subject: Powerful Ways To Write Articles That Readers Will Digg by:Samantha Milner [print this page] With the advent of Web 2.0 comes a slew of user-driven networks that are being visited by millions of people each day. One of the most popular of such networks is, without a doubt, Digg.com. Digg is a social news network where its members have the editorial power to determine the visibility of news entries submitted to its system.
In a marketing standpoint, it will be sufficient to know that Digg can generate an additional 20,000 to 400,000 visitors to your website if you will play your cards right.
Studying Statistics: The First Step To Victory
If you want your article "dugg," you will want to write for readers who actually use Digg. But who are these readers? Alas, that is the question that should be answered before we commence with the writing process. After all, knowing who our readers are is very important in knowing how to please them.
Digg is visited by millions of internet users per day. 94% of them are males. 88% of them are between the ages of 18 and 39. 64% of them boast of an annual household income of $75,000 and above. 59% of them are connected, in one way or another, to the IT industry. 39% of them are bloggers. 26% of them hold managerial positions, or higher.
What do these stats tell us?
Digg users are predominantly males. They like video games, contact sports, action movies, intriguing television series, and similar subjects that appeal to their sense of adventure as well as their need for social and cultural enrichment.
Digg users are predominantly members of the workforce. Most of them are "in the scene," on the lookout for romance. Most of them are tech-savvy. Most of them are interested with everything that is new under the categories that catch their fancies, like gadgets, books, movies and the likes. Most of them desire information on topics that are hip, topics that represent certain lifestyles they are interested with.
Most Digg users have the means to spend for the things they want.
Most Digg users are on the lookout for cutting edge information and hot news that they can talk about in their own blogs.
Most Digg users are well-oriented with the internet. They know how to verify information conveyed in the World Wide Web.
Converting Statistics Into Action Steps
So, how do we transform those numbers into strategies that will energize our marketing campaigns?
Based on the statistics we have discussed earlier, we can deduce the elements that the average Digg user looks for in the articles he will peruse. These criterions are expressed in the questions enumerated below:
1. Does the article express something new? It may be new information about a particular topic, or new and compelling opinion on a particular issue that is relevant to this day and age.
2. Does the article possess some viral components? Does the article scream "share me, share me?" Digg is primarily a social community that shares news items amongst its members. Your article should have something that is worth sharing.
3. Is the article hip? Seldom do pieces that convey information in an academic manner reach the first page of Digg. Digg users want something they can relate to, something that's more attuned to the current generation. You can't discuss the inner workings of a car using technical engineering terms and expect some diggs, but you can discuss how to "pimp" one's "ride" using cost-efficient materials that can easily be procured. Often, it's about the language used. Speak something that they will understand and they will digg your entry wholeheartedly.
4. Does the article share something that the readers really want to know? If your niche is about bull semen, you can't simply write an article talking about what it is and what are its benefits. Who'd want to read about that, right? Instead, you can write a news item about the truth behind the rumors regarding popular energy drinks being made of bull semen. Now that's something that will alarm readers into actually reading, and eventually digging, your piece.
5. Does the article elicit certain emotions from the readers? Is the article funny, for example? Does it make the readers cringe in fear? Does it make them mad? Does it give them peace of mind? Digging an article is an active response. It is an action. The readers must be moved to act, and this is best accomplished by stirring up their emotions.
Content Fodders Are Out, Readable Entries Are In
Writing articles that are meant to be dugg is very much different from writing simple web content. Whereas the latter is all about supplying keyword fodder for the search engines, the former is about crafting pieces that people will actually want to read and eventually want to share with their family and peers.
A complete overhaul of the conventional content writing mindset is in order.
Truly, the rules in writing for the web audience still apply: simple words, short paragraphs, excellent use of negative (blank) space to make the eyes relax, inverted pyramid style whenever possible. But more emphasis should be given to the content instead of the style.
Remember, your articles won't be written to be read by search engine spiders alone, this time.
They will be written to be read by thinking, breathing people in whose hands - or fingers - the success of your campaign will lie.
About the author
Samantha Milner is a well-known Internet Marketing expert and the owner of DSM Publishing:
