How to Make Money Blogging: The $5.3 Million Case Study

There are lots of guides out there about how to make money blogging, but here’s what makes this one different:

I’ve taken three different blogs to over $1 million per year. In fact, the blog you’re reading right now has made a total of $5.3 million.

And in this post, I’m going to give you a step-by-step case study showing you exactly how I did it, starting from nothing.

Let’s jump in.

Table of Contents

• How to Make Money Blogging, Even If You’re a Beginner
  1. Choose a Profitable Niche
  2. Level up Your Content Skills
  3. Figure out Which Traffic Sport to Play
  4. Grow Your Email List with Pop Ups
  5. Begin Monetizing with Affiliate Offers
  6. Develop a Unique Mechanism
  7. Launch the Minimum Viable Funnel
• FAQ about How to Make Money Blogging
• The Bottom Line about How to Make Money Blogging

How to Make Money Blogging, Even If You’re a Beginner

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If you’re starting from scratch with no traffic or influential friends, it’s easy to wonder…

Is it reasonable for you to believe you can make money blogging?

For that matter, how do blogs even make money? Ads? Or something else?

Well, let’s take a look at exactly how I did it at Smart Blogger. Here’s my complete step-by-step process for how to make money blogging:

#1. Choose a Profitable Niche

Let’s start with a little brutal truth, shall we?

• Passion does not equal profit.
• Neither does expertise.
• Hard work doesn’t guarantee anything either.

For example:

You can be the world’s foremost expert on square-shaped tomatoes, wake up every morning with a burning passion to educate the public on their vast superiority to normal-shaped tomatoes, and work until your fingers bleed and your eyes fall out of your head, following all the right tactics for growing a popular blog, and…

You’ll never have a chance in hell at making any money.

Here’s why:

1. Nobody but you gives a damn about square tomatoes
2. Even if they did care, they wouldn’t spend any money

In other words, you need a large audience who buys things. Without that, nothing else matters. It’s a prerequisite for everything else.

In the case of Smart Blogger, I noticed early on that bloggers buy lots of different things:

In fact, there are companies with $10 million+ per year of revenue in most of those categories. It’s also a growing space with millions of people:

The only problem?

Loads of competition. Whether it be my previous employers Brian Clark or Neil Patel, my good friends over at Problogger, or the gazillion other “blogging about blogging” peeps infesting the social media space, everyone was intent on snagging a piece of the pie. They also had a several year head start on me.

So, how did I compete? The honest answer:

#2. Level up Your  Content Skills

 
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How to Make Money Blogging: The $5.3 Million Case Study from SmartBlogger.com

 

You’ve probably heard that “Content is king,” and it’s true… to an extent. A more accurate statement would be…

The Best Content Is King

If that’s hard to understand, think about it this way:

Lots of bloggers sit down and think, “What will I write today?” They jot down some thoughts, doing their best to be helpful, original, and entertaining. If they’re disciplined, they might even stick with it for a few months.

But it almost never works. Here are a few reasons why:

• What you want to say isn’t what other people want to read
• You weren’t using a proven content framework
• It’s not the best post ever published on the topic

Granted, it’s not your fault. Until today, chances are no one ever told you about any of those requirements. You thought you just had to write interesting stuff and publish it.

No, grasshopper. No.

The truth is, you have to create the best content ever published on topics lots of people are interested in learning more about. And that brings us to the three levels of content creation:

1. You know what content is popular in your niche, and you write exclusively about those topics
2. You’ve mastered frameworks proven to make your content more popular (list post, how to post, etc.)
3. Your content delivers more value to the reader than any other post published on that topic

You’re probably thinking, “Geez. That sounds hard.” And you’re right, it is.

I personally spent about three years honing my skills by writing for other sites before I started my own blog. It doesn’t have to take that long — I’m just a perfectionist, so I wanted to learn from the best people in my space.

It worked, though. Nowadays, my posts get millions and millions of visitors, not because I know some special “secret,” but because I’m really good at what I do. In fact, I’ll go ahead and say it…

 
Blogging is really no different than anything else. The more of a bad ass you are, the easier it is for you to make money.

So you want to know how to make some money blogging?

Become a badass writer.

Then the next step is to…

#3. Figure out Which Traffic Sport to Play

When you’re a beginner, getting traffic is confusing.

Should you focus on optimizing your keywords? Growing your Facebook page? Leaving comments on blogs? Answering questions on Quora? Creating videos for YouTube?

And so on.

There are a gazillion traffic tactics out there. Everybody says theirs is the best.

But here’s the data:

Source: Facebook and Google dominate web traffic, but not the same kind

Pretty much all the traffic for written content comes from either Google or Facebook. The rest of traffic sources combined don’t even come close to competing with those two Goliaths.

So, how do you get them to send you a bunch of traffic?

One option is you can pay for it. They like that.

But chances are, you’re reading about how to make money blogging because you don’t want to pay for traffic. You want it for free, right?

Well, imagine this:

There’s an arena where all the bloggers in your space go to compete for traffic. The number of other challengers you defeat determines the amount of traffic you receive.

In other words, getting traffic is a sport.

• There are winners, and there are losers
• To be good, you have to train
• You need to study your opponents

There are actually two sports, and I’d bet you’ve heard of both of them: search engine optimization (SEO) and going viral on Facebook. Both take years (yes, I said years) of study to master, but you can start getting pretty decent traffic after just a few months of study and practice.

Which one should you focus on?

Well, here are two questions to guide you:

• Is your topic something your friends and family regularly talk about on Facebook? Examples: pets, parenting, self-improvement, and health. If so, focus on playing the viral traffic sport.
• Is your topic something people actively search for information about on Google? Examples: product reviews, specific questions they would ask an expert, how-to information. If so, focus on SEO.

For most topics, you can do both, but one or the other will be dominant. In that case, focus on whichever one is dominant.

In the blogging space, for example, stuff about writing and grammar occasionally goes viral on Facebook, because we love criticizing our relatives about their terrible English. On the other hand, you rarely talk with your family about blogging platforms, WordPress plugins, affiliate marketing, or any other blogging topics.

You will, however, search for them on Google. Just as you would guess then, the blogging niche is heavily dominated by search. Here’s a breakdown of Smart Blogger’s traffic by source:

The truth is, we pretty much ignore Facebook. The volume of traffic available there comes nowhere close to the volume of traffic available from Google. So, we focus on Google.

I also spend WAY more time keeping up to date on SEO stuff than I do on social stuff. I’m a geek about it. Throw me in a room full of Google engineers, and I’d probably know more than half of them.

Not to imply I’m the best, though. I’m also competing against people like Darren Rowse, Amy Lynn Andrews, and Neil Patel. They’re pretty freaking good too.

In time, I think I can be better, but who knows? That’s why sports are fun. You never know who is going to win.

If you’re good though, you’ll always be in the “playoffs,” for your space, and you’ll get lots of traffic. Maybe not the most, but still plenty.

And then you can focus on how to…

#4. Grow Your Email List with Pop Ups

Chances are, you see pop ups as an annoyance.

They get in the way when you’re trying to read. They ask you to hand over sensitive information like your name, email address, and phone number. Sometimes you have to deal with multiple pop ups on the same site, and it makes you feel hassled and uncared for.

And all that sucks. In my opinion, you have every right to be annoyed.

But here’s the thing…

That’s where the money comes from. The best predictor of the revenue for a blog is the size of their email list. Here’s a breakdown of our revenue at Smart Blogger comparing revenue device from email to other sources.

The rule of thumb is you can expect to make $1 per subscriber per month. So, if you have 10,000 email subscribers, you should be able to make about $10,000 per month.

So obviously, growing your email list is a top priority. You might, however, feel conflicted about using pop ups. What are you supposed to do?

Here’s a different way of looking at it:

If a visitor comes to your site and doesn’t give you their email address, the chances of them returning are nearly zero. You’ll never have another opportunity to help them.

If you believe your content is the best, and you believe you can help them over time, I believe you owe it to them to be as pushy as possible about staying in contact. In other words, not using a pop up is unethical. A little annoyance is a small price to pay for change.

And remember, that doesn’t mean you have to be extremely pushy or spammy. You can absolutely use pop ups in authentic ways.

But you absolutely must use them. Assuming you want to make money, anyway.

#5. Begin Monetizing with Affiliate Offers

So, you’re operating in a profitable niche, and you have traffic and an email list. What next?

Lots of bloggers jump into creating a course or book or community of some sort, but that’s a mistake, in my opinion. Before you start selling things, you need concrete evidence those things are what people want to buy. Otherwise, you’re risking wasting months or even years of your life trying to push a product no one wants.

The simplest way to obtain that evidence:

Affiliate offers.

By seeing what your audience buys from other people, you can get a much better sense of what they might want to buy from you. If you promote a product and it converts well, you should think about creating a similar product. If it doesn’t convert well, you should probably move on.

In other words, affiliate offers are a form of market research. As a bonus, you just so happen to get paid commissions on the products your customers buy in the process. So not only are you learning what your audience wants to buy, but you’re making money from your blog at the same time. Pretty sweet deal.

At Smart Blogger, I’ve tried lots of different offers. WordPress hosting, landing page tools, email marketing software, WordPress themes, and half a dozen different types of courses. Since we sell courses, I pay the most attention to the results from those programs, and here are a couple of lessons:

• End to end solutions sell best. Courses promising to take someone from knowing nothing to making money far outperformed the others. For instance, here’s a screenshot showing us as the #1 affiliate for Danny Iny’s Course Builder’s Laboratory:
   
  
• Tools with a clear connection to making money also sell better than the others. For instance, landing page builders. As proof, here’s a screenshot of our earnings from promoting LeadPages:
   
  

By themselves, neither of those promotions really moved the needle on our revenue, but they did teach us useful lessons that went into creating Freedom Machine, which brings us to…

#6. Develop a Unique Mechanism

Before you think about launching your own products or services, there’s one essential point about human nature you need to understand:

Whenever anyone purchases anything, they expect to transition from where they are now (Point A) to where they want to be (Point B). For example…

• When you buy pizza, you want to transition from being hungry and craving pizza (Point A) to tasting delicious pizza and feeling full (Point B).
• When you hire a plumber, you want to transition from having a clogged, overflowing toilet (Point A) to having a normally functioning toilet (Point B).
• When you buy a course on SEO, you want to transition from feeling bewildered and getting ignored by Google (Point A) to ranking for competitive terms and getting traffic.

The success of a product ultimately depends on helping customers make those transitions. If the customer doesn’t get to Point B, they typically view the experience as a failure.

So, here’s the magic question:

What makes you better equipped to deliver that transition than your competitors?

The answer to that question is what marketing expert Todd Brown calls your “unique mechanism.” It’s a little different from a “unique selling proposition,” because it’s not just something about you that’s different. It’s something about you or your method that makes you better able to help customers than anyone else.

For Freedom Machine, we have multiple unique mechanisms:

1. Get published on Medium — a platform with more than 60 million active readers looking for content
2. You don’t have to struggle with setting up your blog. We do it for you.
3. A research concierge who will do your research for you instead of having to pay for expensive tools
4. Content frameworks developed behind the scenes at Smart Blogger to produce popular content
5. A monetization methodology proven by our success with Smart Blogger
6. Advice on how to automate everything, so you eventually get more freedom
7. Weekly calls with me where I will help you set up your Freedom Machine

Combined, those unique mechanisms are EXTREMELY convincing at setting us up as the superior solution. Therefore, the product sells like hot cakes.

To be clear… it’s not necessary to have 7 different unique mechanisms. Sometimes just one is all you need (i.e. fresh, hot pizza in 30 minutes or less). The core idea though is to make sure you are obviously far more capable than your competitors at delivering results.

Then all you have to do is…

#7. Launch the Minimum Viable Funnel

Look around at successful entrepreneurs of any type, and you’ll find a surprising trend:

They tend to sell their products before the product is created.

To most people, this sounds like insanity at best or a disturbing lack of ethics at worst. How could you possibly ask people to buy something that doesn’t exist?

The answer:

It’s the same principle as Kickstarter.

You create a fancy minimal sales funnel of some sort (in this case, just a simple sales page), tell people the product is coming soon, and then wait to see if enough people sign up to justify making the product. If they don’t, you refund everyone’s money and start over.

In other words, it’s the final step in validating you have a viable product. The steps go like this:

1. Identify demand by promoting affiliate products
2. Find a unique mechanism that makes you clearly superior
3. Test the demand for that unique mechanism with a quick and dirty launch before you create the product

In my case, the minimum viable funnel was a 90 minute webinar (you can register for the current version here.) The first time I did it, there was no product, no follow-up sequence, nothing. It was just a bare-bones test.

And it resulted in $126,000 in sales live on the webinar.

Seeing that $30,000 sales was my minimum for success, we went ahead and created the first version of the product live with students. About a year later, it’s now approaching $1 million in sales.

That’s also just one product. We have others, and we have still more in the research pipeline.

And guess what I would do if I had to start over again?

The exact same thing. It’s not easy, it’s not fast, it’s not even that sexy, but it works.

Let’s close with some questions and answers, shall we?

FAQ about How to Make Money Blogging

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So, we’ve covered the basic process. Now let’s step back for a moment and answer some of the questions I hear the most often:

Do bloggers make money?

I certainly do, but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking. I think you’re asking…

“Is it reasonable for me to learn how to make money blogging?”

The no BS answer:

It depends on how patient and persistent you are.

Starting a blog from scratch is just as difficult as starting any business. For example, it requires the same time and effort as starting your own restaurant, software company, or accounting service. Yes, those businesses are wildly different, but the first few years are usually the same story: low income, lots of stress, big learning curve.

If you want a more concrete answer than that, we’ve found it takes even our smartest, most dedicated students 3-6 years to make enough money from blogging to quit their jobs. And that sounds like a long time, but so what? 3-6 years to be able to work from anywhere in the world, take a vacation whenever you want, and probably have passive income until the day you die?

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

How much money can you make from blogging?

The fact is, most bloggers make as much money as any other type of entrepreneur:

Nothing.

And it’s not because there’s no money in it. This blog makes more than $1 million per year, for God sakes, and it’s nowhere close to the most profitable blog out there. Blogs like The Penny Hoarder, Moz, and Lifehacker power businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

So why aren’t more bloggers rich?

The truth is, most people quit. They start a blog, realize it’s hard work, and walk away.

But if you’re patient and persistent?

You can make millions. I have. So have lots of other smart, dedicated entrepreneurs.

You just have to do the work. Consistently. For years.

Can you do that?

Then yeah, I think you can make six figures at least. Maybe more.

How do you start your own blog for free?

Lots of people say you can’t. They tell you to buy a domain name and a hosting account and a premium WordPress theme.

But I think that’s nonsense.

You can get started for free within five minutes on Medium. They also have over 60 million monthly readers, so you can get a lot of exposure there if you get featured.

This article walks you through that strategy, step-by-step.

Alternatively, you can write on WordPress.com, Linkedin, or any of the other platforms out there. It doesn’t really matter. The point is, start writing and learning as soon as possible.

Once people start sharing your articles, and you begin to understand how everything works, then you can go through the trouble of setting up your own site, installing WordPress, and all that jazz. Until then though, it’s just a headache you don’t need.

What are the most popular blogging platforms?

WordPress is by far the most popular. No one else is even close.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the best for everyone.

As I mentioned earlier, I think Medium is a good place to start. You can also create your own blog with tools like Blogger, Squarespace, Wix, Joomla, and countless others.

What are the top blogs about how to make money blogging?

I’d like to think Smart Blogger is the best (and most comprehensive) site on the topic, but it’s by no means the only one. Not all of these talk about how to make money blogging, but together, they give you a solid foundation:

• Backlinko — Brian Dean doesn’t talk much about how to make money blogging, but he’s one of the top experts and educators in the world on SEO. What I love about his content is how easy to understand it is, despite covering some incredibly complex topics. If you’re a beginner, prepare for a treat.
• Digital Marketer: — In my opinion, my friends over at Digital Marketer are the best in the world at monetizing traffic. If you’d like to learn about marketing, list building, customer research, automation, or funnels, there’s no better source.
• Smart Passive Income — If you’re interested in using your blog to build passive income, Pat Flynn is a master at showing you how to build a tiny little business that can support you and the lifestyle you want. Both his blog and podcast are excellent.

The Bottom Line about How to Make Money Blogging

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Is it possible?

Absolutely, but only if you treat it as a business.

Yes, you can start your blog as a side project. Yes, you can slowly grow it in the background. Yes, you can turn your blog into a source of passive income that eventually lets you quit your job, travel, spend more time with your family, whatever you want to do.

But like anything worthwhile, it’s hard work getting there.

You have to study. Practice. Master your craft.

If you love writing, I can’t imagine a better business, though. Not only is blogging a great way to get your writing noticed, but it’s a great way to connect with people around the world who need you, teach them what you know, and get paid pretty damn well in exchange.

There’s never a day I regret dedicating myself to blogging. Never.

It’s not just because of the money, either. It’s because I also get to do what I love and help people at the same time.

What could be better than that?

About the Author: Jon Morrow is the CEO of Smart Blogger. Check out his new blog Unstoppable and read the launch post that went viral: 7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face.

The post How to Make Money Blogging: The $5.3 Million Case Study appeared first on Smart Blogger.

source https://smartblogger.com/make-money-blogging/

How to Write Blog Comments That Stand Out to Influencers (Plus Examples!)

You’ve heard the advice a million times.

Write great comments on popular blogs, and your blog will grow. Why, it’s so easy even a caveman can do it!

And it’s true — comments can be powerful. A great comment can land you on the radar of a popular blogger — the kind of super-connected influencer who can accelerate your success.

It sounds so simple.

The only problem?

Nobody tells you how to comment on blogs. You aren’t sure what a great comment looks like.

Is it a comment that shovels heaps of praise onto the author? Or one that argues a persuasive alternative view? Or one that simply thanks the blogger for their insights?

Because while many experts preach the virtues of strategic commenting, almost nobody tells you how to do it.

As a result, many well-intentioned bloggers are spending their precious time writing comments they think are great.

In reality?

Their comments usually suck.

Why Clumsy Commenters Make Terrible First Dates

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If you think about it, blog commenting is a lot like dating.

You’re trying to woo another person, right?

With dating, you’re trying to woo someone into becoming Mr. or Mrs. Whatever Your Name Is.

With blog commenting, you’re trying to woo the owner of a blog.

You want them to notice you. You want them to reply to your comment. Secretly, you want them to visit and comment on your blog, follow you on social media, and ultimately become your best friend forever.

But is that possible if your comments are lame?

Sure, it’s possible…

It’s also possible to stumble into marriage, kids, and a house with a white picket fence even if you turn up to your first date with a mustard stain on your shirt and used the pickup line, “Did you hear about Pluto?”

But just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s likely.

That’s why it’s time to improve your commenting game.

To help you do that, let’s look in detail at the anatomy of a great blog comment.

But first, let’s look at the rookie mistakes that make most blog comments totally suck.

The Common Mistakes That Make Comments Suck

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Mistake #1: Using a Novelty (or Non-Existent) Gravatar Image

You wouldn’t show up to a first date wearing a disguise, would you? Or wearing a plain paper bag over your head?

So why would you choose an image of Grumpy Cat or Ron Burgundy to represent you in blog comments? Or settle for the faceless silhouette that screams generic nobody?

Instead, let people see the real you.

They will be far more likely to feel a connection with you if they can see your face.

Besides, you know you’re sexy. Show us that smile!

Mistake #2: Using a False Name (or “Fun” Nickname)

Among your friends and family, you can go by Lil’ Bit, DJ Roomba, Superfly, House of Shane, or any other nickname you choose.

But unless you’re a spy, or in witness protection, using your real name on a first date is just the right thing to do. (Unless, of course, it’s a blind date and Gary Busey sits down at your table.)

The same is true in blog commenting. Bloggers, just like dates, want to know who’s trying to woo them. And someone who hides behind a pseudonym likely isn’t a long-term prospect.

Mistake #3: Dumping Links in Your Comments

Imagine you’re on a date and, halfway through, your date suddenly asks if you have life insurance.

You try to wave it off, but they begin discussing rates and policies with you.

“Oh no,” you think to yourself. “This isn’t a date … this is a sale’s pitch!”

If you embed links in your comments, bloggers are likely to react similarly. It comes across as a cheap attempt to peddle your lemonade on their lawn.

And usually it won’t matter how insightful your words are or how relevant your link may be; the blogger will feel an irresistible urge to kick you off their property.

Mistake #4: Failing to Read the Post Before Commenting

Ever been on a date with someone from Match or eHarmony who didn’t bother to read your profile?

“Do you have any hobbies?” they’ll ask despite your profile’s thousand-word tribute to paper mache. “Fancy a juicy steak?” they’ll suggest despite your publicly stated veganism.

It’s the same with blog commenting. Yes, you’re busy. Yes, reading a post thoroughly before commenting takes time.

Know what else takes time? Getting your foot out of your mouth.

When you comment on a post after skimming it or — worse — not reading it at all, you greatly increase the chances you’ll say something silly.

Mistake #5: Droning On and On (and On)

 

A long-winded blog comment, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read.Kevin Duncan

Some people like the sound of their own voices. Ask them what music they like, and they’ll take you on a 12-minute journey into the minutia of John Mayer’s latest album.

One-sided conversations on a date are not much fun and neither are blog comments that last forever and a day.

Many great comments are on the longer side, but be careful not to confuse quantity with quality.

A 500-word comment isn’t better than a 100-word comment. It’s usually just five times longer.

(And probably five times more boring.)

Mistake #6: Repeating What the Post Just Said

Ever had a date where the other person repeated everything you said?

You love Kevin Costner movies? So do they.

You adore Mexican food? Yep, them too.

You hate Mondays? They hate Mondays.

In the blogging world, this kind of parroting is a (re)Pete Comment.

It doesn’t add to the conversation. It doesn’t ask questions. It doesn’t challenge an idea.

It simply repeats what was said in the post.

It’s okay to summarize, but your comment needs to be more than the CliffsNotes version of the post you just read.

Otherwise, what’s the point?

How to Write a Good Blog Comment (Plus: Lots of Examples)

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Now that we’ve inoculated you against writing comments that truly suck, let’s look at the structure of a comment that stands out for all the right reasons.

How does a great comment begin? How does it end? What’s the stuff that goes in the middle?

Here are the essential parts, from top to bottom.

Part #1: The Friendly Greeting

 

The first thing I look for is personalization. This is so easy, all it takes is to just include the name of the author.Blogging Wizard

Let’s go back to our dating analogy…

You meet your handsome guy or beautiful gal at a restaurant for your first date. Could they be the one? They don’t look crazy or anything.

Hopeful, you take a deep breath, smile, and say hi.

But instead of greeting you or even acknowledging you, your date just starts talking.

No preamble — they launch right into talking about their day.

Did you know they have a co-worker named Mr. Buttons? Did you know they have a peanut allergy?

You do now.

Memorable date? I suppose.

A date you would like to get to know better? Definitely not.

And yet, every day, thousands of comments are written that do not bother to acknowledge the post’s author in any way, shape, or form.

Do they think robots wrote the post instead of a human being? Do they believe greetings are an outdated ritual from a bygone era? Or are they simply too lazy to scroll back to the top to find the author’s name?

If you’re hoping to catch the attention of bloggers and strike up a relationship, a healthy dose of proper etiquette can go a long way.

So say hello to them.

Greet them.

Refer to them by name.

How To Do It

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This one’s so simple, it shouldn’t need explanation. But here’s how to do it anyway.

Scroll back to the top of the post and find the author’s name. If you are prone to misspellings, here’s a comment editing tip — copy the name so you can paste it into your comment.

Then say hello. Or hi. Or howdy, if you’re feeling folksy.

You’ll only spend a few seconds to get your comment started on the right foot.

It’s time well spent.

Part #2: The Sincere Compliment

 

It’s a nice confirmation when an author’s work is validated, and they can see the fruit of their labor.Carol Amato

You meet your date for the first time.

“Wow! I love your outfit,” you might say.

Or, “I really like your car.”

Or even, “Your SpongeBob tattoo is awesome!”

The details are different each time, but the act is the same. When you’re on a date, you pay the other person a compliment. It’s what you do in civilized societies.

Once again, blog commenting isn’t any different.

Remember, you’ve chosen to be on this person’s blog, not someone else’s. You’ve chosen to read their post instead of another. You must have a reason to want to connect with them over any of the other million bloggers you could be trying to connect with at that moment.

Chances are, you like them. You value them. You respect them.

So pay them a compliment…

Tell them how much you enjoyed their post…

Make their day…

Tell them you dig their groovy tunes…

In short, pay them a compliment. Any compliment. Just make sure it’s a sincere compliment.

How To Do It

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You can focus on the blogger, the post itself, or a combination of the two.

Are you a fan of the blogger’s body of work? Tell them so. Say how much you enjoy their writing. Even better? Tell them about a specific example where their writing has helped you.

If you choose to focus on the post itself, talk about a particular point within the post that truly hit home for you. Did it change your outlook on a topic? Did it motivate you to go out and take action? Did it rock your world? Tell them so.

Note: In order to sound sincere, refrain from heaping too much praise onto the bloggers themselves. A little praise can go a long way. For this reason, it’s often best to focus on the post rather than the blogger.

(Plus, you don’t want to come across as a creepy stalker.)

Part #3: The Added Value

 

My favorite comments add extra value to a post. Perhaps they add a personal experience, a different perspective or a new question.Henneke Duistermaat

Now we’re into the meat of what makes a great comment great.

Greeting the author and paying a compliment are nice, but no one cares how good the appetizers are if the main course is a garbage sandwich with no mayo.

Your goal in every comment should be to add value. If your comment doesn’t add value, it’s wasting everyone’s time.

Of course adding value has become one of those overused and meaningless phrases in the blogging world. Like Sriracha sauce, people tend to throw it around and use it for everything.

What does it actually mean?

In this context, it means doing something that makes you appear valuable — useful, insightful, entertaining, or interesting — to the blogger you’re aiming to woo. In other words, anything that establishes you as a person worth knowing and helps develop a personal relationship.

You do that by making a positive impression and then building upon it.

But how?

Let’s review some tactics that work every time.

Value Tactic #1: Share Personal Insights or Anecdotes

Did a particular point in the post hit home for you? Did you find something particularly relatable? Did the post bring up an area in which you’re struggling?

When you share a personal insight, bloggers can more easily relate to you. You’re no longer just an unfamiliar name making a comment that could have been left by anyone…

You’re a blogger with a story!

How To Do It

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Don’t worry about channeling Herman Melville; remember, comments don’t have to be long to be effective.

Amanda Formaro demonstrates this perfectly in her succinct comment about email subscribers.

In the same discussion, Jenn establishes a connection by sharing her struggles.

Don Purdum, meanwhile, enhances the post by sharing details of a conversation he’d had just days earlier.

The number of ways you can share insights and examples are myriad. But the more personal your insight, the more unique it will be. And the more unique your insight, the more memorable your comment will be and the more you’ll stand out.

Value Tactic #2: Ask Thoughtful Questions

Was an idea presented in the post that you didn’t fully understand? Did you want the author to expand on a certain point? Did the post spark an inquiry?

Asking thoughtful questions is an excellent way to build relationships because it starts a one-on-one conversation with the blogger.

You ask them a question; they answer. It’s pure, simple, poetry in motion. And it’s a great way to introduce yourself to bloggers you enjoy.

How To Do It

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Andrew Warner went the inquiry route after reading Andrianes Pinantoan’s blog traffic case study:

Pooja, an excellent writer in her own right, did the same after reading Glen Long’s post on crystal clear writing:

And Gertrude Nonterah, after reading the blogger’s bucket list, took the opportunity to ask a question that had been weighing on her:

Sometimes for brevity’s sake, an author won’t fully flesh out a detail in his or her blog post. So if the article contained a detail you want expanded upon, don’t be afraid to comment and ask.

Value Tactic #3: Contribute To The Discussion

 

If you want the attention of influencers and blog owners, your comment should add to the conversation.Sue Anne Dunlevie

Were 10 ideas presented in the post, but you know an 11th? Want to flesh out a point discussed in the post? How about a detail that wasn’t covered at all?

If your comments enhance the overall value of the post, few bloggers will fail to see the benefit of your contribution. Sometimes they’ll even update their post in light of your comment — which is a major validation of your ideas.

And bloggers love when the comment count for their posts get higher and higher. It’s validation that their work is reaching people.

When you write a great comment that adds to the discussion, it often has a domino effect. Others will respond to your comment, which will fuel even more comments.

The result is more people reading and discussing the blogger’s work, which means a higher comment count.

Bloggers love that — and they love the commenters who help make that happen.

How To Do It

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A great example of this is the following comment Anne R. Allen left Brian Dean in his blogger outreach post here at Smart Blogger.

Another is the comment Harleena Singh left Will Blunt in his guide on Google+.

And one of the best examples you’ll ever see is the comment Matthew Harding left on Smart Blogger’s post on blogging milestones. Here is a snippet:

When you add value via a great comment, you’re investing in the blog post.

Blog owners love that. They appreciate it.…

They learn from it.…

They remember it.

Part #4: The Parting Promise

 

I love it when commenters tell me they’ve shared or will share my work. The ideal comment would come from someone who both tells me they’re going to share, and then remembers to tag me when they do.Brittany Bullen

After a successful first date, each person is usually looking for a clue that that the other enjoyed themselves and that a second date might be in the cards.

That clue could be a lingering smile. It could be a casual remark about not having any plans the following Saturday. It could be the other person actually saying, “I enjoyed myself and would like to see you again.”

Whatever form it takes, it sends the message that this date was not just a one-off.

And when wooing a popular blogger, you’d be smart to let them know you’re interested in a longer-term relationship too.

That’s why great blog comments make a promise at the end. They tell bloggers, “Hey… I enjoyed this so much I want to keep the party going!”

How To Do It

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One great way to make a promise is to tell the author you’re going to share the post on your favorite social media platform…

Tell them their post is so good you have no choice BUT to share it…

Or channel your inner Arnold Schwarzenegger and tell them, “I’ll be back” (to read more of your content)…

But whatever promise you make, be sure to keep it.

Tweet the post like you said you would. Read the blogger’s other posts, and leave more comments. In other words, do exactly what you said you would do.

And when you share the post on your favorite social media platform, be sure to tag the blogger — let them know you followed through…

And if the bloggers are anything like Will Hoekenga, they’ll notice and express their gratitude…

Examples of Blog Comments that Kicked Butt (and The Extra Ingredient They All Share)

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So what does a comment that has each of these elements look like?

It looks a lot like this comment from Adrienne Smith:

And it looks a lot like this comment from Carol Amato:

Adrienne’s and Carol’s comments start with greetings, go straight to compliments, add value to make connections, and end on promises.

But beyond that, they add an additional element present in every great comment…

Personality.

Any robot can start a comment with a greeting and end it with a promise.

But for a comment to take that next step, for a comment to get you noticed by the blog’s owner, you have to let “you” shine through.

As Jaime Buckley once wrote: “Unless you’re engaging, my eyes will glaze over. We all have a personality, but do you use it? Does it come out in your comments?”

Jaime should know. He’s an expert at letting his personality shine through in his comments. The comment he left for “The Blogger’s Bucket List: 20 Must-Reach Milestones on the Path to World Domination” is a perfect example.

Here is a snippet:

Jaime writes his comments the way he might write an email to a friend.

It’s refreshing and it’s an excellent way to get noticed.

For a handy visual reminder of the four-part formula, check out the image below (click to see a larger view):

 
Embed This Infographic On Your Site

How to Write Blog Comments That Stand Out to Influencers (Plus Examples!) from SmartBlogger.com

 

The Rich Rewards That Flow from Carefully Crafted Comments

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You may be wondering at this point…

Is it worth it? Is it worth putting all that time and thought into a single blog comment?

Well, that depends on what you’d like to achieve from your blogging efforts.

Would you like influential bloggers to notice you and follow you on Twitter?

Do you want to expand your reach on other platforms like Google+?

Would you like Darren Rowse, Pamela Wilson, and other blogging icons to share your posts with their followers?

Would you like to be invited to participate in expert roundups, conferences, and other great opportunities?

Would you like to receive emails out-of-the-blue from super-cool and talented people asking you to write for them?

Would you like to have your work published on one of the biggest, baddest blogs in the world?

Because this is what can happen when bloggers notice you.

It isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. And, clearly, great comments alone won’t catapult you to world domination.

But they’re a critical, often-overlooked component. And most people who try it write comments that suck.

In a sea of sameness, great comments with great personalities stand out like Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels at a charity gala for the preservation of the endangered Icelandic snow owl.

They’re capable of getting other bloggers to sit up, take notice, and ask themselves: “Who is that?”

So tell me, now do you think it’s worth it?

Let’s Find Out Where Comments Could Catapult Your Blog

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Comments are perhaps the most misused — and least understood — weapons in the ambitious blogger’s arsenal.

That’s why most blog comments suck.

You now understand the anatomy of the perfect blog comment, so you can start crafting your comments with purpose.

Comments that get you noticed.

Comments that woo popular bloggers.

Comments that cause opportunities to drop into your lap.

The days of frowning cat gravatars are over. Repetitive comments are yesterday’s news. Empty contributions have gone the way of the dodo.

So, are you ready for a new era of smarter commenting?

Are you ready to discover where it could take you?

Then let’s do this thing.

About the Author: Kevin Duncan runs Be A Better Blogger, where he uses his very particular set of skills to help people become the best bloggers they can be. To further your quest to woo bloggers, he’s written a special post just for Smart Blogger readers: How I Went From Unknown to Boost Blog Traffic Writer in Six Months (and How You Can, Too).

The post How to Write Blog Comments That Stand Out to Influencers (Plus Examples!) appeared first on Smart Blogger.

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