Part of what led to the traffic increase at the Tribune was partly because I figured it out, and then evangelized it within the newsroom.

Here’s how you can get started there:

1. First, go to Digg and create a profile. It’s good to state your news affiliation somewhere on the profile, but I don’t think you need to have it in your profile name.

2. Fill your profile out completely. Add your avatar, add your name and publication, your interests, etc. If you’re on Twitter, post a link to your Twitter name.

3. Now it’s time to start messing around. But don’t start submitting stories yet. Here are a couple of places you should explore.

- First, you’ll want to look at the Digg section you’re interested in. If you’re a science reporter, Digg has a science section. If you’re a producer, check out the main page.

- Also, check out the “Upcoming” tab on the Digg homepage and on your section. While you’re there, you’ll want to not only Digg stories that are of interest to you, but feel free to comment on a couple of them as well. This will get you noticed by other Diggers.

- While you’re here, start adding some friends. See the people who have submitted stories that appear on the “Upcoming” tab. Add them. Also, you could try adding some folks from the SocialBlade lists; you just don’t want to get caught up in the numbers game.

4. If you’re looking for other folks to connect with, go to the right rail on “Upcoming.” Scroll down a bit. You’ll see something like this:

Check out some of the profiles there. You want to become friends with folks who have strong profiles. Look at:

- where they’re from
- the types of stories they like
- the number of stories they’ve submitted
- the popular ratio

5. Do a search for your news organization on Digg. See if someone’s submitted any of your content.

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I won’t lie; Digg can be a bit of a time suck. The more you comment on people’s submissions, the more stories you Digg and the more often you reach out to people, the stronger your personal network will become.

You want to become a real person on Digg, and not just someone that’s part of a faceless news organization. This and this, for instance, are probably not the best approaches.

The trick with these five steps is to get noticed, and if you do what I’ve suggested, you’ll do just that.

DISCLAIMER: It’s been argued that Digg traffic isn’t necessarily the best out there. This post is meant to be a “how-to” for folks who already want to start Digging.

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If I haven’t convinced you, check this out:

Chris Lang, “How to Build Powerful Digg Profiles That Get Dugg.”