Up Close and (un)Conventional – Commenting
Welcome to this week’s Up Close and (un)Conventional. This is where I discuss both things that have to do with reading and blogging, and things that just have to do with life in general. This week, I want to talk about commenting. I think one of the best rewards for bloggers – at least it is for me! – is to see comments on my posts. I love reading other blogger’s opinions, and if they’re nice enough to come and share theme here, I’m extatic . Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction had a post that tackled this subject partly last week, in her The Perils of Growing a Bigger Blog.
So, how can I be so very happy about getting comments, and then also kind of feel a bit afraid of them? Well, here’s why: Time! How do I deal with commenting, where is it the most important to show the bloggers who take the time to come here that I appreciate their input? Should I continue to comment back on everything here, and then also go to my fellow bloggers space and comment there? If I do that, I’ll have much less time to read – and that’s the main reason I started my blog – to read and share my love for the books I read.
When should there be a ‘cut-off’ on commenting here at my own blog? Should I try to comment back on certain posts, only? Discussion posts wouldn’t really become true discussions if I didn’t reply to comments right here, so then it would be moot anyway. What about reviews? I love commenting on reviews on other blogs, but sometimes, a reply back from the other blogger isn’t really necessary. What about I comment back on my posts on the day, plus the day after, a post was published? I’m really at a loss as to how to deal with this without making anyone feel uncomfortable or sad with the way I comment! Please help me!!
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Yeah, my time for commenting has been cut quite a bit lately, but I try to visit blogs as much as I can. It’s easy to read them from my email on my phone, but a pain to comment. So sometimes I feel bad that I don’t at least acknowledge somehow that I read it, you know? And I try to reply to them on my blog, but I rarely get through them. Again, I often just read them from my email. I think it’s okay to do whatever you’re comfortable with and have time for.
I feel you, Christy! And I know this summer is going to be busy, too. My sister is visiting with us for two weeks, and I have a pesky MA thesis to write 😀
I hate commenting on my phone, too, especially if I forget to change the language and it makes weird spell-check changes inventing words that don’t even exist in English.
You are right, it’s OK to do what we have time for 🙂 Thanks for chiming in!
This year has been really hard for me comment-wise. I got behind on blog things and then catching up vs daily life has been iffy.
My current is I reply to all comments on my blog as they happen (or within a day usually). I appreciate it when people reply to my comments on their blogs even if a hey thanks for stopping by. I’ve abandoned ship with many blogs who never took the time because I hate feeling like I’m talking to a blank wall.
Visiting other blogs is my current struggle. I’ve been binge replying to people and hopefully they don’t hate me for it. lol I ended up starting a spread sheet of who visits and then when I can get a chunk of time to head to other blogs I hit that list up first and if I make it to the bottom of that list then I move on to blogs in my Feedly feed. I’ve been doing 20 visits a day and while it doesn’t get everyone back at least it’s some, ya know? I think we all just do what we can do when we can do it.
I try to reply to all comments at my blog as they happen, too. The thing that makes this difficult sometimes is the time difference between Europe and the US. I tend to wake up to many comments, and if I know I’ll have a busy day ahead, it might be difficult to keep up on the same day. I do go back and try to make sure every single comment has received acknowledgement from me, though. Because like you, I don’t really enjoy it if I leave comments and it’s like the other blogger doesn’t care.
I love binge replying! Seeing several comments from the same blogger on various posts makes me very happy! Because to me, that really shows that yes, that person is very busy, but when he or she visits me, they take the time to visit more than one post, and they also think of something to say.
20 visits a day is a lot! I have some days when I manage that, and others when it’s almost impossible 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Anna!
When I am short on time, I usually try to comment back on those that have commented on my blog. Sometimes that is all I can do. But I do try to make an effort, to get to all the blogs I like to comment on. But yes, I hear ya about the struggle. I don’t have as much time as I used to with my schooling and everything. I hope in the fall, things will settle down a bit more and I can do it more.
Like you, I visit my visitors and favorites before I go through anybody else’s new posts, Renee. It’s almost nice to know that we’re all pretty busy, but that we take the time to visit with each other anyway.
It’s all a question of balance, and sometimes, it’s a bit hard to have something interesting to say. That’s something I struggle with, albeit not that often. Thanks for commenting!
I feel so bad about my commenting at the moment! I don’t think I’ve replied to anyone in about a month if not more. But I’m struggling with time to even blog at the moment so it’s commenting is definitely taking a back seat. I do really want to get around to replying but I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.
I know what you mean, Lauren. Sometimes, just keeping our own blog alive is hard work. And it’s all supposed to be our hobby and fun, right? I think we all understand when others are just too busy, though, because it happens to all of us.
Thanks for stopping by.
It probably depends on how many comments your blog gets as to how to handle it. Right now, we get a nice group of comments that aren’t too hard for me to keep up with. If that doubled, there would be a time problem and I’d probably have to reply to each comment on our blog and do an every other day return visit to their blogs or something. I think as long as you respond to the comments on your blog than the further return visit can be got around to as you have time.
That’s exactly it, Sophia Rose. It really depends. On some posts I get a lot of comments (to me – 20 is a lot!!) and on others just a few.
It’s really nice to see that a lot of you really want me to comment here on my own blog, and then go visit other blogs as well. I was unsure as to what was preferred. And I definitely want to make my commenters happy 😀
I don’t have time to visit other blogs every single day, but I make sure I visit and comment back as soon as I have a chance.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Commenting is hard and I don’t think there is a right or wrong way. For me personally, I feel guilty on days I can’t visit other people’s blogs because it is like constantly asking people to come over to your house but turning down invitations to visit theirs. It gets old for them quickly. On the other hand, there just isn’t enough time to make the rounds every day. I have started trying to do an every other day thing: respond to comments on my blog 3 days a week and visit blogs 2 days a week (I take off weekends).
I agree with you that there’s no wrong or right way, Felicia! However, among those who comment here, there might be a consensus to help me moving forward 😀 Even if I think that’s asking way too much 😀
I’m totally always asking people to come to my house, and then, I wish they’d still just come to mine instead of inviting me to theirs 😉
Taking weekends off is a great idea – we do have other things to do, for sure!
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
I get behind in commenting but I will some times comment on my blog to a specific person if I can’t find a reason to comment on theirs as I feel stupid saying Oh that sounds interesting all the time when I really don’t read that genre…so I just don’t comment on their blog, but want them to know that I am interested in what they say on my blog even if I can’t find anything to say on theirs….does that make any sense….lol.
I do get behind sometimes,but I am usually able to catch up during the week. And yeah, if I can’t find something real to comment, I’d rather abstain. Just saying ‘great review’ or ‘cool’ or something else that kind of feels generic to me isn’t how I want to do it.
And sometimes, showing interest in comments on our own blogs, by commenting right there is a very good way to deal with it, so yeah, it makes a lot of sense to me 😀
I don’t think you ever make anyone else feel sad with how you comment and comment back. Every blogger has their own way they handle it.
Just like you I love receiving comments, but it can be hard to figure out how best to deal with. My current way is to reply and comment back on every comment I receive, at this point I can still manage that even though I might fall a day or two behind. But not sure if when I grow bigger this still stays doable.
I do think that most bloggers are very understanding and don’t mind if you don’t reply and comment back. There are comments that really need an answer, for example when they have a question or with discussion posts I also think the point is a discussion and replies are more valued there.
But at the same time I think it’s very hard to draw the line, which comments deserves a reply and which not.
I think that as a blogger you can decide how to handle comments, there is no right or wrong way to handle. I’ve also seen posts about the darker side of commenting back on every comment with how some visitors might comment just for the comment back. I guess you just figure out what works for you and go with it, but it sure can be difficult to decide.
Thanks, Lola! I’m glad I don’t come across as someone who isn’t paying attention or who isn’t interested in others! You’re right about all of us handling things differently, I think what I wanted to see with this post was how my commenters feel about things! You are one of the bloggers who stop by and comment every week, and I want to continue to keep in touch with you – both on my blog and yours!
Some comments don’t really need an answer apart from maybe ‘thanks for stopping by’, and those are the ones I may just try to skip writing in the future, and rather try to find a post on the commenter’s blog to interact with instead.
Discussion posts would be weird to me without some kind of back and forth, because to me, the whole point of a discussion post is to actually have a discussion.
I’m sure I’ll be able to figure something out going forward – I just wanted to open the floor to those who visit me regularly 😀
I think if there is no question or nothing needing a reply that it wouldn’t be a big deal. I click the ‘notify me’ button so I’ll see responses, but it doesn’t bother me at all if my comment is not answered. As a matter a fact, a lot of bloggers don’t answer. I prefer to see the people I’m visiting to visit my blog as well. I don’t think it’s a big deal answering these.
Sometimes, it’s nice just to be acknowledged, though. And that’s kind of why I wanted to see where people found it to be the best place to receive that. And I’m pretty sure there are some comments that have fallen between the cracks at times.
Yeah, receiving visits is always nice, Jaclyn, and I enjoy going on visits as well 🙂
I don’t really have any advice since I don’t get so many comments that I’m unable to reply to them all. I do get annoyed if I comment on a blog *numerous* times and never get any response. But there are some times when I leave a comment and really am not worried about getting a response. But then there are other times when I leave a comment about something I really do want a response to because I want to know what they have to say. So I don’t know, that probably wasn’t very helpful to you lol. But if a blogger doesn’t often reply on their blog but does come visit my blog and leave comments sometimes, I’m ok with that since I know people have limited time.
As for commenting on other blogs, it’s not something I keep track of, and I’ve never attempted to do an exact comment-for-comment equal ratio. If it’s someone new to my blog or something, I try to visit theirs. Regular commenters though, I kind of just try to regularly comment on their blogs too or at least visit occasionally if it’s maybe not a blog I have a ton in common with.
I get annoyed if I don’t get any kind of feedback from a blog where I comment several times, too, Kristen. And I really do think there are some ways to get back to people, even with a lot of comments going on.
The fact that sometimes you really do want a response is good to know too – and I think it’s kind of obvious what comments really do warrant a comment back right underneath it. A well thought-out comment that adds something interesting is one that I wouldn’t want to skip over, you know?
I don’t exactly keep track of things, but typically, once I finish this comment, I’ll click through to your blog and see if there’s something there I want to read, and possibly comment on. And I try to do so straight away, so I don’t get caught up in something else 🙂
New bloggers I check out, too, and sometimes I don’t really find anything to comment on. Then, I really don’t comment, because just saying ‘Lexxie was here’ doesn’t work for me, personally. Thanks for sharing your opinion!!
This is a really hard line topic! It’s difficult to answer because everyone runs their blog differently according to their own wants, and of course time! I comment back when there is something I feel someone has said that warrants a reply. Otherwise, I try to visit everyone’s blogs each week and comment back. I will admit, this is not my forte and I’ve talked about it before and I feel very inadequate in this area. I definitely don’t feel I do a good job of this, but I try.
I agree, we do all run our blogs in different ways, taking into account how busy our off-line lives are on specific days and so on 🙂 It’s really hard sometimes, to go visit all the blogs I want to – and that’s something I think we all deal with to a certain extent, Charlie 🙂
Trying is good, right? And I really think it’s important that blogging and visiting other bloggers should still be fun, not something that becomes a chore, you know?
It definitely depends on how MANY comments you get on each post. For me, I set aside two days a week specifically for blogging (not full days, but days I know I’ll have time to sit down and blog — and I usually end up blogging more than that anyways, but it’s a starting point). I always reply BEFORE writing any new posts. I don’t want to publish more posts when I’m behind on comments, you know? I don’t always do the comment on the commenters blog thing but I can explain that. I have a lot of repeat commenters, like blogger friends. So, I don’t usually rush to comment back on their posts. But for the people that are new, I DO go comment on theirs. So, that definitely helps with the amount of time I spend replying. I usually go to Bloglovin’ and save the blog posts by those “repeat commenters” or blog friends & then go through that when I have time. I don’t know if ANY of that made sense. hahaha
I’m wondering if I should also start to schedule my things a bit differently, just to see what would work the best for me, Molly. I usually have posts scheduled pretty far in advance – now, I only have a couple scheduled, and that’s not how I like doing it. I need to write a few posts again so I’ll have a little buffer 🙂
I’m the same with my blogger friends. If Brandee, for example, has left a comment here, I might not exactly run over to her blog straight away, because I know I’ll go over there and comment anyway. Plus, we chat on facebook and stuff, so that’s all good 🙂
Bloglovin’ is good, but I need to sort the people I follow a little differently, I think. My feed feels enormous. And you made plenty sense! It’s good to see that we all have some kind of system when it comes to commenting 🙂
I know how you feel. I very much love my blog. Unfortunately my new duties at the office have taken away a lot of the time I used to write my blog as well as read and comment on other blogs. So my inbox is quite full of things I need to read. I may or may not comment. I’ve been limiting my comments to posts that really move and inspire me. However, I do try to respond to any comments on my blog. i don’t get nearly as much discussion as you, so we could be apples and oranges.
Personally, I hope you do not limit comments to your posts. It turns out I haven’t been able to check my personal email for about a month (through this address) and would have missed out if you started limiting. Plus a new comment on an older post may cause a reflection or epiphany when you read it.
I have found that my e-mail subscriptions may be those posts I read, but not necessarily go to the blog to comment, unless there’s something really amazing going on, Xyra. And I know all about being busy.
I’m not going to limit comments to my posts, I was just kind of thinking out loud with my post, because there has been times when I only managed to comment on things almost a week later – and it was really just because I was very busy and had little time to be online. And getting input from the people who stop by here seemed like a good idea 🙂
I’m glad it’s all mostly positive, and that most of us think we should do what we’re comfortable with 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: Kissinbluekaren
I do the same thing Lexxie! I get so many great blogger’s posts to my inbox and I read 99% of them. Then I have nothing to say, or forget to go back and comment (this post is a great example. i got it in my inbox and had to star it so I would remember to comment when I got time. I love this post and wanted to say I know what you are going through.)
Twitter: Mlsimmons
I think you have to do what is best for you. I used to go around and comment on a ton of sites. I would get frustrated because I wouldn’t even get a response back to my comment on their blog, much less them ever visiting mine. I’m not saying that I expect a 1:1 ratio of comments on my blog if I comment on someone else’s. But if I’m at someone else’s blog and commenting a lot and they never comment on mine, I do tend to remove them from my list. There are just too many fun blogs who do interact for me to spend time with those who don’t interact. That being said, I don’t always comment. It is sometimes hard for me to comment about a review on a book that is so not me, that I can’t write a decent comment. I won’t just say, “hi” or something to have my name show up on your list either. Does that make sense??
Anyway, time is a valuable thing and all of us need more of it. I know that I’ve narrowed down my list of blogs based on the fact that the blogger wasn’t interactive at all. I’m still friends with some of these people and interact with them a lot of Twitter, and I love them, but if they don’t want to interact at all on their blog, I just don’t get it.
As for timing, I do try not to get too far behind, but I have gone a few days without responding to posts and then respond in a large batch. Same with commenting on other blogs. I will sometimes go through people who’ve commented on my most recent posts (from both sites) and then go through Bloglovin’ to see if I missed anyone. So yeah, you might see me commenting two or three times in one day on your blog. Sorry for rambling. I seem to be doing that a lot this morning. LOL
“Hi, Melanie!”
I don’t do those kinds of comments, either, and I don’t want to not say something that has at least a little bit of substance. And I agree, visiting and commenting is fun, but it’s less fun with bloggers who never, ever comment back – neither on their own blog nor on mine.
Time is definitely valuable 🙂 Narrowing down is both necessary and a bit sad, we can’t really share quality content if we don’t.
I feel bad – and stressed – if I get too far behind, so I understand your sentiment. And binge-commenting is the new cool, didn’t you know?
I know what you mean Lexxie^^ I had to cut back on replying to comments on my blog. I don’t reply to TTT, WoW or StS comments at all anymore, I focus on my reviews (which are the most important posts IMO) and then on the memes I host. I try to put more emphasis on commenting back on other bloggers posts and usually dedicate a few mornings a week to doing so…then my afternoons are for reading. Sometimes I manage to catch up on comments at work but not always so I really do feel the need to slate in some time to do so…
That’s interesting, Micheline! Some of the meme posts / comments on other blogs are also among those I don’t really go back to to see if the blogger has commented back 😀 Of course reviews and especially discussion posts do merit comments on both sides.
Afternoons for reading sounds like a very good plan! I’m so happy to be off for the summer now, so I’ll have more time for both reading and commenting 😀
Twitter: Kissinbluekaren
I have gotten into a nasty habit of reading comments when I get notified and then waiting a day or so to approve and reply. It is horrible of me to sit on them. I’ll be like, of okay now I have 5 comments waiting so it is worth it to approve and comment back and then go check out those blogs. I Need to get back on track with timeliness.
I feel you on commenting back to everything. I want to be the type of person that does this, but it is so time consuming. Especially if you, like me, want to reciprocate and comment on their blog as well. I feel like I am not as good at finding quality content because I am so busy reciprocating comments. Not that I wouldn’t be going to those blogs anyways, but I wish I had more time to just read blogs and comment as much as I want. Commenting has become really time consuming. I sometimes spend all of an hour replying to comments and then checking out those blogs.
Makes me want to kill whoever came up with ‘bloggers commenting back’.
Oh, that’s actually a kind of neat way to know whom you’ve answered and whom you’ve let fall through the cracks, Karen…I let comments through here, there’s a link limit, though, as most spammers seem to be very link-happy.
Being too busy to find interesting things to read and comment on due to… too much commenting is so contradictory, but still so true!
Well, you already know that I’ve been having difficulty with this. It is a real struggle sometimes! I do think that discussions are most important to reply to – like you said, often comments on reviews don’t even merit a reply. I try to comment back as much as possible, but I know I don’t make it everywhere anymore. This is just a fact of life that I have to deal with right now – there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I WANT to do. And, like you mentioned, I want to have time to read too!!
I can’t imagine being able to continue to have my blog if I didn’t have any time at all to read anymore, Nicole.
And the struggle is definitely real, which is kind of sad. I love visiting other bloggers, but it is quite time consuming, even if it is also a lot of fun!
I’m a small fish in the sea, so at this stage I always comment back, plus I try to visit everyone who comments on my blog. But I understand neither things can be done if you have a huge number of commenters. I try not to feel bad if someone whose blog I visited doesn’t acknowledge my own comment with a reply, or doesn’t visit mine in return. Let’s say that, like Melanie and Kristen up here, I don’t necessarily expect people to reciprocate, but if someone NEVER acknowledges my existence I end up doing the same with them…after all, the point of having a blog is ALSO to meet other people who share our passions and are eager to chat about them. A blog is not a pedestal. Then again, if you have a huge number of followers, I suppose the best choice is to reply to those comments that require an actual reply, and to comment back at least once in a while when a topic does interest you… 🙂
I think it’s important to comment back in some way to a ‘real’ comment, Roberta. Now, if you went around just saying ‘hi, I’m a new blogger, come visit me’… I probably wouldn’t. But your comment is a real one, and so, yes, of course I’m going to comment back – and visit your blog. I may not find something on your blog straight away that motivates me to write a ‘real’ comment though, but then, I’ll come back 🙂
I agree, getting to know other bloggers is the main reason why I started blogging, and I love that now, I have more relationships both through the blogs and via different channels as well. And it all started with comments 😀
Quote:
“I may not find something on your blog straight away that motivates me to write a ‘real’ comment though, but then, I’ll come back”
That’s something I was thinking too while writing my comment – I do that myself :).
And BTW, it’s clear that you put a lot of thought into your replies. That in itself is time-consuming, and not everyone makes the effort!
Coming back to blogs to find a post where I feel like I can write a substantial comment is great 🙂 And thanks for the compliment.
I totally feel you on this point, Lexxie! I’ve been meaning to write about comments on my blog for a while because they are so important but also kind of confusing! I reply to comments and comment back on every comment that I receive on the blog, and I love doing that because I think it shows a certain amount of appreciation to the person who has taken the time to comment on my blog. But it takes a LONG time to read their comment, reply to it, head to their blog, choose a post to read, read the post, and then comment on it. I am always scared of how long it takes, and then I put off commenting, but then it just takes longer because there are more to reply to!
I don’t think there is any perfect way of replying and commenting back – only what feels right to you. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing, but maybe that will stop working for me one day, and I’ll have to find something else that works!
I hope your commenting dilemma doesn’t stress you out too much, and that you find something that works for you 🙂
I agree, it is a way to show our appreciation when we comment back with bloggers. Especially because we also know that they’re probably just as busy as we are, Chiara.
It’s definitely a vicious circle when we put off commenting and end up with even more, and then feel like going back to those even less… But like today, it’s been a few days since I wrote this post, and I’ve had a busy weekend, plus I drove for hours yesterday to go on vacation – and it’s nice to sit down with my coffee and see your comment and think of a way to respond to it 🙂 So in a way, I guess it could go both ways – I have time the rest of the week, so I’ll try to be a very good commenter 😀
I don’t exactly get very stressed out about it, but I do feel bad sometimes…
This is a tough one! But I agree with Nicole. I’m not sure that comments on reviews need a comment back unless they’re asking a question about the book. Discussion posts are worth it to try and answer if there’s new things to say.
Of course, discussion posts wouldn’t really live up to their name if we didn’t reply to those, SJ. And some comments on my reviews kind of give me the feeling they do need a reply…
Good discussion topic! I see you struck a chord by the number of folks who commented here 🙂
I go directly to my blog every morning and comment back on anyone who’s commented on my post overnight. I try to check it later in the day also. (After a week I don’t check, so sorry to those people… but there isn’t enough time in the day). I feel if someone took the time to leave their opinion I need to honor it by a swift response. I also try to go to their blog then and leave a comment but that isn’t always doable if I’m busy.
I check out my bloglovin feed every day at least 1x (which is set to notify me immediately if someone I follow posts something) and leave comments on the posts that catch my interest. I think it is more important to leave a real comment on a post I’m interested in, rather than just randomly leave “me too” comments because I feel I have to. So no, I don’t leave a comment every day on every post by every blogger I follow. Quality rather than quantity is more appreciated, in my humble opinion.
I can’t actually go online and blog every morning – unless I get up way earlier than I have to, and I’m so not a morning person. I’m thinking nobody would want my comments at all if I started doing things that way, Rita 😀
I can see new comments in my dashboard, and I will answer from there sometimes, too – that way, I don’t miss commenters who didn’t discover my post later. And you’re right, at least on discussion posts, I do my best to get back to people fairly quickly, as those posts really ask people to give their opinion.
Bloglovin is awesome, and so is feedly. I haven’t really decided which of those I might rather want, so I use both for the time being 🙂 Of course, I agree with you about quality rather than quantity, too. I much prefer a real, thoughtful comment than ‘me too’ – however, a ‘me too’ can definitely bring a smile to my face.
Twitter: BerlsS
I am probably the absolute worst at commenting, replying to comments, and commenting back. I used to be fantastic at it… Every comment I received got a reply and then a visit. But then I built this world of blogger friends and it got complicated! So I have no real advice – I just do my best to visit everyone at least once a week (currently failing a that) and then to reply to all comments (failing at that too). But so far, no one seems to hold it against me. You should do a follow up post with what advice you get 🙂 share the wealth!
I love you so much that even if it took months for you to have the time to come here and wave to say hello, I’d be OK with it, Berls! I totally get what you mean, there are times when just staying afloat is all we can do! 😀 *hugs*
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
The struggle is REAL my friend. This has been something I struggle with because I am the type of person that likes to engage. So I reply, visit and comment everyone who stops by Caffeinated. I would even take my blog with me on vacations to comment. Sunday Posts can take up to eight hours to do this. Then I took Saturday off from posting/commenting etc. That was needed, and only occasionally do I post then. Now I take days off, leave the blog on vacation and relax a bit. I even take 2 weeks off during the holidays to recharge. I still struggle on the daily- visiting of blogs who haven’t stopped by but I reply, comment, visit those who do. I really make an effort to do so daily, since sometimes I am the sole visitor at a blog. I guess what I am trying to say is, reply, visit and comment to those who stop by as often as your schedule allows. There are peeps who never visit and reply back. One of the reasons I have so many comments aside from my sparkling personality (hehe) is that I reply and visit others. It puts my little icon out there everywhere, peeps see me commenting and stop by. It is time consuming but for me at least the rewards out way the cost.
I know, right? And like you, I really like to engage, too. Of course, I also see that I get more comments the weeks I have more time for visiting. And I really get that, as I often do click to bloggers who comment on my own posts, I’m sure lots of others do the same thing 😀
Taking time off is important, there is a lot going on in the offline world, too, and spending time with our loved ones is awesome 🙂
Your sparkling personality is definitely sparkling, Kim! And I miss you lots! High tea would really hit the spot right about now 😉
I love comments and it makes me smile every time I get a notification about one, it just never gets old. But during the week, I have so little time to reply and visit back and it’s a source of stress for me. I try to get up early once or twice a week and that helps me to do a bit before work. And I am trying to comment a bit more on my phone as that means I can read and comment in free time during the day. But it never feels like enough.
It’s frustrating that something so positive can turn into a negative but balancing it all just isn’t easy. If I’m really stuck, I’ll try to do a comment on their blog (if I see something that makes me want to comment) rather than reply on my blog.
I agree, Trish! Comments are balm for the blogger-soul 🙂 And it’s always nice to get comments. I don’t know how you can manage to get up early during the week, though, that’s just not possible for me. I much prefer staying up a bit later in the evening.
Balance is not easy, and I think from week to week it can change, too. It depends on many things if we get stressed by the blog and commenting or not – and not all of it has to do with blogging either 🙂
Great post! I think you just kind of have to go with the flow and not have set rules — I personally don’t comment on my own post back to a comment unless it invites a response because I’d rather spend that time commenting on the commenter’s blog (if that makes sense)
It’s not that I want rules per say, I just wanted to see what people who usually stop by my blog think of the matter. They are the ones I’d like to keep happy, and coming back for more visits 😀
I totally get what you mean about rather commenting on other bloggers posts than on your own, too, Eva.
This is a great topic, Lexxie, and I enjoyed reading others’ responses. As you know, I get behind on commenting back to comments left on my blog. I do read them and appreciate every single one. I also make a point to visit commenters’ blogs, so at least if I don’t get a comment back to them, I’ve visited them. I think that if there’s nothing to reply to in a comment, it’s okay to skip it. I also think that if you’re short on time, you could always add your ‘comment back’ into the comment you’re leaving on their blog. That way you don’t feel badly and they know you read their comment.
This is one of my biggest sources of guilt in blogging as well. I’ve been terrible lately at visiting others AND commenting back because it’s summertime and I’m busy with the kids and out-of-town, etc. I can only hope that I don’t lose some of my new followers/commenters because of it. :/ That would really make me sad.
It’s really hard sometimes, and at the same time, it kind of makes me feel a bit like a brat… I’m so happy my blog has grown a bit, and that there are people who are interested in seeing what I have to say, and who take the time to comment. And here I am, kind of complaining that it takes me so much time to get to other blogs and comment on their posts as well D:
I’m sure we all go through times when we have less time, though, and if some people won’t visit you for a little while, they may very well come back soon 😀
*BIG HUGS*
I’m still too new for this to be a problem; but another thing that might make it difficult not to answer your own comments, is that a lot of people say they won’t leave a comment if the blogger doesn’t usually answer.
Hmm… I guess it kind of depends on the comment I get. If it’s just ‘great review’ or something that feels a little generic, I might not comment on my own blog. Maybe just say ‘thanks’. But I’d still go visit that person’s blog and see if I find something there that catches my fancy 🙂
GIRL. I feel you. SO MUCH. (You totally don’t have to respond to me either- I once did a commenting post with more comments than I had ever had before so… yeah, seriously, read this and walk away 😉 ) So yeah, I try SOOOO hard to comment back, but the thing is, there is mathematically not enough hours in the day for me to comment back on every single comment AND respond back on someone’s blog for each post. So I have a few new tricks. First, I have flat out scaled back on posting because I am so far behind on the comments. Second, I don’t respond to comments on meme-type things unless they require a response, I only visit those blogs. Third, I eventually cut my losses and start over. Like, if I am DROWNING in the comments, and I know I cannot come back from it… yeah, I call it, and start fresh the next day. I mean, right now it is 2am, I have been commenting for 2 straight hours, and I haven’t even made a dent. And then sometimes I just want to read and comment on any old post I stumble upon, you know? It’s a good struggle to have, but it’s incredibly conflicting! I hope you are able to find some balance- someday maybe we’ll find all the answers (or an infinite time portal or something ? )
Oh I get you, Shannon. On some meme posts, if I haven’t been able to answer people on my own blog within a couple of days, I turn over a new leaf, too. I don’t want to feel stressed about it, you know?
You’re right, though, it’s definitely a great struggle to have 🙂