Hosting A Blog Carnival for Artisans & Crafters

Community is the biggest word in the new millennium of web marketing called Web 2.0 and a blog carnival is the quintessential tool for this “niching” and networking. A blog carnival is a “magazine” that provides links to blogs, pod casts, videos, poems and articles that are all on the same topic. The blogs are arranged in such a way that the visitor to the carnival can “wander” through and pick and chose which sites to visit much as a carnival visitor chooses between rides and games.

Hosting a Blog Carnival

Hosting the blog carnival can be rotated between several of the regular participants in the carnival or provide by one individual. These links can be hosted on their own page or within a blog. A carnival is usually announced with a deadline for submission. The carnival may be updated periodically or archived and a new carnival can be added for the next issue.

Let’s go on with this post. A host benefits by hosting the carnival in the increase of traffic to the hosting website, the addition of new content to the site, the addition of networking possibilities and in credibility as a leader in the field discussed in the carnival. Requesting and enforcing a “link back” procedure is the host’s decision and can be handled in a number of different ways..

The host provides space and markets the blog carnival. The carnival can be a simple listing of related blogs or it can also provide artwork, humor, descriptions and feedback forms for the blogs. To make it more interesting, a blog host can post a “Best of….” or even highlight a special blogger. If the host provides bulleted lists or topic headings, it can help the carnival participants get the click-throughs they’re seeking. They can also separate the carnival blogs by topic to make the posts more accessible.

Spam is almost inevitable when something of value is added to a website. Some people automate their blog carnival with a tool like Instacarnival, and it can allow spam to occur more easily if you do not still closely monitor the posts. To host a carnival that’s both relevant to the topic an clean of spam, it’s probably better to manually add each blog to the page. It’s the host’s responsibility to keep the carnival on-topic. The dance between encouraging participation and discouraging spam is rather delicate.

As a host, when you set up the page, be sure you use keywords and otherwise optimize the page for best search engine positioning, announce the carnival to your participation groups, bookmark the carnival on social bookmarking sites and include the carnival URL in your signature. The links in the blog carnival should open a new browser so the hosting site does not get lost in the transit from one blog or article to the next.

Participation in a Blog Carnival

Adding blogs, articles, images and pod casts to a blog carnival that relates to participant’s product or niche’s a win-win situation for both the blogger and the host. You gain exposure, credibility and traffic for your site. Your host gets added content and links back from the participating blog for the hosting website.

As a participant, who hopes for more site traffic, it becomes even more necessary that the participating blog is frequently updated, on-topic, well designed and literate. Humor, graphics and interesting anecdotes can introduce prospects to your blog, but remember that this is an international forum and check ;the grammar, spelling and accuracy of the blog. A reputation can be made or broken in short order online.

Blog carnivals are becoming a driving force for website traffic, buzz and linking. Hosting or participating in a blog carnival with other artisans or crafters can go a long way toward extending your blog’s reach into the mainstream.

Jewelry Spectrum http://www.jewelryspectrum.com Kingfisher Designs http://www.wireweavers.com

In the 1990’s – Dark Ages – of Internet Marketing, Louise was webmaster to twenty-five domains at one time. The Internet has become a much more competitive place. She has kept up with the changes and her focus is now internet marketing for artisans. She’s webmaster for http://www.wireweavers.com and jewelryspectrum.com Website ShowCase: Artisan’s Guide to Website Development and Marketing is her new eBook.