The Spamming Blogger

As a blogger in general, but particularly as a fashion blogger, it's easy to lose sight of the main idea. For me, I blog because I love photography, fashion, design, and blogging for the masses. I write for an audience, but in order to do that, I must have an audience.

The easiest way to get readership is through commenting and networking. That's no secret. Comment, comment, comment and hope your comments bring readers to you and help build relationships. That's the idea and honestly, that's how I've gained 99% of my followers. Either from my comments or theirs.

But what about those bloggers who took self-promotion to the next level and turned into spam bots?

What it is:

FOLLOW ME! ENTER MY GIVEAWAY. LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW MY CHICTOPIA. XOXO

Yes, this is totally spam. If a comment has more links than commentary and asks for a follow it is SPAM.

How to leave a comment:
While comments and follows are great, it does NOT beat actual friendship and readership. When commenting on blogs one must be authentic.

I.E.
-Read the actual blog post
-Look through the photos
-Think about why the style is amazing
-Articulate what you like about the post
-Leave a thoughtful comment about the post and the outfit
-Throw in a "have a great week"
And voila!

It's really simple to be authentic and caring. If a comment has more links and follow requests than comments, the blogger is doing it wrong.

How to deal with spam:
Whenever I get these kinds of comments, I check the blog out and typically it's a mess of a blog. Bright colors, blinking things, tool bars on the bottom of the page, and I can see that the blogger is merely misguided. I typically leave a comment about their outfit/post and let them know they're off to a great start because chances are, that's the truth.

If it becomes excessive, I will send an email to the spammer letting them know it's not okay and that there are ways to build readership and friendships without spamming people.

Most times, it's not intentional, but rather the blogger doesn't know any better and values page views and comments over an actual reader base. Everyone has their approach, but being a spam bot will black list you.

The bottom line:
If it takes a lot of effort to come up with a heartfelt comment than chances are there should be no comment left. I will not comment on a blog that I do not connect with, like or appreciate. It's like hanging out with a girl you don't like. Why would you do that? Comment and visit the blogs that make you smile and leaving comments comes natural. Visit blogs that make you want to come back. Don't visit blogs because you want more comments.

How do you bloggers deal with spam? Do you think these kind of comments are spam or do you not mind them?

Sincerely, Jessica of the Midwest Muse