First of all, thanks for telling me about the typo. I have corrected that.

I like the way you put that….”When you’re a guest in someone else’s home, look to them for proper etiquette.” So true.

When I first started commenting I left a link to my site, as I wasn’t aware that my name, was “the link”. All part of the learning process….

I agree, if you first give someone “the hook” and then provide a link, it wouldn’t appear “spammy”.

It’s often through our comments that we first get found. So until your blog gets found by search engines, leaving meaningful comments on other blogs, may be what it takes to make your entrance into blogosphere.

The problem is that there’s no hook when you do that. Even though your post may be relevant, you haven’t given people a reason to care. However, if you first make meaningful comments that contribute to the discussion, you might grab people’s attention. If you then briefly indicate how the post you’re linking to further enhances the discussion, you might get a visitor. For example, instead of “check this out,” you could (after your meaningful comment) say “I’ve written a post about how to tackle this problem without running the risk of offending someone: http://………”

It’s always a good idea to learn a little bit about the owner of the blog you’re commenting on to see what types of comments are allowed or appreciated. For example, Darren Rowse on ProBlogger.net says in his comment policy “Relevant links in comments are actively encouraged,” “Irrelevant links are not encouraged,” and “I allow signatures in comments.” When you’re a guest in someone else’s home, look to them for proper etiquette.

P.S. Barbara, you have a rather prominent typo in your About page (“My name if” instead of “My name is”). I can say that because I know you like to fix typos