A guest post by Mashum Mollah.Â
Content writers are always challenged to find the next big break. A space where our creativity can flourish and get the audience to notice. After all, let’s face it, we content writers love good feedback. There is no better ego boost than hearing the wordplay was exquisite with the ease of writing.
These are a content writer's top writing categories:
- Blog posts
- Web content
- Social media posts
I wouldn’t blame them; these are excellent places in the digital marketing world for a writer to flaunt their creativity. Plus, it gives them the opportunity to showcase SEO skills which attract organic traffic.
But what about entertainment and engagement? Blogs and social media do contribute towards more views to provide good website health. And as for social media posts, the number of likes and comments is crucial.
However, there is one engagement platform we often leave behind. Often misunderstood, it has gained quite a mixed reputation in the era of influencer clickbait posts.
I am talking about the comment sections in the digital space!
This is an opportunity every content writer is disregarding, when they are probably the best candidate with their writing skills and track record for engagement.
Commenting for content writers - a marketing weapon in disguise
The question I find myself asking often is this: with the engagement it provides, why is commenting so often overlooked?
Content writers use guest posting to gain quality backlinks. Their attempt to build good links around the digital forum is commendable, but why not take advantage of the comment section right underneath the blogs? Or, start building a salient reputation in the Q&A forums?
The answer is often threefold:
- They don't know the perks of commenting marketing.
- They don't consider comment boxes as a source of engagement. They focus on the scrolling audience, not the people writing the posts.
- They don't know how to write good comments to make them work.
Commenting is a marketing weapon in disguise, hiding in the shadows of negativity gathered in recent years. However, with the right marketing and organisation skills, sprinkled with the salt of creativity, comments can bring engagement to your webpage.
Advantages of commenting marketing
Are you still moping about the fact your competitors seem to have created quite the buzz among your target audience? And although with exceptional copywriting skills, your content still has zero views?
The frustration is real! This is true from anyone who has worked in the digital marketing field for more than a decade and is not mentoring others.
This is why you should be focus on building a commenting marketing strategy. Here are some of the benefits of doing so:
Benefits of commenting
- Getting noticed! – Commenting on blogs within authority sites indirectly makes you part of that blog. Therefore, every audience reading the blog will notice you.
- Direct Feedback! – Commenting is a two-way communication. Therefore, interesting comments will draw audience interaction.
- Building Relationships! – When blogs post your comment or even reply to it, a digital relationship starts to happen.
- Showing Abilities! – Commenting on a niche-based blog or social media post shows your knowledge. Upon showcasing your expertise, you can build credibility.
- Creating Backlinks! – Rather than writing an entire blog, then optimising it, and then fighting for the first stop, commenting makes backlinking easier.
Reasons why content writers should venture into commenting marketingÂ
Here are some of the excellent qualities of a content writer:
- Time management
- Understanding audience intent
- Organise, assemble and elaborate
- Creative writing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Knowledge of social media
So, imagine using your skills to write a good comment (with at least three sentences) to get the engagement your website is craving.
1. Finding the balance between information and wordplay (creative writing)
Commenting is the fun love-child between copywriting and content writing. Plus the informal touch makes it more of a start to communication rather than sharing information. However, not all comments can be marketed.
This is why a content writer is the perfect candidate to write content for comments. They will be able to bring out the right conversational tone, whilst creatively making it information rich.
2. The right Search Engine Optimization
You'd be surprised how much SEO you can accomplish within a comment.
If you are canny enough, you could work out what the major keyword was in the post you are commenting on, and use this within your comment. This will attract the search engines to your comment as well as to the post. All this helps to enhance the original post, which will make the author happy.
A content writer should know how to accommodate the keyword successfully, and at the same time still be conversational and engaging. Also they will find the right blogs to comment on, the best posts to reply to and the right words to use.
3. Assembling the right blogs (organise, assemble and elaborate)
Commenting should not random. There needs to be a marketing strategy behind it. Similar to resembling the organisation, research and outline of a blog.
Content writers are masters at research, understanding what is needed before starting to write about it. After all, they have to showcase the expertise they have in the field. Mistakes and irrelevancy can take away the badge of credibility from a writer.
This realisation always keeps a writer on their toes. They need to be perfect at finding the most relevant blogs for good commenting and engagement.
4. Giving numbers (time management)
As well as wordsmith skills, a content writer also delivers targets. They need to be able to manage and deliver finished content within the stipulated time.
Although typing speed wouldn't really matter in terms of commenting, as content writers, you should be able to fulfil target comments quicker.
(However, it is important to note comment spamming is the opposite of commenting marketing. This is when someone comments too many times on a post. Or randomly advertises on irrelevant posts and fills them with links.)
So try to keep your commenting target to a manageable amount. Plus, every comment which you leave should have a proper purpose.
5. Knowing what the audience wants to read (understanding audience intent)
A comment is the ultimate opportunity for engagement. If it fails to be engaging enough, people will only skip and scroll. Due to having worked on different niches and genres, and after evaluating countless feedback, writers do understand what readers want to read!
Delivering what is desired in comment boxes will increase the chances of getting noticed. Plus here is a good opportunity to implement witty quotes and replies to further strengthen any engagement and relationship building.
6. Knowing when to comment (knowledge of social media)
Since social media has always been considered a mecca for research, with target audiences always scrolling and commenting, a writer can use this to analyse their target audience. This knowledge of social media will come in handy to find the right medium and post to comment on.
Also this will help with scheduling. It is important to know when the target audience is most active, to guarantee your comments being read and replied to. This is better than randomly commenting when nobody will be there to respond.
Also, understanding how the algorithms work, to encourage more reach on different social platforms. The more interaction you receive to your comments, because they were written at the right time and in the right manner, the more likely they will be shared to a wider audience.
When commenting marketing is not
As a new content writer, if the term ‘commenting marketing’ in your job description confuses you, then hopefully the information above will be helpful. However, to ensure you make no mistakes in your new job, here are a few more commenting elements to consider:
This is when commenting is not commenting:
- Making the audience notice your name two to three times a day on different blog posts and writing anything without a purpose.
- Placing a backlink on every comment you make, especially when irrelevant. Some may be needed for information purposes, but this should be done sparingly.
- Not giving correct information within the comments, or spouting about stuff which isn't connected to the main subject.
- Deliberately leaving negative comments which pick fights with fellow commenters.
Remember, doing this can hamper the reputation of your brand. So keep it informative and entertaining, and stray as far away from comment negativity as possible.
 About the author
Mashum Mollah is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO at Blogmanagement.io, a blogger outreach agency that drive visibility, engagement and proven results. He blogs at Blogstellar.
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