Bloggers' bonus: How to leave a linked comment

 Linked comments boost blog and online article readership. It’s that simple.

Bloggers are writers, but bloggers tend to be interested readers as well. We visit other blogs and leave comments on posts we have perused. Why?

• We comment on blogs to respond to what we have read, perhaps either agreeing or disagreeing.
• We comment to encourage other bloggers, who have put valuable time and effort into publishing.
• We comment to record our visits, particularly during blog events (such as the April A to Z Blogging Challenge or November’s 30 Days of Thanks).
• We comment to include links to relevant blog posts of our own, hoping the blogger and his or her readers may take interest and visit our site as well.

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Boom. There it is.

Plenty of blog comments include raw website addresses (http/URL coding). That means readers have to copy the entire codes and paste them into their web browsers, if they want to check out the referenced post or site.

Many readers won’t bother doing that. But, if active linked codes are provided, they might just click through to load those pages.

Some blog sites are set up to auto-fill the latest title links for comment writers' own blog sites, once those folks fill in their own site names and addresses in the comment boxes. But many blog sites do not yet offer this feature. And more than a few comment writers may desire to leave links to specific posts, rather than defaulting to their most recent ones.

However, linked comments are easy to do, once you have the coding. It’s a simple cut-and-paste process.

Here’s what it looks like.

Once you insert your own blog post’s http code/URL/internet address code and title (copied exactly from your own web browser, while you view your own post), it will look like this:

Notice the absence of any extra word or line spacing or punctuation. (The only space occurs at the beginning, between the a and the href.)

Here's an example, using my Amazon Author page.

If you delete the word spaces and line returns, it will convert to a hyperlink, like this:

Linda Ann Nickerson author page on Amazon

To make your own title link, just replace my http coding and my title with your own. That's it.

Now, you’re ready to comment on a blog post you have read and enjoyed … AND leave a link to one of your own relevant posts or online articles. Watch your readership increase, once you put up some active linked comments on others’ blogs and sites.

Word to the wise:  Multiple links in a single blog comment may risk being tagged as spam, so a smart blogger or writer picks just one pertinent link each time. The April A to Z Blogging Challenge and blog carnivals may be exceptions to this, if multiple sites are participating.

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Trick or treat or trick-or-treat?

Halloween is here, with writers everywhere scratching their heads. What’s the correct phrase for the Beggar’s Night tradition that sends costumed children through neighborhoods to collect candy?

Is it trick or treating, or is it trick-or-treating?

Certainly, the English language overflows with spelling and grammar exceptions. We’ve also become rather sloppy, when it comes to correct usage.

But here’s the general rule, when we talk about trick or treating.

Used as an adjective, the phrase is hyphenated. Used as a verb or noun, it is generally not. 

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Consider these examples.

1. Katie wore a feathered hat for trick or treating.
2. Trick-or-treat candy always seems to taste better on-the-run.
3. Dozens of trick or treaters raced to the porch, where a basket of candy sat unattended.
4. What is your trick-or-treat costume this year?
5. Are you taking your children to trick or treat on Halloween?
6. My scariest trick-or-treating memory had something to do with a guy in a Santa suit with a scary-looking mask.
7. “Trick or treat! Trick or treat! Give us something good to eat,” the children shouted, as Patty opened her front door.
8. Do kids still play tricks, if they don’t receive treats on Halloween?

See? That’s not so tricky at all.

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Trick or treat or trick-or-treat

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Capitol vs. capital: What's the right word?

Psst! Here’s a capital question. When a writer refers to the seat of the nation’s government, what word should he or she employ?

Here’s a speedy rundown on the use of Capitol and capital.

In the nation’s capital, the Capitol houses elected legislators. These folks are tasked with allotting the country’s capital with fiscal responsibility. When they fail to do so, although it seems a capital offense, they still remain occupied in the Capitol.

How can a writer keep these two words straight? The word Capitol, referring to the government building, includes the letter “o,” as in “Oh, no!” or “OMG.”

By the way, when writing about the Capitol building, the word is capitalized.

Now, that’s a capital idea.

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Adapted from US Capitol

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