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This diary is really intended for all diarists, not just new ones. What I want to talk about is a quick and easy way to promote your diary, build community, and spread the good word. What I'm talking about is the
Top Comments logo/link,
The Spinning Top.
There's more below the divider doodle.
As a new diarist, you haven't established a reputation as a writer at Daily Kos yet. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is how to get noticed in a constant stream of writing, much of it very good writing.
You may already be aware of some of the ways to build your following: Use a commercial to promote your diary. Build friends/acquaintances by reading, commenting in, tipping, and reccing the efforts of others. Join groups that have similar interests to yours and be active in the group. Visit the community diaries, get acquainted with folks there, and promote your efforts in an acceptable place. Use open threads to run your commercial.
But new diarists, do not overlook the importance of comments in your own diary. Try to publish your diary at a time when you can babysit it, i.e., recommend comments you like and respond to comments in your diary. You will become known more quickly if you are engaged with the people who are interested enough to read and comment in your diary. And speaking of comments, they can be important vehicles for promoting your diary too, as you will see below.
Now, if you're an old hand at diaries, you already know these tricks of the trade and you probably have a following. But you always want more readers. Since none of you (except JanF in J Town) is using the Spinning Top, you might also want to check this out.
Here is another way to help boost your readership. Every night at 10pm EST, Top Comments is published. If you are unfamiliar with Top Comments, read the group profile. Here's one of my recent Top Comments diaries. You don't have to read my blather, but scroll down and look over the "Top Comments" section. You can see that regular, everyday Kossacks send in great comments by other regular, everyday Kossacks that might be overlooked otherwise. The links also take you to diaries!
If a comment from your diary gets nominated, chances are that dozens of people will click through to read that comment. Some of them will want to read more about the subject and will click "view diary." That's a pair of eyes you wouldn't have gotten if there had been no Top Comments. And by linking Top Comments in your diary, you are increasing awareness of and bringing in a bigger audience to TC. Everybody wins: Top Comments, the diarist, the commenter, and the wider community.
Now if you're unfamiliar with the Spinning Top, let me explain what it is. (I will illustrate it at the end of the diary.) It is simply a picture of a spinning top that automatically opens the Top Comments Message Center in a new tab when you click on it.
As a diarist, I always want people to read my stuff. So what I am going to do is to end my diaries with the Spinning Top. In other words, I'm going to make it as convenient as I can for readers to nominate comments from my diary. If the comment runs in Top Comments, hundreds of folks will see it and many will click on it. Some of those will read my diary as a result.
And don't be bashful. If someone makes a great comment in your diary, send it in yourself! Don't nominate a lousy comment just to promote your diary, however; be responsible.
Here is the code for the Spinning Top widget, including the divider doodle. Just copy and paste it to your diary. (If you don't want the divider doodle, delete the code that says: <p class='divider-doodle'>.) If you keep a scratch paper or widget draft, you might want to leave a copy there as well.
<p class='divider-doodle'>
<table border="2"><tr><td><center><strong><u>Top Comments Submission Made Easy</u></strong></center><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/newthread/Top%20Comments" target="_blank"><img src="http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn182/dragon5616/spinning_top.jpg" width="80" align=left title="Click here"></a>
Just click on the <strong>Spinning Top</strong> photo to submit a comment from this diary to <b>Top Comments</b>. Copy the entire comment (including the commenter's user name and the date/time) and paste it into the message. Add your reason for nominating and send.
<center><small><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/Top%20Comments">Top Comments</a> posts nightly at 10pm EST.</em></small></center></td></tr></table>
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It will look like this:
Top Comments Submission Made Easy
Just click on the Spinning Top photo to submit a comment from this diary to Top Comments. Copy the entire comment (including the commenter's user name and the date/time) and paste it into the message. Add your reason for nominating and send.
Top Comments publishes nightly at 10pm EST.
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