What is A Blog Carnival? |
Basically, a blog carnival is a special event held on a blog. But this definition…lacks. Let’s take a moment to define the term properly and analyze just how it can really help your blog gain readership and authority within your niche.
Step Right Up!
A blog carnival is a pretty self-explanatory term in itself. Just like a real carnival, blog carnivals travel to different sites offering a variety of attractions, generally related to a single theme or topic. Blog carnivals are collaborative events that function in a similar way to magazines – they pull together a team of like-minded writers to focus on particular subject on a regular schedule.
Who’s The Ringmaster?
Usually blog carnivals start up when a blogger announces the upcoming edition and asks for article submissions. When they are received, that blogger essentially becomes the host and puts up permalinks to the other blogs focusing on that week’s topic. Depending on the role the host wants to play at the carnival, they can write their own editorial notes, annotations or suggestions alongside the featured links.
How is this Different from a Regular Blog Round Up?
The travel aspect of carnivals is one of the ways they generate excitement. Because the carnival will only be in town for a few days, it makes the whole event seem urgent and demands immediate attention. For blog carnivals, the hosting duties can often change hands, appearing on different sites or edited by different guest bloggers for the specific week or month.
Why Should I Get Involved? Clowns
If you are looking for other blogs to link to you, getting your article featured in a blog carnival is an amazing way of directing traffic your way and establishing your authority within your niche. Starting up your own blog carnival and taking the Ringmaster role is also a sure fire way of telling your peers that you have a keen eye for blogging talent and are committed to reaching out to others within different online communities. Below are several resources that will help you both join a blog carnival and start one of your own.
Blog Carnival Resources and Examples
Provides comprehensive lists of recent and popular blog carnivals taking place in various fields of interest.
A detailed how to list to help beginners start their own blog carnivals.
An excellent example of a blog carnival for our favourite subjects: Internet marketing and SEO!
And then the
We hope that this article has taught you a thing or two about blog carnivals and offered some incentive to participating in one. Remember to always keep your submissions relevant to the subject matter and tone desired by the carnival host. Originality and proper citation of resources are a must as well, as you don’t want to sour the reputation of the host by having them link to copied content.
So, if you’re looking for a way of generating blog excitement or simply want to get more attention within your niche, don’t be afraid to enter the big top! Take this knowledge and join the festivities. Just watch out for those clowns.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
[…] if resort entertainer qualifications are: overenthusiastic, pushy and inconsiderate. Meanwhile, blog carnivals, guest blogging contests and other fun blogging activities are just as fun (if not more so), allow […]