Sep

How to get on the front page on ANY social network (Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit…)

Filed Under (Blogging, Social Marketing, Traffic Building) by Traffic Guru on 03-09-2009

The stuff I’m about to tell you works on any social networking site. These rules apply everywhere.

What type of content to write to get on the front page of any social network:

1. Write list posts

Why it will get you on the front page: Everytime I go on some social network (no matter what its name is) I see at least 1 list post there. Numbers attract attention. Plus, with a list post you tell the reader exactly what to expect. Plus, those posts are really easy to scan.

Examples:

- 10 Ways to become a vampire (typical top 10 post)
- 62 Ways to Get Rich (This is in the category of big list posts that have a huge perceived value, so the bigger the number is, the bigger perceived value they have)

2. Write compelling how-to headlines

Why it will get you on the front page: Notice I’ve said write COMPELLING how-to headline not any how-to… That is – an article that people will think they get a huge value of (of course, the content has to be good too…). To understand better, here’s a quick question: Which headline will attract you more attention: How to get any girl or How to get girls? See to write the headline as compelling as possible.

The headline on this article is a good example. And about the content of the how-to article you can write the article in list-type just like this one.

Here are some examples:

- How to get 1645 Free Prints

- How to deconstruct almost anything

Are they compelling? To me, and most people I’ve asked, yes.

3. Construct “what if” articles

Why it will get you on the front page: Movies use this principle all the time. What if Joe, who is an average salesman finds a diamond worth 1 million dollars? How will his life change? What will happen after that? ‘What if’ question spark our fantasy and that’s why they’re so powerful.

How to use this in your industry when writing articles?

Let’s say you’re in the languages learning business. You teach people how to learn Spanish. Now, be a little more creative. What if…

What would happen if Spanish was #1 language in the world (and tell some creative and funny stuff in the content)

What if George Bush was Mexican (you can connect some interesting stuff from the mexican culture to Bush’s behavior)

Here are some examples for you to get a better idea:

Digg 2028 – what if it was 2028 and Digg still existed?

What if the earth is a giant alien hard drive

What to do on the social network itself to get frequently on its front page

4. People love pictures. Use them.

Use pictures when making list posts, how to posts and what-if posts. Pictures are great to use especially if you want to illustrate something that would take lots of words.

5. Use powerful words

What do I mean by powerful words? Well I’ve noticed there are certain ‘triggers’ than can help you get on the front page easier.

Those are:

Huge numbers – they have big perceived value (ok, they are not exactly words)
The following words: Any, Anything, Anyone (I’ve seen they work pretty well on many posts, combine them in a creative way like for example: 5 Ways to Beat Up Anyone), the word FREE (works great every time.) Also use what I call intensifiers…that is adjectives, usually in superlative forms.

They go well with list posts, for example: 15 Most Useful (most useful – intensifier) Firefox extensions, 18 Amazing (amazing – intensifier) designs and so on. Also a good set of words to use is “The world’s most…” I guess this works because everyone wants to know what’s #1 (wonder why the Guiness book is so popular?)…for example “The world’s best colleges” “The world’s smallest shoes” and so on. As you get more experienced with social networks you’ll notice even more set of words that get commonly on the front page.

6. Make friends on the social networks…this takes time

Why it will get you on the front page: The probability of getting your article on the front page of Digg without having a friend’s community to “push up” your article is small (just take a look at MrBabyMan. The same is true on Reddit. On Stumbleupon, it didn’t used to be like that but now I see they also move to this direction.

Of course this takes time. You should also be wary of the QUALITY of your friends not just their quantity. Make friends that would be loyal…friends you can exchange diggs/reddits with (of course in a legal manner.)

7. To get an overall picture of what it takes to be #1 on a social network, spend at least 3 days as a member

Why it will get you on the front page: This is how I learned what works on most social networks. You should do it too. I would like to use this analogy: Spending 3 days as a member of Digg = Reading 500 articles of the type of ‘how to get on the front page of digg.’ Experience is the teacher of all things – Caesar.

8. Getting an overall picture is not enough. You must start seeing PATTERNS (details below)

After spending few days at some social network you should see some patterns. For example, after spending some time on Digg you’ll see what users that get frequently on the front page have a large number of loyal friends so you might want to do the same thing they did to get popular (find some friends that can digg your stuff.)

After doing #5 and #6 the best idea is to PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY in that social network so you can be seen as an active member and contributor there. Plus, you’ll make some friends.

To see the next big thing in social media check out Google Friend Connect

Leave your questions and suggestions in the comment section. Also, you can post about stories you’ve seen get some action on the social communities like Digg and Stumbleupon.

Originally posted 2009-03-17 13:45:49. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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