It’s time to get Dugg
Nothing spells hot traffic and lovely new subscribers like the front page of Digg. Digg, the user-driven social media network that relies on user submissions and clicks to get things Digg’d to the front page, has been jamming up poor server networks on blogs for a few years now. Now it’s your turn to get on the front page, and I’ve got proven tips that will get you there.
Stop Reading your RSS Aggregator
So you saw that one post on your aggregator and saw how many times it got Dugg. Wow, all you have to do is copy that post and it will be magic, right? Perhaps if you copy the formatting and ideas that got people to Digg it, you might have something going. However, if you plan on rewriting what they had originally said I’m going to have to hunt you down and slap you on the face. Originality is the key to nailing those Diggers on the head. That stems from your own brain, not someone else’s… unless you steal the idea from them before they get the chance to post.
Make a list
Diggers love lists. Make it a big one, too. A list of 50 or more things puts those Digg users into a state of ephemeral bliss, and lands you a butt-load of clicks on your Digg Me button. Lists take time to develop, especially ones you haven’t seen done before, but they almost always pay off if you can get the right guys on your team to Digg it.
Make it Useful
This one pairs lovely with a list. If you are handing out a bunch of links to tools or websites that people in your niche love to browse, you are ready to rock and roll. You don’t even need a list for this to be successful. The key to making a useful post is to give your post a sense of value to the reader. Provide them with data that can in turn make them feel successful.
Controversy Sparks Fires on Digg
Them Diggers love a little online abuse, and the best of that comes from controversy. Start a controversial post on a topic relating to the world of your niche. If I wanted to start a controversial post here on WebDev, I might try something like, “Steve Jobs really uses a Windows PC,” and put in some well photoshopped images of him toying around in his office on a Windows desktop. Anyways, that’s just an idea. There are plenty of other things you can do to make things controversial. Think about celebrities, politics, government, the war, racism, environmental pollution and other hot topics in today’s world. Just make something up that is out of the ordinary, or turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. Naughty language also has a way of playing its part in many controversial articles that have made Digg’s front page.
Encourage User Feedback
Your post is half of the battle. If you can encourage widespread feedback, you might get friends of readers and other bloggers linking to you. This provides you traffic which you can generate Digg clicks from. It is just a matter of setting the stage and allowing your blog readers to be the actors and actresses of the Digg drama.
And if at last you don’t succeed…
Add people on Digg and shout your story. The more friends you have, the more likely you will be able to get clicks. Start Digg trades with those you know, however avoid doing it to much as we here the Digg script likes to bury Diggers that are trading too much. Several web communities offer Digg services where you can actually purchase Diggs. This is cheating, and while I don’t condone it, I certainly don’t think it isn’t fair game.
It is up to you how you will make it to the front page of Digg, and there are plenty of shots to do it. If at first you don’t succeed, re-plan your strategy and try a new direction of attack. It may take 3 shots, or it might take 50, but if you can learn from the mistakes you made on posts that didn’t quite make it, I know that it will be possible to get onto Digg’s glorious front side.