A few days ago, I promised to write a series of posts about how the bloggers can increase their visibility in the blogosphere. I stated that the social bookmarking websites like Digg, Reddit, Netscape etc are the best source to get good hits. I have already written about how to get success with Digg. Today, I am writing about Reddit. I like Reddit a lot simply because here you can submit almost anything. Secondly, if you do not write about technology then it is difficult to get good hits from Digg but you can get good hit from Reddit by writing about any topic. Here are my tips for Reddit. Some of the tips are similar with Digg too while some of them are only applicable for Reddit.
Topic
1. Although any topic stands a good chance of making the Front Page of Reddit, Reddit users seem to be fond of politics more than other bookmarks.
2. Breaking news is always a good thing and if you can break an interesting news item then surely it will give you an edge.
3. Research a lot to find out the topics that are getting popular in the last few weeks in Reddit. If you can cast some new light on one of those topics then your article may get popular attention.
4. Do not try to write a controversial topic unless you have a clear idea about it.
5. On the other hand, do not be afraid to introduce an original idea.
6. Be as specific as you can in your topic selection. Do not write about a topic which is too broad or too general.
7. Do not write about a topic about which you do not know much.
Title
1. Work very hard to give your article an attractive title.
2. All users just look at the title and decide. So, look at your title like a reader and get feed back from others about your title.
3. Don't use any uncommon word in your title. Many users would not bother to search the meaning of a word in the dictionary.
4. In the pursuit of making your title catchy and attractive, do not make it too ambiguous.
Article and Formatting
1. Unless it is breaking news, do not make your article too short. Try to make your article at least 400 words long.
2. Give the main message of your article in the first few sentences.
3. After writing the article, double check it for any mistake.
4. Revise your article 2-3 times and if possible get some feed back from someone before posting it in your blog/website.
5. Unless it is a breaking story, spend some hours for writing an article.
Submission
1. There is nothing wrong in submitting your own writing in Reddit. So, go ahead and submit it. However, do not submit multiple entries at a time.
2. Do not create multiple accounts to promote your writing in Reddit. If you do so then you will easily get banned sooner rather than later.
3. You can arrange a link in your blog by which your users can submit to Reddit your articles. This can increase the possibility of getting more Points.
4. Do not submit each and every article of your blog to Reddit. This way, you will only lower your credibility. Instead, submit the entries that you think are good.
Promotion
1. You can always request your readers to vote for your story in Reddit. Of course, if they like your writing, some of them will do so.
2. You can email your friends and even ask the forum members of a forum (if you are a member of any forum) and encourage them to vote your article in Reddit if they think it is good enough but never enter into a pact of voting for each other.
Participation
1. If you are not too busy then actively participate in Reddit by submitting links regularly. And since submitting a link takes only few seconds, you can submit 4-5 links daily.
2. Write comments on the popular links regularly. This way you can get familiar to many users depending on the quality of your comments.
3. If possible, try to submit links of breaking news whenever you can from popular news sources.
Special advice for South Asian bloggers
My original intention of writing this article was to help bloggers from South Asia to use Reddit for increasing their visibility. Since, the traditional media hardly promotes bloggers in this part of the world and since social bookmarking websites from this South Asia are still drawing very limited users, websites like Reddit are the only source of increasing their visibility in blogosphere. Here are my few extra tips for the South Asian bloggers.
1. Very few stories about South Asia actually make the front page of Reddit. So, try to write an article related to Europe or America- if you can.
2. Always look for breaking stories from your region and write about it.
3. Look for stories with a human touch in South Asia. It will give you some extra hits- it works for me.
4. Since English is not the first language of bloggers of South Asia, do not get surprised if a lot of negative comments are hurled towards you about your use of English language. Just, do not get discouraged.
5. Do not use words of South Asian languages frequently in your article and in the title unless the words are too well known in the west.
6. Write one high quality and well researched article at least once a week. Write the other articles in the way you are writing now but make one article special and attractive by putting a lot of effort behind it.
I like to again remind you that do not look for shortcuts. Instead, focus on quality content and work hard and surely you will make the homepage of Reddit sooner or later. I have been professionally blogging only for four months but my entries have already made the front page of Fark, Fark Sports, Boing Boing, Shoutwire and Stumble Upon. Now, I feel a lot of encouragement to write quality content than 4 months ago, when I started pro blogging.
Yes, useful.
Posted by: shirazi | July 25, 2006 3:19 AM | Permalink to Comment