I've been blogging for a long while now -- around ten years. But for the majority of that time, I just saw it as a great means of self expression. Particularly at the beginning it was just so liberating to be able to put down my thoughts. Even if nobody read them, I didn't really care. Even that was enough for me at first.

But gradually I started to get the odd comment, so that was proof that people were actually reading my blogs. Then I installed stat counters and got an idea of how many people were visiting, even if they weren't adding their own thoughts.

Over time I built up fairly decent traffic to some of my blogs. And I would get a few comments here and there. But because I was really just blogging for my own satisfaction, I hardly ever replied to them. I didn't know it at the time, but this would have severely reduced the number of responses I did get.

Now, I've discovered that it's really important to reply to commenters, particularly if they respond thoughtfully. If you do this they know that you appreciate them. They are more likely to comment again. Other people who have not yet done so are more likely to as well because they see the comments that are already there.

When you get that feedback, the process is even more enjoyable than it is without it. Blogging goes from being a solitary pursuit to a social activity.

It's also an extra motivation to keep writing good stuff. Conversations occurring around blog posts are confirmation that you are making a mark, however small that may be.

Because of all these benefits, I have altered my whole perception of what blogging should be. I no longer see it primarily as a means of self expression. It's also very much about building a community.

I just wish I'd realized that when I was starting out all those years ago ...

What are your thoughts? Do you see blogs as communities above all? Or in another way?

It's interesting that the "like" is a key element in the world of Facebook. In a specific sense it means endorsing or approving something. As applied to a Facebook Page it means that you are making contact with it, subscribing to it in a way. And in a general (and very obvious) way, liking on Facebook means what it does in the traditional sense. You just, well, like it (d'oh!) Needless to say, the more you are liked on Facebook, the more your presence spreads.

This has ramifications for how you use it, particularly if you are promoting products and services. If this is your aim, you should hold back on the overt promotion. After all, in both online and offline situations people don't like hard selling -- particularly if it occurs in a primarily social setting.

It helps to imagine going to some real-life offline social event. If you did that, you'd want to make a good impression by being an interesting and polite conversationalist. You would always reply to questions asked of you. You would be helpful. You would mingle. And you would only start to endorse things if they were in the context of the conversations you were having.

A recent personal example comes to mind: While at a Christmas party I got chatting to a relative about health. Turned out we had similar issues. After a few minutes conversation I recommended a naturopath I'd been seeing and she wrote down the name of a particular herbal product that worked for her.

I think promoting on Facebook works best if it's carried out in a similar manner. You've got to socialize with people first, get to know them a little. Develop some rapport so that they like you (and vice versa). Then let the promotion and selling develop organically and in context.

Blogging can be very competitive. Particularly if you're in a crowded niche, you must publish a lot of good content before you start to make an impact. So it's important to develop substantial momentum. If you don't, odds are you'll become exasperated after a while and just give up.

With this in mind, when starting a new blog it's a good idea to write many short posts. You're cultivating the habit of blogging and putting down lots of content. After a few weeks you'll feel you've really achieved something.

Rewrite posts

When you get to that point it's like reaching the top of a hill. You've got a much better idea of the surrounding landscape and in the distance you can see the mountains that you want to climb. You can then plot out your course for how to get there.

You can always return to the earlier short blog posts you wrote to get your steam up. Making them longer, more informative and comprehensive will likely lift their position in the search engines, as well as make them more shareable on social media.

Build connections by commenting

You should also get into the habit of commenting on lots of blogs in your niche. That's one of the best ways of getting instant traffic. Seeing those clicks coming in is gratifying, and keeps you feeling motivated.

Regular, quality commenting also ensures that you'll get some comments on your blog. That's also heartening, as well as being social proof that your blog is alive and kicking.

And for every genuine comment you get, you've got another reason to respond. Some unique and insightful comments may even inspire further posts. So instead of you driving the blog entirely on your own steam, it's getting a life of its own and you're reacting to it. It's a bit like catching a wave and being swept along by it.

Authority grows naturally

Another thing that starts to happen if you post and comment frequently is that other bloggers occasionally mention you in their posts. These reference often contain links, which are of course gold for SEO. But even if they don't they are still valuable (unless they are highly negative, of course). These references are clear evidence that you're becoming known as an expert in your field. That's great for the ego apart form anything else and is a great reason to keep writing useful and insightful posts.

There's a lot to be said for blog commenting. If you write good thoughtful ones that are of a decent length, they'll really stand out in the thread. And it's almost a given that the blogger himself will visit the URL listed under your contribution, particularly if it's insightful.

After all, there's an upside for him. He gets more content on that post. That helps his SEO. It also means that there'll probably be still more comments following. That's why he's quite likely to comment on your blog as a thank you. And just as he was rewarded, so will you be ...

And you don't just get clicks from the blogger himself. If you do this on blogs with decent traffic early on -- preferably before anyone else has -- then you'll get some clicks from readers, too. Actually, if you regularly add your thoughts to many blogs in your niche there's no reason that you can't bring in an extra five or ten clicks a day that you simply wouldn't have been getting otherwise. That's thousands of extra hits a year. Not to be sneezed at.

Commenting also delivers backlinks that can help with SEO, although this effect has become a lot less powerful in recent years. Because of this benefit from "dofollow" blogs, people still spend an awful lot of time looking for them. This is a silly obsession in my opinion. If you use this technique on scores of blogs some of them are sure to be "dofollow" anyway. In any case it's important to have quite a few nofollow links in your profile. Too few and it will look suspicious to Google.

There's another benefit that is less obvious: By commenting often, you'll be amassing lots of extra content to use for your own blog at a later date. That's why you should get in the habit of cutting and pasting them into files after you've submitted them. (Needless to say you do have to rewrite this material before publishing. That will make it unique content.)

So, blog commenting has a lot to recommend it. Which is why you should do it often on blogs in your niche. But the only way this works is if it's of a good quality. Otherwise you'll just be spamming. And that's the last thing you want to do for a whole bunch of reasons.

It's good practice to reply and retweet often on Twitter. And this is not just because those tweeps you're engaging with in this way will often return the favour. It will also give your account a certain appearance that's quite distinctive.

With those RTs and @ replies sprinkled throughout your stream, it immediately shows that you're an engager. And other engagers are always on the lookout for those who are like them to follow. So you'll be attracting people who, like you, are keen to interact, learn and share their expertise. (That saying "birds of a feather" definitely applies here!)

On the other hand, if you just keep tweeting links to your own stuff or sales pitches, without any engagement, you'll attract others like yourself. Sure, you might get lots of followers, because they see that you've got quite a few followers already, and that you tend to follow back. But all they'll be doing is following you to beef up their follower count, and no other reason. So you'll be tweeting stuff that they never click on, or only rarely, and vice versa. It is pretty close to pointless.

That's why whenever I log into Twitter now and see who's started following me, I immediately look for those all important retweets and replies. If I scroll down to the bottom of their feed an haven't seen any of them, I just don't follow them back. If they have them, however, I usually reciprocate. I suspect that a high proportion of Twitter engagers use these same criteria for whether they follow back as well.