Do It Yourself Branding, Comment Style

So often, that which a blogger learns is by pouring over other blogs, and books, and various how-to sites. On occasion (at least in my case), it’s because of all that pouring that we miss the simplest of tidbits, but which might as well be pianos falling out of the sky. I guess learning all depends on timing, and whether we’re ready to receive the information.

I noticed for the first time this morning, all the different “signatures” people leave when commenting in the blogosphere. Then I began thinking about comment strategy, and wondered if there was any info on the topic. I Googled a few different keyphrases and eventually came across a post by Dawud Miracle, in which he talks about his choice in personal branding.

My thoughts circled back around to the business side of blogging, and I’ve done enough reading tonight to make my eyes burn (it’s after midnight). Now I’d like to put some questions to readers. When you leave a comment, do you just enter your first name? Do you use a handle? Have you ever left both your given name and the name of your site - or even considered why it would matter?

Before today, I hadn’t, but using a consistent method of commenting is an excellent (and perfectly respectable) way to gain exposure for your brand, track the identity or product line of your company within the blogosphere and give you a little nudge in your SEO efforts. This is particularly true on “dofollow” supported blogs, especially if you comment with your site name, and it has keyword relevance built into the URL! Of course, this may be a minute detail in the overall scheme of things, but every little bit helps.

When you use a consistent method for commenting, your name becomes recognized quickly, and more often. People take notice, which often leads to link love. It’s good to be loved. It’s good to be branded. :) In fact it’s one of about 5000 things on my “to rethink, redesign, rework” list right now.

A final thought - tacking on your website title behind your name can also foster credibility for those who may just be scanning a blog’s comments, and not necessarily clicking through to commentator’s sites. I have no proof to back this, granted, but it’s a reasonable notion considering the amount of information we as a society process every day!

If your name or your website is memorable, and if you comment with a consistent identity, no doubt your visibility will increase as a direct result.

I’m sleepy now and calling it a night. Good grief, what a topic to stay up so late researching. <yawn>

Tags: blog-marketing | publishing | seo