on having the last word, commonly we find online (on blogs and in forums) that there’s a belief that by doing so, they they have somehow “won.” They assume that their point is magically victorious, simply because it was made last, without response.

The reality is that each person reading a thread of comments, decides who they agree with, based on how well a point was made or whether a point was based on something they believe in – Not on the chronological order of the points. After all, we often see people having the last word, purely because their comment was seen as irrelevant, off topic or an attempt to self-promote.

Should bloggers delete comments that disagree with them?

By Jim Connolly | November 21, 2011

I was prompted to write this post, after 2 people recently thanked me for publishing their blog comments. They assumed that as their comments disagreed with me, they would be deleted. I am hearing this more and more often, hence the reason I want to bring this out into the open.

Here’s the problem: It seems some well-known blogs refuse to publish comments, if they take an opposing view to the points made in the blog post. Unless a comment is neutral, complimentary or has an argument that can be easily shot down in flames, it’s banned from being published.

Removing critical blog comments

What amazed me, was that in each case these people say they had left comments that were not offensive, but were removed simply because they made a solid argument that was opposed to the view, expressed by the blogger. In my opinion, it shows a total lack of respect (and self-confidence) on the part of the blogger, if they refuse to allow anyone to disagree with them! I believe the blogger also loses a useful learning opportunity, as banning such comments eliminates the opportunity to scrutinize their point more thoroughly.

Note: Here’s how Mark Zuckerberg used criticism, to improve Facebook.

One of the benefits of a blog is that it is designed for communication, rather than broadcasting. Communication needs to be 2 way or multi-way, which means giving people the right to question you, as well as compliment you or agree. Blog comments allow that to happen, if we let them.

Blog comment policy

Now, I do have a commenting policy on this blog, which is designed to eliminate comment spam and stop people from using this site as a platform for abusing others. You can read it here and you are also very welcome to copy it and use it on your own blog too. However, I warmly welcome you to contribute to anything I write here, if you have something you want to share. That includes expressing a different point of view to mine (so long as we agree my point is always right, of course! ;) )

Yes, your blog is your own property and you can do whatever you want to with it. However, when you decide to ban people from expressing a different point of view from your own, the word soon gets around. Bloggers don’t need a reputation like that!

Yes, plumbers DO GET Plumber’s Block!

By Jim Connolly | November 19, 2011

It’s common for people to quote urban myths, as if they were facts; especially if the myth seems to make sense.

One popular myth, spread by super smart Seth Godin among other highly respected authors, seems to make it’s way into most intelligent discussions about Writer’s Block. It goes like this:

Well, you don’t hear about plumbers getting Plumber’s Block, do you? They just get up every day and do it!

Plumbers DO get Plumber’s Block

Thanks to a recent series of water related challenges, I’ve met with 2 plumbers in the past week. I have always known the Plumber’s Block argument to be bogus, so I took the opportunity to ask both of them, if they ever got Plumber’s Block. I defined Plumber’s Block as a feeling that they simply can not do a plumbing related task, because they don’t know where to start or their brain can’t focus.

Both said YES!

It seems that (at least some) plumbers do occasionally get Plumber’s Block, particularly when faced with a complex, unique plumbing challenge. Both plumbers said they sometimes experienced what people from every profession do, when trying to solve a puzzle (including writers.)

They hit a mental block!

They explained that there are elements of their job, which they can do almost on auto-pilot, because they require zero creativity and they have repeated the exact same task thousands of times. This is the equivalent of a writer, writing their name and address. Writer’s don’t get Writer’s Block when it comes to auto-pilot writing, such as writing their address, just as Plumbers don’t get Plumber’s Block when doing one of their automated processes.

However, both writers and plumbers (and everyone else) occasionally hit a block when working on something unique, which requires creativity.

So, the next time you hear someone quoting the fact that plumbers don’t get Plumber’s Block, explain that everyone occasionally hits a block, when doing something unique or creative. To suggest otherwise might make for a good sound-bite, but it’s based on bullshit.