Managing a blog carnival can be really easy if you have great hosts.  Great hosts write inventive posts for the carnivals and help to promote the carnival.  It’s their edition of the carnival, so a good reflection on them is a good reflection on you.

My Carnival of Debt Reduction is no exception.  I have great hosts.  I’m not the most organized person in the world, and they keep me in line and make sure the carnival’s covered if I fall behind a little bit.  It’s a great position to be in to have that kind of support from your hosts.

I hope that part of this support stems from me basically letting them do what they want.  I try very hard not to micromanage and to empower them to put together their carnivals however they see fit.  Some of the hosts are pretty liberal with the topics of posts accepted into the carnivals, and others really want the posts to be closely tied to the carnival’s theme, which is on debt reduction resources and stories.  Most things are fine with me.  Why?

• It’s my carnival, but it’s their blogs.  Bloggers absolutely have to have control on what goes up on their blogs.  If I demand which posts should be included, then I take that freedom away from them.
• It removes any barriers that I might impose.  If hosts have to seek approval from me, it slows them down, and things don’t go as smoothly.
• They have different opinions than I do on the topic.  It’s this diversity of viewpoints that keeps the carnival fresh.
• I don’t like remembering a lot of rules.  This is a personality trait of mine, but a lot of rules give me hives.

Empowering your hosts means trusting them to put together a good carnival and to ask when there’s a question.  The carnivals are wins for everyone, and most hosts already know this, so it’s easy for me to just let them do what they want, and let everyone reap the benefits.

• Adding content to a carnival when you host There are many good ways to get your carnival to stand out if you're the host.  Typically the inventiveness is evident in the presentation of the posts.  But what about adding a well-thought-out introduction to the carnival?Most of the carnivals I've hosted just say something to the extent of:"Welcome to......
• 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......
• Communicate with your hosts If you're managing a carnival then you know how important your hosts are.  They can make managing the carnival a piece of cake.  And if they volunteer to host, they likely know what it entails and will put together a good carnival for you, the carnival readers, and for the......
• Do due diligence with hosts Getting hosts for your carnival can be tough.  It takes organization to keep things moving, and sometimes the hosting schedule gets tight.It's tempting to jump at the first person who offers.  That's fine but be sure to do some due diligence.Meaning check out their blog.  Is it a place that......

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #13 Christmas is in the air and I am bundled up to resemble a fat penguin, wearing 4-5 layers, and huddled in front of a space heater as I type. The weather also forecasts snow for us tomorrow, which is somewhat rare as we live in the Mojave Desert in......
• Running Out of Time? How to Catch Up Financially Before it is Too Late Whether you are pushing thirty and trying to get your first home or your retirement is staring you in the face, there are times when you may feel as though you’ve run out of time financially. We don’t always make the best decisions when it comes to saving money and......
• Equinox week money carnivals A bit snowy for the week containing the first day of spring, but no matter ... Here are some of this week's money carnivals! Carnival of Personal Finance XL -- very well organized, by the way! -- is at Money Blog Network member All Things Financial! My post on the......
• Two Monday Carnivals ... ... and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. The blog at You Need a Budget hosts this week's Carnival of Debt Reduction! Next week it's hosted at Savvy Saver! The Carnival of Personal Finance this week is hosted at Political Calculations. Very nicely organized carnival! Next week the Carnival......