EDIT: My buddy Marcus from The Sales Lion (great blog) just published his first guest post on Men With Pens. Marcus has been a huge supporter of me and Blogging Bookshelf, so please go support him and leave a comment on that post and share it with your blogging friends.
Earlier this week I wrote about how to get 100 comments on a blog post. The main idea of that post was that if you comment on 100 blogs, some of those bloggers will come back to comment on your blog. You then reply to those comments on your blog and BAM! 100 comments!
A lot of people asked in the comments how I found so many blogs to comment on. This is actually a really good question. While it’s easy to find a bunch of blogs in most niches, a lot of them just plain suck. I’ve spent a lot of time visiting a ton of different blogs and have come up with 1) a bunch of blogs that I comment on, and 2) a bunch of ways to FIND new blogs to comment on.
This post is about both of those things.
Below are 10 ways to find blogs to comment on:
1. Fall in love with the new Blogging Bookshelf Blog Directory
Remember when websites used to have “Links” sections on them? And most blogs used to have blogrolls? Times have changed, and it’s getting harder to find links to other blogs. And it’s especially hard to find other QUALITY blogs.
To help combat this, I just started a kind of blog directory. There’s a link to it in the navigation menu on Blogging Bookshelf here, or you can just click HERE to go there. Right now there are around 105 blogs there, and I’ll add more as I come across them. That’s not a huge number, no, but it should keep you busy for a while. And it’s all about quality rather than quantity, isn’t it?
I use the term “blog directory” very loosely here. This isn’t meant to be a real, legit blog directory as much as just lists of blogs in a few different niches somewhat related to my own. I’m not trying to create a new Technorati here or anythingl I wanted the lists of blogs that I comment on and those that comment on my blog in one place. I do a lot of blog commenting, and this is a much faster way to find those blogs than having to go through all of my comments. I figured a lot of you guys could use this information, too.
Make sense?
If any of you know of quality small-medium blogs, shoot me an email. I’m always looking for more to comment on. Also, if you can come up with better categories for the blog directory, let me know.
2. Go to the popular blogs in your niche
Go to a blog in your niche that gets lots of comments. See who’s commenting, and follow those people back to their blogs.
3. Go to any blog in your niche and follow the comment trail
This is similar to the previous one, but the blog you go to doesn’t have to be a big one. See who’s commenting there, and then go comment on their blogs. And then see who’s commenting on THOSE blogs, and just keep following the trail of comments back to new blogs.
4. Google it!
If you’re really stuck, just go to Google. Let’s say you blog about whitewater kayaking. Google “kayaking blogs” and you’re good to go.
5. Look at blog directories
I’m not a fan of most blog directories (like Technorati) because I think they’re pretty worthless; the directory categories are not specific enough. Technorati IS useful, however, for searching (rather than browsing) for related blogs. You can search by blog (so I could find blogs about kayaking) or by blog post (to find posts about kayaking):
The downside is that a lot of niche bloggers (like those who blog about whitewater kayaking) don’t know to submit their blog to blog directories, so you probably won’t find many of them there.
6. Dive into social bookmarking sites
Search for your keywords on — or browse through the categories of — sites like Digg or StumbleUpon. Or if your niche is big enough to have its own social bookmarking sites, those are GREAT places to find more blogs to comment on. For example, if you’re into the whole internet marketing thing, you can check out BlogEngage, SERPd, Blokube, or BizSugar.
7. Check out the Follow Friday mentions on Twitter
[If you’re not on Twitter... Stop reading this post right now and go sign up. I’m not kidding. Do not finish reading this. Go straight to Twitter.]
If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed the #FF things you see every Friday, like this:
#FF is the hashtag for Follow Friday. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, just know this: Whenever you see #FF followed by some @mentions, the person who sent that tweet is saying, “You should go follow these people on Twitter.” Soooo… Go check out those people’s Twitter profiles and see if they have blogs.
8. Stroll through forums
Ask people on a niche forum what their favorite blogs are. Or look at the signatures of people who post in those forums. You’re bound to find links to blogs there.
9. Look in the sidebars!
Despite what I said earlier, some blogs still do have blogrolls in their sidebars. Those are a great place to find new blogs.
Also, look at the Top Commenter widgets in the sidebars of blogs you visit. You KNOW those people leave a lot of comments!
10. Other sources
Just keep your eyes peeled! See what blogs are being mentioned by other bloggers.
Go to ComLuv.com and see who the top commenters of the day are.
Search on Twitter for keywords you’re interested in.
Final words
Well, hopefully that helped. By now your head should be spinning with the possibilities. Remember my 100 comments in a day post? Are you thinking 150 now? 200? Excellent. Get out there and start commenting!
- How do YOU find great blogs to comment on?
- Do you let your readers know about other awesome blogs in your niche? If not, why not? If so, how?
- Have you checked out the BB Blog Directory, and will you promise to let me know of any awesome blogs you come across?
Geeze. Even my “short” posts are still a thousand words long…
{ 188 comments… read them below or add one }
first, thanks for including me in your BB Blog Directory. i didn’t expect to see my blog’s link up there. i appreciate it very much Tristan. i do all of the things you wrote about except #5. i haven’t really looked into Technorati despite the buzz and fuss about it. again thank you very much. seeing my blog in your directory is so cool. have a great weekend ahead! c”,)
Thanks, Ao! I’m glad you like the directory. You’re a faithful commenter here, so of course I had to add your blog :)
I don’t understand how could someone have problems finding blogs to comment on. There are thousands of blogs where ever you turn. Plus, you can do simple Google Blog Search and find millions of blogs.
I have read your other post in which you explain how you got 100 comments per post. Very interesting post. Gave me something to think about.
Roko, it’s not that people have trouble finding blogs to comment on. It’s finding good blogs run by active bloggers who are willing to reciprocate with their commenting. THAT is what takes a lot of tie to find.
I’m glad you liked that how to get 100 comments post. That post currently has 150+ comments, and I have only commented on only a handful of blogs this week. THAT is the power of finding good blogs to comment on and building up relationships with good bloggers.
Yes Tristan..
I found it difficult to find good blogs..
I agree with you on that but nowadays it seems very hard to really find good blogs with good ranking.
Hi Tristan,
The blog directory is a great feature. Thanks for the link love. I am so glad to see these as it means i have more bloggers to network on from now on. It will be a slow process for me as there are simply too many blogs in there.
The other nine ways are great way to look for new blogs but i think just your blog directory alone is enough to keep us busy.
Thanks for taking the time to compile this list. Really appreciate your effort.
Lye
I agree, the blog directory alone should be enough to keep us all busy for a while, but the other methods are great for finding new blogs, too :)
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Lye!
Thanks for including me in your blog directory, Tristan. I will serve the Miscellaneous section proudly and continue to post items that can not be classified!
You left out one way (well, I’m sure there are others but this is fairly standard) to find new blogs to read/comment on: look at the commenters on the blogs you enjoy reading. Odds are, some, if not all, of the commenters on the blog will be within your niche or will be writing about interesting things.
That’s how I discovered your blog, afterall!
Hahaha yeah, since your blog can’t be contained by any one normal category, I figured the misc. category was the best place for it :)
I guess I kind of just assumed that looking at the commenters on the blogs you enjoy is part of #3 (go to blogs in your niche and see who’s commenting there). But you’re right, they don’t necessarily have to be in your niche. Thanks, James!
Hi Tristan,
You’ve done it again, all the information anyone could ever need. Personally I do similar to you. I normally start with Blogengage or BloggerBase and then start following trails. This leads to more and more blogs, which leads to more comments and more blogging friends.
Thanks mate
Pete
Well, I don’t think this is *quite* all the information anyone could ever need, but it’s a solid start :) BloggerBase… It’s been a while since I’ve been there. I’ll have to go check that out. Thanks, Pete!
Social bookmarking sites are my favourite places to find good blog posts to comment. I haven’t tried your other ways yet as I can find enough posts now.
Anyways, thanks for the tips. :)
Yeah, social bookmarking sites are a great place to find new blogs. Thanks for the comment, Tuan!
Hey Tristan
Great post, I tend to just follow the lead lol, I visit a blog then, in turn visit each commentators blog, and so on.
It’s really time consuming sometimes but I am learning a ton of stuff along the way so it’s great for me.
Will check out the ones you are recommending too, Alex
Awesome, glad you liked the post, Alex. For me, the biggest issue has been the time factor. Yes, it isn’t too hard to find new blogs, but it does take time. That’s why I’ve been compiling the lists of blogs.
Thanks for the comment, man!
Thanks for these tips. Feels like Technorati thing will work perfect :)
Great! Glad you liked the post and found it useful, Waheed. (And in the future, please leave a longer comment. I already deleted one of your comments here because it was too short and generic.)
Hey, thanks for including me in your blog directory, Tristan. Much appreciated! Looks like you’ve got some great choices on that list. I can see I’ll be spending the entire weekend (and then some) filling up my feed reader with even more great blogs.
No problem, Cindy. Thanks for being such a great commenter and contributor here! I really appreciate it!
I just go to your popular posts and scroll up and down the comments to see who I don’t know! HA! You do all the work for me! Well, at least for IM or blogging blogs. To find more fitness blogs I usually do something similar on a popular fitness blog or try to find a site that lists all the health related blogs that contain comment luv. You have a better shot at getting those people back to your site because they obviously realize the importance of community.
Thanks for adding me to your blog directory! I’m very high on your top commenters list this month :-)
Shouldn’t you be paying me or something for all of the legwork I’m doing, then? :)
Yeah unfortunately, I’m not too deep in the whole fitness thing, so yours is the sole fitness blog there! And exactly, the people with CommentLuv know the importance of community, so that’s a great idea to focus on those people.
Thanks for being one of my top commenters this month, Susan :)
I was really really REALLY curious to see what category you’d place my blog under, mostly cuz Im not sure myself lol ..so small biz? I like it…all the crap I write it could have gone either way lol
I’ve used http://www.inlineseo.com/dofollowdiver/ to find blogs who have dofollow/commentluv enabled. My logic being that people who have gone out of their way to install and setup those two plugins are looking to interact with their commenters.
I only started using it few days ago but so far so good :-)
Great list, thnx for the hard work, hope your computer troubles are behind you :-)
That’s kind of the problem with a lot of the blogs I read… They could go on any one of a few different categories. Since your tagline has the word “business” in it, you got put in the small business category :)
And good call on the DoFollow thing. That search looks pretty cool; I’ll have to go check it out!
Thanks Dino!
Thanks for the include, Tristan! And thanks for the directory; you’ve made it easier for sure. I usually do a random, hopping without purpose thing and end up in some interesting places. I’ve never done #5 so I’ll have to try that.
I’m also going to try the link Dino suggested.
Thanks!
Peggy
No problem, Peggy! Thanks for being such an active member of the community here :)
Tristan, thanks for including me :)
I comment on some of the blogs you’ve listed and will check others for sure. And I will definitely send you a list of blogs worth commenting on as I run into them.
I do have a ummmm stupid question…why don’t you list them alphabetically, or just on one page? Maybe it is just me but it would be easier to know what is there.
I usually find new blogs after they follow me on Twitter, some one tweets an interesting headline on Twitter, Follow Friday, some one links to it in a post and I follow interesting CommentLuv headlines in the comments.
Should I even say thanks? :)
Why don’t I list them alphabetically? I’m not sure :D I’d like to organize them more so that the most active people on my blog are near the top of the list. And I’m not sure what advantage having them sorted alphabetically would be. If you need to find a specific blog, just do Ctrl + F and search the page. Or if you already know what you’re looking for, just go straight to that blog :)
I get quite a few comments on my blog and as long as they’ve left a quality comment I will try to follow them to their blog to leave one in return. Whilst there, if they have commentluv, I will check the commentluv links to see if I see anything of interest and if I do I hop on over and I then repeat the process.
Over time you get to know which of those bloggers have the same frame of mind that I do and you make a habit of visiting them on a more regular basis.
That sounds like a great system you’ve got going on, Sire. CommentLuv is a great plugin, isn’t it?
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Yes it is. I’m not sure if Andy planned it that way but there are even some hidden features. Well not really hidden, you just have to think about it a little, like linking to two different blogs with the one comment. ;)
An awesome way to find new interesting blogs is to check comments on CommentLuv-enabled blogs (like yours) and follow the link left there.
I found lots of awesome blogs this way, one more reason to use that awesome plugin.
I agree, Gabriele, CommentLuv is one SWEET plugin! It’s a great way to find new blogs to comment on.
Thanks for commenting :)
Triston, been following you for a while now and it’s like each post spawns a question that you conveniently answer in the following post….great job.
I think the biggest thing we can do to find more blogs is LOOK! I say this because I sit around thinking, “boy, I need more blogs to comment on” then expect them to magically appear. But as soon as I actually do something, they are right there.
So, here’s the question this post caused me to ask that maybe you could address some time. How do you organize the blogs you follow: google reader, bookmarks, etc. Forgive me if you’ve already covered that one, but it’s something I’m trying to figure out.
Thanks man, you rock!
Thanks for the kind words, Jason!
How do I organize the blogs I follow? To be honest… I don’t! I just keep them all in my head. The ones that I really like are easy to remember, and the rest of the blogs I comment on are the blogs that comment on my blog. So they’re easy to find.
I’ve tried using Google Reader several times but it’s just too much to handle. I just don’t have the time to read every blog post I’d like on each one of my readers’ blogs. It’s a bit intimidating to open up Reader and see 100 blog posts on a Monday morning!
So… Yeah. Sorry I can’t help you there. I think the best way to do it (in theory, of course) would be to separate the blogs in Reader using folders. Have a folder for the 5 or 10 or 20 (or however many) blogs you HAVE to read, and then organize the rest however you want.
Hope that helped a bit, Jason. Thanks for the comment, buddy!
That’s some great tips. I usually find the best blogs to be from the people who’re commenting on a regular basis on my blog posts. Usually, that’s people who’re in the same niche and are focusing on networking. I also find great blogs from the people who comment regularly on blogs I read often (like yours).
I haven’t focused much on finding new blogs to comment on (because I have little time at the moment), but since I met you, I’ve actually started to comment a bit more :)
By the way, I just added my blog to your blog directory, but soon after I added it I realized that my blog was already there. Thanks a lot :)
- and I believe it’s awesome that you’re starting a blog directory. Because what most of the other directories lack is quality blogs.
Yeah, right after I published this post, I got about 10 or 15 new submissions for the directory… And all but one or two were already in it!
And it warms my soul to hear that you’ve been increasing the number of blog comments you’ve been doing! Thanks, Jens :)
‘lo again (apologies about the gazillion comments, I’ve just discovered your blog and browsing through lots of posts @ same time).
I looked for “dog” (what I blog about) under http://www.bloggingbookshelf.com/blogdirectory, but couldn’t really find a blog about dogs. Does that mean that:
1/ There isn’t one yet?
2/ I am having the internet blindness again?
The directory is still really small (~100ish blogs) and consists mainly of the blogs that I read and the blogs of the people who comment on my blog. And since I don’t have a dog… Well, you can understand how I don’t visit a ton of dog blogs :) So you’re correct in saying that there are no dog blogs (yet) in the directory!
Thanks so much for the comments, Laure-Anne!
Ok, now I’m convinced you’ve found a way to clone yourself Triston! You’re freaking everywhere man. Thanks for adding me to your blog directory, despite the fact that I’m way new here. Rock on brother!
Man, do I ever wish I could clone myself :D Thanks, Jason!
I think following the comment trail is the best thing, cause once you start you cant stop :)
It’s true… The comment trail is like a drug. “Just one more blog, just one more…”
Thanks as always for stopping by, Dan! I appreciate it.
The comment trail suggestion is gold, one that I need to start implementing a bit more. This is a great method because you will find bloggers that are active and comment on other blogs…it increases your chance of finding people that will reciprocate.
Exactly, Eugene! Finding blogs to comment on isn’t really the problem. The problem is finding blogs to comment on where the blogger will comment back on your blog!
My favourite way to discover new blogs by checking out the people who drop comments on blogs I already visit.
Yep, that’s a good way to go, Dean. Thanks!
Hi Tristan,
I love #2. Not only large blogs, but small blogs also have couple of links that can help finding new blogs. Usually, I go to a post with lot of comments and pick relevant blogs and comment on them.
Checking out Directory. Seems interesting.
That sounds like a great way of doing it! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Ishan. I really appreciate it.
These are all great resources Tristan.
Very practical suggestions. I especially like following fellow commentors
back to their blog. It’s a great way to expand your network.
Sorry to learn of your PC problems. Hope to have you back in full swing soon!
Thanks, Marlee!
Yes, the computer problems are all fixed now. I was worried that I’d need to buy a new computer, but all it took was uninstalling and re-installing some software. Whew.
I love computers… But sometimes I really hate them :)
Great, common sense ideas for finding niche blogs.
Thanks, Alison! I’m glad you found the post useful, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment :)
Hi Tristan,
Your Blogging Directory is an AWESOME resource. Thanks much for sharing!
I’m big on number 3. I began my network campaign by following the comment trail. I came upon an engaging blog in the network marketing niche and left a comment, then proceeded to click on each and every one of the comments to see if the commentator ran a lively blog.
If the blog passed the “look test” I read the post and left a thoughtful comment.
Blog Rolls are also helpful, as is just plain googling your topic. I used to perform a “google blogs” search but most of these queries yield spammy-type, non-engaging blogs that aren’t worth your time.
Thanks for sharing your keen tips Tristan.
RB
I’m the same way, Ryan; following the comment trail is how I started out, too. And let’s be honest, I STILL do it all the time!
I’ve had the same results with the Google blog search. There’s just too much spammy junk there. That’s why I’ve found Technorati’s blog search to be a lot better; you can sort it by “Authority” or whatever their term is.
Thanks, Ryan!
Thanks for the tip Tristan, I’ll give Technorati a look ;)
RB
Tristan,
First of all thanks for the link to Marcus’ post on Men With Pens. It was fabulous.
Although it may seem easy to find blogs to comment on, sometimes I find it difficult. Finding real value and being able to add to the bloggers post can be a bugger. I appreciate your list. You continue be a great blogging hub.
Very kind of you Sheila, as was your comment on the post, much obliged :-)
Exactly. Finding blogs in general to comment on isn’t the hard part; finding good blogs to comment on with good bloggers behind them that will comment back on your blog… Now THAT is the hard part.
Thanks for the kind words and the comment, Sheila!
THANK YOU! I really needed this article. Going to check your blog directory straight away. Thanks again
Sweeeeet :) Glad you liked it, Edwin! Good luck with your commenting!
Hi Tristan,
Another fine list of ideas. I think I have done most of these at one point or another. Another thing you can do is to use [...looking up the url...] commentluv.com to search on a keyword. This is great because it returns a list of blogs that use the commentluv plugin. So, you get a place to meet someone new, learn something, take part in a community, and get a backlink. For my money, that is pretty good. :)
Thanks for including icebluebanana.com in your directory! I really appreciate it.
Have a good day!
Good call, Mark. I used to use the CommentLuv.com search but had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me!
Hi Tristan,
Nice Post. These are awesome ways to find new blogs. I love the idea of blog directory.
Thanks for sharing this great post. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Devesh! I got your submission for TNS to be in the directory. I’ll add it as soon as I can.
Hope you’re having a great weekend, too, mate.
Some great ways to find blogs to comment on!
One I recently came across recently was Google Alerts. I set up an alert for my keyword phrase and I get emailed when that phrase is published online – including blogs. Then I just click on the blog link in the email and I have a blog to comment on that relates to my niche :)
Great one, Sheryl. I have Google alerts set up for my name and my blog’s name, and I used to have it set up for keywords, but it’s been a while. Thanks for the reminder!
Great list post, Tristan. Yes, as stated earlier the comment trail suggestion is excellent, and the most common way I’ll find new blogs in my niche. Having said that, thanks for adding the “directory” — HUGE time saver to have access to solid blogs in one place!
And thanks so much for the inclusion, my friend … :-)
Best to you,
Scott
Awesome, Scott. I knew I’d benefit from the list of blogs; it’s great to hear that other people will, too. Thanks!
Tristan,
I love the Blog Catalog, and not just because I’m on it! (Thx btw!) But I especially like the motive behind it. I’m definitely taking advantage of your research and broadening my horizons a bit more.
(BTW, please disregard my “add” request. I overlooked myself. :) I am such a dweeb sometimes.)
~Justin
You and about ten others submitted their blogs before realizing that they were already there :)
Btw, I never thanked you for mentioning my blog to Carol Tice from Make a Living Writing. Thanks! I really appreciate it!
Commenting is one of the most effective way for link building. Most bloggers engaged themselves into commenting in order to maintain good relationship to other bloggers. The best example of an efficient way to get a good list of blogs like when you visit a blog directory. You can even have the option to choose a blog within your niche.
For sure, Samantha. Commenting is a great, easy, and actually pretty fun and interesting way to get backlinks. Thanks for the comment!
Ironically enough while commenting on blogs I’ll read the comments of other commenters. If the person says something that I find interesting I’ll click their name (or CommentLuv link) and check out their blog. I’ve found a lot of great people this way that aren’t on the “radar” so to speak.
For sure Rob, that’s a great way of finding new blogs to comment on! Thanks for taking the time to comment here, man. I really appreciate it!
And by “Rob” I mean “Robert.” Sorry :)
Both work for me Tristan thanks. Keep the good time rolling!
I just have one question, Tristan; do you ever sleep? :-)
Thank you for including The Write Stuff in your directory.
I use most of these techniques and will try out the ones I don’t. Thanks!
No problem, Allan. The Prattle is there, too.
No, I never sleep… Actually, that’s not true. I did get 11 hours of much-needed sleep the other night, and it was fantastic :)
Some really good ideas there, I liked the blog trail idea and also using directories. You’ve got me thinking about more efficient ways of finding blogs in my niche and my head is spinning with ideas. I’ve just built a blog finder application which finds related blogs to comment on and that is how I found you. I am not a believer in spam bots as I abhor spam, but creating applications to find sites to manually comment on I think is a good idea.
A blog finder application? Huh. Sounds pretty cool! Does it work well? Let me know how it goes!
Hey Tristan,
Thanks for the reply, I’ll send you a copy to try out if you like. I’m just adding some refinements and making sure that the software does not upset Google. Send me an email and I’ll give you a download link, I should have a version available later today. It works very well and scrapes 100 blogs in your niche at a time. I could have made it completely automated, but I wanted to keep the posting manual, so people add value whe posting comments, rather than just adding to the spam problem.
Cheers
Rob :)
Sure, I’ll give it a try. My email address is tristan at bloggingbookshelf dot com.
Thanks for including my blog – The Citrus Lens on your list !
I come back to your blog on a regular basis because I know I will always find relevant content and an active community. Once i started using Comment Luv yours was one of the first blogs I became attached to !
Keep up the good work by helping others grow in their blogging skills.
Greg
Thanks, Greg! I know you’ve been a reader of my blog since it was still pretty new, so I appreciate it, man. Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Hi Tristan
I had to face problems to come here. However post is good. Creating a directory pags is a good idea. I did not get to see it yet. I will come another time to check it.
Have a good one
fran A
Sorry you had problems coming here, Fran, but I’m glad you liked the post! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment :)
Nice post man! These are some great tips that I will surely use. I’ve had trouble finding good climbing blogs to comment on. There are only a handful out there. Maybe 25 or so active blogs. This is one reason I chose to start one is I think there’s room for it! It seems there are many more “inactive” climbing blogs out there that the poster hasn’t updated in a long time. Do you think these blogs are worth commenting on (the old posts) just for the sake of getting your blog’s links out there more??
It’s true, there really aren’t a lot of active climbing blogs, are there? My old one is now one of the dead ones, too :) Would I recommend commenting on the ones that aren’t updated any more? Nah. I think your time would be better used posting in the RC.com forums, or on my personal blog at tristanhigbee.com, where I still write about my climbing adventures :)
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but the RC.com forums were a great way to get traffic and subscribers to my climbing blog. Just put a link to your blog in your signature and you’re good to go.
Thanks, Gif!
Wow Tristan!
I wish I had all that time on my hand to do all these blog commenting everyday!
I barely do 20 a day, and I’m satisfied with that! Cause normally I have to read the whole blog post before commenting on it, and I don’t think I could ever tolerate reading a 100 posts a day :D
20 a day is pretty good if you do it consistently! And yeah, reading 100 posts in a day… it’s pretty brutal, and not something I recommend doing often :)
Thanks, Amr!
It appears the great ‘communitizer’ has struck again folks!!
How you find a way to bring people together on levels previously unattained is what impresses me the most about you T’. Yeah, sure your content is always sick and useful and dead-on and all that jazz, but you bring communities of people together day in and day out.
Take this article for example. You were sick kind to mention my guest post at the beginning, after you’d written the article. This brought people to the post and it’s something I won’t soon forget.
Then, in the article itself, you’ve done nothing but expound on ‘giving love’ to other bloggers, especially through this list of 100+ bloggers you’ve created w links. Can you make it any easier for us Tristan???
Incredible Content + Incredible Community Building = The Blogging Bookshelf
Rock on my man!
Marcus
Marcus, your comments always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks, man.
I think one thing that I’m really good at is simply being aware. I know what other bloggers are doing and what they are not doing, and I try to slip in there and fill the gaps. I’ve always said that differentiation is one of the most important parts of having a successful blog, and it’s amazing what happens when you do all of these little things that the majority of other bloggers aren’t doing. All of those little things ass up (that was a typo; I meant to say “add up” but thought it was too funny to delete) to something VERY different, and people notice that. It’s the long tail effect… No one thing I do on this blog is out of this world amazing, but all of the little things add up.
Another important aspect to all of this is just questioning everything you do and read about. For example, everyone says to keep your number of outbound links to a minimum, or else you bleed your “link juice.” Pffff. There are so many blogs about blogging that have been around for a while that it’s really hard for me to compete with them in the SERPs, so I don’t even try for the most part. I keep general SEO principles in mind, of course, but I’m all about optimizing for my readers. It’s my readers that will buy my products, not the search engines. The reaction I get when I mention one of my readers is huge, and it comes back to me several times over.
You know, some day I’ll write a book about how to run a blog as a business. You see blog posts on the subject from time to time, but very few people really get it. The most successful businesses are those who have raving lunatic fans, not the ones that have the biggest ads in the yellow pages. (You know, that’s something YOU should write about, too, since you have “real” businesses!)
There’s plenty more where this came from, Marcus! I just added a “Mentions” page to the blog (it’s in the main nav menu), where I link back to the blogs and posts that have mentioned me. Your post about me is the first one on there.
You mentioned how you won’t soon forget how I mentioned your post at the beginning of this one. But you know what’s powerful about that? It’s something that OTHER readers won’t soon forget, either. They see me plugging a reader/fellow blogger’s blog and post right at the beginning of mine and realize that that could be THEM being plugged right there. This spurs them on to even greater levels of interactivity with me. I benefit, you benefit, and my other readers will benefit from finding more great content.
There are other things I’d like to implement, too. I want to have a section of the blog dedicated to product reviews; these would NOT be affiliate reviews, they’d be 100% objective. I want to add a forum eventually, but that wouldn’t happen for several more months. There’s nothing more depressing than a forum with no posts in it. I want to add a podcast, though I’m still trying to figure out what I’d do. Should I just do an audio version of every blog post? Or interview other bloggers? Or a weekly or bi-weekly unique show about some other blogging tip? Or a video news-type show? I dunno, man. Lots to think about!
I have yet to figure out how to clone myself, so for now, I need to limit what I do and when I do it.
Great post Tristen..
I’ve been on a learning curve lately and just really started looking into blog commenting. I knew how important it was to connect but I always told myself I didn’t have enough time. I was going to write my next post on this very same topic. After reading yours I knew there was no way I could ever do it justice. Which is why I decided to take your advice and write my next post around yours. I need to step up and start sharing other great blogs with my readers.
Thanks so much for a great post.
Have an awesome weekend.
Adrienne
Hey Tristan, that’s an awesome idea of adding a blog directory page. I had that idea a while back but it’s just not implemented yet. I’m definitely going to put that plan into action. I’ve found some great blogs recently, (including yours) and I linked them all recently in a popular post and issued them with a challenge..that also gets them commenting so can approach the 100 number.
Great post, Tristan!
This is loaded with helpful information. I use quite a few of these techniques for finding blogs but also, a lot of it is just being out there and stumbling across things. Couple that with all of your great tips and success is there for the taking. :-)
Your comment about the long-tail effect is spot on. It really is those little things we can all do that are different that get us noticed and collectively provide a measure of separation from the crowd.
Stay awesome, Tristan!
Hey Tristan
Thanks for the inclusion of my website/blog in your directory. Very cool. Appreciate it – and continue to appreciate the comment strategy!
Paul
Hey Tristan, my head IS spinning with the possibilities!
FIrst off, thanks for adding me to your blog directory. I’m touched. Really!!
This post is extremely helpful. I must admit that I’ve been hanging around you for quite some time now, so most of what you posted I was already familiar with (if I hadn’t been, you would’ve had the right to boot me off your blog!).
I usually find new blogs to comment on by following the comment trail on blogs I already like. It’s a sure and effective way to find people that share my interests.
StumbleUpon and Technorati are a no go for me. I don’t think they offer much beyond blog-browsing. I never found a blog on either site that I then ended up following. People rave about them, I know, but they just don’t do it for me. Or maybe I just don’t know how to use them :)
I love the #FF on Twitter, although I only recently became familiar with it, which reminds me that I have a few people to thank … when I first saw #FF @WritnBlock I had nooooo idea what it meant!
Thanks for the always awesome tips!
Tristan:
i love using the #FF! I always find a couple golden nuggets with those. I try also to look through comment threads and pick out the people I dont recognize and head over to their place to check it out! That’s my big secret..:)
All the best,
Lisa
One thing If found from your post ..Create the Best Eye catchy Post Tile ..So more and more readers come on your blog post.
Yes this true that your this blog post is really very good information.
I love the idea of commenting on blogs owned by top commentators on popular blogs. This is a popular blog too. Let’s start a community! :-)
Hi Tristan .. thanks for including me in your Blog Directory – much appreciated.
I wondered if ‘Unique and Miscellaneous’ might be a better name .. miscellaneous – sort of sounds like the dead ends?!
I see a comment I like and ‘totter’ across to their blog .. and then link up; it works both ways – they come to me first and then I go back.
If there’s 105+ blogs here .. then those blogs will have xx numbers of commenters .. I have 15 – 30 each time .. and that’s another source of blogs .. = 120 – 130 blogs …
You could Stumble .. and see what comes up .. and blogger has a ‘next blog’ link at the top of peoples’ blogs … I see you didn’t mention these two .. perhaps they’re in the comments ..
I’ve settled with a few blogs – actually over 200 .. but I don’t comment on them all .. but I get new readers from them … I am purposely going slow! & I love building relationships with my commenters .. cheers Hilary
nice tips ..will surely follow them,..thanks for sharing..
I joined a group discussion on LinkedIn and found some amazing blogs. Then I read comments on those blogs and move on….that’s how I found your blog!
Another great post, Tristan. I have my own Blog Directory of sorts. I write my own Home page for my PC. It has over 1200 site links now, but that’s divided into around 30 topic areas that interest me. I find enough links from reading the blogs I like already (in the content, sidebar and comments) that I don’t need to use the search techniques. There is one trick I use that you didn’t mention. I have the Alexa Sparky Add-On in Firefox and it adds a Related Links list to the menu bar. If I’m on a high quality site, those links are high quality too. Keep up the good work.
Really dear till now I read many of post but your post impressed me a lot. What an creative ideas “kayaking blogs, Go to ComLuv.com and see who the top commenters of the day are” Don’t make a mind I am using your own tips, Really i am much impressed. I make a comments on different different site on daily base. So if you write post regarding such types informative ideas please share me. at maheshsharmajee@gmail.com
Hi Tristan,
Great ways of finding blogs to comment on. I will sure use these methods shared here, thanks a lot for sharing them. It is very important to comment on lots of blogs, you can meet new people and make new friends, create connections, and that is very important especially in the online world. It’s all about being known by knowing others, in order to make progresses you’ve got to see what others are doing and how are they doing, so you can do the same (don’t copy), that’s very important. Also, you may find a lot of great persons out the that can become your friends and you can help each other. Thanks again for sharing this great article with all these useful techniques of finding blogs to comment on, they’re great!
Best regards,
Maria
Thanks for the post, do you have any other similar related posts?
Great strategies…going to read your other posts…thanks.
Thanks for the suggestions. I know commenting is helpful to build connections and links – I’ll take you up on commenting more and will begin searching for blogs I can comment on on a consistent basis.
The key to commenting, in my opinion, is to add value to the conversation. “Comment spam” – stuff like “Great post!” and then a link to your own stuff, is what I want to avoid (both doing that and getting that on my own blog).
Thanks again!
I am still trying to live with myself with 100 comments post and now you come with another one, you are too awesome, anyway I am really looking into this, thank you very for being there!
One of the great things about the Internet IMHO is that it’s a democratic medium – and one of the best things about web 2.0, blog commenting etc is that readers’ attention can’t be hoodwinked. So popular posts are likely to be on subjects that have truly caught the spirit of the moment and breed a viral following. And blog commenting is addictive because you can carry on so many conversations at once!
What i do is just look and the people that comment on my blogs, then follow their links. Even if you don’t get so many visitors that actually comment, once you’re on their blogs you’ll get a new batch of comments and thus new links. Depending on how many blogs you can visit and comment on, most of those webmasters will come to your website to check you out.
Hi Tristan:
I am only weeks along in this whole blogging thing but with articles and sites like yours I feel confident that I’m going to make it. I’m a veteran web developer from way back and last year we were flooded with clients old and new who wanted to know all about “this whole social media thing!” Well, after spending several hundred hours climbing up the learning curve I’m finally starting to see daylight. I must say though, it’s all pretty exciting and I just finished building my first WordPress CMS site complete with blog and social media integration! Very nice. Thanks again Tristan and I certainly will be working my way though your blog directory.
Oh yea, one last thing. I did what you said and I went and read Marcus’ first guest and was so blown away by it that I read a bunch of his other stuff… then read additional stuff at Men with Pens, and then read here. As a result I didn’t get anything else done so far today!!
Rudy
I love using Google’s Blog Search feature in the sidebar of the search engine. A great way to search for a topic, and find a bunch of blog posts that are related in some way. Comment on those posts, and your good to go!
I feel that stroolling through forums and looking web directories are the best way to get backlinks to the website.
I would like to know the search query they are using at Dofollowdiver… anyone?
Matt
I seem to find it increasing difficult to find good quality blogs to comment on to be honest and your article I found useful. Its a pain crawling forums and websites for blogs but it can sometimes be worth it
You mentioned and posted a lot of places to find other bloggers; of such, I was already actually doing most of them so I think I’m doing something right. I have tried looking for numerous blog directories but unfortunately, most of the blogs I found were irrelevant or they just plain didn’t interest me (I guess I’m not really part of their “niche”). My blog is personal so in ways, I’ve found it a bit difficult to find other people in my area. (Speaking of directories, yours doesn’t work anymore; not sure if you realized that or not.)
I also have to disagree about people not linking links in sidebars anymore; I constantly see them. For the most part, usually it’s on a separate page but they are there.
thanks so much for this im finding it extremely hard to find good blogs to comment on.
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Thanks. You gave me at least 2 ways not tapped before (Twitter follow and Commentluv).
Now I must read the 100 comments in a day. That’s bewildering, unless it was an all-nighter:)
Live it LOUD!
Thanks for the advice thats great I’v been looking for something like this for a while.
Some useful tips here, blog commenting is definitely an important part of seo.
Great post. I found 70 new blogs to comment on with this info.
Thanks
TJ
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Great blog post. This is exactly what I am focusing on myself.
I will be sure to keep these ideas in mind when finding blogs to comment on!
There’s a pretty cool service called ActuallyRank that provides like 2000 blogs a month to you that i’m considering signing up for just because I really am starting to think from all the methods i’ve read about to grow traffic I think blog commenting is really the best. There’s really no better way to get some quality backlinks while contributing value without having to go through some contrived and confusing method to try to game google.
People will almost always accept your comments if it’s clear you actually wrote them and you actually put some effort in. And unlike with article directories you don’t have to spend absurd amounts of time crafting article rehashing what it is you have to say on your actual website. Plus some of the blog posts out there are actually interesting and worth reading, like this one ;-).
Nice suggestions. There were a couple I hadn’t thought about, I thought I’d seen them all. :-)
I use a number of methods to find blogs in my niches to comment on:
1. Google keyword + blog
2. Google ex. “list of top 100 mlm blogs” it’s amazing how many times there really is such a list for each niche
3. If I’m going to write a new post, google keyword, find out who the top 10 blogs are and find relevant blog posts to comment on.
4. Use google reader to find and manage lists
5. download lists to csv file
6. when looking to comment on do follow and high PR blogs, SEO Quake and also check source code of blog press ctrl + u, then press control + f and type in “nofollow” if it is a no follow the “nofollow” will be highlighted.
7. look for blogs with CommentLuv and Keywordluv
Great Post.
Coz I like your unique idea which is very simple but most effective in finding new blogs.
I like most is 2,3,7,8,9, and 10 which are very much effective and we can able to get varieties of new blogs from here.
Thanks a lot for sharing this as blog commenting is one important task from all in order to get maximum backlinks.
Hello? Thanks a lot for this post, I have learn new things here. I used to google to look for blogs to comment on and those people who comments on a high page ranking blog. But the other things you have mention here were new to me.I will try it now. Thanks again.
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I have used this way and its really very good to find lots of useful blogs to make comment on as there are many different categories you can get in Technorati as it is showed here. I have collected lots of to use them and this is very nice way to do so.
Fun read….do have a look at my webpage too
http://thoughtsconnect.com/ this is my webpage
I personally think one of the best way to get more comments on your blog is by commenting on others blog. Once you comment on others blog they will come back to your site and see your content. If they feel those are good they will automatically leave a comment for you?? Isn’t it?? I got so many comments in this way to my :Blog Tips and Tricks” blog within last 8 months.
Admin http://www.techblaster.net/
M.Sajith
Just commenting on other peoples blog won’t make others to comment on your blog. The key is to post a comment that starts a conversation or that is beneficial for the visitors.
Thank you very much, i will deff try this out.
blogging and building comments is rough work. I find that siting too long to blog causes back pain. I found that a great chiropractor in costa mesa to solve my pain. seek chiropractic care especially if you are a blogger.
thanks, it really help me to find blog.
Yet another reminder me to look at twitter…only this one is more forceful than the others.
social media is one of the best option in today’s world to get huge traffic…
I had never heard of #FF. And guess what? It’s Friday. Time to go check out twitter.
Great article Tristan. Before I landed on your blog I was searching around for ages. Thanks for the great tips. You saved me a lot of time.
I never considered Twitter feeds, but as you suggested, it may not be a bad idea. There are a lot of feeds on Friday so I guess I’ll search for the ones in my niche.
I really think that blogging was the start of the real social network. Without bloggers in the world, no one would want to visit any normal site for longer than a few minutes, haha.
I have used method number eight to find some awesome websites, you will be suprised about what you can find in people signatures, not to mention the deals.
But still the best place to find blogs to comment on has to be hands down google…
I have used method number eight to find some awesome websites, you will be suprised about what you can find in people signatures, not to mention the deals.
But still the best place to find blogs to comment on has to be hands down google…
We definitely plan on taking FULL advantage of FF as well. Thanks for these great tips.
In our research social media traffic is a great way to get new visitors but the click-through rate varies tremendously depending on the site amongst other factors. Thanks for sharing these interesting points!
Your content is very helpful and the terms are easy to understand.
Hey Tristan,
Thank for the tips, I will definitely put them to use.
Curt
topic you discusses in this article served my need so thanks for such a informative article.
I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be exactly I’m looking for. can you offer guest writers to write content available for you? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome weblog!
first thanks for sharing the info, I will have to put this to use. your methods are on point
I think the technorati tip is indeed helpful. But still we’re gonna have to check if they allow comments or not.
wow thanks alot man for the info it really helped me get started
awesome post. Google is the best place to find related blogs. I also like technorati
search for blogs in google search
Freezeframe says: good blogging site info.
I have never thought about your Twitter method!Not a great fan of twitter to be fair, just using it for social bookmarking as google seems to love it!
Cheers for the advice,
Ed from the UK Owner of Fluke 289
BTW If you ever launch a product and wish a review, feel free to contact me on my email!I mean it!
This is such a helpful blog. I just started my own recipe blog with things like cauliflower hashbrowns! I hope I can learn how to get my blog noticed. Thanks for posting this!
thanks for post and the comments, helpful article!
Hey Tristan,
Very cool ideas on finding new blogs, I never though about twitter (#FF) and I still haven’t used Technorati either so I’m adding that one to my to-do list.
I normally find great blogs with top commentators sidebars on blogs I like.
I do mention other sites that are relevant even if they are on my own niche and I even include them in my own posts and encourage people to visit them.
I did check your BB Blog Directory and I see my site is not there so I’m willing to step my game up and maybe I can make it before 2013.
Another great read and thanks for the commenting ideas, I think they are actually working!
Have a great day Tristan and hope to speak soon! ;-)
Sergio
Your article actually works, i have tried it out and have received some positive results.
Great article, never thought about finding new blogs through twitter or following a comment “trail” more than once to uncover new ones. I’m off to see what I can find!
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thank you everyone
Weel it works – simple as that!
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Thanks. i have struggled to find viable blogs and forums to comment on. It is very frustrating to pass good and relevant comment on a subject that I am really interested in only to see it never posted.
Saying that I regularly have to delete a shed load of spam from my own blog. If only people would pass relevant comment then all would be well.
An acquaintance of mine who is a far more experienced marketer posted recently on the site I use to learn IM “be real”. This is an absolute. just look up PotPieGirl and you will see how successful she is.
I really think that blogging was the start of the real social network. Your content is very helpful and the terms are easy to understand.thanks for the post its a really helpful to build our site
Thanks for the great article, it has really helped me to find lots of useful blogs!
It’s difficult finding blogs that allow Link Love. I guess this is ue in part to the many spammy blogs out there. Thanks for the help, loved the post!
wow, thanks for the fantastic ideas in finding new blogs. Great for newbies! Good share.
This article is really helping me a lot.Thanks friend.
Nice article but I think that google is still the most powerful tool to find blogs related to your niche open for comments
Thanks for this informative post – I’ve checked out your directory and already started commenting – 98 more to go! I’ve wonder if I’ll have time to go to work this week LOL
Another great way to find active blogs to comment on is checking out the commenter links on a blog post like this. I’ve just found some great blogs written by people who’ve commented higher up the page.
Wow, nice post.
I work with blogs too and recently I created a new plugin that generates viral traffic to your blogs easily…
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Thank you for sharing the tips, Its always worth reading the articles. :-)
This artical is realy help me .so i am happy ………….
I’ve been seeing a lot of #FF on twitter and I just found out what it’s all about, thanks to this post!
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The simple google search works well for me.
thnx for this great post . . it helped..
It is really not that easy to find nice blogs to comment on most specially if we are finding blogs that have higher page rank. We need to put extra effort if we are searching manually but if we have the right tool everything will be easy… :)
Thanks for this informative post.
Thanks for the tips, I’d never thought of following the blog trail, will be trying it from now on.
Thanks a lot for these tips Tristan. I used to find it very hard to find out niche specific blogs to comment on. After reading this tips I have certainly improved my skills of finding blogs on any topics to comment on.
Great post, thanks for sharing. In the past I would search for blogs other peopl ewould post on but now I found your blog directory I will try this method.
now its time to put all this to the test
Great posts. Thank you for this one. I really am not finding ways on how to search for blogs, great blogs and you’ve been a great help. Thank you. :)
I and so glad I found this post. I am quite new to WordPress and blogging but already love it. I have had a lot of trouble finding blogs to comment on and 99% of the comments on my own blog are spam. This post gives me a good clue, the only problem I still have is no niche. I am interest in almost everything and find it impossible to settle into a niche. Do you think if I just read everything I will eventually settle into a niche? Everyone talks about a niche, do I have blog A.D.D?
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