It’s not always easy to jump straight into blogging, and there are times when a simple warm-up can help.
Mike Sansone at Converstations has been sharing the secret of getting back into his blogging rhythm: to go for a warm up before he starts to blog.
The technique he’s been using is to spend the first 15-20 minutes of the hour set aside for blog writing to respond to comments on his own site, and to leave comments on other people’s. This gets him warmed up and ready to blast through the ‘blogging proper’ for the rest of the hour.
There are many other reasons why comments are worth spending time on.
Motivation: Comments are hugely motivating for me as a writer. I try and write and respond in a way that will keep comments flowing. I also hope that my leaving comments on other sites will be motivating and encouraging for other writers.
Connection: Comments are a way of connecting - conversing - with your readers. Leave a comment and you leave a signature, a link, an invitation to come back to your own site. Start up a conversation on your own site or someone else’s and other connections - guest writing, linking, collaborative projects will soon start to follow.
Learning: What a great opportunity to find out more about your readers - what’s important to them, what they want to hear about, what questions they have, what direction they’d like you to go in - and to generate ideas for future posts and articles
Finding: The words written in the comments pages are searchable too. People will find you from words and ideas in that part of the conversation just as much as from the posts
Writing: Comments are just as much blog writing as the construction of a post is. It’s a great way to practice and build confidence in your writing, to develop your ideas and express your identity. With this opportunity comes responsibility too - your words will be published on that big world, wide, web so don’t forget the same discipline that applies to other forms of writing - draft, preview, edit before you post.
I’m not sure comments are going to be part of my own writing warm up - for me it’s a different type of activity for a different time of day and a different mood. Winding down perhaps as much as warming up, or browsing when the words and ideas for a post are still starting to take shape. But one thing’s for sure, the benefits of leaving and responding to comments are such that I’m always going to make time for them as part of my blogging routine.
How do comments fit into your schedule? Are they warm up or warm down? Essential part of the routine or something you only manage when time allows?
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Hi Joannna
That’s a useful post. Thank you. When I already know exactly what I’m going to post on any given day, I read the comments people have left and then plunge straight in. On other days, I’ll respond to comments first or use the comments that readers have left as the basis for a new post. I always make time for comments but I will fit these into the small ‘gaps’ that I have during the day or as a pleasurably break between one task and the next.
Hi Joanna!
Thanks for linking to my post and providing your own reasons for commenting. I agree with all of them, especially the motivating one. Comments definitely help fuel my motivation.
very neat post!! I have recently started blogging but am not new to the phenomenon so I have made it a routine right from the start to interact with the community and commenting is the easiest part of that..:) I consider this as not a winding down but certainly getting in the mood for that grilled writing sometimes!
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Thanks all for the comments!
@ Pearl, it’s good to hear from you. Best wishes with your new blog - from my own experience I’d say that constructive interaction with the wider community is definitely the way to make things grow
@ Laura, motivation is high on my list too. It’s a great way to get reader feedback - better than other forms of writing would you say?
@ Emma, I like the idea of fitting the comments into small gaps in the day, a pleasant break between other tasks. A bit like a KitKat??!
Joanna
Even better than a KitKat
Pearl, good luck with your blog. I agree with Joanna. Constructive interaction really helps your reader community grow. It’s also a great form of motivation as you see people responding to what you write.
Love the list and can definitely agree with all of it. As for my own style, I love comments, so I always start out my blogging routine with responding to them on my own site and scouting out a few other sites to comment on.
~ Teli
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Hi Teli, thanks for stopping by.
You’ve helped me identify another point to add to the list - commenting prompts us to scout for new sites and different conversations. There’s always something intriguing to be found out there
Joanna
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