28
Good VS. Bad Contests
Posted by Nathaniel | Posted in Blogging Tips, about blogging | Posted on 28-08-2008
I meant to write this earlier but oh well, read it now or never.
There have been many contests circulating since June, that is when I really noticed a kick in all the contests that were being started.
Since June I have seen a few well run contests, and a few typical ones that are always great but are having almost the same contest as 70 other blogs (don’t ask me why I picked 70). These contests can get annoying as well. Though I do love contests and prizes, there are SOOOO many out there that I don’t have time to join and participate in every one, for there is just no point.
Usually, I would not care that tons of blogs are having contests, but in a certain way I do. See I love to read blogs, be surfing them, comment and get to interact with the author and other readers. When a contest comes up, the calm is disrupted and people will go crazy for the prize. There are a lot of spam comments, a lot of questions, and a lot of worthless and foolish stuff circling the blog. I almost feel like I should participate, but know I don’t have the time or energy to be the top commentator with 80 comments, write 10 blog posts about it and link to all the prizes and all the sponsors. It would just drive me crazy!
Recently, a friend and fellow blogger Rajaie talked about how he hated that so many contests were being started, and I have to agree with him. Though contests are great, they can be a huge annoyance and sometimes you have to lay off the shit and get the gold.
Now we will move on the the real topic of this post, and that is what I qualify as a good contest vs. a bad or unworthy contest.
What makes a contest worth it
Some contests are really worth it to enter, let me share some of the reasons with you. I should tell you, I feel that our friend Ben Patton’s contest will really be worth it, he is giving away a laptop! And here are our 10 good reasons to enter.
- You have a unique or uncommon prize
- You have a great or valuable prize
- You have interesting ways to enter and earn points
- You do not have 4 million prizes or sponsors
- You are a good blogger with shark-bait content
- Your previous contests have been great (not always a reason)
- You don’t make your readers sweat to much
- You are always interesting no matter what
- You give a chance to get something for nothing
- The thing I forgot [fill in answer here]
I was not sure I would come up with 10, but I edited and got that many. I hope you agree with those, be sure to fill in your answer in the comments.
What makes a contest hit the fan (what makes it suck like hell)
- Your prizes are all too common
- You have 10 million prizes and sponsors
- Your prizes are worth 2 cents
- You have stupid ways to enter and win
- You never have good content
- You have other contest failures
- You make your readers go get you a million dollars
- You are a dull person
- Every prize you have to work your ass off for
- You are a mean person
There are a few reasons for you that make your contest terrible.
Now neither of these qualifications really fit anybody, most are average, a lot of recent contests leaning to the bad side, maybe because it is just too small or some other reason. Most contests manage to pull of a good show, not quite like Jon Stewart or Chris Brown but still something that’s ok to waste your time on and win a few prizes.
So I am not saying your little contest is bad, but I am saying that next time you should think before starting a contest, you really have to make it worth it and not pull it out of thin air with a few ad spots, text links, and some reviews. You have to make it more sophisticated and interesting and then bloggers and sheep will come flocking to you like crazy.
I also have another post that I add onto and that adds on to mine, they would work combined I guess, so I should let you stomp on over to Jay at Datmoney and then come back and tell me what you liked of his article telling you 5 reasons why he WON’T sponsor your contest.
I should also tell you again I am thinking of running a contest, have no fear I will have most of the pro reasons in mine. I am looking for sponsors, so if you have a great idea for a prize let me know.
-The Green Flamingo
