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I'll start by saying that I'm a huge believer of blog carnivals. They're not without their disadvantages, of course, but the advantages entirely outweigh the investment of effort and time that you put into them.
That's why it confounds me that blog carnivals aren't more popular. Yes, the first few times that you participate in them, it will take you some extra time to get used to how they work. And new carnival networks can sometimes be less reliable than you would like. But get hooked up with a good group of bloggers in your field, and carnivals are superb ways to:
* Improve your authority
* Quickly get regular, profitable readers of your partner blogs
* Get a quick surge of traffic to blog entries
* Get a long term improvement in search result rankings
What is a Blog Carnival?
A blog carnival is a virtual event consisting of a group of bloggers writing about a specific subject. The posts produced (or linked to) during a carnival frequently end up looking like a magazine. The carnival has a title, theme, editors, writers, and consumers. Most carnivals are held regularly with rotating hosts.
A carnival usually has an owner, who is the organizer of the overall carnival, deciding or collaborating on things like frequency, rules, how to blog in the carnival, editorial guidelines, and such. The owner also acts as the coordinator, determining the hosting schedule for the carnival.
Each carnival has a specific host, and the host's blog is where all the blog posts for that specific carnival are held. In response to the call for submissions, each blogger involved in the carnival sends their post to the host, where it is reviewed, edited, and published in the wild as one large post (link bait) or a series of posts. Obviously, you'll need to know how to create blog posts that are effective and compelling to get the most benefit.
Carnivals usually draw loads of relevant traffic, so bloggers participating in the carnival receive a powerful one-way link from the host and the immediate traffic surge associated with the initial readers. The carnival host receives links from each of the member bloggers who have teamed together to publicize the event, knowing that the better the carnival is, the better the links will be when it comes time for them to host.
Now that you know what a carnival is, we'll discuss how you can get the most out of your carnival participation . . . in our next post!
That's why it confounds me that blog carnivals aren't more popular. Yes, the first few times that you participate in them, it will take you some extra time to get used to how they work. And new carnival networks can sometimes be less reliable than you would like. But get hooked up with a good group of bloggers in your field, and carnivals are superb ways to:
* Improve your authority
* Quickly get regular, profitable readers of your partner blogs
* Get a quick surge of traffic to blog entries
* Get a long term improvement in search result rankings
What is a Blog Carnival?
A blog carnival is a virtual event consisting of a group of bloggers writing about a specific subject. The posts produced (or linked to) during a carnival frequently end up looking like a magazine. The carnival has a title, theme, editors, writers, and consumers. Most carnivals are held regularly with rotating hosts.
A carnival usually has an owner, who is the organizer of the overall carnival, deciding or collaborating on things like frequency, rules, how to blog in the carnival, editorial guidelines, and such. The owner also acts as the coordinator, determining the hosting schedule for the carnival.
Each carnival has a specific host, and the host's blog is where all the blog posts for that specific carnival are held. In response to the call for submissions, each blogger involved in the carnival sends their post to the host, where it is reviewed, edited, and published in the wild as one large post (link bait) or a series of posts. Obviously, you'll need to know how to create blog posts that are effective and compelling to get the most benefit.
Carnivals usually draw loads of relevant traffic, so bloggers participating in the carnival receive a powerful one-way link from the host and the immediate traffic surge associated with the initial readers. The carnival host receives links from each of the member bloggers who have teamed together to publicize the event, knowing that the better the carnival is, the better the links will be when it comes time for them to host.
Now that you know what a carnival is, we'll discuss how you can get the most out of your carnival participation . . . in our next post!
About the Author:
Jared is the developer of a popular plugin suite for WordPress blogs and a partner in the publishing company that created the highly popular blogging course Blogging in Action. Jared helps people learn how to create blog properties the right way, and coaches them on effective methods to bring traffic to blogs.
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