The Right Way to Comment Online to Get More Views and Followers (While Having Fun!)

How to borrow views from other creators while being helpful and making friends.

Sep 21, 2024

🤩 Hey! I’m Alberto. With my newsletter I want to help you reach your full potential and live your ideal life with a content-based business. I’ve been doing this since 2010.
I talk about productivity, automation, strategy and mindset.

I started publishing on Substack with zero followers, like most people. My initial posts on Notes (Substack’s social network) got just a couple likes, rarely comments.

I could have waited to draw the “go viral” lottery ticket. Or to slowly see the engagement intensify as a couple of followers joined every day.

Instead, I poured fuel on the fire, by using the strategy I’ll explain in this article. It brought 1600 followers in a little over 4 months and double-digits engagement on most on my Notes. And it works on multiple platforms.

Let’s dive in.

This is not a “trick”

I’m not sharing with you some black hat strategy that will stop working once platforms catch up and bolt the backdoor. It’s been working for years on multiple platforms.

It’s just a consequence of human nature.

When I visit a new city, I like to try the restaurants. But there are so many good candidates, even after filtering by price, rating and cuisine on Google Maps. So, how do I choose? Recommendations.

I go to the restaurants recommended by bloggers or YouTubers I trust. Or to the ones with more reviews.

The same happens with your content. When you’re well-known, your audience recommends you, and their interactions with your content also push algorithms to recommend you.

But when you’re a nobody? You borrow attention.

You can reply to other creators’ posts, taking part in existing conversations. Their audiences will read your replies and, if they’re intrigued, they’ll visit your profile and follow you.

But, as you may guess, this doesn’t work if you comment on random posts from random authors with random replies. You need…

A simple strategy

This strategy works on most platforms with the possibility of commenting. I tried it on Twitter, Medium, and Substack. But I’ve seen it work on LinkedIn, too.

I’ll provide you with a universal procedure. It’s independent of the platform, so you can use it wherever you publish. (If you want help to choose your platform, click here)

1. Follow the right people

To set you up for success, you need to start with the right creators. Who should you follow to get the best return on your investment?

First, you need creators in your niche or in adjacent niches. Your niche is a transformation you’re leading your audience to. (Read here for more details about a healthier approach to finding your niche)

So, any creator who can help towards that transformation is a suitable candidate.

For example, I help creators who want to create more and build their lifestyle solo business. So, everyone talking about content creation is an obvious candidate. But even people in the self-improvement niche are a good fit, because creators need to work on themselves to succeed.

Second, consider the creator’s following size. Very large followings are attractive. If you’re among the first one replying to creators with hundreds of thousands of followers, a spike in views is almost guaranteed.

But:

You MUST be among the first commenters, so you have to check your notifications constantly. Your engagement activity starts to look like work. (Speaking from experience)
You’ll never become friends with those creators, except for rare exceptions. Too many people are playing the reply game.

So, look instead for people with a following just a bit larger than yours. Check that they reply to the comments on their posts.

Third, focus on people you actually like. Otherwise this actually becomes a soulless hack and it’ll wear you down before it brings enough results. (And, by the way, in the age of authenticity, it’s the most inauthentic thing you can do)

2. Consume actively

Now you have to consume with your creator hat on.

Block at least 15 minutes every day. Scroll your feed or directly visit the profiles of the creators you chose.

Find content that intrigues you:

Does it trigger an insight?
Does it make you feel anything?
Does it remind you of a story or experience?

Read only what makes you curious. You’ll leave better replies and have more fun.

3. Reply thoughtfully

Your replies need to be sincere, not forced. Say something that adds to the conversation. “Thank you” or “Great post” are a waste of time for everyone.

These prompts always work:

Find something you agree with and let the author know. Maybe even compliment her. Who doesn’t like this?
Dig into your experience or the experience of your friends, relatives, and clients. Locate evidence that supports the author’s words. It’s a sort of quick case study.
Support what the author is saying with a personal story. It’s the fastest way to inspire empathy. And maybe start a friendship with the author.
Complement the information. You may have additional knowledge, something that expands upon the author’s ideas. Share it briefly, but be careful not to lecture. Imagine you are helping a friend, motivated by the will to share, not to show off.
Highlight an exception. This is tricky. You could partially disagree with the author. Sharing it creates a more complete view of the topic for the readers and highlights your expertise. But don’t sound confrontational.
Ask questions that will help other readers. Sometimes I stumble on posts that miss crucial details. I probably know enough to fill in the blanks by myself. But I know many other readers can’t. So I ask a leading question. Other readers appreciate this because they too want to know. And it’s a chance for the author to shine by giving the answer.

Altruists rule

Despite the doomsayers, generosity can still be the engine for growth on the web.

The strategy I just showed you involves following your interests, engaging with other creators, and helping their audience: can there be a better way to grow your audience?

I hope this tutorial helps. If you have any questions, share them in the replies. It will be perfectly on topic! 😉

Try this tactic and let me know how it went. Good luck!

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