by Skellie
Most bloggers would love their content to hit the front page of Digg. Unfortunately, most of those bloggers are never able to experience the huge spike of traffic and the feelings of accomplishment this brings.
In this post, I want to argue that success with Digg is an odds game. You can never guarantee it, but you can give yourself the best possible odds. I’ll be describing how to do this, right down to what kind of post you should create, and how to get it moving up the ranks on Digg.
There are things you cannot do
Most of the content on the front page of Digg at any given time is news. If you can’t break news, you can’t benefit from that. Unless you’re writing for a particularly well-resourced or popular blog, you may never be able to do this. Play smart by focusing your efforts on the 10% or 20% of content that hits the front page on the back of human creativity and hard work.
The IEN Formula
Time and time again we’ve seen that there’s no magic formula for a front page stint on Digg. We see posts that look like front page material swiftly buried. We see very mediocre content rise to the top insanely fast.
I believe the erratic nature of the process can be described by what I call the IEN formula. I = Idea. E = Execution. N = Network. My premise is that your efforts with any one post will need at least 2 of 3 qualities to be successful.
Once again, take a moment to memorize the IEN formula, as it will be discussed throughout the rest of the article. I = Idea. E = Execution. N = Network. Got it? Great.
A stellar idea can’t succeed if it is executed without enough care, or if there is no network pushing it forward.
A post with amazing execution can’t succeed if the idea behind it doesn’t have impact, or if there’s no network behind it.
Submission by a prominent Digg profile and a network pushing the post forward still can’t compensate for poor idea and execution.
In other words, you need to have: Idea and Execution, Idea and Network, Execution and Network, or Idea, Execution, and Network. Even then, nothing is guaranteed, but it’s the smart way to play the odds game.
Having all three qualities is, of course, the best route, but it’s also the most difficult. The planets will not always align perfectly for you. Your Digg power-user buddy might not be online to submit your post. You might struggle to come up with a brilliant idea, and so on.
As a result, I’d suggest (mainly) targeting one of the 2 out of 3 combos: either Idea and Network, or Execution and Network.
IN in action
It’s worth making clear at this point that a ‘good’ or ‘reasonable’ effort is not enough to give your content the quality of I, E or N. Your idea, your execution, or your network must be exceptional.
The IN route I would suggest is to write an advice post that applies to a very large cross-section of Digg users. One of the reasons I suspect Zen Habits has hit the front page of Digg over 80 times is because of its universal topics (happiness, health, etc.) Everyone wants these things. Another example is The Art of Manliness, which has hit the front page many times in its short lifespan because it publishes a unique brand of advice-articles aimed at men (Digg users are mainly men–though you probably guessed that).
The execution does not need to be stellar here. Many posts in this vein will focus mainly on re-stating common sense knowledge, or collating tips that other people have given before. It’s the ‘idea’ of the content that makes it attractive.
Here are some IN examples that hit the front page of Digg:
The Panacea for Putting Things Off
6 Steps to Lose the Buddha (Belly)
How to Shave Like Your Grandpa (and Save the Environment)
7 Simple Steps to Grow Your Fortune
Examples of topics with wide-spread appeal to Digg users:
- Universal human concerns (happiness, health, love)
- Men’s issues
- Apple
- Linux
- Meta (content about the Digg community)
- Design/Web Design
- Web trends
- Obama/McCain
- Negative stories about the Bush administration
- Interesting or useful DIY projects
I am always surprised by the amount of people who aim for Digg success without immersing themselves in examples of what works. You don’t need to be an active user, submitting and Digging content, but you must watch and learn. The more you immerse yourself, the more you will get a feel for IN strategies that work.
EN in action
Even when you don’t have a revolutionary idea, hard work and perfect execution can make up the difference.
The two EN content-types I suggest you focus on are both list-based: resource lists and top lists. List-based content marries very well with an EN approach because without a super-strong idea, your headline will need to promise value. Lists do that by previewing the amount of value in the content. Compare ‘Kung Fu Battles’ with ‘The Top 50 Kung Fu Battles of All Time’. The latter still carries significant impact, even though I’m sure the idea is not a new one.
A top list is a list of things to know, see, hear or do.
Some examples that have hit the front page:
Top 10 Best and Worst Reputations in Corporate America
Top 10 Ways Musicians Piss Off Their Fans
The 16 Best College Themed Movies
A resource list is a list of things to use.
Some examples that have hit the front page:
How to boost your odds with top lists and resource lists
1. Always use images–the more the merrier. Assume that a large majority of social media visitors who see your post are going to scan it, then bookmark it for possible later use (the reason why most non-news posts that hit the front page of Digg also become popular on del.icio.us). Your post needs to communicate its worth, even if it’s only scanned by the reader. Images will do most of this work for you. This quote from Vitaly Friedman, co-founder of the wildly popular Smashing Magazine, describes how they grew their blog in 2007 by using images:
“Also we’ve included more (many more) images in our posts. It helped us to improve the blog and drive more traffic to our site; and it was the main reason why our weblog crashed in the end of 2007.” [source]
2. Be mindful of your audience. A list aimed at senior citizens or stay-at-home mothers would never flourish on Digg. Posts about blogging and making money online are also on the auto-bury list. Think about ways you can create something that will appeal to a wide cross-section of Digg’s audience.
3. Do your research. Too often I see good social media ideas marred by half-hearted, rushed or, at worst, lazy research. ‘Good’ is not good enough. If your resource list features Google at #33, you know you need to be working harder. You should do 90% of your work in the research stage, finding the absolute best to include in your list. Filler is a death-sentence for any type of content.
4. Take your time. Carefully formatting your post and proofreading it thoroughly are parts of the process that you cannot skip and hope to get away with it. Anyone can create remarkable content, but understand that this takes time, care, and attention to detail. It’s not unusual to spend five to eight hours on a Digg-optimized post.
5. Be interesting. ‘50 Resources for Small-business’ would probably turn out to be a useful post, but it seems boring. We’ve all seen variations on the theme before. How can you create a list that seems different to everything else out there? If your list evokes the ’seen it before’ response, your chances will be dashed.
The crucial element: N
I know from first-hand experience that many blogs that seem to be on Digg every second day have developed personal relationships with Digg power-users who will submit their content.
The blogger behind the content will generally let the Digg power-user know when their post is going to be published, so they can be the first person to submit it. This increases the post’s chances of success because Digg power-users have a swarm of followers behind them: followers who often Digg what the power user submits.
This strategy is usually complimented by a network of people who can be ’shouted’ to over Digg, or a grassroots email list.
These methods are so powerful that I was almost tempted to make N the exception for single-element social media success. If your network of people who will Digg your posts is wide enough, you can almost guarantee a stint on the front page. However, if the content doesn’t deserve to be there, it may not last long. This is why the N element is not quite enough on its own. The content must also be strong enough to withstand the rigours of the wider Digg community.
For the IN and EN strategies to work, you’ll need one, the other, or both. If you have a relationship with a Digg power-user, you may be able to rely on their network of voters to bring the content to the front page. If you don’t have a relationship with a Digg power-user, your own grassroots network of contacts could achieve the same. Having a combination of both is incredibly powerful, but obviously the most difficult combination to maintain.
In short, mastering the Network element will require either:
- Befriending a Digg power-user who can submit your posts first.
- A network of people you can ask to vote for your stuff.
- All of the above.
It sounds deceptively simple, but the topic is very complex and somewhat fraught. In my next post, I’ll be examining the N element in detail and describing how you (or anyone) can build a solid network for going popular on Digg.
Skelliewag features daily discussions on content creation, great ideas you can use, and design tips. Join the community by subscribing!
rss feed
40 Comments, Comment or Ping
Simon Ward
Good to see you back posting here Skellie! 20 diggs is all I have ever managed. Sad but true…it’s not really a goal though, so no biggie.
Jun 27th, 2008
Dominic
This is a very insightful article into how to get on the front page of digg.
I have been active at digg for a few months now and have had reasonable success in getting stories to go popular and can say that there is no way to do it without a network to help you out.
-Dominic
Jun 27th, 2008
Gary
Skellie,
It’s great to see you back. Skelliewag was one of my few ‘must read’ blogs and the last couple months have been like being forced to go cold turkey from antique shops. Welcome back.
Jun 27th, 2008
Samirb
Good post, lots of great tips. Especially, the one about auto-bury topics. A lot of people forget that.
Jun 28th, 2008
Ankesh Kothari
Is this a co-incidence or what? Just last week I decided to become a lot more active on Digg.
I’ve been trying to reverse engineer how digg calculates which links should be shown on the front page.
And in my research and rudimentary experiments, I’ve found that:
* Your link requires at least 7-8 diggs per hour. The more diggs per hour the better.
* You need at least 50+ diggs. But more likely: 125+ diggs. Anything below won’t hit the front page.
* Your link has to first hit the top spot on the category page before it hits the front page. So your success also depends on how bad other links are that were submitted within 2-3 hours of your link submission in your particular category. If they’re better than yours or if they have a wider network - you are out of luck.
* If anyone buries your digg link, its very very very hard to make it to the front page.
So along with your IEN - I would add a L. For Luck.
Jun 28th, 2008
Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map
What an excellent piece of article! I have been trying to see if my posts, which I do spend a lot of time writing, can get more votes on Digg and have to admit that I’m facing difficulty. Even then, I really wonder if Digg readers make good traffic or valued subscribers for our sites. I’ve seen some of the comments that they make; they can be pretty ugly and brutal!
A question I have been wondering is does what time of the day matter in terms of digg submission?
Jun 28th, 2008
Maki
Nice to see you writing again, Skellie.
Great tips! Basically this article can be summarized into 3 simple points:
1. Learn what works on digg by using it/reading it.
2. Write ‘digg-friendly content’
3. Get a user with a good profile to submit it.
And one important point that shouldn’t be neglected: Get a very active/experienced digg user to take a look your content, even if you don’t want them to submit it. Their feedback is priceless and it helps you to finetune what you’re doing.
Personally, I can tell if something will do well on digg or not by looking at it for less then 10 seconds. It comes with heavy, daily digg use….
@ Ankesh
Just to address some of the points you’ve mentioned:
The number of diggs you need often depends on the specific user. Users with strong friend networks may require more diggs than a user with a ‘fresher’ or less well networked profile. This is the algo working. Not uncommon to see posts hit the frontpage with less than 60 diggs.
And your link definitely does NOT have to hit the top spot of the category before hitting the frontpage. Every day there are at least a handful of stories which leapfrog pass those with more diggs on Upcoming or the specific category page.
This again is due to a lot of other factors, too much to elaborate in this comment. ^_^
Jun 28th, 2008
Daniel Richard | WE
You’ve got my digg for this.
Liked the approach that you’ve given out in this post. IEN.
Jun 28th, 2008
Bamboo Forest
The one question that comes to mind is: how much time is required to build up that strong network on Digg that is spoken about? That’s the thing… Networking can be so time consuming, and most bloggers probably get more satisfaction out of actually writing than contributing to social networking. But I understand, it’s a piece of the equation that a blogger must invest some time to in order to rise to the top.
Jun 28th, 2008
Dominic
Maki is right. I learned most of what I know about digg from his posts.
If you want to start building up your network, start using digg and connecting with ‘active’ digg users.
If you want to know who the active digg users are, keep an eye on who submitted stories in the upcoming sections and take a look at their stats.
Jun 28th, 2008
Bugsy
Welcome back Skellie! I guess I don’t have to welcome you back to your very own site, but it’s great to see you back. Happy to see a new post, and a useful one at that.
Keep up the good work.
Jun 28th, 2008
Tibi Puiu
Awesome post, Skellie. It’s great to see you post again on the blog, hope your exams went well. I’ve been working with digg extensively for the last half a year and during this time, I’ve managed to come to a great deal of conclusions. Maki did a pretty good job in summerizing my own thoughts upon this, with his comment above, but I think digg goes a little bit farther then it. I’ve seen really weak stories get popular, while some content that really deserved to get on top, got buried. Everybody’s looking to game digg, nowadays, and I guess precautions have to be made by the staff there; so I can understand the banning and auto-bury hype, but I feel like their over reacting a bit. I’m starting to dislike the portal more and more, every day…. I might start using mixx a lot. Thoughts on mixx, anyone?
Jun 28th, 2008
Marelisa
Hi Skellie: I’ve gotten up to 92 Diggs on one post, but it was a guest post on a blog that has pretty good traffic. Although I’ve written several posts that I’ve published on my own blog and that I think are superior to the post that got the 92 Diggs, they don’t do well on Digg (my blog is very new). So I think that an important element is having enough subscribers that they push your number up, thereby getting the attention of people in the Digg community who have never been to your blog. Ah, the mysteries of Digg. Very interesting post, dugg.
Jun 29th, 2008
OPENGIGA
very informative posts and I learnt lots of new things from this posts. Thank you very much for that great posts.
Jun 29th, 2008
Jim Legington
Thanks Skellie,
Those are Excellent Tips and are greatly appreciated. We are
fun of Digg and better understand with some points Your made in
this Post “How to Play the Odds Game and Win With Digg”
Be Blessed always…Peace!
Jun 29th, 2008
Philip O'Hara
This is an amazing filled article with information people need to become a digg person. I am new to digging but now I see the point.
Jun 29th, 2008
karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters
Very detailed and right on the money. When we study what other people are doing we have a better chance of repeating their success.
Skellie your back and hopefully heading for the front page of Digg.
Jun 29th, 2008
Martin
Hi Skellie,
Good to see you back — I missed your regular posts. As usual you have done your homework
>> Universal human concerns (happiness, health, love)
I’ll stick with that — life , happiness and love are an endless resource.
Jun 29th, 2008
Ann at One Bag Nation
I’m very new at all of this and haven’t spent any time at Digg. I do spend a fair amount of time reading blogs, and I’m starting to burn out - as a reader - on the whole “tips and tricks” and lists of links thing. I’m interested in universal human concerns as much as the next guy, but there’s an awful lot of that in the blogosphere these days.
I wonder: if a blogger “makes it” on Digg with that sort of content, will readers expect that sort of content forever?
Jul 1st, 2008
rhonda jean
Yes, I agree with Ann. What about consistently good content? It seems like that doesn’t count for much. My own blog consistently gets over 2000 unique visitors a day and over 100,00 page hits a month. I would love to be on the front page of Digg or be featured on some other high profile site but I’ve given up on that dream. When I see lists of popular blogs, I always see sites with far less visitors than I get higher up on the list. I guess I should try to promote my blog more but then I ask myself: am I blogging for what I want to say or to get higher on lists. Then I go back to just writing for my own head.
I love your blog. It’s always interesting, generous and intelligent. Thank you.
Jul 3rd, 2008
Adam Singer
this post should have made page one of digg, imo!
Jul 4th, 2008
Quasivoid
I just started blogging, and had no idea how complicated it would be. Thanks for putting this information out there, though I don’t understand all of it, it’s great to have a place to go where everything is nicely packaged and accessible as I start to figure things out.
Jul 7th, 2008
Cheryline Lawson
Excellent post. I have to save this on my desktop and go over it tooth and nail.
Jul 8th, 2008
Michael
Thanks, nice info, though I’m sad to say that I was banned from Digg for no apparent reason.
http://www.newsbreaktimes.com
Jul 8th, 2008
mikey777
I’m just about fed up with Digg. It really seems more like an immature high school popularity contest than anything else. Unless you have popular friends, no matter what you submit it seems like it will never make the front page.
I am, however, willing to give your system a shot. One last hurrah. Then it’s on to bigger and better things.
Very insightful advice, BTW.
Jul 20th, 2008
frank
I’m a little late to the party on this post, but i ran across it today. It’s very helpful as I look into DIGG strategies and the like.
I don’t have a blog that i’m trying to promote or anything like that yet, but i am trying to learn as much as possible before i do have a blog so i come into the game educated.
This post definitely helped to educate me.
One simple question … what would be your top advice for connecting with a DIGG power user?
I know this world is all about providing value … but i’m not sure what is valuable to them at this point??
thanks!
—
http://twitter.com/franswaa
Sep 2nd, 2008
Reply to “How to Play the Odds Game and Win With Digg”