Blog Comment Exchange Pods: Yes or No?

April 11, 2017

Hi guys, today's post is a little departure from my usual beauty reviews and cafe hopping posts. Today I'm going to be talking about blog comment exchange pods.


If you're new to the blogosphere and aren't familiar with comment exchange pods, it basically means that a group of people comment on each other's posts. For example, if you join a group and there's 30 of you in that group, the other 29 people will comment on your most recent post and all you have to do is comment back on those 29 people's most current post. So you get 29 comments from 29 different people and you give 29 comments to 29 different people. There are lots of different pods like Instagram follow pods, Facebook Page like pods, etc.

At first I thought, okay, these people wanna increase their number of comments and interactions on their blog. I'm inside a few blogging/social media groups on Facebook and comment pods are quite common. I never participated in one and I didn't pay it any mind.



One day a fellow blogger friend of mine asked me if I participated in comment exchange pods, and I said no. She mentioned how it was very weird and some people even won competitions because of it. Brands and PR agencies usually carry out blogger competitions to motivate bloggers to create great content for a brand/product. There's nothing wrong on the brands/PR's side, but for the bloggers who participate in comment exchange pods...I have mixed feelings about.

A lot of things can make you win a blogging competition like your creativity and your content, but one thing most brands/PR agencies look at is NUMBERS. Since they do not have access to a blogger's statistics, they can only measure the success of a blog post via comments, and I think you see where this is going.

Compare someone who simply puts up a blog post and participates in tons of comment exchange pods, versus someone who creates better content but does not participate in blog comment exchange. Who will the brand think did a better job of promoting their product/brand? Of course the one with more comments. You can say that not all PR agencies and brands take only comments as their gauge of success, but in most cases I think most brands and PR agencies want to reward the one that has spread the word about their products the widest.

I personally think that it's very artificial and fake to have tons of comments saying "Wow nice post dear", "Will definitely try this out dear", "Awesome post dear". I think comment exchange can be very constructive if bloggers really read each others blogs and interact with each other, but for the sole purpose of increasing your blog's traffic and comments...I think its very unethical.

For example, here's some comments I've screen capped from a blogger's post.
---

---
To be honest they could be real comments, but out of 19 comments these ones stood out. First, its the usual "nice recommendation" or "will check it out", and at first glance it looks okay. However, after checking the blogs of the people who comment, you can see that it's almost the same people commenting, and its mostly the same "nice recommendation" or "will check it out" comments.

I have nothing against the blogger whom I took the comments above from, and I don't know for sure if the blog post I took it from was part of a blogger contest or not. However, I personally feel that the comments are so random. They do add to the comment count, and people with lots of comments on their posts can then in turn use that as a selling point to PR agencies/brands when pitching themselves.

I started blogging in 2009 about random things but I only started blogging about skincare and beauty around 2015. That's when I saw a dramatic increase in my traffic and I was totally motivated to make more reviews that help people, as well as interesting content that people find useful and interesting to read. I'm not bragging or anything and I do not know accurate Blogger's pageview counter is, but I'm now approaching 1,000,000 page views and I have around 70,000 monthly page views. It makes me really proud to know that those pageviews were organic, and the people who comment on my blog are real people who mostly have questions about a product. I feel very happy thinking that my content and my replies to their comments somehow help them in a way.

I'm not trying to bash on people who join comment exchange pods. I actually think it should be more widespread. The only thing is that people should use comment exchange pods in a constructive way in their own blogging community and not as a way to boost their chances of winning competitions and such. Before typing this post down, I also thought about people on the other side doing comment pods and why they do it. It does provide them more opportunity, leading to more exposure, a chance of a better blogging career and a stronger selling point for brands/PRs, which can be converted into either sponsorships in the form of free products or even cash payment.

As I started attending more events and got offered to join more blogging competitions, It really got me thinking why I blog. I realized that I blog because I enjoy sharing my thoughts with other people and I enjoy creating content. Getting free stuff is fun and winning prizes can be great. However, I don't want to be the kind of blogger who buys my followers to appeal to brands + PR agencies so I can get sponsorships, or the type that participates in comment pods for the sole purpose of wanting to get more fake ass comments to win a competition or to put up a facade that a lot of people read my blog. I'd rather create awesome content where people want to comment that I did a great job of taking my pictures, my content was well written or asking me questions about a product I reviewed organically. I also want to be able to have something to back up my claims when I approach brands and ask if they would like to work with me, or to have something of substance to give in return to the brands that do approach me. It seems a bit unfair to see people with content that's half assed winning blogging competitions and getting so many free products because they're an "influential" blogger, but hey, that's just my two cents on the matter. At least I know deep down what I do and what I am: a content creator. I'm not a product whore lol #NoTNoShadeNoPinkLemonade

I don't think I'll ever participate in a blog comment exchange, but that's just me. What do you think, are comment pods alright?

Anyways thanks for reading this mini revelation/rant. See y'all in the next post! 💕

10 comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Honestly,I have been joined the comment exchange pod everytime for my blog before while I just started blogging. At the very beginning, I thought that it is a must & very important for bloggers to exchange comments (well i actually still join sometimes but only once per 2-3 months/less than that & the last time i joined is FEB). From my view, the purpose for bloggers to do this is to boost their blog's view & get more comments for their blog post.The only good thing for comment exchange pod is that you can saw different types of blogging style from different bloggers(?) but I don't know some people will using it to help them won the competition! this is very unfair to the other participants! I think nowadays the PRs they know about it & won't simply sponsored their products to bloggers according to the comments but sometimes even blog page view also got fake one lol(so some PRs will check it by using the system which can know whether your page view whether it is fake or real). This is what I know from it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tiffany, yup! Sometimes I think PRs do background checks on bloggers, but I'm not really sure how the whole process is. Its just very weird to see people go to so many events/receive so many sponsored items, and the content they produce looks half hearted. Some more some of them win prizes just because they receive lots of comments. I think its great to see lots of different blogging styles and learning from each other, and comment exchange can definitely help a blogging community grow positively together if its used the right way :)

      Delete
  3. I Will Provide Seo Blog Comment Service. & niche relevant blog comment service we provide a quality service with 100% Buyer satisfaction and My team Believed in Quality work not Quantity Contact me Now 24/7.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I Will Provide Seo Blog Comment Service. & niche relevant blog comment service we provide a quality service with 100% Buyer satisfaction and My team Believed in Quality work not Quantity Contact me Now 24/7.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This means that the comments should not be spam. If they are spam, they will be moderated. There will be an option to place your website URL. Put your website or blog URL and hit submit. If the comment is approved by the moderator, you will get a backlink from the blog where you posted the comment. blog comments seo

    ReplyDelete

  6. I got my already programmed and blanked ATM card to withdraw the maximum of $5,000 weekly for a maximum of 20 days.I am so happy about this because i got mine last week and I have used it to get $100,000.atmmachinehackers1991@yahoo.com is giving out the card just to help the poor and needy though it is illegal but it is something nice and he is not like other scam pretending to have the blank ATM cards.And no one gets caught when using the card.get yours from him today and get rich forever.Just send him email on this address atmmachinehackers1991@yahoo.com.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello friends I want to use this opportunity to announce to the whole world and everyone in need of money to contact Carla, she is giving out ATM BALNK card which you can you to withdraw $8000 everyday. [atmmachine@gmail.com] So many people are looking for a way to make more money added to their job and believe me when I say it does not depend on how you struggle to get it but your intelligence and awareness in the global world can make you richer than what you imagine, I want to share with you a genuine and guaranteed method to make extra money at home. Blank ATM card has really change people's financial situation for good, it is a cloned card for random money withdraws without being noticed and can be used for free online purchases of any kind and also you can withdraw $8000 dollar everyday., I believe this can help someone financially. I am more than sure you will get the best result. what are you waiting for? contact them today and get your blank ATM card.

    Contact email: atmmachine321@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. You can GET THE NEWLY IMPROVED BLANK ATM CARD that can hack any ATM, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.{blankatmhaker@gmail.com}

    I have been hearing about these BLANK ATM CARDS. I never knew it existed but until i tried my best to look for how i will get money to start up a business and pay my bills, i visited Facebook and some other sites so many times. I saw how people get helped with Blank ATM card from Hacking man called Jack Robert. I was really surprise but i don’t really know what to do so i decided to email Jack Robert I complained to him how i needed money and he reply Yes he is a hacking man of anything, he said he can hack cellphones and Blank ATM and others devices, so I inquired about The Blank ATM Card. I have the faith is real and it will work because i saw many comments talking about his card. He told me Yes and that it is a card programmed for random money withdraws without being noticed and can also be used for free online purchases of any kind. i was amaze. after doing what he ask, 3 days later i received my card from DHL with my pin, i rush to try it on the closest ATM machine close to me, It worked like magic i was so happy. I was able to withdraw up to $6000 immediately. This was unbelievable and the happiest day of my life, So far i have being able to withdraw up to $78000 without any stress of being trace and caught. I don’t know why i am posting this here but i care about everyone who need financial help should contact him via {blankatmhaker@gmail.com} OR https://blankatmhaker.wixsite.com/atmcard

    ReplyDelete
  9. *Cheating Spouse *University grades changing *Bank accounts hack *Twitters hack *email accounts hack *Grade Changes hack *Website crashed hack *server crashed hack *Retrieval of lost file/documents *Erase criminal records hack *Databases hack *Sales of Dumps cards of all kinds *Untraceable Ip *Individual computers hack *Websites hack *Facebook hack *Control devices remotely hack *Burner Numbers hack *Verified Paypal Accounts hack *Any social media account hack *Android & iPhone Hack *Word Press Blogs hack *Text message interception hack *email interception hack

    contact: hackwithjonny at gmail dot com +17272202668

    ReplyDelete

Write a comment & tell me your thoughts!

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

© FISHMEATDIE. Made by SoulMuse.