How to Start a Blog Carnival

Step 1: Choose a Topic

Make sure you choose a blog carnival topic that is closely related to your blog, so people who visit your carnival post will be most likely to click through and read more of your related content. Also, choosing a topic related to your blog's topic makes the networking that you do with other bloggers who participate in the carnival that much more valuable to you.

Step 2: Name Your Blog Carnival

It's important to give your blog carnival a name, so all participants refer to it in the same way. This helps with search engine optimization, particularly if the carnival is ongoing. It also helps to raise awareness and recognition of your blog carnival, again, particularly is it is an ongoing carnival. You can also create a graphic to help other bloggers publicize their participation and to further boost awareness and recognition.

Step 3: Write Your Blog Carnival Post

You can't have a blog carnival unless you start it with your own blog post. This is the post that other carnival participants will link to in their own posts, meaning, this is the post on your blog that will get all of the incoming link benefits from the blog carnival. Make sure it's a great post, and be sure to update it with links to the other participants' posts for reciprocal linking -- that's what makes a blog carnival successful.

Step 4: Submit Your Carnival to BlogCarnival.com

BlogCarnival is the most popular blog carnival Web site. To submit your carnival, just register for an account and complete the submission form. Your blog carnival will be publicized on the BlogCarnival site for other bloggers to submit posts to automatically.

Step 5: Promote Your Blog Carnival

For your blog carnival to be most successful, you need to promote it and recruit other bloggers to participate. You can do this through blogger outreach by emailing other bloggers who could benefit from the "link love" a blog carnival provides. You can also announce your carnival on forums related to your blog topic. Don't be afraid to get creative!

Step 6: Follow up and Try Again