How to Run an Effective Blog Contest

I love blog contests. Because I like free stuff. That’s human nature. Lately, though, bloggers are making their readers jump through more and more hoops in order to ENTER their contests. I’m not even talking about winning. Some contests are asking people to follow the blog, tweet about the contest, blog about the contest, and comment about the contest. Add up your points for doing any combination of those actions, go back to the blog with the contest to report your points, and THEN you are entered. As someone who’s  worked in marketing generally, and promotions specifically, for the last seven years, this is simply bad marketing. Here are a few tips to help you plan your next blog contest.

The basics of promotion

Consumers want to know (1) what do I get and (2) how do I get it. It’s an easy formula to follow. When you are planning a blog contest, keep this in mind in all your communications about the contest.

Objective

Why are you having a contest? Is your objective to gain more followers, market a new book, or get more hits on your site? When you are doing any kind of promotion, you need to have a clear understanding of your objective. Otherwise, how will you measure success?

Know your audience

Who are you trying to reach? Make sure your prize is something they will really want, and target your communications to them.

KISS

I can’t stress this enough. Keep it simple, seriously. (I added the seriously.) Don’t make people work too hard to enter your contest. I’ve run many national sweeps and contests for blue chip clients over the years. The more barriers you have to entry, the lower number of entrants you will have. Think about your objective. Are you trying to get more followers? Then have people follow you to enter. Are you trying to market your book? Then have people tweet or blog about your book to enter. BUT don’t make them do all of those steps. That’s like throwing paint at the wall and hoping it sticks.

Timing

Every contest should list entry deadlines and a date that you will post the winners. Follow through by getting back to your winners in a timely manner.

Prize

Your prize should be relevant to your audience. Be clear about what the prize is (remember consumers want to know what they get), and set up any restrictions upfront. If you are giving away books, are you willing to pay shipping costs to send them overseas?

Promote the Contest

Nobody will know you are having a contest unless you promote it. Tweet about it. Link to it. Ask your friends to help you spread the word about it. If your contest is open for 15 days, don’t tweet about it once on day one and expect people to care on day fifteen. You don’t want to be irritating, but you need to get the message out there consistently. One way to do this is to change up the message each time you talk about the contest. For example, talk about the prize in one tweet, and then talk about why you are having the contest in another. DON’T keep retweeting the same “Have you entered my contest yet?” tweet over and over. That’s a good way to lose followers.

Extra Credit

The best contests are ones that get people talking and excited. Many writers give away books. It’s the most basic promotion you can do, but it’s not that exciting unless it’s a LOT of books or an ARC. Think about a really cool prize you could give away, and remember it doesn’t have to be limited to your writing. I used to be a graphic designer, so I gave away a blog redesign once. Another time I wanted to up the followers to my blog in a short period of time, so I had an MFA Crash Course contest – I shared valuable tips from my MFA program and people “enrolled” (or followed my blog) to attend. Some of my agent mates band together to do an annual scavenger hunt. Try to think of a unique spin you can put on your contest.

Good luck!