Linky Party Tips

Last week I brought you Linky Party Etiquette and now I offer tips for party participation!
I recommitted myself to blogging in October and since then I have been featured 75 times on various blogs. Many hosts feature the links that get the most clicks/views. Here are some tips for participating in linky parties that just might get you noticed and at the very least more traffic to your blog!

• Link Early! The links nearer to the top of a linky party usually get the most attention. Keep track of when parties take place and try to link as soon as possible.

• Link a specific post for just a week. I participate in a lot of parties and when I see a thumbnail over and over at various parties it gets my attention. If I saw it just once, I may not click on it...but when I see the same hat over and over within a short time period, I want to check it out! Plus don't you see the really great posts being featured at various sites the same week?

• Good photos This goes without saying that more professional looking photos get more attention! The key is light. I've seen some great ideas that just didn't get the attention they should because the photos were too dark/small/hard to see. Also, think square! That thumbnail is a square so crop/show the main part as close to a square as possible.

• Clear labels Some thumbnails are small or limited on text chars. If you add a title to a photo, make sure it's bold enough to get people's attention. You can even just create a title graphic to link as the thumbnail to grab people's attention.

• Follow trends/holidays Trends get people's attention, but so does great original content. An example of this is my 5 White Elephant Gift Ideas post. This totally original and personalized post was featured on 9 blogs and has become my 2nd most popular post overall. You also want to time things right and plan ahead. Valentines is HOT right now and will actually slow down those last week before Feb 14th!

• Actively Participate! Visit & comment on others. Invite them to your blog. Let them know where you found them!

• Thank the hosts! This was part of my Linky Party Etiquette post, but it doesn't hurt to get the host's attention with a thank you. You can also tweet or pin their party, etc. Some parties get 100s of links and the host may not visit them all.

I am sure this list could go on and on. If you've participated in a lot of parties, what are you tips?
Make sure you check out all my other blogging tips/tutorials! I've helped a lot of people out lately!

My weekly party starts at Fridays at 8am CST

I was featured at: