I think I do. And I think most of you do too. But here's the thing. It's not just about the writing. You have to work it, girls (and guys)!
There is an intricate system in place here. And most of us haven't quite figured it out yet. But we keep trying. Some of us have gotten pretty good at popping up on the homepage. And maybe that makes a few others mad. Do you think poor writing is being rewarded? I don't. Do you think great writing is going unnoticed? I DO!!!
So here's the deal. If you absolutely without a doubt are positively certain that you are a good blogger, keep writing. Your heyday will come, I assure you. But it does take work (and a lot of time). Here is my step-by-step guide (not foolproof, however, but fairly successful, nonetheless) to making the homepage:
1) Write passionately about something that you care about and that others will care about.
2) Carefully word your title so that it will be clear, concise, clever, and attention-grabbing.
3) Select a brightly colored, humorous, easy to interpret, and/or beautiful photo to accompany your article. I have used my own photos along with photos/pictures from photobucket.com and weheartit.com. Just make sure to cite your source at the bottom of the post.
4) Do not write too much or too little. I am reluctant to vote for a post if it is too short, and I am reluctant to read a post if it is too long.
5) Make people laugh.
6) Make people cry (or at least want to).
7) Use font treatments (bold, italic, underline) to highlight important or well-written phrases, sentences, and/or passages within your post.
8) Once you've written a great post, submit it. Then edit it approximately 800 times to make sure it's really, really good and doesn't contain any egregious errors. Use dictionary.com if you aren't sure how to spell a word correctly.
9) Share the link with your Facebook friends and family to drum up an extra 2 or 3 votes. You probably won't get many readers this way, but every vote counts.
10) Next to being a good writer, this is the most important step: Get to know the members of the GoodBlogs community. Read other posts. Vote and comment. And most of all, make genuine friends, realizing that being here isn't just about winning. It's also about encouraging one another and genuinely listening and caring. (Okay, I know I sound kind of girlie. But cut me some slack. I AM a girl, after all!)
11) It's also a good idea to submit your post just before votes reset at noon and midnight (or first thing in the morning) when people are most likely to read. But now that I've shared this tidbit with you, it will probably become a moot point, as ALL posts will flood the "Upcoming" section at these times.
12) Instead of "hating on" the frequent homepagers and insinuating that they don't deserve to be there, make friends with them, try to learn a trick or two about what they're doing right, and be nice! After all, if they're on the homepage they're probably spending a lot of time here. That means they're probably doing the most reading and voting, along with writing. So read their stuff, and maybe they'll read yours too ... and throw a vote your way!
I hope you find these tips helpful and that we continue to see more and more diversity on the homepage. I read numerous posts written by new writers tonight (something I often don't have time to do). And I was impressed! Just keep trying. Get your name out there. Some homepagers have beginner's luck and make the homepage right away. I was not one of them. It took me many tries before I had any luck. And still, over half my posts have flopped.
