A blog carnival is a simple concept - here's the description from the Blog Carnival web site:
"...where someone takes the time to find really good blog posts on a given topic, and then puts all those posts together in a blog post called a "carnival"."
So why would you want to do this? Yes, it's just another 'thing' you have to do with your blog posts (submit to bookmarking sites, Digg, etc...) - but the payoff is that this technique really works. You get great relevant backlinks from sites similar to yours- AND relevant, convert-able traffic to boot. Just hop over to Blog Carnival and set up an account - add the carnivals that apply to your web site to the 'Favorites' section and submit away.
A Blog Carnival is a particular kind of blog community. There are many kinds of blogs, and they contain articles on many kinds of topics. Blog Carnivals typically collect together links pointing to blog articles on a particular topic. A Blog Carnival is like a magazine. It has a title, a topic, editors, contributors, and an audience. Editions of the carnival typically come out on a regular basis (e.g. every monday, or on the first of the month). Each edition is a special blog article that consists of links to all the contributions that have been submitted, often with the editors opinions or remarks.
There is so much stuff in the blog-o-sphere, just finding interesting stuff is hard. If there is a carnival for a topic you are interested in, following that carnival is a great way to learn what bloggers are saying about that topic. If you are blogging on that topic, the carnival is the place to share your work with like-minded bloggers.
Be kind to carnival owners, however. Don't submit every post, particularly if you post daily with short posts like 'Check This Out....[link]...'. Submit posts that would be truly useful. Also, don't submit your Internet marketing tips to the Spirituality Carnival- keep on topic. If you can't be insightful in your posts, at least be helpful.
Once you've submitted your post, whoever is hosting the carnival will review the posts. The best or most relevant posts are used in the carnival. One great way to recycle your older 'good' blog posts and give them some fresh attention is to submit them to blog carnivals.
It takes a village, you might say. Although it is possible for one person to do everything it takes to make a Blog Carnival, the work is usually divided up like this:
* The Organizer starts the carnival, decides what it will be about, what the submission criteria are, and how often it will appear. They also coordinate who will host each edition of the carnival. As time passes, they find new volunteers to host. Organizers use Blog Carnival to manage the schedule of who is hosting what and when, so they can present it to their audience in a single, well-known place.
* The Host volunteers to host a carnival edition on their blog. They work with the organizer to pick a date that suits them (popular carnivals schedule their hosts for months in advance). In the period leading up their scheduled date, they collect submissions from bloggers, and organize them into a single article chalk-full of links, often with their own comments. This article is published on the scheduled date, and everyone leaves comments on their blog telling them what a great job they did (well, usually, anyway).
* Bloggers who have written an article on the carnival's topic can submit the link for inclusion in the next edition of the carnival. Often, bloggers who contribute to carnivals are experts in their field (or at least, highly opinionated!). Blog Carnival has a carnival submission form for each carnival that bloggers can use to submit links to selected posts to a carnival host. All the blogger needs to know is the name of the carnival, and Blog Carnival takes care of getting it to the right person.
* The Audience consists of both bloggers and just-plain-interested readers. They come to Blog Carnival to find out if there is a carnival on a topic they are interested in, and to find out where the carnival editions have been, and where they're going to be in the future.
You can also host your own blog carnival. While there is work in involved in reading and summarizing the posts submitted, the payoff is more traffic to your site.
Another benefit of blog carnivals is that they can show you who else is posting about your topic and give you new ideas and contacts. Visit similar blogs and post relevant comments, you'll get more traffic.
Submit to blog carnivals for a couple of weeks and watch your inbound links and traffic increase.
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