www.inkthinkerblog.com — Leaving a comment is a great way to let an author know how much you liked their work. Your words may help them shape other articles, give them new ideas or simply let them know that someone is reading. There is some etiquette involved though and you will greatly improve the worth of your comment by following these five tips and suggestions.

1. Leave a comment. Even if you’re only going to say “Great stuff!” or “Love your work!”. That’s something at least for the writer who sits alone at their computer wondering if the writing life is really for them.

2. Encouraging words. Whether you like the article or not, always try to shape the language of your comment so that it reads as positive and encouraging. Constructive criticism travels further than a blatant flame. Remember that abruptness is easily taken as rudeness and will not help a writer improve their work.

3. Praise. If the article or blog has inspired, helped, educated you in some way, say so. A writer wants to know this and, again, your words will encourage further explorations into a topic.

4. Improving “sales.” In some article directories, leaving comments improves the ranking of individual authors/articles. If you have a favourite author, help them out by commenting on their articles whenever possible. Try to have something constructive to say. For some authors, comments are similar to sales. The more comments, or sales, the author achieves the more they know they are reaching an audience.

5. Generosity. Not every blogger can attract the number of comments some of the “high-rollers” can and not every blogger wants to. The reasons for opening a blog and continuing it are many and varied. Supporting some of the smaller blog sites with your comments can be the very straw that balances in favour of keeping a site open and up to date. Be generous with your words. They cost you little, but are worth much.