Affiliate Programs

Have you ever written an article that made it to the front page of Digg? Have you ever wanted to write an article and have it make it to the front page? Perhaps you’ve written many articles and submitted them to Digg but they never made it anywhere near the front page. If so, follow along my little friend, for I’m about to show you how.

Understanding a Digg User Is Key To Your Success

Where I believe the average person wanting to make it to the front page of Digg goes wrong is assuming all Digg users are average internet users. They’re not. For the most part, they’re Techno-Geeks. They’re heavy into everything technology. They feel they own Digg and to a certain extent, they’re right.

Digg Can Be Gamed Almost At Will With A Good Article and a Network

Any old “how to” or “check this out” article isn’t going to cut it. However, that can be a good thing in one regard. The most hated Digg comment ever generated a lot of traffic for the commenter.

There are actually two methods you can use to get an article on the front page of Digg.

Here’s the 1st way to Game Digg, Write Your Own Article and Submit It to Digg.Com:

1. The most important step: Build your network! Remember, Digg is a Social Networking site. Networking being the key phrase here. Choose a cool and crazy screen name that will be memorable. Also, you have the option of adding a image. Choose a bright image, one that will stand out on a white background. I prefer bright oranges, yellows and reds. This will be the image beside your headline on Digg. Bright images stand out!

• Keys to Building a successful Digg network.
  • Surf through the pages of the “upcoming” section of Digg. Digg pages of stories you think may make the front page of Digg. Add the authors of those stories as your “friend” and leave a nice comment in the comment section. Your goal here is to build a Network of “Digg Friends.” I like to add anywhere from 30 to 50 “Digg Friends” per account.
  • New users who have fewer “Friends” are more likely to add you as a “Friend” if you’ve Dugg the stories they’ve submitted and added them as your “Friend”.
  • You should also have a network of Real Friends. These would be the people you know in person. Try to have 15 or more “real friends” who also have Digg accounts. DO NOT have them added as friends on Digg. Reason? There is some speculation that a Digg from a non-Digg Friend carries more weight than a Digg from one of your “Digg Friends.” Having Diggs from non friends looks more natural than if “JohnBoy007″ has Dugg all 55 artcles that you’ve sumbitted!
  • I know what you’re thinking “Hey Don, getting an article to the front page of Digg sounds like a lot of work, I wish I could just buy my way to the front page” Well, you can. There are services like this one that you pay to Digg your articles. If you’re going to pay, you might as well “buy” a couple hundred Diggs. If you’re story sucks, it’s likely it’ll get buried so don’t feel you got cheated. Note: There is some people who question whether buying Diggs actually work. Digg.com states it has safeguards in place to prevent “artificial” Digging from happening. If you were a multi million dollar Social Networking site, wouldn’t you say this also? Digg has been gamed in the pass with bought Diggs and it will continue to in the future. Nuff said.

2. The Article – Choose your article wisely. “How To” articles, “Breaking Tech News” and Sensational type articles do well. In the past, List articles like Top 10 this or Top 10 that were popular, but I believe they’re losing steam on Digg and do not seem to make it to the front page as easily as they used to. Spend time on Digg.com looking at the top articles to get a feel for what type of articles Digg users Digg.

• Tips For Digg Articles
  • If you’re not particularly good at writing articles, have it written for you. You can find good copywriters on eLance or RentACoder.
  • Articles on Apple, Macs, Microsoft, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, RIAA, Digg founder Kevin Ross, Firefox, YouTube, Google, Celebs, etc, get dugg a lot. Remember, they’re tech lovers. (Example: currently in the top 10 in all topics you’ll find; 3 stories on technology, 2 on celebs, and 3 sex related articles)
  • Digg users also love to Digg negative stories about George Bush, the Iraq War, anything hinting of a Shadow Government or any other high ranking administration person such as Dick Cheney.
  • Your headline can make or break you. As with any advertising, and that’s what you’re doing when you try to Game Digg, your headline must be attention grabbing without be overboard.

3. Submit Your Article – I prefer uploading an article to my website in the morning. Don’t submit it to Digg just yet. You should also have some means for Diggers to Digg your article from your website. There are WordPress plugins that will put a Digg button on your articles. Make it easy for Diggers to Dig your site!

Now submit your story to Digg. Do not submit it to the General category. Pick a Category, any Category (except general).

Now loose the Dogs of your Digg Network! Email all your “real friends” and notify them of your article. Remember to put a link from your article in the email. Remember, make it easy for them to click. Don’t make them go hunting for a Digg button to push. They may be your friends, but they won’t spend 30 minutes trying to find your article on Digg just to Digg It!

4. Drop links in Forums and on other Websites – I’ve never done this, but I’ve talked with others who have and swear by it. Just be warned, some Forums may consider this spamming and this could backfire on you. Commenting on popular blogs may also help. Proceed at your own risk!

The 2nd Way To Game Digg and Get Your Article On The Front Page

Note: I’ve never done this method and probably never will. But I know those who have and it works some of the time.

5. The second way to get an article on the front page of Digg is to regurgitate an old story using a method like this or this. This isn’t as successful as the first method, but it’s the quickest and easiest….if it works for you.

The Aftermath: Is it ethical or moral to Game Digg? That question can only be answered by you. Do I still Game Digg? No. Although getting an article to the front page may bring you loads of traffic, I’ve found for my own purposes this traffic is “disposable.” Digg users in general do not subscribe to my RSS feeds, they don’t click on Adsense ads and they don’t generally buy anything on my sites. (except for one of my high-tech sites, even then it’s not good traffic)

There are a lot of other Social Networking sites that I can get to send me traffic. Traffic that click on ads and buy merchandise! And in the end, it doesn’t matter how much traffic an article generates if they don’t value your site or come back and do the “click and buy dance”.

Good Luck getting onto the front page of Digg if that is your goal. I hope I’ve helped, use these methods at your own risk!