You started a business blog to advertise, promote and market your business. You post to your blog twice a week or more, but now you are wondering if people are reading your blog. If they are reading, do they like what you have to say? Blogging offers a distinct advantage over a traditional website because of the ability for your readers to comment.

Blogging is a big part of the social media trend that has all but taken over the Internet. Your business blog is a two-way communication tool. Social media is attractive because of the interaction between people from all over the world.

Blog Comments Allow Interaction

The social media aspect of a blog is through the comments feature. Blog comments are the way readers can offer their opinions and insights on a blog post. While a blogger can disable the comment feature, most bloggers not only accept comments, they encourage them. Comments are the evidence proving what you wrote resonated with someone and moved them to react. When you begin to get comments on your blog, treat them with the respect they deserve. A comment on a blog is equivalent to a reply in a conversation. The great majority of blog readers never take the time to comment, so when someone does, it is important to acknowledge the comment and reply to it. Once your blog begins receiving a large amount of comments, it may not be possible to reply to all of them. Your readers will certainly take notice if you interact with them – or if you don’t bother. Encouraging conversation through comments and replies on your blog is a great form of marketing.

Marketing your business on the Internet requires relationship building. Because your prospects and customers may never meet you face to face, building a relationship online is extremely important so they can get to know you and trust you.

Comment on Other Blogs to Increase Visibility
You can also promote your business through blog comments by commenting on other people’s blogs. Search the Internet for businesses complementary to your own. Find blogs that aren’t necessarily your competition, but are in a corresponding niche and add meaningful and helpful information in the comments.

For example, if you own a plumbing business, don’t just spend time commenting on blogs by other plumbers. Instead, look for DIY blogs or construction blogs so you can provide helpful information to a conversation without intruding on the blog owner’s business. People who are reading a blog for the DIY-er will appreciate your comments on the pros and cons of a dual-faucet versus a single-faucet, but another plumber has the knowledge to offer the same information to his readers.

While you can certainly add your opinion to a blog specializing in the same business you operate, you will get the most good will from contributing on a blog that works hand-in-hand with your line of work. Blog reader tend to feel a loyalty to the blogs they follow on a regular basis, so if you become a regular commenter, offering helpful information, they will see your loyalty as well, which speaks to your character and adds to your reputation as an expert in your field.

Do-Follow Links are Helpful

Many blogs enable a feature known as “do-follow” links. This means when you comment on them and leave the URL to your own blog or website, the search engines will follow the link to your site. This will add to your search engine rankings and help boost your position in the results pages, leading to more clicks on your website links. While it is useful to comment on blogs regardless of the search engines, blogs with a do-follow capability are especially helpful in building the traffic to your business website.

Encourage commenting on your business blog, reply to comments made by your readers and comment on other blogs related to your business. These tips will help you promote your business for no cost at all. Start enjoying the business building benefits of blog commenting today.