Making Money on the Internet BLOG HOPPING for TRAFFIC

BLOG HOPPING for TRAFFIC

Kangaroos Google likes blogs because they contain regular new information. However that’s true only if you post to your blog regularly. One way to improve your Google page ranking AND get traffic is to go blog-hopping, leaving comments on other blogs with a back-link to your home page.

Jacinta Dean, a Masterclass Student has come up with a good idea to encourage blog-hopping, the 100 Comment Challenge. This post is ‘sticky’, it will stay at the top of my page in an attempt to get 100 comments.

My problem with blog-hopping, is that it can be a waste of time. I don’t like visiting blogs that haven’t been updated for months, or even worse, blogs that don’t reply to your comments.

To make blog hopping more efficient, I have used my own blog roll as a visiting list, and only link to blogs who update regularly and reply to comments.

Blog hopping can connect you to a much wider community of like-minded kangaroo-beer people. I seem to visit quite a few blogs in Australia, and I think that is via my friend Jacinta in Melbourne. Interestingly, I also seem to be visiting blogs from people on different courses, with different mentors.

Sally Neil is on a Course run by Alex Jeffrey and recently won a competition by getting over 4,000 visitors to her blog in one month. She revealed her top 10 blogs for getting traffic, and has given me permission to list them here (thanks Sally).

If you want traffic and a chance to get 100 comments visit these blogs:

1) www.vancesova.com
2) www.scottbarrononline.com
3) www.kathydobson.com
4) www.darrenlcarter.com/blog
5) www.alexwhalley.com
6) www.rooniehernandez.com
7) www.clifftruss.com
8 ) www.nathanrufus.com
9) www.theimquest.com

Unfortunately the 10th blog from Mike Roosa has been hacked and is currently unavailable.

This post is my entry to the 100 comment challenge, so if you’ve read this far please leave a comment. I will return the compliment on your blog.

John McNally

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

206 Responses to “BLOG HOPPING for TRAFFIC”

Alex Fyfe on July 26th, 2010 at 10:05 pm

John

Great site! I think the blog hopping idea is great. Will try this myself.

Stay healthy

Alex

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Thanks for visting Alex, I hope your blog-hopping goes well. I like your “Stay healthy” sign off, I might pinch that for myself.

John

[Reply]
Kathy Dobson from outsourcingtothe Philippines on July 28th, 2010 at 10:47 am

Hi John…
Loved your post and your pic…:)
This is going to be fun…I will be participating too…just need to get my blog post up that I want to leave sticky or at least lead them to the one I want commented on
Your blog looks good John…love the colors…always makes me happy when I come here.
Kathy

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
That’s nice that your always happy when you come here Kathy. You must like yellow, which is my favourite colour. Yellow IS a happy colour because of our genetic connection to the life-giving Sun.

Looking forward to your blog post for the 100 comment challenge. I made my post “sticky” but I still intend to upload new ones every 3 days. It will be interesting to see if I get any comments on them, because they will be “hidden” below my sticky post.

John

[Reply]
Barry on July 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm

I will be participating in the comment challenge as I know how important it is to hear other alive humans in the wilderness…

I shore do love your sense of humor, John and it turns out I know the bloke in the photo.

He and I got juiced up one night and I was nearly killed by the pounding from bar hopping.

Have a grand day, compadre!

Barry

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I thought you would know him Barry, It’s the normal type of guy you meet if your hobby involves pubs and beer.

You’re right about the Internet wilderness. Sometimes you can think you are just writing to yourself, and then along comes a commment that proves at least ONE other human knows you exist.

I’ve just taken advantage of the Internet by subscribing to a local pubs mailing list, who promised a free pint for my address. The only problem was the free pint was lager …… Then, one of those serendipitus moments, the barman said I could have any beer I liked, and they had 5 Real Ales! It was at that moment I almost believed in a personal God.

John

[Reply]
Bailey Ing on July 29th, 2010 at 9:08 am

Hey John

Yes, blog hopping is definitely a powerful way to generate a ton of traffic. You can see from Sally how she won the MWA 3.0 traffic competition with most of it done by blog hopping.

The other great thing is you also get to learn alot of new things and meet come really cool people too. So its win win!

Hope you reach your 100 target soon

Bailey

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Thanks for dropping by Bailey. I didn’t know that blog hopping was Sally’s main method for getting over 4,000 visitors in a month.

I’m not sure what the rules are for replies, because each of my replies count as a comment. So I ‘only’ need 50 visitors to leave a comment, and that automatically gets me to the magic 100.

John

[Reply]
Barry from The Newbies Guide on July 29th, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Hi John, I know exactly what you mean about visiting blogs that haven’t been update. I’ve often gone back to visit some blogs where i’ve left a comment only to find it still waiting for moderation. Hence my last 2 blog posts, to try and give them a little nudge.

Thanks for putting the list up, i already have it as i watched Sally’s video as well. The circles we move in eh? ha ha.

Catch up soon John, Barry

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I knew we were visiting the same blogs Barry, when I read your last two posts. I’m not surprised you had watched Sally’s video. I thought that was very good by the way, with her child introducing each name. Two different voices made it interesting.

Once you find a list of live blogs, blog-hopping can be really pleasurable. You get a community-spirit feeling, learn lots of new stuff AND get ideas for your own posts.

John

[Reply]
Mandy Allen on July 29th, 2010 at 9:10 pm

Hi John, I also visit a lot of other blogs and comment, and find that the blog owners reciprocate. Like you I hate to see stagnant blogs with posts that are months old and no updates. I do only post about once a month now, but I feel that is ok for me, and for my readers.

Good luck with the challenge!

Enjoy the journey.

Mandy

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hello Mandy, it seems ages since I’ve been able to enjoy my journey. I know that you post monthly, and that makes them a bit more special. The important thing is that you post regularly and your readers can get into the rhythm of your blog. I wouldn’t be surprised if you reach a 100 comments before the end of August, you’re the best blog-hopper I know.

John

[Reply]
Mandy Allen Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 1:17 pm
You’re a sweetie, when are you coming over for food and drinks again??

Enjoy the journey.

Mandy

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 5:58 am
I don’t think it will be this year Mandy, I’ve fallen in love with Scotland and will be going back there as soon as I can. Maybe we could meet up at an Internet Marketers conference if they ever hold one ‘out in the sticks’.

John
Steve from Weekend Golfers on July 30th, 2010 at 9:42 am

Hi John

I love the colours you’ve got going on over here..reminds me of my kitchen back in the late 90′s

I’m with you about blog-hopping to blogs only to find that they haven’t been updated in months…it can feel like a waste of time, it was the reason I cut down on doing it so often…then add in the product creation, jv requests & all the other stuff, it’s easy to fallout of the habit.

The 100 comments challenge is a great way to get back into the swing of things…I wish you well with your challenge…

Cheers
Steve

..by the way..your comment’s don’t count for the challenge, but don’t worry…the search engines will like them

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Ha, Ha, nice one Steve, I can see those blue and yellow tiles now.

‘Dead’ blogs also reduced my blog-hopping beacuse they wasted my time. Wnen I find a live blog that answers comments I add it to my blog roll. I will be adding yours today. I can click through my blog roll and know that I’m going to read sometghing new and interesting, which makes blog-hopping a pleasure again.

I thought my own replies wouldn’t count, I was just trying it on really; – 200 comments here I come. I haven’t been cheating either because I’m deleting all the spam comments I get, even the nice ones.

John

[Reply]
Barry Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Whaa?! We can’t use even the nice spam?

Reading the spam messages makes me realize how much us netizens need love, support and a kind word from time to time.

After all, isn’t that what the best spam is? – something we would love to hear “your posts are absolutely what I needed to read, I am now complete as a human. Click my backlink…”

You crack me up with your thinking, mister. Thanks.

Barry

[Reply]
Terry Conti on July 30th, 2010 at 6:15 pm

Hi John, yes blog hopping and leaving comments can be daunting. Done strategically as your post suggests is the best way to go for better results. In fact when doing the work it can be fun and a great experience.

Good ideas you have John. Thanks for the links. Terry Conti

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Good luck with the links Terry. Another way to find useful links is to look at the top commentators on blogs you like. If you visit them you at least know they reply to comments.

John

[Reply]
Randy Smith on July 31st, 2010 at 4:12 pm

Hi John,

I’m sure it wont be long before you get to the 100 comments

Especially with sharing Sallys list of blog hopping blogs.

My main comment though is that you should post that image in the MC forum so Lisa can use it…

I think her new title of Mama Roo would fit great with that ‘Roo’ you have there….lol

Randy
http://www.RandolfSmith.com

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 5:51 am
I think I could get 100 comments Randy, but that’s with my own replies counting. i.e. only 50 visitors really. I’m not sure about 100 original comments, but the challenge is only during August, so I’ll give it a good go.

I’m going to check the Masterclass forum now and see if I can use that photo of a Kangaroo drinking Beer.

John

[Reply]
Mike Walsh on July 31st, 2010 at 4:42 pm

Hi John,

Thanks for the post, reminds me of what i should be doing without being reminded!!!….Good luck on 100 comments, you are well on the way. Thanks for the helpful links.

Have a great day,

Mike

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Thanks for visiting Mike. I think the 100 comment challenge is a good reminder for all of us not to neglect our blogs. Hopefully the competition will revitalise a lot of blogs.

John

[Reply]
Bill Murney on August 1st, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Hi John,

I have got a little behind with blog hopping recently and am nowhere near as prolific as Mandy and yourself. Hopefully the 100 Comment Challenge will inspire me to keep on top of it.

I like your drinking partner and I have often looked like that after too many beers!

Regards,

Bill

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Maybe you have been working on other projects Bill? I think I will allocate two hours a day for writing posts and blog-hopping, and try and to do this automatically.

I must admit the blog has taken over my time recently, and I have neglected other things. So hopefully scheduling a time block will get this under control.

John

[Reply]
Gert Chappell on August 1st, 2010 at 10:25 pm

Hi John.
I’m enjoying this blog hopping challenge, its great fun and I’ve met some very interesting people, all very friendly with amazing blogs just like this one.
Good luck with the challenge.
Be back soon.
Gert

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Thanks for visiting Gert. The challenge has been a great idea, bringing together a community of Internet Marketers to help each other…… Just visited your blog and left a comment on the “dream stealer” post.

John

[Reply]
Stan Young on August 2nd, 2010 at 12:48 am

Hey John
I sympathise with the way you feel about commenting on static blogs that dont change or people that dont acknowledge your comments.
Despite this I have found the experience quite positive and just by visiting other peoples blogs you can pick up some great ideas.
The 100 challenge is a great idea for new bloggers like myself its a great opportunity to engage with other like minded people.
Thanks for the top 10 sites to visit I will make a note of these.
Wow 5,000 visits per month I would be happy with a fraction of that.
Good Luck.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Your right about getting ideas from blogs Stan. I probably wouldn’t blog-hop at all if it wasn’t for the great information I can find. I often leave a blog with the spark of an idea to write a post.

I would be very happy with 4,000 + visitors as well Stan. I have 1,000 visitors a month at the moment and it will be interesting to see if this increases with the 100 comment challenge.

See you soon on your blog.

John

[Reply]
JasonSer from What's The Most Powerful Life Changing Inspirational Story Of Your Life? on August 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am

Hey John,

Is am amazing challenge!

Blog hopping for me is not a “marketing event” is an “social event” where we can exchange meaningful ideas and thoughts with different individuals around the world.

However, like you said, it could be a waste of time if one is not careful enough. But as compare to twitter, or msn skpye messaging, is a God Gift! The only thing we should be careful is not to take for granted the convenience of this technology.

Always keep it real and honest. Like what you did in this post here. Real time is beside the point here….we only want to talk to real people!

Cheers
Jason Ser

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Good points Jason, I also think the 100 comment challenge is more of a social event rather than a marketing tactic. I must admit that while I have accounts with Twitter and Facebook I rarely use them, to me blogs offer a much better experience for social interaction.

John

[Reply]
Michael Pedzotti from software tools for bloggers on August 3rd, 2010 at 1:05 pm

John,

I prefer to think of ‘blog hopping’ as more like ‘visiting friends’. That way instead of just leaving a quick comment I am tempted to read the whole post, all the comments and then formulate a reasonable comment to contribute to the conversation.

One key of course is to leave quality comments. Short comments might be quickly skipped over with a visitor’s eyes being drawn to the longer, more substantial comments that seem to have had a whole lot more thought put into them.

Anyway, I am probably preaching to a bunch of converts so I’ll stop there

Michael.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:43 am
I agree with you entirely Michael – You’re right I’m a convert.

I always read the entire post, but often don’t read the comments. I don’t want other peoples thoughts to influence my own reply. However I do read the comments if I get stuck for something constructive to say. The comments may then spark an idea for me.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Michael.

John

[Reply]
Barry from The Newbies Guide on August 3rd, 2010 at 3:38 pm

Hi John, i’m putting a twitter list together for the contributors to the 100 blog comment challenge.

Could you let me have your twitter name please so i can add you to the list.

Barry

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Thanks Barry, I don’t use Twitter much but my details are;

User name – Steve Zodiac XL5
Twitter ID: 63642959

John

[Reply]
Barry from The Newbies Guide Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Hi John, i found you on twitter but am being told that i’m blocked from following you.

It could be your settings John.

Barry

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Oops Sorry Barry, I will look into this.

John
Vance from Opt in List Squeeze Plugin on August 3rd, 2010 at 10:39 pm

Hi John,

First, let me say that I like the look of your blog and the picture of the Kangaroo with a glass of beer is very refreshing.

Commenting on other blogs or “Blog Hopping” is a great way to get visitors to your blog, to get links and to get to know other bloggers.

It can be time consuming but I never look at it as a waste of time.

Thanks for placing the links from Sally’s contest.

May I ask if you use the comment luv plugin? I don’t seem to see it.

Anyway, good luck with the contest and I hope that getting 100 comments on this post will be only a matter of days.

Vance

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I’m having trouble installing a few plug-ins Vance; Comment Luv will be coming soon…..watch this space.

That kangaroo does look like a cool dude doesn’t he? All he needs is a newspaper and the picture would be perfect.

I’m glad that you like the blog layout, you might have guessed that I like yellow and blue.

I think 100 comments will take more than days, but I’ll do my best to get there by the end of August.

I like your individual stance on topics Vance, it means that your blog is always an interesting read. I hope you call back again soon.

John

[Reply]
Internet Marketing Basics with Cliff Truss on August 5th, 2010 at 11:57 am

Hey John,

What can I say?

I was just checking my analytics and noticed that I had a few visits from down under already today.

A bit of investigation led me here and I’m liking the look of your blog mate. I’ve got it bookmarked and I will definately be coming back!

I think the idea of only recommending blogs that update regularly and respond to comments is good and makes a lot of sense.

TBH, I’ve let my blog fester a bit over the last month or so and haven’t given it the love it deserves.

So much to do…so little time.

Thanks a lot for linking to my blog John (and ta to Sally Neill too!)

If any of you reading this haven’t been over to Sally’s blog then get over there now as it’s jam packed with great content.

Best wishes,

Cliff

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
I’m honoured to be bookmarked, thanks Cliff.

The 100 comment challenge has made quite a few people take a look at their blogs. As you said it’s easy to get distracted when there’s so many other things to do.

I was impressed that you used Google Analytics to track me down, I just have a quick scan of the numbers. The challenge has already increased my monthly visitors from around 1,000 to 1,350, so it’s working.

Keep up the good work Cliff.

John

[Reply]
Pete Carr-Blogging Genius on August 6th, 2010 at 8:49 pm

Hi John,

This 100 comment challenge is brilliant. I am hopping around like crazy. I feel like Sally Neill. The hopping queen. (I know Sally Personally).
I am learning loads from other people, and hopefully make some new friends from this.

Pete

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 10:03 am
I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying it as well Pete. Tapping into 100 different minds has got to be good.

Blog hopping certainly worked for Sally, and my visitors have definitely increased since this started, so this should benefit all of us.

Make sure you visit Jacinta’s blog, she’s the one who got this ball rolling.

John

[Reply]
Stuart Turnbull on August 7th, 2010 at 10:21 pm

Hi John

The 100 comment challenge has provided a great way for us to really get to know our fellow masterclass students and a few ‘non-masterclassers’ too!

Thanks for the list of the high traffic blogs.

Best wishes!

Stuart

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Glad to see you on the challenge Stuart. I think it’s been great to find the ACTIVE Masterclass Students, and has helped the people who were dropping by the wayside to get back onto their blogs. The challenge has also spread our community far and wide – it is the World Wide Web after all.

I think the list of high traffic blogs are mainly Alex Jeffrey students. Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Stuart.

John

[Reply]
Bryan McHeyzer from The Internet Intern on August 8th, 2010 at 6:27 am

G’day John,
Thought I’d give you an Aussie greeting.
I am so glad Sally invited me to this challenge(I am on her list)..it is a lot of fun and the learning experience have been invaluable…
So many people with so many different ideas… great

A question with blog hopping… When someone leaves a comment on my blog do I reply to him or her on my blog or do I visit their blog for the reply.
I do realise I will visit their blog and comment on their content.
Good to meet you.
Cheers
Bryan

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:34 am
G’day Bryan, always pleased to hear from down under.

We’ve just had a big debate on the Masterclass forum about replying to blog comments. The conclusion was that you should always reply to the comment on your own blog. Don’t forget that it’s not only the person who left the comment that looks, other people visit, and if you haven’t replied there it looks like you’re not bothering.

As your going to reply on your own blog, the best and easiest way to do it is by installing the free wordpress plugin “WordPress Thread Comment”. This plugin puts a reply button at the end of every comment, so you can answer all comments in sequence. If you have Gravatar installed it puts your photo on as well, and Google counts the comments as fresh material so it’s great for SEO.

Basically just install ‘WordPress Thread Comment’ and all is well with the world.

John

[Reply]
Mike on August 8th, 2010 at 8:59 am

Hi John
You are soooooo right about leaving comments on blogs!
But, its great to have a really good idea like this to work with-oh yeah and thanks for the blog list!
Kind regards
Mike
Masterclass 2009

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Yes Mike, this idea of Jacinta’s has really taken off. I think it will help a lot of people to re-focus their attention back to blogs, which is where we all start on this Internet Marketing journey.

I found the blog list useful as well because most of it is outside the Masterclass, gaining a rapport with a much wider community. Sally Neil from Alex Jeffrey’s course is the person who compiled it, after she got more than 4,000 visitors to her blog in a month.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Mike.

John

[Reply]
Bryan McHeyzer from The Internet Intern on August 8th, 2010 at 10:34 am

Hey John,
Thanks mate for the reply … as I am still a newbie thought I should clarify it. Will get those plugin s installed.
Cheers
Bryan

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
We’re all newbies Bryan, just at different stages of the journey.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge.

John

[Reply]
Barry from The Newbies Guide Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Here here John. I totaly agree and had to pop back to say so.

Catch up soon, Barry

[Reply]
Carstarphen on August 8th, 2010 at 11:39 am

Hey John,
I like that kangaroo picture with a beer…lol:)

Funny stuff!
J
Make Money Fast

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I liked the picture as well Jeremiah. He looks really relaxed, just like I am in the pub.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge.

John

[Reply]
Craig on August 8th, 2010 at 9:50 pm

Hi John,

I am also a fellow student with Sally at Alex Jeffreys coaching. It was Sally that got me involved in this 100 blog challenge. It has been going great guns for me as I am seeing more traffic to my blog.

I am also meeting some really nice marketers and learning alot by blog hopping and seeing what others are up too.

Cheers

Craig

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Hello Craig, and welcome to the 100 comment challenge. I’m glad to hear you are getting more traffic.

I have just checked Google Analytics and my own visitors have already risen from around 1,000 to 1,521, which is the highest it’s ever been.

I think the main groups in the challenge are from the courses run by John Thornhill and Alex Jeffrey, however it is growing all the time.

Enjoy the experience.

John

[Reply]
Rob Corrigan on August 9th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Hi John, good info here, not posting regularly is allways been my downfall and I really should set aside some time to go blog hopping each week maybe visit a few a day.

I have seen the effect of google ranking on my own blog its been as high as 4th on the first page to as low as 8th on page 4 which does go to show the importance of the regular blogging.

Cheers
Rob

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 6:44 am
Blog hopping does take time Rob, so it’s easy to get diverted onto other things. However it can be done quite quickly and efficiently (by cutting out ‘dead’ blogs). As you said, “set aside some time” and it can be part of your regular daily or weekly schedule.

I knew blog-hopping was good for traffic, but I have also been pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it can be.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Rob, I’m sure you will be back onto Google’s first page soon.

John

[Reply]
Alex from nichesitemarketing on August 10th, 2010 at 1:17 am

Hey John,

Just came over to continue the conversation and also thank you for your really kind words in regards to my new ebook. (the power of blog hopping hey! you should write a post on…oh )
But seriously, thanks to you (and Sally I guess) for the link love in relation to the top ten blogs to comment on! Awesome John.
I’m also in the 100 comments challenge actually, I really need to find out exactly what I need to do on my part.
Take care John.
NB: I am another Aussie, and I love the kangaroo havin’ a beer image you got there mate!

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 6:51 am
I’ve never been to Australia Alex, but always thought I would get on well in a beer-loving nation like yours. I’ve had loads of positive comments about ‘Skippy’ which proves the point.

I hadn’t realised my list of Sally’s top blogs for traffic was “link love” but I like that term.

You’ve already started the 100 comment challenge Alex by hopping over to my blog. Good luck and best wishes.

John

[Reply]
Robyn on August 10th, 2010 at 3:42 am

Hi John

Great post! I think we are all enjoying our blog hopping and hopefully we will all find it rewarding.

The only problem I am finding is reading all the blog posts and then all the comments, it is taking me a long time to get to the bottom of the page and leave a comment. I’m not complaining, I just hope I get to all the blogs before the month’s end.

Congratulations on getting a rise in visitors to your site.

Love the photo of ‘Skippy’ beer in one hand, leaning on the bar, eyes half shut – I have been to a few aussie pubs and I have seen this look quite often but it wasn’t a kangaroo.

Good luck with the challenge.

Talk soon.

Take care.

Robyn

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Welcome aboard Robyn, I think the challenge has opened up a lot of peoples eyes to the positive aspects of blog hopping.

My #1 tip for blog-hopping is DON’T read the comments! If you think about it, this will take longer and longer as the month goes on. Reading a post AND 100 comments plus replies would take ages!

I always read all the post then write my reply. I only look at some comments if I am stuck for an idea to respond with. If the post itself hasn’t struck any chords with me, I sometimes refer to an issue raised by other bloggers in the comments section.

Keep at it Robyn, I’m sure your visitor numbers will rise as well.

You’re right about the ‘Skippy’ photo, except you don’t only need to be in Australia to see this effect. My mates (and me no doubt) look like this towards the end of our regular Friday night pub crawl.

John

[Reply]
igor Griffiths on August 10th, 2010 at 10:52 am

Hi John

I was wondering when Sally would make an appearance, the beaver stikes back!

Sally’s trick was to monitor the blogs that she visited and only concentrate on those that returned the compliment by providing traffic to her blog.

This is the key watch your stats and see what happens. Once I have completed my part in this challenge, by leaving comments on everyones blogs and social posting (I keep forgetting this part). It will be interesting to see who my top 10 blogs are from a traffic perspective.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Good idea Igor. I hadn’t thought of looking into Google Analytics so deeply. Now that I have, you’ve also given me an idea for another blog post, so thanks again Igor.

Good luck with the 100 blog challenge.

John

[Reply]
Deb from Futures Trading on August 10th, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Hi John,

I loved your post (and the picture), and I really should try visiting the blogs on the list. Maybe I will get more traffic too!

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
You will certainly get more visitors Deb, with blog hopping. My own traffic has almost doubled in only two weeks.

Glad you liked the ‘Skippy’ photo Deb, a lot of people have enjoyed it.

John

[Reply]
Brandon Connell from Make Money Blogging on August 10th, 2010 at 3:45 pm

The trick isn’t getting 100 comments. It’s getting 100 comments consistently without a sticky.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Very true Brandon, if I could manage that I would be a happy man.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge.

John

[Reply]
Pete Chapman on August 10th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

Hi John I like the pic of the kangaroo with a nice cold pint of the old amber nector!.

The 100 comment challenge is having a triple effect on the course students, firstly it is getting extra traffic to our blogs, second it is giving us those all important backlinks and third it is encouraging us to do what we were supposed to do throughout the course anyway…which is visit each others blogs regularly, now I cant speak for anyone else but I was quite slacking in that respect!, but this challenge has gotten me motivated and it’s being a great experience because of all the good content I’m reading.

All the best
Pete Chapman

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
I couldn’t have put it better myself Pete, the challenge has reinvigorated a lot of blogs.

It’s easy to get diverted away from blog hopping, there’s so many other things to do. But this challenge has proven how effective it is – my own traffic has almost doubled in only two weeks.

Keep up the good work Pete.

John

[Reply]
Sally on August 10th, 2010 at 7:13 pm

Hi John,

Love that pic. of the kangaroo with the beer! Too cute.

I hope you do very well with the challenge.

In case you haven’t been back to see my reply to your comment on my blog, I deleted the controversial tip. Don’t want to steer anyone into a hornets nest!

All the Best!
Sally

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Join a long queue of Skippy fans Sally, that photo has been really popular.

I would check your blog Sally, the comments are no longer showing. Perhaps you accidently did it when deleting the controversial tip.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge.

John

[Reply]
Daniel Sumner on August 11th, 2010 at 12:03 am

Hi John,

Great post!

Have you ever tried a guest post? You can get a ton of new subscribers and visitors to your blog from guest posting. I guest post on John Thornhill’s blog from time to time and I find I get a lot of interest from it.

Add this to the list with blog hopping and you will gain a lot more traffic. It does take time but, it is worth it.

Dan

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
That’s a good idea Daniel, I hadn’t thought about guest posting. You must have got loads of traffic from John Thornhill’s blog.

Another good thing about this 100 blog challenge is that you can develop a relationship where a guest posting can arise.

Keep up the good work.

John

[Reply]
Darren L Carter on August 12th, 2010 at 6:24 am

Hey Thanks for the link!

I agree that blog hopping is pretty good. But it’s real benefit is in the comments and the community that you build. You can get traffic from a lot of sources but blog commenting is one of the best ways to build a community around your blog and develop relationships that will help spread the word about you.

Good post!

Peace,
Darren L Carter

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 11:18 am
You obviously deserved the link Darren, sending a lot of traffic to Sally’s blog.

You’re right about building a community and forging relationships, that was an unexpected pleasure of this blog-hopping challenge. I’ve also picked up some useful tips by reading such a variety of different posts.

Good luck with the challenge Darren.

John

[Reply]
Martyn Boaden on August 12th, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Hi John

I’ve been guilty of neglecting my blog for a while (but I was busy working on other sites – honest!) This 100 Blog Post Challenge has given me the incentive to go blog-hopping again.

I’ve posted a link to this page on identi.ca for you

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Thanks for the link Martyn.

This challenge has reinvigorated a lot of blogs, and the increase in traffic is incentive enough to continue leaving comments. It’s a pleasure to read such a variety of blogs, and be part of a worldwide community of like-minded people.

Good luck with the challenge Martyn, just two more weeks to go.

John

[Reply]
SandyHalliday from MakingMoneyOnTheInternet on August 13th, 2010 at 7:40 pm

I love this blog commenting challenge. I already did a lot of blog hopping when I first got my blog up but I must admit it faded out a bit after a while. This challenge has made me do a lot more agin and I have found some very interesting blogs and people.

Can’t wait to see the traffic results.

Sandy

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I think we were all the same Sandy; keen blog hoppers when we first started, then diverted by other projects.

Have a look at your traffic figures, I bet you will be pleasantly surprised. My own traffic has nearly doubled from around 1,000 to 1,821 – the highest number of visitors I have ever recorded.

Enjoy your blog hopping Sandy.

John

[Reply]
Steve Troutman from SteveTroutman.com/blog on August 14th, 2010 at 1:28 am

Hi John,

I have seen my blog rankings on google go through to moon. Before the challenge, I was on like the 5th page of Google for my name. Now I am on the first page at the number 8 spot. Woooooho! and my 100 comment challenge post is on there too. This really works. Good luck to you and hope to hear from you again soon.

Take Care,
Steve

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Steve, I just checked Google for my name and SNAP – I’m on first page, 7th position, with my 100 blog comment post. I haven’t been on first page for ages because ‘John McNally’ was a guitar player in the Searchers.

I also have my highest ever traffic @ 1,821 visitors, the way this is going I should be over 2,000 soon.

I think we all owe Jacinta a vote of thanks for starting this ball rolling.

John

[Reply]
Steve Troutman from SteveTroutman.com/blog on August 14th, 2010 at 11:24 am

Hi John,

I’m sold on blog hopping. Before the 100 post blog challenge, I was on page 8 of google for a search of my name. Guess what? I am now at the #1 spot on Google! About 1,770,000 results for Steve Troutman. I beat them all out with some daily consistent effort. Putting up a video on youtube of my blog challenge post and there you go. #1 spot.

I’m pumped.

Take Care,
Steve

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Well done Steve #1!

Good idea creating a video, you should get loads of traffic from youtube.

Keep up the good work.

John

[Reply]
eamon from affiliate internet marketing on August 15th, 2010 at 1:00 am

Hi John
Ive been doing the 100- blog comment challenge for about a week now and it has opened my eyes to a lot of things.
Even though Ive written the post on my site,
installed the plugins and answered the comments
and am working my way through Jacintas list leaving comments
some of the stuff is just starting to make sense.
For instance you mentioned backlinking from your comment to your post and Im saying have I done that ? or did I do that properly ?
Anyway Im getting hooked on blog hopping now.
Good luck and of course I love that Kangaroo
Eamon

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 16th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I’ve just checked Eamon, and your backlink works fine.

I suffered from Information Overload for about 18 months, but things are starting to click together. I’ve now got room in my brain to learn some new stuff. You will find that if you do stuff like blog hopping regularly, the techniques will come naturally and you will be doing the right things on automatic pilot.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Eamon.

John

[Reply]
ElizOF on August 16th, 2010 at 3:02 am

Hi John,
Thanks for stopping by my blog…. I must say the kangaroos are priceless! A great example of hopping around and getting comments out there. I must confess that it is time consuming but in the long run if people respond and comment back, it is worth it. I am enjoying this challenge and plan to visit everyone on the list.
I have tweeted your post.
Best,
Eliz

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 16th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I’ll have to use kangaroos more often Eliz, they seem to be more popular than my post.

Blog hopping can be time-consuming but it’s worth it for the new relationships that can develop, AND the extra traffic – (mine has doubled since this started).

Thanks for the Tweet Eliz.

John

[Reply]
Steve from bookmarking on August 16th, 2010 at 7:02 am

Hi John, thanks for sharing the new links with everyone. I knew that Aussie’s liked their brew but wallabies and kangaroos to? The photo is a real gem. I do enjoy blog hopping John. I’ll visit blogs that I’ve never been to before by clicking on the commentators links on any site I find and sometimes it leads me to some very good sites to add my comment. Take care, Steve D.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 16th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Well done Steve – you’ve taught me something about my own post. I think you’re right, they ARE wallabies, (I assumed they were kangaroos).

I use your trick as well, clicking on the top commentators links. At least that way you know that the blogs are ‘live’, and comments are replied to.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Steve.

John

[Reply]
Lauren Lionheart on August 17th, 2010 at 1:21 pm

John, you bring up a point I’ve been thinking a lot about: reciprocal commenting. With the new social media economy growing daily, it feels like a natural evolution to leave reciprocal comments. It builds true relationships with our readers: ongoing dialogs instead of drive by hollas

Glad to hear you’ve developed the habit, too. High 5 for spreading the blog love!

And my best tip for targeting blog hopping is Twitter. I use Twellow.com to find tweeps who I really resonate with. Then I just watch my stream for tweets that really grab my interest and follow along to the blog post to leave a comment. In a half hour a day, I find some amazing blogs and new friends.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 6:17 am
I like your “drive by hollas” expression Lauren.

Those short ‘fantastic post’ comments are similar to spam, the commentator has probably not read the post, or just skipped through it to find one thing for comment. Like spam, you know there has not been any real communication, or thought to it.

I must admit although I have an account with Twitter, I hardly ever look at it, and rarely Tweet. I shall find more than enough blogs to interact with, out of the 100 in this challenge.

Good luck with your 100 comments Lauren.

John

[Reply]
Abizer from article marketing on August 17th, 2010 at 3:49 pm

Hi John

Nice post … I am also one of the students from Alex Jeffreys and was happy to see fellow buddies to be listed in your blog post.

blog hopping is great fun and incredibly helpful in developing relationships!

Cheers!
Abizer

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 11:28 am
This comment challenge has caused a lot of cross pollenation Abizer, especially between John Thornhill’s Masterclass and Alex Jeffrey’s course.

Sally Neil is also on Alex’s course so that’s why there are so many of your colleagues listed in my post. Blog hopping can be great fun and certainly develops relationships, and even quite close friendships as you get to know the other blogger.

Good luck with the challenge Abizer.

john

[Reply]
Andreas Spyrou on August 17th, 2010 at 3:59 pm

Hi John,

Blogging is a type of website that it has to be updated often. I’ve visited lots of blogs that I enjoy reading but when the blogger suddenly stops writing new blog posts or approving my comment I get really upset! Well if I know that a blog has a new post once a week and 2 months passed I will not visit that blog too soon and unfortunately (for the blogger) like most people will eventually forget him!

Take care,
Andreas

PS. I didn’t know that Kangaroos drink beer!

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Kangaroos are bound to drink beer Andreas, they are Australian after all.

I think blogs wither and die if they aren’t updated regularly. As you said, no one is likely to visit if nothing changes in months. The blogs are forgotten and expire in the vastness of the world wide web.

The challenge has done a lot to avoid this fate, and I hope you enjoy it Andreas.

John

[Reply]
Justin on August 17th, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Hi John,

More good content and information here. I’ll applying some of this in the future.

Can I say,

Stay frosty my friend ,

Justin

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
That’s the first time I’ve heard that expression Justin. I certainly will stay frosty, especially on really hot days.

John

[Reply]
Jorge from Starting Own Business on August 17th, 2010 at 9:39 pm

Hi John.
I like your honesty. Blog-hoping can be a waste of time. Mainly because if you want to leave a quality and relevant comment you must read the posts. It takes time. A lot of time.
But you can also look at it from different angles. For example, some of those rarely-updated blogs, by some obscure reason, have a high PR and the comments are do-follow. Leaving a comment there is a great backlink from a high PR site.
I think we always must look for the bright side of things.
I wait for your visit to my blog
Cheers
Jorge

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I’ve already commentated on your blog Jorge.

I just double-checked and noticed that my photo doesn’t appear on the comment. Is there a plug-in I need to install? My photo does show on the majority of blogs I visit.

I didn’t realize that some of the dormant blogs have a high PR, is there an easy way to check this when you visit?

Sorry for all the questions Jorge, I will look on the bright side and hope these things sort themselves out on their own.

Good luck with the Challenge.

John

[Reply]
Anne on August 18th, 2010 at 3:27 am

John
You are right this is certainly a great idea and a very good way to get those much loved backlinks to your site.
Another useful thing I have found is to create a fan page on Facebook. I have a page for both of my main sites – one self help and the other travel and it certainly creates interest.

Anne

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
That’s a good idea with Facebook Anne. I don’t use Twitter, but I quite like Facebook. I shall look into separating my personal friends, from my Internet Marketing contacts.

Good luck with the 100 comment challenge Anne.

John

[Reply]
Connie Chen from Seed Of Magic -True Beauty Tips on August 18th, 2010 at 5:42 am

Hello John,

I like blog hopping and I am thrilled especially after joining the 100 comments challenge. It’s like an doorway which opens my mind and my eyes, because I didn’t have such experiences before I started my own blog. And I feel very excited as I am learning solid knowledge in the new world. Now I am focusing on my content and I will also try to visit more forums for valuable comments. Thanks for sharing~

Cheers.
Connie

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
You use nice expressions Connie , I also think blogs are a doorway into the world. It’s a good way of finding out how other people think. I have always read novels for this, but with a blog you can interact and get a deeper understanding.

I don’t visit many forums, but I must put this on my ‘to do list’. Thanks for the reminder Connie.

John

[Reply]
Thu Nguyen from BloggingFor on August 18th, 2010 at 7:48 am

Hi John,

I too find that blogs who don’t update or respond to their comments ones which I stay away from but I do take a little time to browse the content. If it’s good, I tend to read a little more and test comment. Most of the time, I get a response. However, it’s just these blogs are lonely and they need more visitors. So it always start with one. It’s nice to be that one if you can.

It took me one to see the mass effect trickle later. Here’s to your 100th trickle! BTW, like the button you got there. ;P

Thu

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
That’s a very altruistic policy you have there Thu. I hadn’t thought of a blog just being lonely and maybe needing one comment to revive it.

I’m glad you like the Button Thu, most people seem to have picked other designs, but my button is more colourful and also credits Jacinta Dean for getting the challenge idea. I have learned since starting that Steve King was also a co-founder.

John

[Reply]
Vivien from Internet Marketing on August 18th, 2010 at 8:22 am

Hi John

Thanks for the great pointers in your article and url links to some great blogs! I do agree that visiting others blogs regularly brings good backlinks to improve our Google rankings. But like what you’ve mentioned, I find it quite a hassle too to do this on a regular basis too.

Hope you see great successes in this blog challenge!

Rgds
Vivien

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 4:38 am
Glad you liked the links Vivien.

The only way to blog hop regularly is to schedule a time in your daily or weekly routine. You can cut out the hassle by only selecting blogs that update regularly AND reply to their comments – blog hopping can be quite enjoyable then.

See you on your blog Vivien.

John

[Reply]
Dave Whittle on August 18th, 2010 at 4:29 pm

Hi John,

I’m certainly “meeting” some interesting people and interesting blogs with this 100 challenge!
Some people are obviously natural bloggers and some(like me)are not ).
We need more time for this internet game.

Love the kangaroo but is that Fosters he is drinkin? Hmm.

Regards,
Dave

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 4:48 am
I’m not sure about ‘natural bloggers’ Dave, it’s like everything else in life; ‘practice makes perfect’.

When I started 18 months ago I had never kept a diary. It was hard work at first, and I dropped any idea of writing an eBook to concentrate on this blog. It was worth it, I now find writing posts very easy AND enjoyable – I actually look forward to it.

I have experienced a similar effect with my oil paintings. I have painted regularly over the past 12 months, and surprise, surprise, I’m getting better at it.

I doubt the kangaroo is drinking real ale Dave, I don’t think they have it in Australia. But a cold Fosters should cool him down after a hard day hopping.

John

[Reply]
Steve Wilkins on August 18th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

Hi John,

Interesting post and very colourful images

I too do not like it when blog owners do not reply to your comment that you take the time to write.

There is also nothing sadder then visiting a blog that hasn’t been updated or posted on in months. I shall be stopping back here again soon and will also be doing some serious blog hopping!

See you soon!
Steve Wilkins.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Glad you like the colourful images Steve, you might have guessed I like blue and yellow.

It is quite frustrating when blog owners don’t bother to reply to your comments, it seems like you are being ignored. It certinly puts you off going to their blog again, which won’t help their google page rankings.

That’s a good word to use for neglected blogs ‘sad’, you know that the blog has been left to wither on the vine, which is very sad.

Bon Voyage with your blog hopping Steve.

John

[Reply]
from nutritional cleanse on August 19th, 2010 at 4:12 am

Hi John

Especially now since the big google change and more emphasis on love for your website commenting does great wonders. Couple that with social bookmarking and you have a great recipe for success.
Good luck!
Anne

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I wasn’t aware of the Google change Anne, but happy to learn that blog commenting is even more valuable now.

Social bookmarking has only just appeared on my radar screen, and I’m not sure what to do about it? Still, plenty of time to learn.

Good luck to you as well Anne.

John

[Reply]
Nathan Rufus from internet marketing tip on August 19th, 2010 at 10:32 am

Hey John, how’s it going?

Thanks for popping by the blog, and thanks for listing my one here.

I know what you mean, blog hopping can be hard work, especially when blogs are left abandoned and not updated (…I’ve been guilty of this before, but for good reason…)

But there is one thing that I ALWAYS do and that’s reply to blog comments (…just as you do here…)

It creates a briliant community. I call it “one big chat” and you’re building a great community here.

I’ll definitely be back (…sorry it took me so long to get here in the first place, need a 28 hour day…)

Reach new heights

Nathan

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 4:28 am
It’s a pleasure to give your link Nathan, you obviously have sent a lot of traffic to Sally Neils blog – and she ended up with over 4,000 visitors in a month.

If you find that 28 hour day let me know Nathan. Thats a good expression you use; “one big chat”, it captures what I like about blogs – the interaction.

Good luck with the challenge.

John

[Reply]
Richard Davy from Together we will succeed on August 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm

Hi John,
returning the compliment following your visit to my blog, which I’m sorry to say I haven’t replied to yet! But no worries I will get to it.
You are so right blog hopping or oil rig hopping as Alex Jeffreys calls it is a wonderful way to get to meet fellow bloggers. Yes, I agree that visiting blogs that have not been updated and also those bloggers who don’t reply to comments can be a little sad.
This comment idea is great and I am glad to be taking part. Though I think the REAL challenge will be for participants to keep on visiting, commenting AFTER the challenge is over, don’t you think.
In my opinion there is not a lot of point in doing a month of blog hopping, rather, it is an activity that should be included in the daily or weekly routine of EVERY blogger?
Once again thanks for the stimulation!!
all the best with the challenge, speak soon.
Richard
tweeted
follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/Rich1d
my recent post at http://richard-davy.com/100-no-110-blog-comment-challenge/

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 4:22 am
I’m not worried about your reply Richard, I know you will get around to it. I must admit I have got behind with my own replies, the challenge seems to be gaining momentum and I got a load of comments all arriving at the same time.

I wondered what “oil rigging” was – thanks for clearing that up.

You’re quite right Richard, the REAL CHALLENGE is to continue blog hopping after August. I confess that 100 blogs takes up too much time, and I have got the very hard job of selecting the blogs I want to visit regularly. The standard I have seen is very high; – John Thornhill and Alex Jeffrey are obviously excellent mentors.

I agree with you about scheduling blog hopping, it should be part of a daily or at least a weekly routine. If we don’t schedule the time it won’t happen.

Keep up the good work Richard.

John

[Reply]
Brian Alcock on August 19th, 2010 at 2:35 pm

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing the importance of updating your blog. It is time wasting to keep visiting, only to find everything is still the same.

I know I need to do more posting and blog hopping myself and this challenge has really put me to the test.

It really is great to meet up with some brilliant people and make new friends, whilst also improving our google page rankings.

Look forward to visiting your blog and keeping in touch in future.

Regards,

Brian

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 4:11 am
Welcome aboard the challenge Brian.

I think most people needed a kick in the pants to see the value of blog hopping, myself included.

Developing new friendships was an unexpected bonus for me. It will be great to continue these relationships after the challenge has ended.

See you soon on your blog Brian.

John

[Reply]
Daniel M. Wood from Sales Techniques, Motivation and Success on August 20th, 2010 at 10:25 am

Hej John,

Great post.
Blog hopping is certainly valuable and something I encourage any blogger to do.
I look forward to seeing you soon and I hope you stop by my blog.

//Daniel

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I’ve already visited your blog Daniel, but I’ve just hopped over again and left a comment on your Napoleon review. If you write regular book reviews I will be adding you to my blog roll, it makes a change from Internet Marketing.

John

[Reply]
Daniel M. Wood from Sales Techniques, Motivation and Success Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Hey John,

With this 100 comment challenge it is extremely difficult to keep track of all the comments
Thanks a lot for leaving a new comment, I really liked the book about Napoleon and will be publishing another review about Churchill in a week or two.

I try to share information about the products I have used and found interesting to my readers

I appreciate you adding me and you already have yourself a new subscriber to your RSS feed.

Speak to you soon my friend
//Daniel

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Daniel,

Have I got an RSS feed? If I have, where is it? I used to have the Orange RSS logo, but I deleted it and didn’t realise I still have RSS somewhere on this blog.

John
Daniel M. Wood from Sales Techniques, Motivation and Success on August 20th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

hehe, I actually did it the old fashioned way by typing http://johnmcnally54.com/feed

But why have you deleted the RSS button?

//Daniel

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
I deleted it so long ago, I can’t actually remember. I think maybe it was because it was messing up the header design. I will get around to re-installing it one day.

John

[Reply]
Vince on August 20th, 2010 at 4:11 pm

Hi John
I like your blog the pictures are great too. The 100 blog challenge is a good idea. I too am having trouble keeping track of all the comments, but its is a great way to meet people online
All the best
Vince

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Vince, You’ve got a typo in your signature link. You’ve got ,com instead of .com. Better correct that, you’re missing out on a load of lovely backlinks.

You’re right, this challenge is a great way to meet new bloggers.
See you on your blog.

John

[Reply]
Vince Reply:
August 30th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Hi John
Thanks for the heads up
Vince

[Reply]
Jess Webb on August 20th, 2010 at 5:56 pm

Hi John!

Great to meet you through this Challenge.

I’ve only recently started doing much blog hopping and have found it to really increase the comments and interaction on my blog. I love it! It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find blogs that I want to read, as well.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 6:13 pm
I agree with you Jess. I’ve never had so many comments on my blog, and the challenge has unearthed some great blogs to read. There seems to be a real community spirit building up around this.

Good luck with the challenge Jess.

John

[Reply]
Rick Byrd on August 20th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

John:

Blog hopping/commenting can be very time consuming and it can be very productive. For me I find blogs in my niche that have a lot of commentors then I subscribe to their RSS feed so I can see when they create a new post. I use Bloglines.

One important thing to remember: if you want to get other commentors to come to your blog then you need to leave valuable and informative comments that will give the other commentors a reason to click on your link and visit your blog.

I recommend that everyone set a goal for the number of blogs to comment on each day because if you are not careful you can spend too much time on commenting and not get other tasks completed.

Good luck to you!

- Rick

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 6:21 pm
That’s a good point about scheduling commenting time Rick. You need to have a daily/weekly plan for blog comments. Not only to make sure you do this regularly, but also to ensure you don’t spend too much time on it either.

I don’t use RSS feeds much, but I can see they could be useful for blog update alerts….What is “bloglines”?

Informative and useful comments is something I always strive for. I know that when I read an interesting comment, I often click the signature link to see what the authors blog is like.

Good luck to you as well Rick.

John

[Reply]
Kat from eBayLearningBlog, learning to sell on eBay, eBay learning on August 21st, 2010 at 11:32 am

John,

I’m learning a lot on this blog challenge as I’m a newbie and haven’t done a great deal of blog hopping. I’m guilty of not replying to comments because I didn’t know how. In fact, your post made me go to my blog and look to see if how I responded on my previous try (from the admin panel instead of the blog view) “took” and they did. Only thing is, I have to approve my own comments!

Thanks for the list of 9 best blogs to hop and for participating in the 100 Blog comment challenge.

Good to meet you,

Kat

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Kat, I recommend you install the free plugin ‘WordPress Thread Comment’ it gives a reply button at the end of every comment, and puts your reply in a coloured box, with a photo…like this.

It makes replying really easy, and you can answer each person directly under their comment, it doesn’t matter if you have left it a few days – you can still reply in sequence.

Hope this helps Kat, and don’t worry about being a newbie – We’re ALL NEWBIES, just at different stages of the same journey.

John

[Reply]
Andy Brown on August 21st, 2010 at 8:04 pm

Hi John,

My take would be to analysis whether you see yourself making a living selling products in the IM niche or whether this will only be part of your business.

If you fundamentally have a plan to develop a site in another niche I wouldn’t devote an excessive amount of time to visiting a whole bunch of IM blogs – it can be a great time waster!

Traffic is only worth having if you can convert it, so make sure you have your marketing funnel in place before devoting a lot of time to blog hopping.

Whilst it van be great making friends and creating online relationships it has to be taken in the context of how much money you are making for the time you put into your business.

Please get back to me if you would like to discuss this further.

Kind Regards

Andy

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:18 am
That’s a very good point Andy, and you are the first person to raise it. Internet Marketing will only be a part of my future income, and may only be a small part.

I haven’t got a marketing funnel in place at all. When I get new people on my lists, they just receive what they asked for and nothing else. No future sales promotions are in place.

I would be more comfortable selling Internet Marketing products AFTER I have made money out of other niches. Then I could feel I knew what I was talking about.

Blog commenting can be enjoyable and a social activity, however if your object is to make money on the internet, then it has to be valued on a time/cost basis. Time may be better spent developing and promoting products that make you money.

Thanks for this Andy, your comment has put everything into perspective.

John

[Reply]
Mark Sherman on August 22nd, 2010 at 9:51 pm

Hi John,

You are so right by saying “I don’t like visiting blogs that haven’t been updated for months, or even worse, blogs that don’t reply to your comments”. As you know, it takes a constant effort to do these things, but is absolutely necessary, if you are serious about this.

Your post is a great reminder to keep a good blog-roll of like minded individuals and visit those blogs often.

Your blog looks great and I look forward to your future posts.

Take care,

Mark

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:15 am
Thanks for visting Mark. I regularly comment on blogs, but I am quite ruthless in conserving time. I know that my blog roll have interesting, regular posts AND reply to comments, so I always visit them. Sometimes I look at other blogs by clicking on a ‘Top Commentators’ list.

This challenge has introduced me to lots of new blogs, and now I need to select some to add to my blog roll.

Good luck with the challenge Mark.

John

[Reply]
Pierre Trudel on August 23rd, 2010 at 4:06 am

Hi John,
This is Pierre from Canada at http://theequest.com/?p=3018.
I am part of the 100 comments challenge.
I follow many people from Australia and have great rapport with many of you. We seem to be like minded in many ways. I do not know why.
Blog hopping is a great way to spread a message but only if it adds value to your readers.
I follow Darren from Problogger because he has tremendous continual content.
Lets stay in touch, even if we are 12 hours apart.
Pierre

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:28 am
Hello Pierre, I’m actually in England, though I think I could easily become Australian.

Being 12 hours apart isn’t a problem with blogs Pierre, and I like the idea of interacting with people all over the world. I think you are my first contact in Canada, and it would be good to hear from you again.

Good luck with the challenge Pierre, I hope you get loads of visitors.

John

[Reply]
Pierre Trudel Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Thanks for the reply John.
I am taking the time to look at some of your categories. You have a varied field. Pierrette & I are concentrating on Thee Quest For Perfect Health. Would you have ideas or products that you trust and believe in that we might look at?
We promote a product called Eating For Energy at http://www.eatingforenergy.ca/?hop=peterette.We are affiliates.This is a very competitive market yet we have built expertise over the last three years and are in excellent health.
Sorry for the Aussie thing,the Kangaroo on your blog!
Pierre

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Sorry, I can’t help with any recommendations Pierre. I haven’t bought any health and fitness products, apart from running shoes.

I normally just look on Clickbank for any products related to the health and fitness post I have written.

Glad to hear you and Pierrette are in good health. I don’t really think this can be bought, healthy living comes from motivation which you obviously both have.

John
Jacinta Dean on August 24th, 2010 at 2:32 am

Hi John,

I finally got here!

Have been a bit swamped! Finally finished those blasted audio transcriptions that took me 6 months, plus somehow I started a challenge! Oops on that one!

I did not realise how time consuming this is, however well worth it! Although hubby and bubba think my fingers are glued to the keyboard!

I am sure Sally is very appreciative of the mention plus listing everyone’s blogs.

I laughed on your comment on RSS “Do I have…. where is it?” Even though you removed your graphic you still have a feed. You can sign up with ‘feedburner’ that way people can subscribe to your feed via email as well if they want to. Daniel Sumner suggested that one to me.

I am not sure everyone will get around to everyone’s blogs by the end of the month. I get the feeling it will probably run into the first week of September.

Considering this is the first attempt at the challenge by everyone it will be really interesting to see the results at the end. I am taking a table of all the comments as I go. That way I can see who is getting around to who’s blog.

See you back here soon when I do the final contributors tally.

Cheers

Jacinta

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Ha, ha, I knew you would get to me in the end Jacinta. I know you spent a lot of time setting this up, whereas I did my usual nothing, instead I spent all the time visiting blogs.

I know you have your own list of challengers but I used Barry Wells list and kept a note of the numbers I had commented on. Today I finished off the final 102. Yippee, I can relax for a bit.

I’m glad to hear you have finished the transcriptions, that will save you a lot of money each month.

One thing bothers me every time I see it Jacinta, but don’t worry I think it’s a generation-gap problem. You called your inspiration for the 100 comment challenge a “bimbo moment”. In my generation ‘bimbo’ is a derogatory term usually associated with another negative phrase “dumb blonde”. It upsets me when I see you refer to yourself as a bimbo, but maybe the words meaning has changed over the years?

Anyway well done with creating this challenge, you’ve inspired a lot of people to work on their blogs, and probably saved quite a few from falling by the wayside.

John

PS. It has also doubled the visitors to my blog.

[Reply]
Jacinta Dean Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Hi John,

Thought I would pop back again to check if others had commented.

on the bimbo comment! That is my way of making fun of me! I don’t find the comment bad in any way. I know some people probably do, however with my history I find it a fun and laughable. I am always making silly comments and laughing at myself.

Here is an acronym for you: B=Beautiful I=Intelligent M=Mother B=Business O=Opportunist

Cheers

Jacinta

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
That’s good Jacinta, I don’t take myself too seriously either, and if I ever did, there are plenty of people who would put me straight.

I like the acronym – that’s more like you.

John

Gwen Tanner from Product Creation Blog Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I love all your BIMBO comments/moments/questions Jacinta!!!

You are the best and you know it too!!

Gwen
Shakira from eskimo costume on August 25th, 2010 at 8:43 am

This is such an important post.Really took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It is always good when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!

I also believe that Blog hopping is not all about building links for PR and SERPs sake only. It should also build reputation and pull potential traffic back to your website. Above all, it should be a give and take relationship.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 4:29 am
I’m glad you enjoyed the post Shakira, and well done reading all the comments – that must have taken ages.

Blogs ARE a lot more than just PR exercises, they should be about developing relationships, as you said. When I was going through a philosophical stage, I wrote a post called “Zen and the Art of Blogging”. That concluded everything should be QUALITY.

Keep up the good work Shakira.

John

PS. I had to think about SERPs? That means ‘State Earnings Related Pension’ to me, but I guess it’s ‘Search Engine Ranked Pages’?

[Reply]
Lorina Noble on August 25th, 2010 at 11:08 am

Hi Alex,
I hope your blog hopping gets better as each day goes by. I didnt realize how time consuming the challenge would actually be. It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one feeling the same way. Overall I think the challenge was a great idea. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Much Success,

Lorina Noble
Miss Mindset Makeover
Millionaire Mindset

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 4:36 am
Thanks Lorina, the blog hopping HAS got easier with practice, and I can show off – I’ve finished commenting on all 101 blogs. I ‘cheated’ though, I knew about Jacinta’s challenge very early on, and started commenting at the end of July.

Blog hopping, like anything worthwhile does take time, but it certainly has an effect – My own visitors have more than doubled to over 2,000 in a month.

Good luck with the challenge Lorina, and don’t worry about running out of time, Jacinta has said that this will probably over-run into September.

John

[Reply]
Michelle on August 25th, 2010 at 2:51 pm

Hi John,

I’ve spent so much time Blog hopping during the challenge I’ve not made time to write a new post.

Thanks for the kick up the bum, I’m on it.

To your success
Michelle

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 4:41 am
Easily done Michelle, glad to hear you’re back on the case.

In the past 12 months I have just concentrated on blog-hopping and trying to write a new post every 3 days. With practice this has become easier and easier, and I have now moved onto submitting an article every week.

Keep focused and you will see the same effect Michelle, everything gets easier.

John

[Reply]
Rob Bradley (** RJB **) on August 26th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Hey John,

I’m just checking out some of the blogs in the 100 comment challenge! I think my comment takes you to 147 responses so I guess the challenge is working!

Love the kangaroo pic above

Congrats on getting so many comments!!!

Rob
(** RJB **)

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 4:48 am
Thanks Rob, It’s only the challenge that has produced so many comments, so we should both be thanking Jacinta and Steve.

I ‘need’ to get over 200 responses, because my own replies count as a comment. That’s a deliberate policy however for SEO purposes. I recommend the free plugin ‘WordPress Thread Comment’ for SEO.

I am definitely going to use more kangaroo photos in the future – they have been far more popular than my post.

Good luck with the challenge Rob.

John

[Reply]
Keith Alston on August 27th, 2010 at 12:07 pm

Hi John, Ive eventually made it here, should have been a lot sooner tho’ i know. Blog hopping is certainly working if the results of the challenge are to go by. Time seems to be the biggest problem but it must be done in order to prove ourselves.
I agree with your point on replying to posts which is a massive downfall on my side which I must correct ASAP.
Love the bright cheerful site. Good info mate, keep it up
Keith

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
You must be another blue and yellow lover Keith. I never thought of it as bright and cheerful, but you’re right, it is.

Replying to posts can be a problem, especially when a lot arrive at the same time. I ‘approve’ the comments straight away, which because they’re published then puts me under pressure to reply.

The only thing I’ve done different this month is enter the 100 comment challenge, yet my blog visitors have more than doubled to its highest ever level – currently 2,331 in a month.

Just shows how effective blog-hopping can be. Keep up the good work Keith, and good luck with the challenge. I think this will be a very busy weekend!

John

[Reply]
Dave Smith from Internet Marketing Secrets on August 27th, 2010 at 10:38 pm

Hello John,
Good post and you’re right about the replying, feels like your comments go into the wilderness if no response. Thanks for the blog links too, will be helpful. I must admit that blog hopping can be time consuming, have been doing more of it than normal with the challenge, however I’ve seen so many good blogs and information that I might have missed that I think it has been worth all the time.
Good luck
Cheers

Dave

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 2:02 am
Blog hopping is certainly time-consuming Dave, but worth it in terms of traffic. Also as you have found, there are a lot of undiscovered gems waiting to be uncovered in the blogosphere.

The hardest part for me will be deciding which of the many good blogs to add to my blog roll for regular visiting.

I’ve just added keywords for the first time to the ‘KeywordLuv’ plugin, I’m curious to see how it works. It should help gain targeted traffic to the blog.

Keep up the good work Dave.

John

[Reply]
Jerry from TheOnlineSuccessProgramBlog.com on August 28th, 2010 at 5:41 am

We should all take as many lessons from Sally Neil as possible! She is a master at “helping herself” to a bit of the traffic pie. I totally agree with you about hitting blogs that have a lack of an update. It is important to keep your blog fresh – giving people a reason to return.

Look for that one little nugget to add to your stash when you blog hop. As your stash grows, so does your ability to share that stash with others.

Jerry

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 3:26 am
I agree with you Jerry. I notice that Sally is the “Blog Hopping Queen”, so she must be worth following.

I like your idea about little nuggets. I’ve just started to use ‘KeywordLuv’ and that’s my little nugget for today, to add to my growing stash.

Good luck with the challenge Jerry.

John

[Reply]
Clare from Disney Autograph Books on August 28th, 2010 at 7:26 am

Hi John – Those are great results you’ve had from your blog hopping challenge. I always forget how valuable this kind of exercise can be. You get to meet some great bloggers, learn new things and drive more traffic:)

Clare

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 3:31 am
I must admit Clare, I’ve been amazed at the amount of traffic this blog hopping challenge has generated. The bonus is that you can find some really interesting blogs, useful information, and feel part of a worldwide blogging community.

John

[Reply]
Sally from blog hopping queen on August 28th, 2010 at 3:46 pm

Hiya John

Thanks for mentioning me and my secret sauce traffic blogs.

I am actually going to make that a regular post on my blog as so many people seemed to like it.

I will add that not all traffic is equal as I have since discovered and will be sharing that too.

Hope your well, Sally

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 3:44 am
That’s a good idea to give regular posts on traffic sources Sally, I’m sure you will get loads of regular visitors for that.

Your discovery that not all traffic is equal reminded me of ‘Animal Farm’ ; “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

Thanks for letting me list your top 10 traffic blogs Sally, I think that has been helpful for this challenge.

I like your moniker “Blog Hopping Queen” it suits you. See you back on your blog.

John

[Reply]
Viral Video Challenge | Make Money Blogging on August 29th, 2010 at 5:07 pm

[...] Video Challenge Viral Video ChallengeThanks to a fellow blogger John McNally, I learned of the 100 comment challenge and I decided to start a viral video challenge. How this will work is you would create a video that [...]
Gwen Tanner from Product Creation Blog on August 29th, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Ohhh!! I love blog hopping and glad I hopped over to your blog today for a great laugh and smile with the beer-drinking kangaroo! Also thanks to Sally for allowing you to share her list. One of my favorite blogs is definitely in that list!!

Good luck with the challenge!
Gwen

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 30th, 2010 at 5:02 am
If you had a good laugh Gwen, writing the post was worthwhile. I’m definitely going to use kangaroo photos again, they’re the most popular bit.

I wonder which is your favourite blog Gwen? There were 9 to choose from. I was pleased that Sally allowed me to publish the list, hopefully it has helped participants in the challenge.

Enjoy your blog hopping Gwen.

John

[Reply]
John McNally on August 30th, 2010 at 4:19 am

Thanks for the mention Brandon, though credit should have gone to the challenge originators; Jacinta Dean and Steve King. If the viral video challenge is only half as successful,it will be well worth it.

John

[Reply]
Dawn Kay on August 30th, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Hi John

I did a bit of blog hopping before but not as much as I have since joining this challenge. Yes its time consuming but the time put in was definitely worth it as I’ve learnt a lot from the blogs I’ve visited plus made lots of new friends along the way so I will continue blog hopping but need a rest first.

Regards

Dawn Kay

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:10 am
I’m on my rest period now Dawn. I was lucky, I caught onto the blog challenge in late July, and started blog hopping every day, reaching 101 before the end of August. I couldn’t keep up that intensity forever, so like you said, I need a rest from it as well.

The hard part for me now is choosing which blogs to add to my regular visiting list…..

John

[Reply]
Mike Calmot on August 30th, 2010 at 5:10 pm

Hi John
Hey I want some of that traffic
And I like your kangaroo!
Best wishes
Mike

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:13 am
Hopefully you will get more traffic through the blog hopping challenge Mike. Glad you like the Kangaroo – he has proven to be a very popular character.

John

[Reply]
Patrick Lynch on August 30th, 2010 at 7:10 pm

I’m the worst at replying to comments…sorry to everyone that has noticed that already. Now that you’ve mentioned that, I am going to go start replying to them . Blot hopping has been fun, but it can also be time consuming when you have to visit 100 of them LOL.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:20 am
Visiting 100 blogs is certainly time-consuming Patrick, and I’m not sure it’s possible to do regularly, unless you’re very organised and committed.

I think that replying to your comments is just as important as leaving one, so I hope you get around to that Patrick.

Good luck with the challenge.

John

[Reply]
John Edler on August 30th, 2010 at 7:43 pm

Thanks John,

That’s a really helpful post. So many things to look at, does anyone do a speed reading course? LOL

Your point about a sense of community is sport on, I guess that’s been an unadvertised bonus for many of us taking part in this Challenge

John
Author of ‘Sticky Memory’
http://johnedler.com/blog/sticky-memory-have-i-coined-a-new-term-/?/html

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:24 am
Speed reading is a good idea for this John, I think I’ve probably speeded up anyway.

I thought I was entering the challenge to increase traffic, but actually the bonus has been meeting so many new people with interesting and informative blogs. The hard part will now be picking and choosing beween them, because I don’t think I can visit 100 blogs a month regularly.

Keep up the good work John.

John

[Reply]
Brian Ripley on August 30th, 2010 at 10:17 pm

Hi John. A very good post and I love the picture of your girlfriend.

Is she winking or is that just smoke getting in her eyes? Just wondering.

Anyway the 100 blog challenge is turning out to be quite lively and useful exercise. It is remarkable the way people have responded to it and I think the most important lesson at least that I have learned, is how we all seem to have the same problems and insecurities.
I am glad that I have entered upon this challenge and know you are to.
Best wishes and salutations to your better half.

Brian

[Reply]
John McNally from Making Money on the Internet Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:37 am
You’re lucky Brian, my girlfriend has just left home so I’m safe to reply now. For a long time the only girlfriend I had WAS characters like that kangaroo I would meet down the pub.

I’m now using the Internet to try and earn a regular income, but my first Internet success was with my girlfriend. I met Margaret through an Internet Dating site, and have been very happy ever since. I know that without the Internet I would never have met Margaret through my normal social circles ; we were living in different towns for a start.

You’re right about having the same problems Brian. We’re all on similar journeys, so it’s useful to meet other people further down the road who have got pre-tested solutions for us.

John

[Reply]
John Kilgallon from Restaurant Recipe Secrets on August 31st, 2010 at 1:40 pm

John, my first experience at “blog hopping” is this 100 comment challenge and I have found it absolutely invigorating! The topics and personalities are so widespread. This is a total win win.

John

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 10:45 pm
You’re lucky if this is your first blog hopping experience John. It’s the most exciting and productive blog activity I have done for the past 18 months.

Definitely a win-win situation.

John

[Reply]
Mike Fleming on August 31st, 2010 at 6:07 pm

Hi John,
Wow were getting down to the end of this challenge today is it as you know, the Tractor show went good no hard rain just a light sprinkle that always seems to kill the show as I said that I will be taking pictures of the show and your right I should have wrote my challenge post about the Tractor show my bad didn’t think of it. While blog hopping I’ve came across some very interesting blogs with some great information on them.
Enjoy the Challenge.
Mike

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Glad to hear you only had a light sprinkle of rain for the Tractor Show Mike, I can imagine that there would be a real quagmire if there was heavy rain.

You’re right, there are some interesting blogs in the challenge, but your Tractors make you unique, so I would make more of them.

Good luck with the challenge Mike.

John

[Reply]
Jennifer from Online Business Making Money at Home on August 31st, 2010 at 9:44 pm

Hi, John

I too don’t like dormant blogs. Sadly mine hasn’t been updated recently as I’ve been getting really side-tracked with all the e-mails I’m receiving with offers of stuff I didn’t know I needed! lol

I didn’t realise
a) that search engines paid attention to the number of comments you got on your blog post!
b) that people looked for replies to other people’s comments – I try to reply personally by e-mail since, with all this blog-hopping folks may “forget” where they’ve been! Maybe I’ll go back to replying on the blog – you think?
c) what a lovely community is out there – such good advice and such support.

The only problem is that I could blog hop all day and never actually get anything else done! lol

Keep hopping

Jennifer

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Jennifer, I would definitely reply to your comments on your blog for two reasons.

1) Google regards your reply as extra new content, with new keywords for their search engine.
2) If you reply by private email, it looks like you aren’t bothering to reply at all to your new blog visitors, so they may not bother to comment.

Blog hopping could easily be full time, but it’s like most things in life – everything in moderation (apart from alcohol obviously ).

Good luck with the Challenge.

John

[Reply]
Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny on September 1st, 2010 at 12:34 am

What a small world! It’s hard to believe that I visit one of the blogs on your list. It’s nice to know that we’re not all that far away from each other. Plus, I found Alex through him leaving comments on my blog. I’ve met several really cool bloggers through him too. Great job on this post!

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 3:50 pm
The world has got a lot smaller through this challenge Cheryl. The core participants are on marketing courses with Alex Jeffreys and John Thornhill, so it’s always nice to meet an independent blogger like youself.

Thanks for visiting Cheryl, and good luck with the 100 comment challenge.

John

[Reply]
LynnN from Online Auction Ideas on September 1st, 2010 at 9:26 pm

Hi John

Great post, and I love the picture! Looks like the kangaroo has finished hopping around the 100 blogs in the Challenge and is chilling out and laughing at us who are still catching up

I am guilty of not posting on my blog as often as I should but I do always reply to comments.

Well, I must get a move on now or I’ll never be able to join the ‘roo

Warm Regards
Lynn

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 4:28 am
Lynn, you will be as relaxed as my kangaroo when you’ve finished hopping around all the blogs.

I think you have the right priority, replying to comments is a must. Sometimes other projects, and even the real world intrudes on our posting schedules, but at least the blog looks ‘live’ if all the comments are replied to.

Good luck with the challenge, and check out your visitor statistics Lynn; mine have more than doubled to 2,341 in a month.

John

[Reply]
Fran T on September 5th, 2010 at 1:13 am

Hi, John,
Got a little more hopping to do. I have enjoyed this challenge so much, met a lot of new friends and learned even more! I feel really blessed to have been included, as I am quite new to the world of internet marketing/blogging.
Good to meet you,
Fran T

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 5:47 am
Hello Fran,

You may be new to blogging, but you managed to find this post which I wrote on 26th July. I didn’t think I would get any more comments here as it is no longer “sticky” – (staying at the top of my page).

This challenge was an excellent idea, and we were all lucky to be a part of it. I heard about the blog hopping early on, at the end of July, so I managed to get around everyones blogs by the end of August. Don’t worry though, I think quite a few people are still catching up in September.

Good luck with the Blog Hopping Challenge Fran.

John

[Reply]
elizabeth on September 6th, 2010 at 1:33 am

This is my second go around to make sure everyone’s post gets a tweet for the 100 comment challenge. I have tweeted your post.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Thanks Elizabeth, your post has given me the kick up the backside I needed. I have never Social Bookmarked anything before, so I was putting it off. Thanks to you I have also now Tweeted everyone in the challenge, and I was pleased to find that it was really easy.

John

[Reply]
Richard from House Rabbits on September 6th, 2010 at 11:46 am

Hi John
I think this post will still be popular for some time yet, because bloggers are always looking for inspiration to increase the amount of people who leave comments on their blog.
I’m fairly new to blog hopping, but I’m really enjoying doing it because I’m learning many new things, as well as finding lots of interesting blogs to read!
Thanks for the tips
Richard

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 7:37 am
What a great website you have Richard, I’ve never seen so many rabbits on my computer, although I do see quite a few on my early morning runs.

If you are new to blog hopping, you’re lucky to be part of the challenge Richard, it’s the most successful thing I’ve done for 18 months.

John

[Reply]
Richard from House Rabbits Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Thanks John!
It’s good to know that there is a supportive and helpful blogging community out there, and I’m discovering that blog hopping is the best way to find it!

[Reply]
Tamara from jessie costume on September 7th, 2010 at 7:25 am

Really excellent and useful post. Blog hopping is a smart thing to do. It’s fun. You meet good bloggers. It helps you to establish your online presence … and it’s just plain good business..

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 7:43 am
Tamara, your three lines just about sums everything up, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Congratulations on your “Toy Story” connection, with Toy Story 3 breaking all records you should do well. I nearly used a full box of Kleenex tissues when I saw the film.

John

[Reply]
Vance from Internet Marketing Event on September 28th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

Hey John,

I’m so glad I went back visiting your blog. I appreciate your recommending mine. Thank you so much.

I think that commenting is a great way to get in touch with what other bloggers and internet marketers are up to. It definitely brings more and new traffic as a bonus.

It does take time and I can never visit and comment on all the blogs I’d like to.

The blogs with new posts every day may or may not be posting interesting content all the time.

I’d like to post as often as that but haven’t done so yet. To me as long as a blog posts new content at least a few times per month or even once a month I’m OK with it if the content is good.

Once I know roughly their posting frequency I don’t get frustrated by visiting too often and seeing the same thing.

Of course as you point out there’s no point with in visiting blogs that haven’t updated their content in months unless you know that they’ll be coming back and there’s a reason for their pause.

Cheers,
Vance

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
September 30th, 2010 at 2:59 am
Yippee! Thanks for visiting Vance, your comment makes 200, which was my target.

It’s a pleasure to add you to my ‘worth visiting’ list. I had already found your blog, BEFORE the 1000 Comment Challenge, via Sally Neil and her ‘Secret Traffic Sources’.

I’m aiming for a post every 3 days, but that is just to get me in the habit of writing regularly. I’m hoping this will give me the momentum to write longer articles and then eventually an eBook.

I think a post every 10 days is good enough, and even once a month is OK once you know the bloggers rhythm. As you said, once you know the posting frequency, you don’t get frustrated by seeing the same post.

I actually like the infrequent bloggers, I know I only have to look at their blog once a month and I’m up to date.

John

[Reply]
Alan Ashwood on October 3rd, 2010 at 4:12 am

Hi John

Isn’t this brilliant. As I was having a mental blank, I went Blog Hopping, and found the 100 comments site. So, I’m here. Had a look around and found unethical tab. I’m constructing a new blog purely to sort that chaff from the wheat, and so, would like to refer to some of your villains, with maybe a direct link. Let me know.
Are you in Oz, I got married there (I’m a Pom), and I love it, specially the Great Whites, Brown Snakes, Mambas, Crocs, Funnel Webs, Stone Fish . . . oh er, on second thoughts? Watch out for the Kaolas though, I think theyre up to something.

Meeting some great people on this blog trip, and potsa info.

If you want to come over to visit, look for the blog ‘Chaos’, and see if you can find Gerald.

Till then
G’day
Alan

Oh, yes, nearly forgot:

PS. There’s only one ad on my site, but -
It’s excellent, I use it myself, and it’s free!
The 5 minute video will explain, with no Opt in too.
I would get paid $3 if you use it, but you could do the same. Take a look.

Many humble, grovelling thanks.

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
October 4th, 2010 at 7:35 am
I’m a Pom as well Alan, you got the Australian connection from Jacinta Dean who started the 100 comment challenge. I live in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

Just had a look at your blog, and it’s looking good. You have a lovely place in the Forest of Dean. I may be coming down your way next year, on a cycling holiday.

I’ve had a simlar FOREX experience as you, involving various ‘systems’, and I would be quite happy for you to link with my ‘Unethical Sales’ section. Once you have your new blog set up, I can return the compliment.

Got to go now, I’m off to find Gerald on ‘Chaos’ – sounds interesting.

John

[Reply]
Making Money on the Internet 20 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic on December 16th, 2010 at 4:56 am

[...] This gathered 100 bloggers into an agreement to all comment on each others blog in a month. My own post had a total of 203 comments (half were my [...]
Brian Yang on August 18th, 2011 at 1:07 am

Kick ass article. Looks like we beat the challenge by over a hundred comments.

Checking out the other websites as we speak!
Brian Yang´s last [type] ..How a Newbie Started in Internet Marketing

[Reply]
John McNally Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
We both beat the challenge Brian, but not by as much as you think. Replies are counted in the comments statistics, so you have to half the number to get the total of individual comments. i.e. I received 102 comments to this article, and 205 with my replies included.

John
Leamington Spa, England

[Reply]

BLOG HOPPING for TRAFFIC

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