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Last week-end, I got Dugg. Just like a few months ago. Both times, the exact same scenario happened, that made one of my posts hit Digg’s homepage.

So I can’t help but think there is a “recipe” or “cause and effect” rule that you need to know to get Dugg.

Here it is:

1. Write “Digg-compliant” content :

“Digg-compliant” content needs to be fun, easy to digest (images), and tech-related (most recommended).

No long blocks of text. One simple point, with appropriate illustrations.

2. Create your own original content :

You need to think of something that Diggers will like but that they haven’t seen yet. Imagine the headline and then create the content.

Example : I saw a few “server down” pages I thought were great, and I kept a screenshot of each of them in a folder for later.

When I started to have enough, I searched Google images for the ones I missed, to complete my post. A bit like a collector searches for the hidden gem.

3. Never post your own stories to Digg.

This never worked for me. I had posts I thought were good but never got a lot of Diggs from my own submissions.

Here is the trick : post where diggers get their info ! The two times I got dugg, I posted on Reddit and a digger picked the story from there and posted it to Digg. A popular Digger with 600 friends on Digg is more likely to get you to the front page that yourself with 2 friends…

If it doesn’t hit Reddit’s homepage, it isn’t probably good enough so Reddit is a good test.

4. Get ready for the traffic jam on your site..

The crazy thing is that Digg creates a sort of chain reaction : in the following hours after being Dugg, your story appears on other main sites like Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and local Digg-likes like meneame and of course lots of Blogs. Your Technorati rank jumps and your subscribers number too.

Conclusion : getting a post to Digg’s front page is so exhilarating I don’t know how to live without it anymore… The problem is, it totally dried up my inspiration : the amount of generated traffic is so irrational (38 000 unique visitors) that posting anything now seems totally vain, if it doesn’t get dugg.

But if there is still someone out there, I wanted to share this with you…

Related Articles:

• Thank you Digg (for breaking my site)?
• Who has the best sorry page ?
• Will I make it to Technorati Top 100?
• Ever experienced the Digg tsunami ?
• Is there an art of 404 pages ?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Real Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.