Hosted by A Kernel of Nonsense and Flylēf
Hands down, the most rewarding aspect of blogging, in my eyes, is receiving comments after you've spent countless minutes — even hours — putting together a post. Especially for someone like me, who's fought in her life to be heard over other, louder voices, it gives the warmest, fuzziest feeling.
But also wonderful — leaving comments! It's fantastic to know that you're helping to make someone's day by reaching out and leaving a response to their thoughts. And sometimes, you just can't help yourself — you NEED to leave your two cents!
Here's the thing, though. I wasn't always good about leaving comments, especially when I first started out blogging. I was ALL ABOUT getting comments, not so much about leaving them. However, I definitely learned from the example of other, more experienced bloggers.
You see, there was a long, long period where my blog was pretty dead in the water, and I wasn't very active at all with visiting other book blogs. Joy, from Joyous Reads, pretty much kept Quest Reviews alive by being my sole commenter and cheerleader for about a year. She totally reached out to me, even though I wasn't the best reciprocator! Thank you, Joy!
I'm happy to say that now, I'm a much better commenter. Not only do I leave comments more often, but I take more time to try to leave thoughtful ones instead of just a quick note. But I'm still learning and improving. So that's why I've decided to join a Comment Challenge! Hosted by A Kernel of Nonsense and Flylēf, the challenge pairs a participant with another blog and the two build up a rapport through a month of commenting religiously on each other's blogs.
This post is the first step of the challenge, which starts in June.
What about you, readers?
Are comments more rewarding than other blogging perks, like receiving ARCs?
Have you made friendships through commenting on blogs?
Did commenting always come easy to you?
I barely have time to keep up with my own blog sometimes, so when I comment it's in waves. No one's heard from me in ages and then Wham! everyone gets comments! But it can also be difficult to comment on blogs that are different platforms, so that can be a deterrent. I have blogs I read and follow, but they have no idea I exist (I assume) because I can't figure out their comment system/am tired of proving I am human ten times before it posts.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do think comments are the best! I don't understand the desire for huge page views. I'd rather have fewer views but more comments! I love interacting with other bloggers; the views don't mean much to me if I'm not having a conversation with anyone.
Thanks for commenting, lol! And I agree, I can tend to comment in waves, too. Especially when I've been active on my blog, I'll tend to comment more on other blogs. However, even when I'm in a slump, I try (read TRY) to visit people's blogs and comment. It's something I've been working on. And it's different from plain having no time.
ReplyDeleteI agree about pageviews, too, and it's a really good point. I think different types of blogs get more comments per pageview than others. For instance, I have another blog about gaming that gets no comments... zero. But it gets more pageviews than this book blog! Part of that is that book blogging is an established community and gaming bloggin... not so much. But this is my favorite blog BY FAR because of the relationships forged by comments. So yeah, pageviews are just stats, but comments are so much more!
You're awesome at commenting! Thank you for the spree of comments you leave on my posts <3
ReplyDeleteI use my Bloglovin feed to read blog posts but I mostly don't leave comments. Oops. Sometimes I just think I'm bad at voicing what I have to say so I just end up not saying anything haha. I should probably work on that....
And I agree, Joy is awesome <3
Lol, I totally do comment in sprees. Like, I'll get up a head of steam, as it were, and comment on 3-5 posts on a single blog within 10 minutes of each other!
ReplyDeleteSomeone else mentioned this challenge and I just think it is such a good one! Good luck with all your commenting and I hope you get to meet a lot of other and new bloggers too! If I had more time right now I would so be all over this!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have you join us! Blogs are a funny thing, they're for you, but you also want to be able to reach out to other like-minded people. When I first started, I really didn't interact all that much in the comment portion of my blog, but now I make a real effort to engage with other bloggers and I try to return the favor if they visit one of my posts. I hope you make some lasting connections through this challenge! Also, please be sure to add a link to Lonna @ FLYLēF ( http://reviews.flylef.com/) to your post as I am cohosting alongside her for this project.
ReplyDeleteComments are really what keep a blog alive. When I first started mine, I felt like I was putting so much time and effort into something that no one really cared or took the time to read. Luckily, though, I dove deeper into the book blogging community and I've found a lot of awesome book buddies that give me all the support I could ever ask for.
ReplyDeleteMy site, too, was dead in the water for a while after having issues with the previous server I was using. I kinda gave up and took it for gone but after a year or so, I realized just how much I missed talking and raving about my favorite reads, and so it had a comeback. It hasn't been easy getting re-established, but fellow bloggers make it easy.
I'll be participating in this challenge, too! I hope we BOTH get to meet some more great people. Either way, I'll be coming back to Quest for quite a while. ^-^
Brittany
Thanks Brittany! I'm so happy that you're doing this challenge as well! And yes, comments are the lifeblood of blogs. My other blog is fading into obscurity, because there's no community there in the gaming universe BLOG-wise. Now, Twitch and other sites like that... different story. But you're so right, comments just make a blog thrive.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the challenge!! I look forward to it! June can't come fast enough. Also, I changed the post to reflect BOTH of the hosts! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ali! It's a great challenge, I agree. I hope I do better on it than I am my reading challenges. Oops!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, you're a sweetheart :)
ReplyDeleteDuh. Because you write well-written posts and reviews. How could I not come back? But yeah, I've mentioned it once on a post about my Bloglovin' habits that relationships develop through a series of back and forth. You need to give some to get some. And it is wholly rewarding to know that somewhere out there, someone reads your posts. If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say it again: I'll keep coming back to your blog just so you would keep writing your brilliant reviews. :)
ReplyDeleteAgain, if I could just bottle you up, Joy, or needlepoint you onto a fine pillow, I'd be golden! You seriously spoil me with praise. I LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteHi Ellen! Thank you so much for joining the 2016 Comment Challenge. I look forward to reading your content.
ReplyDelete~Lonna @ FLYLēF
YES to the first two questions. I agree with so much on this post. Commenting can be very challenging and I sometimes still struggle with it. I don't do it as an obligation, but more because I want to let people know I'm reading their content. I've come up with a schedule now that I think might be working, but we'll see if I stick to it. When I was in college, I would get up around an hour earlier than usual just so I could blog hop. To me, a comments are a sign that people are reading my content and they are infinitely more important than ARCs. As much as I blog for myself, I would hate for my words to be spoken into the void, especially because I put in time into writing posts. Sometimes it will take me 2 hours or so to write a review because it's not something that comes naturally, so in a way comments are a gratification and a "gift" of sorts.
ReplyDeleteCommenting is definitely the way I have met so many of my blogging friends. I've met lots and lots of valued bloggers whose opinions on books I count on when it comes to book buying decisions. And of course, some have become my closest friends.
It didn't always come easy to me, but once I got the hang of it, I was fine. Plus, like I said, it's something that I find fun and enjoyable, so it breaks me a little when I can't complain some days!
Great post!
I actually came across this last night as I was browsing through Twitter! I think something like this is fantastic and it seems like we are all going to have a lot of fun reaching out to other bloggers and getting to know others we could have things in common with! You know, aside from books! Commenting is one thing I try and to daily, but I know I struggle with it sometimes.. Good luck to us all!
ReplyDelete