5 tips for running a competition on your site

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I'm currently running my first competition where you can win 100 Entrecard credits.  I did a little research before I launched the competition, and I've learned a few things along the way too.  Here are some tips I'd like to share with you all.

1.  Keep it simple.

The competition I'm running is very simple - post a comment on the above blog entry and you're in.  No duplicate entries.  I have had 10 entries so far - not bad considering my blog is not very well-known at the moment.

Compare this to the competition over at CK Marketing.  You have to write a post and link to the blog, leave at least 10 meaningful comments on other blogs, and post the links at CK Marketing.  I only discovered the competition when the site owner posted asking for more people to enter.

I do think it's good if you can get people to link to your blog, but these rules just complicate things.  Honestly, I would rather not link to blogs just to enter competitions - I'd rather link to a blog entry that would be of interest to my target audience.

I am sure some people are thinking - what's in it for them?  Well, if you're giving stuff away, that should be good enough promotion in itself!  CK Marketing is giving away four times as many credits as I am, but the competition is just too much effort to enter.

Don't think of a competition as something to benefit you - think of it as a benefit to your readers.  If you get people linking to you, consider it a bonus.

2.  Be realistic with your choice of prizes.

I recently heard about a blogger who ran a competition with some very desirable prizes.  Apparently, most of the winners didn't get their prizes.  I think it was explained by a lack of time, i.e. unable to get the prizes in the mail.  This is no excuse and a pretty good way to wreck your reputation!

If you're giving away money, vouchers, electrical equipment and the like, make sure you actually have the prizes before you advertise them.  For instance, if I advertised a prize of 500 Entrecard credits but I didn't have them, that would be pretty risky as I'd have to build up the credits before I could give them away.

Don't just go bigger and better than the next blog - be realistic!

3.  Promote it a lot on your site, but only a little on other sites.

I've linked to my competition several times since I first announced it.  But I usually link to it from other blog entries on my site.  I did promote it in the appropriate Entrecard forum, but only in one thread.

Remember that you want people to find your blog because they are interested in your blog content.  If you heavily promote your competition, people will just come for that.  They are a lot less likely to keep reading your blog if they only want to win your prizes.

4.  Make it fun.

It's important to keep it simple, but make it fun too.  You could post humourous updates on the progress of the competition.  Or perhaps make a special post to announce the winner, maybe get them to post a little acceptance speech!

I have an extra idea for this but I'm keeping it under wraps for now - subscribe to my feed so you don't miss out on this, it will be worth waiting for!

5.  Treat competition-related comments as you treat blog-related comments.

Even though it's competition time, it should still be "business as usual" on your blog.  Don't ignore comments.  Reply to them as you usually do.


That's all from me - over to you!  Have you ever entered a competition?  How well was it organised?  Have you ever run your own competition?  How did it turn out?  Will you be doing it again?

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