Psst... want to know a way to get tons of free users to your website instantly?
And when I say tons, I mean the sort of numbers that will crash your servers, send your page views spiking through the roof and make you dizzy when you look at your AdSense stats.
Here's how to do it...
Just get your Web page on the front page of Digg.com.
I didn't say it was an easy way to get free users. I just said it was free and instant.
But you know what? It isn't all that complicated either.
If you take a look at the sort of articles that reach the home page of Digg, you'll notice that they have a lot in common.
First, many of them are lists. They're articles with titles like "23 Ways To Get More Out Of Your iPhone" or "15 Things You Never Knew About The Blackberry."
What does that tell you?
It tells you that if you write a post like that, you've got a chance of winning lots of Diggs. But it also tells you something even more valuable: these are the sort of posts that people like to read and recommend. Even if you don't get lots of votes on Digg, they're still worth creating because users clearly like to read them.
The other thing you'll notice on Digg is that many of the articles are technical. That might not help you if your website has nothing at all to do with technology... but no website is like that.
Every website is technological... it's on the Web!
So if you can link the topic of your site to the way it's produced, you could have a Diggable post in no time at all.
So if you wrote a blog about knitting patterns, for example, you could produce a post entitled "12 Ways To Deliver A Knitted Scarf On The Internet This Christmas."
I'm not saying you'll definitely hit the Digg home page with a story like that -- it's just an example. But as long as you have a Digg button on your page, and the list contains good material...who knows?
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
January 29, 2008 11:32 AM
Still figuring out this Digg site. I'll have to set aside an hour or 2 to focus on it and use it to it's full potential. Another great post - thanks.
January 29, 2008 11:55 AM
Just ask it to get it!
I asked Joel to talk about getting trafic to our sites, and 2 hours later I receive the News Letter about getting tons of visitors :)
January 29, 2008 12:22 PM
Hi Joel,
I joined digg and "digged" this page. It was easy and fun. Thanks for writing the article. I always wanted to know what digg was all about and you made it happen.
Blessings!
Mike
January 29, 2008 12:41 PM
Hi there,
From where can I learn how to digg and all of this kind of stuff?
Best wishes,
Ulla H
P.S I know how to focus... but not digg..
January 29, 2008 12:42 PM
Yeah,
Digg could be a real tsunami of traffic, granted. The one that your server cannot even handle if you use regular shared hosting - what most of us do. I was not able to get there, however. Even if when I managed to organize enough people to vote, moderators just moved the post to "invisible"...
January 29, 2008 12:46 PM
I've heard about this strategy before but never acted on it. Now, you've given me the motivation to actually try it. Thanks, Joel!
January 29, 2008 05:05 PM
I put my first digg in a few days ago and that page has 14 hits from digg.
That may not seem like alot, but this is a brand new site and I'll take traffic from anywhere.
Thanks Joel.
January 29, 2008 05:17 PM
It always surprises me why "list" kind of news actually attract people
January 30, 2008 01:14 AM
Thanks
January 30, 2008 07:52 AM
Thanks for the tip Joel. After reading your post, I went to Digg's first page and I did indeed see several titles that were lists. I also noticed that some of the titles are purposely ambiguous in order to peek interest. My sites have never received more than three or four diggs.
January 30, 2008 09:19 AM
Pretty good tips on getting traffic. Thanks J.
January 30, 2008 10:11 AM
Great tip Joel! I will try it with Digg's competitor www.mixx.com too.
Thanks
Chris
January 30, 2008 08:34 PM
Great post Joel, I have been using digg also and have some post high up in diggs, and it does bring traffic.
I noticed that with digg and similar sites, most of top post are technical, but that's good if it's your industry.
Do you think that the internet marketing industry doesn't hold too much attention for these kind of sites?
Terrance C.
www.terrancecharles.com/blog
February 5, 2008 07:02 AM
thank you joel. this is a good tip for me.
February 9, 2008 01:26 AM
Is it digg.com can assure lots of visitors?Maybe i should try .Anyway joel thanks for the info!
February 17, 2008 01:47 PM
But you did not explain how we can get our sites 'digged' in the first place. What incentive can we give people to digg it??