How To Split An Atom

Get more articles like this and Register for our Forum.

So you want to use Social Bookmarking to drive traffic? First and foremost, consider whether grinding out your living on bookmarking sites is worth your time. For some content, it’s a spectacular way to generate new, active users. For others, it is a junk food solution that should be applied sparingly. If you think it’s right for you and you have tried submitting your material to Digg or Reddit and found that you aren’t getting anywhere, here are a few thoughts that just may help give you a leg up.

Bookmarking Tips

1. You wouldn’t try to run for Mayor your first day in town. Social Bookmarking sites are communities, and as with any community they often have tightly knit social hierarchies. Since you will need many, many votes to have a chance on the front page — it’s impossible to believe that you can get them your first time up to bat. Spend a little time looking around, see which stories become popular and how the titles and descriptions are crafted. Read the comments and see how the users of the site relate to one another. The only chance you have of success is if you take the time to understand the system.

2. It’s not all about you. The common misconception is that Social Bookmarking sites hate self promotion. It’s not that they hate when people submit their own material, it’s that they hate when people submit bad material with the expectation that it will be voted up. There is a standard of quality that almost all of these communities hold close, and it’s different depending on which site you happen to be submitting to (a story that would work on Sphinn might crash on Stumble Upon, for instance). Take the time not only to discover what content appeals to the site but also submit some that isn’t yours. Not only will it help you understand the system, but it will also help you build up good will.

3. Pick the right category. This is probably the most important point. Consider categories to be communities within a community. If you choose the wrong one, you’re putting your content out in front of an audience that isn’t interested in it. In the best of situations, poorly placed content will just be completely ignored. Take your time when choosing the category and take some time to see what material does well in a given category. This little extra effort will go a long way towards getting your content to the front page.

4. It’s about participation. This tip could also be called, “It’s about people.” The more visible you are on a site, the more likely you are to get votes. Comment, submit stories, join in discussions about the community. People often act on impulse, and if they recognize you as someone who submits great content then they will be much more likely to vote your stories up. Remember, this also works the other way around so behave.

5. Understand that it’s work. The Jack of all trades is master of none. Unless you have an obscene amount of time to devote to profile building, don’t try to become “front page worthy” on all the Social Bookmarking sites out there. Expect to spend 30 minutes to an hour a day on any of the sites you want to become a “power user” on. It’s much better to build an extremely strong profile on a small number of sites, than to have dozens of weak, useless ones. Find the niche that is most valuable for your type of content and build into it.

It all comes back to sweat. If you want to do well in Social Bookmarking, you need to figure out whether it’s worth the time. There are dozens and dozens of ways to build traffic, and Social Bookmarking is only one of them. Weigh your options carefully and see which way is right for your business.

(Images) (News Room)