Contests I've Won In Last 2 Months
| Where | What | Approx. Value |
| Daily Moolah | SEO Book | $79 |
| Top Secret Blogger | $100 Cash | $100 |
| Blue Jar | $62 Cash | $62 |
| David Airey | Custom Logo/Header One Hour Consultation Revolution WP Theme Blog Review | $50 ? ? $60 ? |
| Avg Joe Blogger | Text Link Ad | $5 |
| John Cow | Nintendo Wii Game Voucher | $250 $50 |
| Rhys Wynne | Ad Icon | $2 |
| Contest Blogger | "The Secret" book | $13.17 |
| John Cow | 300 x 250 Ad Block | $75.00 |
I've been on a bit of a streak lately, winning quite a few blog contests. Several people have asked, "How do you do it?" Well, I decided to share my methods in a post instead of 23 email responses.
Follow The Rules
Bloggers who run contests put rules in place for a reason, usually SEO related. If a blog post is required for entry, there will usually be rules for how many links are required and the anchor text to use. These linking requirements accomplish a few different objectives.
- Increase traffic to the blog.
- Increase exposure of the contest.
- Improve the contest sponsor's Search Engine Ranking.
- Gain exposure for the contest sponsor's website.
Contests are run for business objectives not just for funzies. If the entries don't receive the required links they usually will not be counted. Make sure you link properly.
Sometimes larger contests have additional requirements. The John Cow contest for the Nintendo Wii required the contestant to sign up as an affiliate of the sponsor. The reason for these requirements is obvious but, I guaranty you, a lot of the people who thought they had entered did not get counted because they didn't sign up as an affiliate.
Use Every Entry Method Allowed
It's very common for contests to have multiple methods of entry. Often the rules will be something like this:
- Comment on the contest post for 1 entry.
- Mention the contest in a post for 3 entries.
- Write a full blog post about the blog or contest for 5 entries.
- Subscribe to RSS feed for 2 entries.
Surprisingly, a lot of bloggers will leave a comment for one entry and forget to do anything else. In every contest I have won, I have used every opportunity available for entry. If the prize is worth winning, why not make every effort to win it?
Take The Time To Actually Enter
I know this seems simple and I certainly don't mean to insult your intelligence, but have you ever seen a post about a cool contest and thought, "Cool, I need to enter this one."? I know I have. Don't you feel like a moron when you realize you missed it? I know I do.
The way to avoid this issue is to go ahead and write the post. Save it as a draft if you don't want to post it right away. If you wait, you stand a good chance of getting busy and forgetting about it until the winner is announced.
Summary
If you don't feel it's worth your effort to enter blog contests, the totals above show at least $750 in winnings over two months. I don't know about you but that beats the snot out of anything I ever made with AdSense. If you will follow these simple tips I guaranty you it will increase your odds of winning the next blog contest you enter.
Good Luck!
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32 comments:
Thanks for this information! I actually not heard of any of these blogs yet, except for john cow, but I thought it was just a typo. :)
While it would be really cool to win a contest or two, I mostly appreciate learning as much as I can from all variations of bloggers. So, I've added all of them to my RSS feed. I love Yahoo, I get them all, including you on my home page every day. :)
AT:
Congrats on the recent wins!
By the way, I like your pink banner on John Cow's site; the color really stands out and fits your site's color scheme (very clever). It was also clever of you to link the banner to a post on how to increase your changes of winning a contest!
Wow, those are fabulous prizes! Maybe I should join some contests as well.
P.S. I found a typo in your FeedBurner thingy: "To *Recieve* Updates Enter Your Email Address:" :)
@ Telling - You're quite welcome. We've got to broaden your horizons ;)
What have you decided about WordPress?
Glad to know I'm in your reader, you're in mine :)
@ Blogstruck - Thanks! I haven't been able to see it posted yet. I guess I'm just not catching it in the rotation. Thanks for the compliments though :)
@ Jug - LOL!! That's just too funny. After I corrected you on your grammar! The really bad part is, that's been up there for over two months. HaHaHa!!!!
You're the 1st to mention it. Congratulations!
You can't win if you don't enter :)
You are on a streak! I think you've undervalued the cost of a custom logo, but congrats on all your wins nonetheless.
Ciao for now.
David - First, thanks for stopping in and taking the time to comment.
That figure was a totla guess since he doesn't ave the service listed on his site. It was certainly never meant to offend.
I just didn't want to be accused of inflating the numbers to make things look better.
What is a more reasonable value?
I would probably expect somewhere around 200-250 but that is an absolute guess.
Hey congratulations on all the wins!
I wonder if your being an attractive friendly female has anything to do with your winning? I doubt it, the bloggers who run these contests wouldn't do that....would they?
Hey, I just went and searched out your ad on johncow. I must say it is very well done!
For anyone who cannot seem to get it to show up, the url is:
http://johncow.com/images/ads/AT.gif
Wow , congrats on your winning streak. I am going to follow your tips and see if my luck changes.
@ Nick - I have to say, I've wondered the same thing but I think the majority of these blog owners have more integrity than that.
Thanks for posting the link. I just threw it together. Glad it looks OK.
@ Madhur - Be sure to remember #3, you can't win if you don't enter :)
No offence taken at all, don't worry. I've no idea what that particular logo / header would cost, but at present, I start my logo design pricing at $800.
Wow! You are on a roll, lady luck smiling right at you!
I enter a fair bit of contests myself and had won some cash and a few books. Have been aiming for those big ticket items like games consoles but no luck so far.
Thanks for sharing those tips.
@ David - I've read you logo developement posts and I can certainly see how you justify your rates. The product you produce is deffinately worth it in my oppinion.
@ Bet Shop Boy - Thanks and your welcome.
You've just got to keep entering those contests :)
Wow! I knew you had won several, but I didn't know it was that many.
wow, you really went all out, pretty impressive. I have to say, the one thing about winning should be "follow the rules". That will remove most of your competition for winners :)
@ Steven - Yeah, they kinda stacked up didn't they?
Believe me, I've entered a lot more than I've won :)
@ ChipSEO - Thanks. I have to agree. There are a couple of these that I know most of the people didn't qualify.
Too bad ;)
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We are going to join a blogging contest next month and I am training our contestant right now. I'm so grateful that you post this tips cause we can use it as our additional guide.
Really useful post! It is really in good timing cause I we will join a blogging contest this coming next month. Thanks a lot.
This was very impressive work that you have done. Thank you for sharing this idea for having a good blog to start.
This is what I wanted to find out that's why I surf the net right now. I want to win the blogging contest in our school this coming next week. Thanks for the tips.
It is good to hear when we won something in which we are hoping to have. You are already lucky.
This tips is very applicable. I use this one during our blogging contest in our university and I got what I want to. I am the winner! Thank you so much.
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