Blogging Mistakes: How to Not Run a Contest
Howdy, Bubba! Hey, if you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate you dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!
NOTE from the proprieter: This post is my submittal for Blog Project: Blogging Mistakes being run by Daniel over at Daily Blog Tips. If you’re interested in learning from other bloggers, then this is one of the best sites ever! Pop on over and check the project rules, then write a post. Not only will you be able to share the benefit of your experience with others, but you can learn from them, and share the link love as well.
The biggest mistake I’ve made (and mind you, this is only the BIGGEST one) was when I ran my first (and so far, only) contest. Readers here at the Zone will no doubt remember with anguish throw darts at my photo fondly remember the infamous Let’s be Brief contest, in which I challenged readers to write a complete story – using only six words!
The mistake wasn’t in having a contest (it wasn’t just a good idea, it was brilliant!); oh, nooooo, it couldn’t be that simple! No, the mistake was that I announced the contest before I had a clue about how to prepare for it! Having participated in a similar contest over at Ben Yoskovitz’s site in December called What I Learned in 2006, I figured, what the heck, I can do that.
Lucky for me that I contacted Ben and asked for advice! Man, was I a rube!
The 3 Main Mistakes (…and these are just the highlights!)
First of all, I didn’t allow myself enough time to advertise the contest. The announcement went up on a Wednesday, and it was supposed to start the following Sunday. Definitely not enough time! I would advise two weeks minimum.
Second, my readership could probably have been counted on both my hands and feet at the time. And I had made no effort to “get the word out” among other bloggers, particularly those with a larger audience than mine (which at the time was practically everyone).
Third, I hadn’t given much thought to execution of the project, how I would handle and publicize entries, etc. I began to get terrified that either a) no one would participate, or b) thousands would! Typical pre-party jitters, no doubt, but still something you should prepare for, just in case the load is high.
Whew, Dodged a Bullet That Time!
Once I realized the fine mess I had gotten myself into, I immediately postponed the contest by an extra week so I would have some more time (the announcement was already out there, so I changed the date with an apology for the oversight). This gave me some extra time to plan.
Then, I contacted several bloggers and asked them to volunteer as judges. This accomplishes three things: a) it adds legitimacy to your contest, b) it enlists their support, and c) it helps get the word out via their readers. Out of seven people who were asked, three agreed, and we were off to a fine start!
Finally, I sent email announcements to every blogger at whose site I’d ever left a comment, asking them to share the announcement with their readers. Never underestimate the power of networking! Just remember, your network won’t just spring up overnight. It takes time, and patience, and perseverance.
(Allow me to add one more thing: if you’re new in the blogging game, you can’t do any better than connecting with Liz Strauss at Successful Blog. Don’t take my word for it – drop by her site and get to know her and her readers. I believe it’s safe to say that connecting with Liz is worth 6 months of networking on your own. She’s definitely a peach! Oh, and did I mention she’s the inspiration behind SOBCon ‘07?)
And the “Close Call” Award Goes to…
The good news is, the contest was a great success; once the smoke had cleared, there were a total of 441 entries from 71 people from all over the globe. The contest ran this year, from Monday, Jan. 18th through Sunday, Jan. 21st. The week prior to the contest, my Technorati rank was somewhere around 300,000. The day after the contest ended, my rank had risen to 62,619 (and this was in just a week!), and it has continued to climb since then to around the 44,000 range.
Of course, on March 1, when Middle Zone Musings moved from Blogger to its own domain, the rank bounced back up to about 1.7 million. (Alas, I had to cut short the celebration when I remembered that the number is supposed to be going the OTHER direction. Let’s see if I have it straight now: small, low number = good; large, high number = bad. So, the thing I’m shootin’ for is a “low” number, which is a “high” rank? I’m so confused.) Anyway, it’s recovering nicely now that everyone has found the new location (you HAVE memorized it, right?)
Y’all come back now, y’hear? And don’t forget to keep those, er, card and letter coming.
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
59 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
So, Mr Bob, it was all a mistake then? Shame on you!
Just kidding! ! ! !
It was the best run contest I had ever encountered (can I tell you it was also my first?)
Can we have some more, please, Sir? And you hid the mistakes - if any!, you could have fooled me - pretty well.
Oh, Karin, the contest wasn’t a mistake, but I almost made a huge one in the planning stage! Luckily there was enough time to get things right.
The contest actually went pretty smoothly, I thought. Not to mention I was able to have a lot of fun with it without being swamped. Good combination, that.
Another contest is coming, I promise. I want to make sure it can be just as easy and at least as much fun.
As a loser in your contest, I can only hope for extra humidity, mosquitos, and water moccassins in the greater Houston area this year!
Truth be told (and I don’t often do that), you did a great job running the contest and encouraging everyone even mildly interested to submit entries.
I think the most brilliant aspect of the contest was the total lack of appeal mechanisms for the judges’ decisions!
That was a GREAT competition, Robert. Now that you have learned from your mistakes (though we never felt or saw them), when’s the next one?
Gee, Mike, you’re pretty good at this; your wish has come true! Now if you’ll just wish for me to get a million dollars…
Thanks for the complement, and you made a HUGE contribution. Just think, without you, I couldn’t have said “we had MORE THAN 70 participants”! (There were 71.)
Thanks, Pete! I am mulling over some possibilities even now, but I’m just coming off a very busy time at work and would like to take a breather first. (Something like 6 months in the Caribbean ought to do it.)
I’m looking for something just as simple and pithy as the last one was; easy to do, fun to take part in, and conducive to sharing with friends. Something viral, in other words.
Any ideas?
Nah Bob
You do the hard grafting, we’ll have all the fun.
Ah, but that’s what was fun about it for me, Karin!
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] Blogging Mistakes: How to Not Run a Contest [...]
[...] Self-Assessment by Bret - I Almost Ruined Everything by Annie - Common Blogging Mistakes by Vijay - How to Not Run a Contest by Robert - 5 Things I Regret About March by Bill - Trying to Promote my Blog without enough [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How To Not Run A Contest [...]
[...] especially enjoyed reading How not to run a contest by Robert, the Mr. Frisky post by Rory, the importance of saving for rainy days by Vivien, and the [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] 10. How now to run a contest Contests can be great for generating a buzz, links and readers, but get it wrong and you could be in a whole heap of trouble. Read more… [...]
[...] by Bret * I Almost Ruined Everything by Annie * Common Blogging Mistakes by Vijay * How to Not Run a Contest by Robert * 5 Things I Regret About March by Bill * Trying to Promote my Blog without enough [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] with my Blog. An Honest Self-Assessment | I Almost Ruined Everything | Common Blogging Mistakes | How to Not Run a Contest | Trying to Promote my Blog without enough Traffic | Always Install Wordpress on the Root Diretory [...]
Thanks for the post. Now I understand why my contest failed.
Networking failure.
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
Propolis Addict, thanks for the comment! But it’s really not that hard to do, once you get the details all set up. I had so much fun, I’m looking forward to doing another one soon.
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] Self-Assessment by Bret I Almost Ruined Everything by Annie Common Blogging Mistakes by Vijay How to Not Run a Contest by Robert 5 Things I Regret About March by Bill Trying to Promote my Blog without enough Traffic by [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by RobertA couple of experiences on running a successful contest on your blog. [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
Very well expressed!
Thanks for sharing.
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
Thanks, Chelsea! And thanks for dropping by!
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert The biggest mistake I’ve made (and mind you, this is only the BIGGEST one) was when I ran my first (and so far, only) contest..First of all, I didn’t allow myself enough time to advertise the contest.. [...]
[...] Track 21. Competition Freeze-Out Blues Thought I would be generous, With a winning incentive scheme. But it turned into a nightmare, When it should have been a dream. I’ve got those competition freeze-out blues, But I guess you just gotta laugh. Should’ve waited until at least my Feedburner stats read more Than two-and-a-half (and one of those is me, sweet mercy me!)(Robert) [...]
[...] Blogging Mistakes, How Not To Run A Contest [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] my own fear of the logistics involved in it. While I haven’t done much research yet I’ve bookmarked Robert’s account of his first blogging contest. It’s a must read for anyone thinking about running a contest! A decent followup to this is [...]
What a great story. I’m also relatively new to everything about blogging and already realized that there is just so much to learn. I have already learned a great deal from people I met in Networking Sites like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. I have heard a lot about Liz and I will definitely drop her a note to introduce myself.
Excellent advices
Hello, Cin77, and thanks! What’s so cool about the blogging community is that everything you ever wanted to know is freely available, and from those of us who’ve already made the mistakes, too.
Nice of you to drop by!
This is definitely one of the better contributions to this blog carnival.
Thanks a lot!!
Thanks, ideentyp! I appreciate the kind words, and thanks for making the effort to drop by!
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
[...] How to Not Run a Contest by Robert [...]
I am just about to run a competition myself on my blog. By reading about some of the errors that you made, i hope will stop me making them. However I am probaly just likely to make some other errors! heh
Ah, well, Little Tykes; we learn a lot from mistakes! Don’t be afraid of making some!