NASCAR Community: My Name Is Ben Bomberger and I Have a Problem

I've been a member of this wonderful open sports network for about four months now and I've loved just about every minute of it.

I'm an editing intern who spends countless hours fine-tuning other people's work and providing valuable feedback as best I can.

It was recently brought to my attention that I may have some "inside secrets" (thought I'm sure a vast majority of you reading this already knew of these) that would benefit the entire community as a whole—and the person who brought this to my attention is 100 percent right.

So here are a few tips on how to increase readership and valuable information into each and every piece you write here on Bleacher Report.

Get linked on Jayski.com

Who doesn't check out Jayski.com on a daily (if not multiple-daily) basis? It's one of the top NASCAR sites and has all the rumors and news throughout the top three circuits.

For those who don't know, the site also has a page that is dedicated solely to linking other stories—such as those we all crank out here on B/R.

The key to getting yourself linked on Jayski.com is simple, you send an e-mail to Mr. Jayski himself ([e-mail]) with the following format:

Bleacher Report

http://www.link-of-your-story-goes-here.com

Title of your story goes here

Author's Name

Now let me make this clear. Jayski doesn't link every story that is submitted, and does so at his own discretion. Several of our NASCAR community members have their works linked there daily, and you can see it in their article reads.

A typical article that would get 100-200 reads, can quickly surpass the 500 reads level within a few hours of being posted. (Not to mention it brings more outsiders on the site, which is good news for everyone.)

The ultimate time for submitting an article is late in the evenings, so you can get it listed on the first round of links in the morning.

Jayski updates the article links throughout the day, but the earlier you get on there, the more readers you will attract.

Receiving NASCAR press releases

Another sure-fire way to make sure you are on top of your game is to be able to receive press releases from various teams and organizations.

Many team sites have places you can check occasionally to look at their releases, while others have places you can sign up and receive the releases by e-mail.

May tracks also have press releases as well.

But the top dog—at least to me—is becoming a member of NASCAR Media.

You must apply, and be accepted to become a member of the site and have access to literally thousands upon thousands of press releases, images, race statistics, driver statistics, and so forth.

My two most recent articles are examples of the kind of information you can receive from the site—and it's all FREE.

If you can't get access to NASCAR Media, the best thing to do is peruse the various team Web sites and check out their latest releases.

Create a Series

Having a weekly series—for those who have time—is one sure-fire way to increase your readership.

Here on B/R, I write the following series on a weekly basis: Surprising, Not Surprising; What to Watch For; and now Full of Bull.

The key is to try and be consistent with how and when you write these articles. The best way to get people reading your stuff is to make sure you have it when they expect it.

I have certain days that I release each of those, and I do it the same time every week. Sure, that's not always possible, but when it is, people like that.

My Apology to the NASCAR Community

Last, but not least, I would like to say that I'm sorry to the B/R NASCAR Community for not sharing this information sooner.

Sure, I told the ones who asked me about it, but I could have been more willing to spread the wealth and help everyone out.

Regardless of what some people think, I'm here to help B/R grow and make everyone the best writers we can be, with the most accurate and detailed information we can use.

When I first came to the site, I'll admit I got a little caught up in the whole writer rankings and writer titles, but who didn't at some point?

I came is as a pistol and popped out 60-something articles in my first month, trying to jump up the ladder as quickly as possible. Since then, obviously, that number has dropped each month.

If anyone has felt that I've stepped on their toes and/or insulted anyone by not including them in our weekly Creature vs. Creature picks, I'm also sorry for that.

When I had the idea to start the weekly picks, I knew very few people on the site, and simply asked those that I knew. Others were suggested, and asked, and some agreed—the six others that do it with me—and some said: "no thanks."

For those who were never asked, or asked to join later, I apologize, but I simply didn't have the time to add anyone else, the article takes a lot of time in gathering all the information, formatting it all, and putting it all together for the site.

Not to mention I had a fancy format that included pictures and such that had to be updated weekly.

From here on out, I hope I can do whatever possible to help the NASCAR Community here on B/R grow and will be glad to assist in anyway I possibly can.

I know sometimes NASCAR articles get lost in the editing pages, so if you ever need something looked at—NASCAR or not—drop me a message or shoot me an e-mail ([e-mail]) and I'll get to it just as soon as I can.

Thanks for your time, and for the friendships I've already gained here on B/R in the last four months, and I look forward to working along side everyone here to help the NASCAR Community prosper!