For those who have hosted blog carnivals in a pinch, it’s a big help to have a working template that has all of the posts basically ready to go.  That’s what BlogCarnival.com’s InstaCarnival is.

All of the posts are cast into simple sentences, like

Blogger presents A Really Cool Post over at Some Blog, saying “Some Comment”

The InstaCarnival is a perfectly readable and serviceable carnival, and the focus is on the posts.

It also can be a really boring, and for those that recognize an InstaCarnival when they see one they may determine that the host was (a) really efficient with time management or (b) really lazy.

But it is what it is, and the InstaCarnival is unlikely to go away.  I’ll admit that I’ve used the InstaCarnival as a template for carnivals I’ve hosted.  Here are some tips to use, rather than abuse, an InstaCarnival:

• Read the posts.  If the InstaCarnival is taken as is, every post, regardless of whether it’s on topic or not, is included.  At least get rid of the off-topic or spammy ones.
• Vary the phrasing.  The simple see-Spot-run sentences are a starting point.  Adding a little flavor spices up the carnival quickly.
• Add commentary to the descriptions.  Or just include the poster’s comments as is.
• Organize the posts into categories.  If they’re not already organized, putting like posts together improves readability.
• Organize the best ones up top.  “Editor’s Choice” is becoming a popular tactic for highlighting the posts that stand above the others.
• Add humor.  Or at least call grand attention to the fact that you host this InstaCarnival proudly.
• Insert appropriate art.  This also does wonders.

• A quick roll-your-own carnival submission form BlogCarnival.com has become an integral part of many blog carnivals.  They were down for about a week with database maintenance.  I know that this was probably quite hectic for them as well as for all of the carnival managers that depend on the features it brings to the table. A......
• Pay attention to the directions from the manager Blog carnivals are great tools for marketing a blog and getting some free backlinks, but there are few ways more effective at killing the proverbial goose that lays the proverbial golden eggs than ticking off the manager of the carnival by not following his/her directions! If you repeatedly submit spam......
• Dealing with spammy submissions As a blog carnival gets more popular, the number of submissions goes up, and the traffic the carnival gets goes up as well.  This is good.  Unfortunately, this popularity also attracts posts that are of marginal quality or are highly commercial.  Or, people will submit several posts to a single......
• Theme your blog carnival to get readers to stay The 83rd Carnival of Homeschooling, featured on the homepage of BlogCarnival.com, wrapped the posts up in a check-up theme.  This was very effective and made the carnival a pleasure to read.Bulletized lists are all right, and they serve their purpose, which is to provide links to the on-topic submitted articles......

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