Blog carnivals have been around for years and continue to be the habit of many dedicated bloggers. Nothing is more in the spirit of bringing together the blogging community than a blog carnival. Whether you host a blog carnival or find blog carnivals to participate in, it is a great way to bond with fellow bloggers on related topics and also to bring in new visitors.

What is a blog carnival?

A blog carnival is a blog magazine of sorts. It is a blog post on one blog sharing a series of links to other blog posts from other blogs centered on a general theme or topic. Some bloggers run a blog carnival on a regular basis (weekly, biweekly, monthly etc.). It is more than a link directory or blog roll in that it shares a common theme among the submitted posts.

Participating in a blog carnival

Finding blogs hosting blog carnivals to participate in is relatively easy. You can visit BlogCarnival.com or search the phrase blog carnival with a keyword related to your blog’s category. A blogger publishes a page requesting submissions with directions found on their site or at BlogCarnival.com. An account at BlogCarnival.com allows a user to save favorite carnivals for submission or to follow topics of interest.

Submissions request a few things including the blog post URL and there are specifications on what the current theme is, when the post will be published and what URL you should advertise on a blog post on your blog to promote the host blog and share readership with other blog carnival participants.

There is no guarantee that a blog post submitted to a carnival will be published. Submit fresh content related to the blog host’s theme. Many bloggers allow multiple submissions and older content if it is evergreen content (relevant no matter when it is read).

Hosting a blog carnival

Becoming a blog carnival host is just as easy, and takes just a little bit more time than participating in one. BlogCarnival.com provides tools for gathering submissions and advertising your blog carnival. Outline the blog carnival submission guidelines, deadline date and other necessary info.

Plan ahead and review incoming submissions prior to the deadline date if your theme is popular. Deny submissions falling outside of the submission guidelines. It is a good idea to review the blogger’s site as a whole in addition to the blog post submitted. Does the site compliment your blog and similar blogs participating in your carnival or is it a spam site?

The goal of the blog carnival is to offer something of value to your readers. If a submission appears to be more of an advertisement instead of a blog post consider if it offers any value in the blog carnival or if they will just click away and perhaps not return to your blog carnival.

Publish the blog carnival as advertised. If the carnival isn’t published as scheduled, readers might not return. In addition, ensure that all participates are advertising the carnival as was specified in the blog carnival submission guidelines.


Building relationships with bloggers via a blog carnival is easy overtime. If you’re hosting a blog carnival, expect to find a few regulars and build bigger relationships and exchange links, guest posts etc. If you’re participating, measure your success via your blog statistics if it is important to you or do a repeat with the same blog just for fun. Then, at some point decide to host your own blog carnival and share the blogthusiasm!

Visit BlogCarnival.com to or host or participate in a blog carnival.