Over the past year, I’ve run (and entered) a fair number of blog-based give-away contests. Entering is often as simple as leaving a comment but frequently there are “extra chances” of winning for sharing the contest out on Twitter, Facebook or another blog.
Have you run any blog-based give-aways? I’d be curious to know how many entrants you had. I topped out with fewer than 20 on a Frugal Victoria give-away where I have nearly 1000 Twitter followers and 500 Facebook fans that combine into a decent following.
I’ve discussed this with Mike a few times and his term for it is “Contest Fatigue” — I see it as a form of voter apathy or maybe it’s just an outgrowth of information overload although it may be more complicated.
Before I enter any contest I consider a few things:
- how much do I want the prize (i.e. what’s in it for me?) — if it’s physical stuff, I think hard before entering because my world is already full of clutter and do I really need another book to add to my “to be read” pile?
- do I have anything to gain? — aside from the prize, is there a chance to get more people to come to my blog, or to read my writing, etc.? A good example of this was my entry last year to win the OTTO espresso maker — that post is now in the top 10 hits for “Cheryl DeWolfe” on Google and it’s a good example of my creative non-fiction skills.
- what does the contest holder have to gain? — do I have to sign up for a newsletter? am I just being used as a guinea pig? I don’t mind giving feedback or opinions for a chance at a prize and sometimes a newsletter can be a useful thing, too so this one isn’t usually a deal-breaker for me.
- how much info do I have to provide? — frankly, if I am giving out contact info up front, I really have to want that prize. As a result, I generally steer clear of these info-harvesters that are more typical of a corporate site than a blog.
None of that fully explains the lack of entries in my give-aways though… so the question remains: are people just not into the concept or is no one listening?
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p.s. there is still a day left in my crafty give-away if you’d like a little shamrock pin, handmade by yours truly, in time for St. Patrick’s Day. 😉