A long long long time ago when I was first getting started on HIVE, I wrote a post about "crafting the perfect comment". I remember at the time, it was one of the first posts I ever wrote that got a decent amount of of upvotes. I was still pretty new to the blockchain and I didn't understand how the bid bots worked yet.
While other people were posting photos of their lunch or their dog and making hundreds of dollars on them, the posts of my dog and my food were falling pretty flat. Flat at zero to be honest. I was earning virtually nothing. Certainly not enough to make it worth it. Especially living in the US where a dollar doesn't buy you much of anything anymore.
Eventually, the bid bots began to get phased out and I started to understand how the ecosystem actually worked. It became pretty apparent to me that engagement was key if you weren't lucky enough to have a whale in your pocket. I started focusing my efforts on commenting. Even back then comment spam was a thing and I also realized that crafting a quality comment was going to be key to my success on the blockchain.
Now, seven years and 58,612 comments later, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I am doing. I might not be the biggest account on HIVE, but I do okay for myself and I think a lot of that can be attributed to my commenting.
The number of low effort responses on HIVE actually amazes me a little bit. It's not that hard to write a thoughtful comment with a bit of "meat" to it. Sadly, now that we have AI to contend with, it has only gotten a bit worse. The thing is, your two word comment probably isn't even going to register with the original poster, so why even bother. There are a few exceptions, but I will get to those in a second.
Ask Questions
The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to write comments that ask questions. The original poster obviously considers themself a bit of an expert at the subject they posted on. At the very least it interests them, so it only stands to reason that they would love to talk about it more. Asking follow up questions gives them the ability to add stuff they may have left out of the original post due to forgetfulness or the fear of making their post too long.
It also opens the lines of communication between yourself and them so that hopefully you can have future conversations. The key point being that hopefully you establish an online friendship or at the very least a mutual respect that will perhaps one day be reflected in upvotes.
It doesn't always happen, and that's okay. If you like the content though, keep doing what you are doing. I don't feel everything on HIVE should be tied to upvotes. Sometimes we just appreciate what someone has to say and we don't need anything in return for it. The one thing you have to remember is that bigger accounts or accounts that have been on the platform for a long time probably have a lot on their plates. Although it's a small blockchain, HIVE is a big place and if users were to split their time evenly, it would be a full time job. Some of us already have one of those and this is just a hobby. If it gets to be too much like work, we might just up and leave!
Be Real
Believe it or not, people can tell when you are being fake. It doesn't take too much to be genuine and real. If you can't make a comment that you actually mean, it's best just to move along. Trust me, if someone writes a post and you don't comment on it, they aren't going to remember that at all. However, if they make a post and you make a comment that the know is obviously fake, that will likely stick with them for some time.
Trust me, I have been guilty of this myself, I'm not putting myself on a pedestal as some beacon of virtue. I'm just saying, be real. It will take you a lot further than being fake.
Keep It Simple
This one might be a bit controversial. There are likely some folks out there who don't mind really long comments on their posts. I'm not one of them though. It's definitely a fine line between writing a two word spam comment and writing a comment that is just as long or longer than the original post.
I get some people are just wordy. I also get that some people get excited about the particular topic. You have to remember though that your comment probably isn't the only one we have to read. Try to find a good balance of commenting without going overboard. You have to figure what's best for you on your own, good luck!
The Exceptions
If you have built up a relationship with the original poster or you are about five comments deep into an active comment "thread", then simple one or two word responses are acceptable. For example, after a lively exchange back and forth with someone, I think it is fully acceptable to just reply with an "lol". You have to earn it though!
Finally, and this one might be controversial as well... Try to avoid summarizing the original post in your comment. It's absolutely okay to ask for clarification or to quote a piece of the post in your comment, but if you are just re-writing the post, it's honestly a little annoying. I'm not sure why someone people do this, but I wonder if it might be one of a couple reasons.
Perhaps they are doing that to show that they actually read the post. I can appreciate that, but I also think you can do that by asking questions about specific aspects of the post. On the other hand, it's possible it might be some kind of language barrier thing. I'm not really sure on that one. If that is the case, I understand, but I still think there has to be a better way to accomplish the same thing.
Perhaps someone has some insight on that.
As I said in the opening, this isn't the first post I have written about commenting. It probably won't be the last either. Successful folks on the blockchain have really learned the art of crafting and leveraging comments to help grow their account.
With a little work, you can too!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
Great thoughts on commenting. Engagement is what has helped my account grow, at least in my opinion. I might not have a lot of followers, but do get some decent engagement. Not tarazkp stuff, but maybe some day. I find that just trying to have a normal conversation like I would if I was there in person with the individual is how I comment. Sometimes it is one sentence, sometimes it is a couple of paragraphs. Sometimes it turns into a vconversation totally unrelated to the post :-)
I don't think I could handle the kind of action that Tarazkp gets. I'd be more than overwhelmed if I were to get more than a dozen or so comments per post. I'd likely burn myself out because I would do my best to keep up with them.
oh I know, I don't know how he writes how he does, works and then responds to the comments.
Comments are where I leave my best joke, memes and gifs
I do on occasion as well.
As I read your points, I'm surprised (not surprised) to find you basically restate Dale Carnegie's basic ideas given in How to Win Friends and Influence People. Funny how that 1936 advice is still just as accurate today as it was back then.
Oh really? I have never read the book or taken any of the classes. I know my brother in law went through the whole thing. He can work a room though. I definitely can not. I wish I was a better at socializing. I guess at the very least I wish I could translate my online social skills to real life!
That's a GREAT book. Notice the CAPS? That wasn't a accident..
Great post 😂
You know, we can keep on writing about these things one hundred times, and there will be people who still don't get it even if they read it every one hundred times. What you've written is clear and straight to the point, not difficult to understand tbh, and it only takes people a few minutes to read a post, then maybe a few more minutes to digest and respond. It only takes less than 10 minutes, but many still can't be bothered.
Thank you! It's definitely something that we are going to need to keep touching on as more and more people join the platform. I think it's always good to give them an idea of what it actually takes to be successful.
"58,612 comments" wow that's amazing!-"/7y=8373/12m=698/30.5d=23 daily comment"- for the quotes & the long comments part i agree with ur reasoning- i think how long a comment can b should b proportional with the length of the post itself like no more than 10%-15% or so. have a great day
It's definitely been a journey! I can agree with that. 100 words might not be too bad for a 1000 word post. I think I would lean closer to 5% to 10%, but that's my personal preference.
I think engagement is the best tool we have for growing our accounts! Making friends by actually talking to each other is the best opportunity to grow here. I love that I have friends all around the world! I'm reblogging this and promoting it on Ecency.
Thank you, I appreciate it. I totally agree too. It's mind blowing to think I have people I can regularly connect with all over the world!
Wow, that's very interesting, I am just started with Hive and I am wondering how did you earn that now, you already have a decent earnings in each post you made. It is more than with what a minimum wage earner here in the Philippines.
Aside from crafting a good comments, engaged in the community, any friendly advice to help me earn decent amount of money posting here on hive.
It's been a long road. Building your stake definitely makes a difference. I know that some people are relying on HIVE to make a living, but you can still do that while growing your stake. It's going to pay off down the road. Too many people take all their rewards out of the system and convert them to cash. You are basically stunting your own growth when you do that.
I would not take any of my earning here on HIVE until I reach to the point that I am not able to work anymore. I consider these as my retirement fund someday.
Sounds like a great plan!
If earning is your primary objective on Hive you will get you nowhere here.
My first objective is to get inform about blockchain and what is new. And second, I would be a hypocrite if I tell you guys I am not interested in earning some money. Of course I do, who doesn't like money. Yes, I want to earn a decent amount of HIVE for staking and will become a source of passive income days, ahead. That is when I am not able to go out and work. Maybe, that will be next 30 years from now.
That's funny. Every person I have brought to HIVE I give them the same advice. Comment, comment, comment, nobody's gonna read your post. But they will read your comment. None of them have listened.None of them are active anymore...
#hive4dummies
That's too bad. It definitely takes a lot of work to be successful minus a few outliers.
You excel at engagement! I always look forward to your comments on my posts. There are a handful of people I've connected with on Hive that always leave thoughtful and engaging comments. Nothing irks me more on this platform than comments from people fishing for upvotes who clearly haven't even taken the time to read the posts. I have to fight the urge to leave snarky relies sometimes. Recently I made the mistake of looking at post analytics on PeakD and was saddened by how few people take the time to read posts...they're in the minority. People who don't take the time to authentically engage are missing out on the best feature of Hive, new friendships.
Yeah, it can be a lot more than people are willing to commit to. I get that. It's definitely not an easy thing to be involved in. Anything that is worth it takes time and effort. The days of vote buying and making a quick buck are gone. You have to care about it now.
True. Life can be demanding but, as you've said, anything this valuable requires time and effort. It's definitely a different platform that it was a few years ago!
For sure!
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:u37t33dyaufvrqujwmvm54ln/post/3liwehnar5c2y
The rewards earned on this comment will go to the author of the blog post.https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:u37t33dyaufvrqujwmvm54ln/post/3liwehnar5c2y
Going on 57K comments is certainly respectable! I kind of miss ash's engagement league that made it all a bit of fun!
Yeah, I agree with you there! I remember making the lists a few times!
We have continued the tradition on Ecency and give out weekly prizes to top commenters!
Great highlight of how important building relationships and interactions are on this platform (as in life!). I'm one that often needs reminders on this, as I get busy and tend to skip commenting sometimes, or make it much shorter than my actual thoughts just to save time.
Keep up the good posts!
Thanks, I appreciate it! Time is definitely a premium commodity here on HIVE. If I didn't have the job I do, I likely wouldn't be nearly as active.
Yes, that darn work thing. I just started a new gig 2 months ago. It's a long and very detailed on-boarding for me given the scope. Should settle down a bit in another month or so, but definitely drinking from the firehose of information for so long leaves me a bit burnt out for other things right now.
Looking forward to getting settled into a new routine with a bit more personal balance soon.
Best of luck with that! Getting your feet under you can often be a bit tricky!
🥰l really enjoyed reading your write-up it's wonderful
Thank you!
Great post! I like the tip of asking questions, not all posts lead to that though like your post for example, it is just very self explanatory and well written :)
And asking a question where you don't really have one is not being real, also I almost never reply to Taraz poems, not because I don't think they are good, I just don't understand poetry. Every one has limitations, that is one of mine. But at least I am being real.
Fair enough. I think it is a good place to start though for the people who do struggle to come up with reasonable replies to posts. So many of them are just low effort trash. It's all about building blocks.
Congratulations @bozz! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next payout target is 92000 HP.
The unit is Hive Power equivalent because post and comment rewards can be split into HP and HBD
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP