1. Make People Read Your Boring Crap with a Persuasive Title
A title with a persuasive call to action can make or break your Digg. Pretend you're a Digger. Would you click on your article? I don't care how interesting or boring the content is -- the title is all that matters at first. Ask a friend or two to comment on it. I brainstormed with Quadszilla of SEO Black Hat to tweak a title for maximum effect. He's got more experience than I do, and asking for advice is never a bad idea. We came up with "Mattcuttsarama: 21 Great SEO Tips From Google’s Matt Cutts." The words "Matt" and "Cutts" really turn on SEOs -- even heterosexual male SEOs. The same words probably also piqued Matt's interest, as I'm sure he does some reputation monitoring and keeps tabs on his buzz. He saw the post and dugg it, so to speak.
Side Note: Getting prominent people like Matt Cutts to Digg you and comment on your blog is obviously going to help your cause. But I lucked out. I won't count on it for next time. I also wouldn't suggest using Matt Cutt's name in vain.
2. Use Lists, People Love 'Em:
Without delving into psychology, for whatever reason humans like lists. I suspect part of the reason is that lists provide easily digestable, accessible information. You can skip over boring stuff and focus on things that are personally interesting. This helps.
3. People are Lazy. Facilitate the Means to Go Viral:
I can't prove it, but I suspect the Digg button I provided to Digg the post in one click enhanced the viral effect of the post. In fact, I'm sure of it. In fact, I'll throw the Digg button for this post right here. C'mon, you know you want to click it --
4. Get a Few People To Digg for You:
Sending some emails and bugging some friends to Digg you is not gaming the system. It's just savvy marketing. Don't necessarily expect the momentum to build unless you put in some effort to make it so. It also affords you the ability to control the title and description for the Digg. You can count on your competition to do the same, making it even more necessary. If you're really against this, then send the article around anyway, but without explicitly asking them to digg it.
5. Consult Captain Obvious for Advice about Content:
Captain Obvious recommends that the actual content be useful and relevant as well. A cool title with a bunch of turds in a list won't fly. Duh.
6. Keep trying. Don't give up. Don't expect Instant Gratification:
I tried for awhile and posted lots of interesting stuff. I still didn't get Dugg. I never expected it with the aforementioned post either; but 100 or so posts later I finally got it. I didn't look for it; I just posted good stuff with a few of the above tips in mind and eventually got what I wanted.
7. Pay More than $2.95 for Hosting. You'll Never Know When the Digg will Strike:
If your hosting company pulls the plug, the Digg effect will be severely muted. Pair.com did a great job under the load. I checked the server load several times during the time that I was on the front page of Digg and it was doing fine. These comments on another post of mine that got Dugg illustrate the frustration people have with WordPress and Digg. I never had a problem, because I pay more than $2.95/mo. for hosting. You get what you pay for.
8. Leave a Hook for Improvement & Editorials:
Leave a hook for others to add value or explain your post. Sometimes explaining things badly actually helps! Another blogger will clarify your message and link to you. I did this with this post and someone took the bait. If you say everything, they have less of a reason to link to you.
So ... thanks, Matt, for your blog. I deserve no credit for the information in that post -- just for the link bait. I still hate your cat, though. I hate all cats, though 
September 20th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
Very interesting tips. What's your response to submitting a very good interview with Digg's own Kevin Rose, and having it ignored? Something's not right there, no matter what.
September 20th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
[...] You can read more about it here. Filed under Computing by wilson. Permalink • Print • Email [...]
September 20th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
[...] SEO Egghead » Blog Archive » DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page [...]
September 20th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Heh - but what's wrong with the top 3 turds in a list?
http://knaddison.com/me-licio-us/top-3-turds-in-a-list-with-an-exciting-title-digg-that
September 20th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
I second Ronald's comment, and went back and dugg it up some more. It was a great article.
I do find it interesting that you're getting tips from SEO black hat and not running a joke site... but that's just my jaded sense of what SEO really means to some people.
About your blog - Digg and Reddit buttons are great, but you have three Digg buttons here, and two Reddits.
September 20th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
How do you make #3??? The only thing I can find through google includes the title and description...I just want that cool button!
September 20th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
@Brian: Digg Widget for your own site: http://knaddison.com/freedbacking/digg-widget-for-your-own-site
September 21st, 2006 at 12:34 am
Hello:
Just a small note to tell you that your article "DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page" rocks.
It is insightful and interesting.
Anyone interested in being dugg may also study what are the stories that are being dugg most and submit those types in order to be dugg most.
I will refer your article to my friends.
Keep up the good work
Maychic internet marketing
September 21st, 2006 at 2:06 am
Intresting article. I would say list work most of the time :). thought getting some people to digg for you is hard
September 24th, 2006 at 2:42 am
i suggest you use the digg live plugin so that you can manage your dugg articles in a much better way..
here it is 33rockers.com/2006/09/02/now-digg-from-your-blog/
September 24th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
[...] SEO Egghead by Jaimie Sirovich » DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page (tags: SEO digg embed) [...]
November 6th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Beginner's Guide to Digg...
If you have ever felt like you had to dig around the Internet for good content, you might want to look at something called Digg ([digg.com](http://www.digg.com)). Digg is a site that will help you avoid the process of digging and instead, get exactly w...
November 29th, 2006 at 6:34 am
[...] 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page [...]
December 1st, 2006 at 4:01 pm
[...] DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page [...]
December 5th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
[...] Why You’re Not Getting on the Digg Homepage Gaming Digg 10 Steps to Guarantee You Make the Digg Front Page DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page Top 10 Actionable Tips (Rules) That Make Me Top Digg User Beginner’s Guide to Digg Complete Digg Tools Collection What’s One Digg Worth Getting Buried in Digg, Not as Bad as it Sounds The Digg Effect The Digg Algorithm - Unofficial FAQ Spam Digg For Only $20 Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
December 6th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
[...] 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page is a bit redundant from the one above, but a bit more serious. [...]
December 18th, 2006 at 6:27 am
[...] How do you find that groove? Well, very few people know the true formula for Digg.com, but there are some proven tips that seem to hold sound logic. One of the best lists of tips I’ve found to date was posted over at SEO Egghead. [...]
December 28th, 2006 at 8:33 am
[...] Forget Traditional SEO! Why Good Link Bait is Worth $50K DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page 3 SEO Enhancements That Won’t Require Ripping Up Your Site [...]
December 29th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Great information on Search Optimization 2.0. 2007 is going to be the year of Search Optimization 2.0.
March 26th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
[...] DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page [...]
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:01 am
[...] 8 Ways to Help you get to Digg’s Front Page - SEO Egghead [...]
June 5th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Great list, but do you not think that commenting on other Digg posts and adding Digg users as 'friends' helps? This is what I have been doing and although my posts are yet to make the front page the average number of Diggs has increased from 2/3 to 9/10 simply be commenting and friend adding.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:18 am
[...] Produce provocative headlines (AKA Diggbait) [...]