There are lots of tips available for freelancers trying to break into writing for online publications, but one topic I don’t see mentioned very often is the value of the well-crafted comment.

Editors get solicited all the time by potential writers via email pitches, and sometimes this works (I’ll write more on that in a future blog post), but commenting is another and sometimes better way to land a writing gig.

The right comment can:

• illustrate your writing ability
• show you can take initiative
• communicate you understand the tone and style of the writing on the site
• demonstrate your passion for and knowledge of the subject matter

Consistently posting high-quality comments on a site you want to write for may not lead to freelance work right away, but it’s likely to put you on their radar  — or someone else’s — and land you writing assignments in the future.

Case in point: I discovered one of my best AfterEllen.com writers because of a single comment she left on the site.

Her comment stood out among the hundreds of others because it was well-written, intelligent, funny, and deflected criticism through sarcasm without being mean-spirited or resorting to personal attacks. Not only did the comment amuse me (never underestimate the power of provoking an emotional response in an editor), it demonstrated that the author had a good understanding of the zeitgeist of the site (which is often the most difficult thing to communicate to potential writers).

I was impressed enough by her comment that I contacted her via private message and invited her to write a sample blog post for us. A year later, she’s become one of the site’s most popular writers, and other sites have subsequently hired her for freelance writing work. She’s well on her way to being able to make a living writing full-time.

Don’t get me wrong: Her success is due to her talent and hard work. But she got her first break because she took the time to leave a thoughtful, well-written, and entertaining comment.

This story isn’t uncommon: I know of several other writers who have been hired by blogs or editorial sites by making a good impression in the comments or in forum threads. From an editor’s perspective, it’s always good to receive a killer sample piece from a writer trying to impress you, but it’s even better when someone impresses you without trying.

What qualifies as a “well-crafted” comment?

It varies slightly based on the tone and focus of the site and article/post/video you’re commenting on, but some themes are universal: clarity, wit, creativity, and most importantly, grammatically correct sentences with proper capitalization and spelling. This last point should go without saying, but unfortunately, an increasing number of comments look something  like this:

i love this movie its so cool if u dont like it ur just a hater

At least this makes it easier for professional writers to stand out, simply by crossing their t’s and capitalizing their I’s — which is the only good thing about the rapid decline of proper punctuation and capitalization on the internet. But that’s a rant for another day.

The bottom line: if you want to write for a living, or even as a hobby, take care with what you write even in informal settings. You never know who’s paying attention.