The Blog Carnival site offers this description of blog carnivals.
“Blog Carnivals typically collect together links pointing to blog articles on a particular topic. A Blog Carnival is like a magazine. It has a title, a topic, editors, contributors, and an audience. Editions of the carnival typically come out on a regular basis.”
Here’s what that means to you. Blog carnivals can be a great way for you to promote your blog and your ideas.
Identify blogs that cover topics that you blog about. You can use the Blog Carnival search tool for that. Most of the time, you’ll become aware of a carnival because it covers a topic that you write about.
Learn the rules. Every carnival has rules. They usually cover what posts are acceptable in terms of topics and timeliness.
Follow the rules. If you decide to create a blog carnival, you can make up your own rules until then, your submissions appear at the pleasure of the carnival host. One of my favorite blogs is published monthly but asks for posts within the preceding two weeks. That’s not how I’d do it, but it’s not my carnival.
Submit regularly. You’re more likely to build a following that way. You build name recognition, too.
Consider hosting. Most carnivals rotate the hosting among regular contributors. Hosting can be a great way to make connections as well as drive traffic to your site. Hosting usually means an intense day or so of work, so allow the time to do it right. If you want to know more, read How to Host a Blog Carnival.
Want more? Read Jennifer Miller’s excellent post on “4 Tips for Being an All-Star Blog Carnival Contributor.”