How to Get Featured on the Front Page of SlideShare [Infographic]

Whenever you design a presentation, think about your audience. @katairobi #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Never think about how you will be featured on SlideShare with your presentation. Whenever you design a presentation, think about your audience. Why did you design the presentation and what problem does it solve? Focus on the content and then leave it to a professional designer to make the magic!”

2. Michael Brenner

Focus on the title front page image to drive interest @BrennerMichael #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“In order to create a great SlideShare presentation that stands out, you need to approach it like anything else online. Here are my tips:

Start by really focusing on the title and the front page image to drive interest.
Use strong imagery throughout the presentation.
Make only one point per slide. Stats and quotes work really well for SlideShare.
Remember that links only work after the 3rd page.
Write a complete description, and pick an appropriate category for the deck.
Here’s an inside tip: post early in the morning. Even just at midnight Pacific Time. That’s when the SlideShare team starts the clock running each day for their Featured presentations.
Share the SlideShare on each social channel and make sure to mention @SlideShare.
Embed the SlideShare in a blog post and share that out on social channels as well.

If you follow these tips, you will find your chances are much higher of getting that coveted “Featured” spot.”

3. Ayesha Ambreen

Stick to a niche topic and add value through content @ayeshaambreen #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“The formula to create ‘Featured’ Slide decks is simple: Stick to a niche topic, add value through content and use simple but eye-catching graphics. SlideShare’s audience is more inclined to reading things that are brief and information-oriented.

Therefore, it is wise to keep word-length to the minimum (say more in less). Make slides legible and avoid stuffing content. And whatever you write, make sure it makes sense. Elaborate and support content through relevant graphics. I personally prefer vector graphics but it is okay to experiment with different themes and graphical elements to find what works best with the topics or ideas specific to your subject.”

4. Stephen Jeske

Presentations need quality content first and foremost @stephenjeske #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“You can’t put lipstick on a pig and expect it to look beautiful. SlideShare presentations need to have quality content first and foremost. In this type of presentation, with limited real estate, less is often more. Be ruthless in your editing. Focus on conveying the greatest amount of information with the least amount of words. Each slide should have just one purpose with content focused on achieving that objective.”

5. Steve Williamson

Each of your slides is a single, highly condensed story. -S.Williamson #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Imagine that each of your slides is a single, highly condensed story or narrative.

Remember that the best stories are visual, simple, and they combine attention grabbing chaos with the comfort of control.”

6. Josh Steimle

Use a simple, stark, yet professional design. @joshsteimle #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Use a simple, stark, yet professional design. The last seven presentations I’ve put on SlideShare have all been featured on the homepage, getting thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of more views than they would otherwise. My last presentation, How to Get Major PR Exposure Without Major Media, has been viewed almost 40,000 times. The first slide of my presentation is nothing more than white text on a black background, with the inner slides being black text on a white background. I tend to use a lot of slides, with very few words per slide. Sometimes a slide may have just a single word on it. Simple, fast, and it works.”

7. Joe Gelman

Website: Joe Gelman

Find a problem you're qualified to solve @joeandtell #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“First, know your strengths and where your unique voice can lend the most expertise. Find a problem you’re qualified to solve, a question you’re qualified to answer or a subject you can comfortably teach. If it can be rooted in either public events or common interest then that’s even better.

Next step is to tell a visual story to help frame, clarify and contextualize your subject. Bring your expertise to the table, inform and delight your audience and make them feel something. Whether you’re convincing someone of a better way to get things done, teaching them something new or helping them through a common problem, they should come out of the last slide feeling persuaded, informed or assisted.

Then you need to translate this story into beautiful slides. Focusing on composition, contrast, color, typography and simplicity is key to producing a compelling set of visuals.

Lastly, keep producing great work. SlideShare’s front page is curated by real-life editors. If they get to know your work and it meets their standards (which should happen if you follow the above advice) then the path to the front page will become progressively easier.

IN SUMMARY:

Find your area of niche expertise
Solve a problem, comment on a trend or teach me something related to that area of specialty.
Tell a story to make the content engaging.
Translate the story into beautiful, simple slides.
Consistently produce content that meets these standards.

For more tips to design great presentations see my Presentation Design Crash Course.”

8. Julius Solaris

Use links and description to give more context @tojulius #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“A presentation that shines on SlideShare is not a presentation you made at an event, it is made for SlideShare. SlideShare is a medium of its own. You need to understand its language and its personality.

Images are the most important part. Not too much information, use links and description to give more context. Try to be interactive and creative. Slide transition is important. Clicking on the next slide should surprise or inspire your reader.

Always make sure to have a call to action somewhere and be smart about self promotion. Give content first, contacts will come.”

9. Eugene Cheng

Create something that doesn't already exist @ItsEugeneC #Slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Create something that doesn’t already exist in its entirety. Devise a novel angle to ensure it stands out and commands interest by default.”

10. Pamela Pavliscak

Think about a metaphor or theme to frame the story @paminthelab #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Think about a metaphor or theme to frame the story. When I put together the deck, A Year for Mindful Design, I was inspired by the Year of Monkey and this idea of technology making us feel distracted, sometimes called monkey mind. In my latest deck, Design like a Human in the Age of Algorithms, I was thinking about how algorithms still feel glitchy.

When you post a deck on SlideShare, fill your reader in with a little bit of the story. When I give a talk at a conference, I don’t always repeat verbatim what’s on the slide. I also use a lot of videos and gifs to help get an idea across. But with SlideShare, people are reading the entire presentation. You’re not there to speak to them so choose your words carefully to help the story flow. Just be sure to keep it brief!”

11. Jen Jones

Bullet points are out, pictures are in @hellojenjones #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Here’s my tip for SlideShare success….PICTURES. Using pictures as the focus of your slides (instead of words) is the best way to get your slides noticed, by both your audience, and by SlideShare. When you present, the story or the point is inside of you, and the picture supports that point. Using pictures is based on brain research; people think, dream and visualize the world in images, not words. Words on a slide, or worse, rows of words on a slide, are uninspiring. Nobody wants to read your slides and your audience definitely does not want to listen and watch you read your slides. Presenting is an art, and your slides should compliment everything you say, be a trigger for you and what you want to say, and pique the interest of the audience so they are only left hanging on your every word. So remember, bullet points are out, pictures are in.”

12. Sandra Jovanovic

Your presentation needs to be visually persuasive -S.Jovanovic #slidesharetips @SlideShare Click To Tweet

“Truth be told, there isn’t really a recipe to create a “featured presentation.”

I’ve published a lot of presentations through SlideShare. In total 23 out of 25 presentations have been featured. That being said, the person designing and editing the presentation has an upper hand and can make or break whether or not it gets featured. I’ve realized that no matter what topic you choose, you need to take into consideration that we are visual learners. Your presentation needs to be visually persuasive.”

13. Ross Simmonds