Copy and Paste, How to leave a GREAT comment.

Today I wanted to talk to you about something I do to make my life easier when leaving comments. I copy and paste, ALOT!!! Read the whole post before you go judging me OK. I may sound like I am breaking the number one rule of leaving sincere comments, but in fact it couldn't be further from the truth. 

We all know that visiting blogs, and leaving comments, is probably the number one way to get people coming to visit yours. However  leaving a cookie cutter comment, JUST won't cut it, if you know what I mean.


I admit, that I love seeing pictures, so when I visit a post with a tutorial, I'm usually all about scrolling down to see the pictures. No harm done right, but I do try and read a bit of the post, always. I actually am a pretty big reader, and that's one of the reasons why I get stuck at blogs, and it takes me forever to leave comments. I get sucked in. Especially if you are funny, and have a way with writing, I'm all ears, and really enjoy reading the posts. 


This, and the fact that I really try to get a feel for the person writing the blog, by reading their profile, or about me. Looking over their categories, or archives, also gives me a good idea about the kind of stuff I may find on their blog. I like to do this all, the first time I visit a blog. It's really important to me. I like to feel a connection with the writer, and always try to pass that on when leaving a comment. 


How do I do that exactly? Obviously I comment on the post I am leaving the comment on. Trying to be as detailed as possible with WHY I loved their post, or recipe, or project. We all know the feeling when we get comments, that are left without much thought, and sometimes we get some that we wonder if the person payed attention to our post at all. That's no good. 


Here is what I do, when I leave comments. On my MacBook, and all Macs actually there is a app called, STICKIES. It's basically just post it notes that you can have up on your desktop, and with options like being translucent, and floating, I can have the ones I use daily, up no matter what, but I just scroll them to the bottom of my screen so they are not in my way. I have one sticky for example, that reads :

I loved it so much I FEATURED you, I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Come grab a button girl, and display it proudly!

**Features from week #35** @ Bella Before and After

Thanks girl :)

Hugs, 

Bella

This is usually left on posts that I've featured. I make sure to leave the link to the post where I did the feature, because sometimes, the person may have a hard time finding it. Now obviously if I just went around leaving ONLY this as my comment, that would be not cool. I haven't addressed the person by their name, I didn't tell them WHY I loved their post, and what if they already saw that I featured them, before I could leave them a comment, he he. This happens sometimes, then I change the comment up, by saying :

I know you already saw that I featured you, just wanted to say THANKS again for linking up, I really appreciate it. 

Or something along those lines. Here's an example of what I would say for this cake my friend Maria from Mommy Made did. 

Hey Maria, I love that guitar cake you made for your little guy! How creative using the two cake pans, and all those candies to make the decorations. The rice crispy treat was a great idea too. I am so impressed with how it turned out, good job mama. 

I loved it so much I FEATURED you, I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Come grab a button girl, and display it proudly!

**Features from week #35** @ Bella Before and After

Thanks girl :)

Hugs, 

Bella

Super easy, and to the point, but I left a sincere comment, you see. I also had some standard things I needed to say, so why not copy and paste that part. You see the link, I didn't just add it it, I made sure it was CLICKABLE, which is also really helpful. That leaves one less step for the person to do, they only need to CLICK on the link, rather than copy and paste. It also can lead to other people seeing your comment, and clicking on the link out of curiosity. I know I've done that many times. 

Don't know how to leave a CLICKABLE LINK, here's how. This is obviously where having this on a sticky can come in handy, so you don't have to remember the code all the time. 

< a href = "your direct link"> what you want your link to say < / a>

**** Make sure there are no spaces in the section I highlighted above , I don't know how to write the code in here, without it turning into a link, lol. ****

Pretty simple right???

Yes, I admit my comments are usually rather long, especially compared to other peoples, but so far I've NEVER had anyone complain, in fact I always get told how much they appreciate my kind comments, and sincere words. I do try my best to leave good comments, and if I can't figure out a really good thing to say, then I just don't leave a comment. You don't have to leave one for every post you visit, only the ones that you REALLY enjoy, and then you should have something really nice to say, right?

Here are some other examples of things I have on my stickies. 

This one is for when I visit a post, and I'd like to invite them to link up to my party. 

I'd love if you linked this up. Stop by anytime to say hello!!!
Hugs,Bella :)http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com/search/label/Amaze%20me%20August%20Challenge">**AMAZE ME AUGUST** @ Bella Before and After  

Or this when I am leaving a comment for something I've linked up to a party.

I linked up my Garage Remodel PART 2 .

Hope you can stop by to say HI.

Hugs, 

Bella :)

Sometimes, I want to invite them to see my PINTEREST boards, maybe I've added that post to my inspiration post, and I want them to check it out. 

Also I would LOVE to invite you to check out my new http://pinterest.com/bellab4andafter/">PINTEREST BOARDSI added your awesome dress on my-- I WISH I COULD SEW THIS board.  Let me know what you think!!  

Remember, all these are just PART of the comments. I always add a personal message to each one in addition to the above. Those are just things I would leave standard on each one, but now I don't need to rewrite it each time. Saves a lot of time. 

So here are my top tips for leaving comments. 

1. Try and use the persons name, when leaving your comment.

2. Leave at least one specific reason why you liked their post, two is even better.

3. If you want them to visit your blog, or party, try and INVITE them to do so, rather than saying just do it, lol. 

4. Leave a DIRECT CLICKABLE link to either the party you want them to link to, or to your homepage in general, if it's just an invite to your blog.

5. I like to leave this link next to my name, so that it reads:

Bella :) Bella Before and After

6. Be sincere, and don't leave a comment expecting a reply, or visit, leave it, to make that person happy. The more you do this, the more others will do it for you too. Just watch and see.

Here are some tips from my readers. 

Patricia from THE MOM ZONE adds:

If I'm visiting someone from a Linky Party, I will put my comment and end with "Found you @ Bella Before and After" (or wherever the linky party is, obviously). Same goes for if they're featured somewhere and I click through to see their post. 

These stickies, are very useful for me. I hope I gave you an idea of how easy it is to leave a great comment. SO there is no excuse to leave lame comments from now on, or not leave comments at all. We all love comments, but lets all try to leave the best ones we can. It really makes a difference, and sometimes, even a few kind words can make all the difference to  struggling blogger. It's really easy to feel like you did a really great post, and them nobody leaves comments. I sure know the feeling, but hang in there. With time, you will find your followers, your friends, and sometimes, perfect strangers leaving the sweetest comments, that just make your day. Try to remember that feeling, and strive to make others feel like that too, with every comment you write. 

Hope this helped some of you. 

Just curious, do you have any tips for leaving comments, or any other suggestions you'd like to add? I'd love to hear about it, just leave me a COMMENT below (wink).