As you’ve undoubtedly realised, there is currently a contest going on here on Teenius which I launched a few days back. Now, this contest has been going rather well so I thought it would be rather fitting to write a post about what makes a successful contest.
Firstly, I think we should look at what I mean by a ‘successful’ contest, as the word success means different things to different people. In this case, I’m talking about a contest that will not only get some good attention for your website or blog, but also for the sponsors. After all, the contest wouldn’t be there without them!
So, how can you achieve this?
Well, the most important thing is planning. You need to plan every little part of the contest, all the way from what the prizes are to how you’re going to advertise the contest. I shall now discuss a few of the points you need to think about before even launching your contest.
Prizes
Arguably the most important part of a contest is the prizes. After all, if the prizes aren’t very good then people are unlikely. So, how can you ensure you get the best possible prizes?
Well, firstly you need to understand what your readers want. For example, the main prize in my contest is a custom Twitter background as I know that my readers are mostly on Twitter and would therefore find this prize beneficial. Also, if you can’t think of anything, cash is always a good prize as everyone loves it!
Entry
The next thing you need to worry about is how people will enter the contest. The trick here is to try and keep it simple, and make sure that the contestants don’t have to work too hard or lose anything. For instance, something simple like leaving a comment or getting them to tweet a message should do quite well, but if you tell them to write a whole post about your blog, they’re going to be more reluctant to do it!
Advertising
Another problem you’ll encounter is deciding how to advertise your contest. Will you pay for advertising on popular blogs? Personally, I’ve found it quite effective to do guest posts. Basically, because the quality of traffic is so high from guest posts, if you put a link in your author bio then you’re sure to get some entrants that way!
Also, if you want to be cunning, you could make it so the contestants advertise your contest through their entry. For example, by getting the entrants to tweet about your contest you will get traffic that way, so the amount of advertising you need to do will be reduced.
Contests, sounds good to me!
Have you run any contests on your blog? How did they go, and how did you advertise them? I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the topic, so feel free to leave a comment below!
Contests need to be good for all parties involved!
I am hoping to get a good response to my contest!
Hi David. The prizes in your contest are of pretty high value, so as long as you advertise right you should see a very big increase in exposure for your blog!
I have an on going top comentator competition on my blog. Every week, I give free advertisement oppurtunity to the winner. However, in few weeks time, I want to spice up the prices. I’ve seen really positive effects from this competition. And I would recomend it to every blog owner.
I think as a general rule of thumb, the bigger the prize, the more entries you’ll get. That said, the way you’re running your top commentator contest is really good as it’s not really that hard to win it, plus the fact they know if they don’t win they can always come back next week!
I know about some such site which will give you banner link for one month on their site, free but you will have to win the contest.
Yeah – that’s similar to the contest Ali runs. The top commentator every week will get a free 125×125 banner on the site for a week. Personally I think it’s a really good contest
Whenever I run a contest on my blog, I try to make it as unique as possible. Something like “name the mascot!” or “describe a really boring event in great detail” works well to get people interested in and of the contest itself.
Brilliant idea Corey, I hadn’t thought of that! I suppose something that adds the extra element of ‘fun’ is bound to boost the amount of people entering!
No wonder, you’re a great writer and your ideas are always different ..
That’s a great idea! Asking readers to do something creative but easy helps a lot!
At last Business card giveaway at my blog, the condition was to tell how you would use the cards. Winners were to be chosen by humans(not random.org!) and the answers were really creative!
I would say unique contests and prizes get more exposure than normal ones..
Personally, i think it depends on the advertising more than the type of contest (as long as it’s easy to enter)!
Yes. I agree with that. Advertising plays an important role..
Especially through Guest Articles! 
I agree with you on cash. It is definitely the best option to attract more people.
Couldn’t agree more on entries! I just hate the bloggers who make contests hard like hell! There are often 5-10 steps and these make a contest really hard!
Yes: cash is definately the best. You can get prizes that will be great for most your readers, but cash is good for everyone. Still, it’s not easy to find people to donate cash prizes, which means you’re then funding the contest from your own pocket!
Hey Simon! I’ll be running a few contests myself over the next couple months. I have a couple books I’m going to give away, including the latest in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, “Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich”!
As far as advertising a contest, I feel like it’s a lot less pushy to ask someone to share it than it is for a normal post.
Cool, I look forward to those, I’ll be sure to check them out!
As for the advertising point, I must agree, especially if the contest entry is to tweet about the blog or something. After all, in normal posts you aren’t really giving a reward, but in this there’s the chance to actually win something.
I think the prizes and the sponsors are the crucial part of contest. They both should be effective and impressive.
Definately. After all, no one will enter a contest if the prizes aren’t any good!
My monthly comment contests worked very wel for all involved, I will continue them in the new year.
Great! I was actually top last month but there was no contest running
I’ll definately be entering when they restart!
Hmmm i think Blog Contest can help…i am too running a contest on my blog
Hmm..contest ..eh??
Should we fund it ourselves or can a sponsor help? Do you know how to find them?
Hi Suhas, thanks for the comment and welcome to Teenius!
As for prizes, it’s really up to you. On my contest I’ve put in $20 of my own money as one of the prizes, but the other two were donated. I found that a great way of finding sponsors was to just email them, explaining why they should sponsor the contest (ie, for exposure), and then ask what they would be willing to give!
I believe most people are only in for the prize, if you know what I mean
Yes I agree, you have to plan it properly if you want to have a successful contest. I’ve seen many contests like these but none which are really successful. Most of them just have a few strong, daily commentators which will certainly win the contest without a doubt.
But in this case, you’ve added a ‘best comment’ contest in collaborate with your most comment contest, which I think is an awesome idea.
Why? Because not only do you have to make many comments, the comments have to have a certain quality if you wish to win even more
For advertising, I wouldn’t really pay for it but instead, just advertise at a few hotspots will do, Facebook, DP, etc.
Thanks for the article! And I hope you don’t mind my fairly long comment
Long comments are always appreciated Zach, especially if they contain great information like yours did
For me, it was really important to have the ‘best comment’ contest running simltaneously. What I didn’t want was a load of ‘great post’ comments, as usually I get some really good comments posted and I didn’t want people to change their habits.
To be honest it worked out really, really well for me. Instead of just getting comments, I’ve received loads of useful comments!
@Teenius– You have given very nice info about this topic. Many people doesn’t know how to run a contest on their blog. You this post helps them very much in this matter.
Glad you found the post helpful, Kamal!
giving away Cash prizes, Review post or Premium theme attracts many of visitors to take part and subscribe to our blog
and yea prize like custom Twitter background is also a good and Unique idea, Prizes in the contest should be useful .. in short.
[...] The winner of the ‘Best Comment’ contest is Zack from MakeAPost, and he will win the $20 via Paypal. The winning comment was the awesome one he left on the post ‘Why Relaunching Your Blog Is Awesome‘. This comment won as it added positively to the conversation and gave some advice. I think Zack is a worthy winner as he has been posting brilliant comments all month so far, such as the one here! [...]
once i planned to start a big contest in my blog but i stopped it as i had only less readers.