This is a guest post by Tushar Agarwal from BloggersPassion.
Promotion is the only way to keep a blog alive. It is always said that good content is nothing without traffic. The quality of the content does matter but if nobody come to your blog, what is the use of that content. It will not get the laurels it deserves and this is sure to discourage you.
90% of the bloggers use free methods of promoting which sometimes work and sometimes does not.
But ask any seasoned blogger about the best way to promote a blog without spending a single penny and the most common answers you will hear are COMMENTING and GUEST BLOGGING.
These are the most used methods and often leave us with a debate on which is the best among the two. Both have its advantages and I am trying to find out the best between these two based on two common metrics.
1. Effort
Obviously, guest blogging takes much more effort than commenting. For promoting the blog through COMMENTING, you just need to go to a blog, click on the post that you understand and comment. Many “desperate for traffic” commentators do not even bother to read what is there in the post. They are more interested in leaving their link there and waiting for traffic.
On the other hand, GUEST POSTING takes a lot of effort, you have to be at your very best to deliver the best article and that require as much time as your own blog’s post needs. A bad guest post can very easily backfire because:
- The blog author can easily reject it citing reasons that you are just posting to get the visitors and the quality is missing. He might also not consider your future posts as FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION.
- Even if your bad guest post gets published, readers will eventually find out that this was nothing more than a guest post. Just 300 words of crap to get the back link and traffic can force them to avoid you, your posts and your blog in the future.
2. Result
When it comes to the end result you wanted, the traffic, guest blogging leaves commenting way behind. With a good quality guest post published in a blog with huge traffic, do not be surprised if you get few hundred hits in a day.
Commenting can never get you this much number of visitors even if you put in as much time as you put in your post. Moreover, if your comment is not in the first 5, you might not even get noticed and your little effort will go in vain.
Only guest posting can get you traffic that you want, all it requires is that little extra effort.
But as everything, guest blogging has some disadvantages. First, you have to write your best post to attract the traffic. This post could have been on your blog but it could not happen. Second, if you make a wrong choice of the blog where you will be posting, you might not get enough traffic and your effort goes waste.
Still, guest blogging is one of those ways that can get you tonnes of traffic. There is a merrier side of guest blogging. There are many blogs that offer revenue sharing i.e. you get Adsense revenue for the ads that are clicked on the page your post is displayed, provided you have entered your Adsense publication id.
At The End…
I encourage everyone of you reading this post to participate in this debate between commenting and guest posting. And do not forget to participate in our poll below.
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Article Written By Tushar
Tushar writes at BloggersEthics, the blog for all blogging tips from the bucket of his real experiences that can make you become a better blogger.
Tushar has written 8 superb article(s) on this blog
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MNice post… for me Guest Posting is besat,, since you are first gettign the approval of a bigger blogger letting you GP on his blog. You reach his audience and drive traffic and signups.
Commenting is great,, but your hoping 1, your comment is informative enough for people to see it and visit your blog. Also commenting effectively takes time.
Writing a post is a one time thing, that will bring you on going benefits.
.-= John Paul@Make Money With A Blog´s last blog ..There Is A New Blogging Star Born Everyday, Are You Next? =-.
thanks for the appreciation man….i personally find guest post much appealing than comments….before this, i have made two guest post and they both fetched me around 100 visits each…
.-= Tushar´s last blog ..Higher Visits = Higher Popularity!!!! Not Always Dude…. =-.
Commenting is actually much easier and much more efficient, all i do is comment on 7 to 8 articles posted on Techcrunch and Mashable everyday and they both together generate over 150 visits each day. I have done a lot of guest posts too, but none of them have been worth the time and effort I put into it.
.-= Vishal Sanjay´s last blog ..Blog review : Techite, descendants of technology [VIDEO] =-.
i think you are following some different commenting strategy…can you share it with all of us….are you the first commentator in those posts at these blogs?
.-= Tushar´s last blog ..5 Indian Blogs You Must Read Always =-.
Well I happen to be in the first 10 commenter’s on both Techcrunch and Mashable, if an article has more than that I never comment there, well the strategy I use is write a resourceful comment and give your blogs link below other than the link you place on your name, That generates good traffic and its 10 times better than guest posting.
Hey Tushar,
Grrreat Post bud. For me both, commenting and Guest Posting works great. I think if Guest posting done in awesome way, than it can generate a lot of traffic, backlinks, singups, etc…
but there are many people who just take guest posting for getting traffic and backlinks and they don’t even put any real value.
Thanks for sharing this great post Tushar.
Thanks,
Dev
.-= Devesh´s last blog ..Technshare Monthly Report 2: April 2010 =-.
this is a bad practice devesh and a big misconception….people do not realize this fact that only quality guest blogging works…they are more interested in displaying their name instead of putting in best effort
.-= Tushar´s last blog ..How to Comment- With Your Name or Blog Name? =-.
Very nice post and great points on guest posting vs blog commenting. I actually just started guest posting and so far I’m loving it!
.-= Raymond Selda´s last blog ..The Mistakes I Have Made In Affiliate Marketing =-.
One highly overlooked aspect of guest blogging and commenting is combining the two. How many times have you received a guest post but the author never answers comments. Sure it’s your blog but people come to expect to get a little more information out of the people that write.
When you have a guest post published, combining it with comments directed at readers will really show you care what they think. You’ll also be helping the blog owner by further extending the conversation.
I really enjoy commenting because I love to build upon ideas. A guest post here and there is great when you want to present a solution but unless you have one every day, commenting is the best way to be active in a community (in my opinion).
Yes, a great guest post will gain you the most amount of traffic overall so don’t neglect the quality of your post but keep in mind how powerful it is to talk directly to a reader compared to broadly talking to everyone.
.-= Murlu´s last blog ..How To Show More Posts With CommentLuv =-.
No doubt, guest posting is far better than commenting. Guest posting gives the in-content links that are permanent and you can use the right anchor text. If you are submitting post on a good traffic blog then heavy traffic stream is also expected till your post is on the top of the site.
.-= imran@earn online money´s last blog ..Earn Online Money Through Affiliate Marketing =-.
I have found that commenting on legacy blogs is and easy way to bring traffic. I spend 20 minutes a day commenting in high profile blogs. Of course my comments have to add value and interest.
.-= Sheila Atwood´s last blog ..Home Page Layout | Make Your Site SEO and Visitor Friendly =-.
Commenting on related blog is a good and easy way of promoting a site, aside for the backlink additional advantage, it can also drive decent targeted traffic to a site.
However, for guest posting takes way more time, plus the time it takes to scope out bloggers and connect with them, though the additional effort is well worth it! Because aside from the direct benefit of increased traffic, you are also exposing your blog and your name to a new audience which does help to brand your blog and yourself in the process…
.-= UK webmaster forum´s last blog ..Post your best twitter tools and tricks =-.
I don’t know why you should choose just one of the two. I think that the purpose of commenting and guest blogging is to establish yourself as an expert in the field. I prefer to guest post as well as comment. After all, commenting doesn’t take that much time.
I personally like to use commenting to promote visits, although I think guest blogging would be very powerful when used right. I’m interested in hearing how Vishal Sanjay used his 7-8 comments on techcrunch and mashable to achieve a high visit count.
I haven’t guest blogged anywhere yet, but it is on the top of my list. I totally agree that these two are two of the best free methods, other then that though…
Effort – I Subscribe to/read/comment on 50+ blogs so far. Yea, a whole lot more effort then writing an article. Even the best article ever written…lots less effort.
Having to be in the top 5 comments – a myth, and a big one. In fact, I’ll say you get better traffic not being in the top 5. I’ll be writing about that too.
With guest posting, I’d say making sure the targeted blog has a responsive audience is just as important as making sure it’s a superb article – otherwise, completely wasted wasted effort anyway.
Overall, there shouldn’t be an and/or scenario. A blogger should do both, and do both consistently. I have commenting down to a science, so I’m al over guest blogging nest.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Updated: Do You USE Aweber? I Want Your Affiliate Link. Part 2 =-.
Nice article.You can get some visitors by becoming top commentators on some big blog.Guest post is ideal both for traffic and backlink.Thanks for sharing.
I’d have to lean more on commenting even if I also guest post. Mainly because I like to interact with people on a variety of different topics and not just my own. Just my 2 cents into this debate.
I would prefer using guest posting to promote our blog and drive more traffic to our blog. In a post, there may be tons of comment from other blogger fellows and you’re hardly to be noticed by others. While guest posting, you’re writing for all the audiences in the blog, therefore you would drive more traffic to your blog and build your brand as well.
Nice post Tushar!
Regards,
Lee
.-= Lee Ka Hoong@Blogger Theme´s last blog ..50 Free Professional Blogger Templates =-.
For me, blog commenting is the right way to get more traffic and backlink. It not only on Commencting job, but we are also can get an information for the post that we are comment. But the comment must relevant to the topic. Do not simply spam. Be responsible even you are blog commentor.
.-= chuckiesd´s last blog ..iPad Bluetooth Keyboard by Brando =-.
To be honest, I do both.
I view Guest Blogging as out and out promotion, whereas Commenting is networking in the same vein as Twitter.
One confirms you as an expert, the other as approachable. It’s a great combination!
I say do all of the above, and then some. Guest blogging doesn’t have to be time consuming if you are ‘adapting’ an old post you have in your archives!
.-= Jorgen Sundberg´s last blog ..Bio: What it is, When it is Used, Why You Need One =-.
Guest blogging is really the way to kill it but you know what for me I do commenting because its something I enjoy doing and traffic isnt ever massive but at least it connects me to people on a closer angle. But if youre looking for growth first and foremost, guest blogging all the way
.-= Melvin´s last blog ..The *Only* Thing You Need When Starting an MMO Blog =-.
yep, that is very true, also the comment closest to the comment form gets visitors. Not if your last though.
.-= Peter J´s last blog ..Calculate how much advertisements on your blog are worth =-.
Well, I, for one, like guest blogging. When you post a comment, sometimes they don’t ever get seen. But, on the other hand, when you do a guest post, it’s put right up there with all of the other articles on the site. I just think the guest posts gain you more exposure and do more for your reputation than do plain comments.
I agree that Guest blogging if done correctly can bring in tons of targeted traffic. But on the other hand regular commenting can also help you a great deal in getting traffic, improving your Alexa ranking and even boost your page rank (if the commenting is done on DoFollow blogs like mine)!
.-= TechChunks´s last blog ..35 Interesting But Lesser Known Facts about Google, ‘The Search Engine King’ =-.
I think guest bolgging is better. But it is hard to get guest blogger for all new and non popular blog.
Guest blogging is huge in the housing sector of blogging. Generally, the links are strong and if the title is done properly, there is traffic to gain.
.-= Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Tri Cities Has Lowest Cost of Living in the State =-.
I often use blog commenting but also do others things like social websites and forums, they are all effective and i will start guest post and press release soon. Nice post, thanks.
I think guest blogging is very much better than commenting and at the same time i fell that one should try both guest blogging as well as commenting because both have its own advantages . . . . . . .
Guest blogging is a successful situation for both bloggers. It helps to build traffic for both blogs and develop relationship with other bloggers. Guest blogging is much better than commenting, because it can drive huge amount of traffic when you write a guest post and publish it on another blog.Through guest posting you can develop relationship with other blogger and drive more visitors towards your blog.
We’re just started guest blogging and wrote a blog on why businesses should do it (as part of our own research!): http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/why-should-i-be-guest-blogging/
We are quite literally seeing it as replacement for link-building on sites like EZine, and I hope it will be a much more worthwhile way of getting traffic to our own site/blog.
Natasha
.-= Silicon Beach Training´s last blog ..A PRINCE2 Training iPhone app… =-.
I think Comments are better then guest post until unless you are guest posting on a blog with huge traffic. My experience of Guest Blogging is not so good so I prefer comments.
Commenting is the way to go for me. People keep talking about guest posting being a huge traffic spiker but commenting has actually been what drives some level of traffic to my blog.
I prefer commenting.Because I don’t have enough time to write for others.
.-= Lakhyajyoti´s last blog ..How To Monetize Your Blog =-.
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