Contests or specifically blog contests are a great way to attract a huge number of people from a wide variety of demographics. Not only because its full of hype, but more likely because almost everyone joins it.
I’m sure you’re aware that I join as much contest as I can and bragging aside, I usually win a lot. From the simple, “subscribe to feed, comment here” type of contest to the harder affiliate marketing competitions, I probably had participated in all of those. Joining contest is really fun in the sense that if you lose, then you lose. I mean people don’t grudge when they lose in contests, instead they ponder on how it’s super fun and how they learned a lot. Another benefit is that it really brings you closer to other bloggers.
I know like me, you also like joining contests probably for the same reason and amazingly for me I don’t just join contests giving iPads or whatever gadgets, I literally join each and every as much as I could. Even if the prize is a Flip Mino or a simple quality eBook or even just a template, I am usually urged to participate.
I love Competing
This pretty much sums it up. I’m a gamer and I’m ready to compete all the time and every time I look back I always see this as a determining factor. I joined a lot of affiliate marketing contests by Market Leverage and I won I think 3 of them. For me it’s just nice to compete with all these people around the world doing the same thing with me and proving them something (I’m sure they’re proving something too!).
When I join contests, I don’t just carry my name and my blog but also my country. Philippines is a third-world country but what a lot of people don’t know about us is that we’re good. I mean again bragging aside, we’re good. There are a lot of marketers here who literally kill it with whatever business model and I know a lot of bloggers here who are really well-known internationally.
They say competition is always good because it just means there’s money in it. The same goes with contests. When you see you’re up against someone, you have that determination inside you to win it all. And the best thing is that you don’t treat others as a competitor, instead you treat him as a peer.
Feeds our ego well
If you’re winning, it satisfies us ego-wise. Who doesn’t want to get recognized as someone who emerged victorious in a contest? It helps you build your online portfolio, your image and you get more chance for people to visit you because you won the contest.
A good example is Lyndon Reid who won the shoemoney’s gambler contest. He won the contest so he got the prize of attending the summit for free and an additional cash but on a side note, he received so much traction because big blogger like John Chow blogged for him as well.
Prizes are good, too good to be true
In one of my old posts about how to make money outside internet marketing, I mentioned that joining blog contests is a good nice way to go. I mean seriously, how hard is it to actually tweet something or blog about it? Is it hard to write an entry to a contest? Seriously, oftentimes its just so worth it.
John Chow has had a post about this entitled “Are you scared of success” in which he pointed out how people are scared of joining contests. That is so true and I think there’s another factor that hinges with that and its a word called “laziness”. That’s a good point too since most people want to succeed but almost none can move, no one can really do anything.
What do you think? What’s your main driving point on why you join contests?
Hey Melvin,
Guest Posting contests are really great. Every one loves contests. It’s a win-win situation for everyone :).
Thanks for sharing this great Post.
~Dev
I know people that don’t join a contest just because “we don’t have to many chances” to win. In theory neither New Zealand stand a chance with Italy (if you watched the South Africa World Cup) but they won a point and that’s what really matters. You’ll always win if you participate and you pointed it well.
Why do I join contests? Because that keeps me in shape and contests brings the best out of me.
I agree with you competing is really fun and it makes you work harder when you know you are competing against other people. Competitions bring the best out of people and some people work better when they are competing. The prizes are also great motivation to enter the contest.
of course the money….people say a lot about ebooks and themes but its with money that you can do anything….
I agree that there are some books that are worth getting as a prize but as a contest winner, 99 times out of 100, it will be cash for me
It’s good to be truthful to ourselves right? 😉 heheh.
I love cash too but sometimes I prefer gadgets.. 😀
interesting idea Marius. And perhaps if a contest is uninteresting we wouldn’t even care to take a look at it right? Same when we like contest, it makes us light our butts.
You mean you can win gadgets from blog contests? Hey Melvin, where can I find blogs where blog contests are held? I’m not usually sure on finding, and the last I found was yours, but it was closed from submission already. (oh wait, i just saw your post on the crazy cash contest by comluv. =p) No more excuses.
Will attend to it, now. =)
Ah…I just realised, the contest for ComLuv was closed on 7th July…missed the train again. =(
Nigel
Some contests are worth entering and some aren’t.
I joined your contest because I believe that I have a chance of winning.
I also need some of the prizes to help my blog grow.
This is my entry to your contest:
http://www.d3so.com/the-secrets-to-blog-commenting.php
Let me know what you guys think 🙂
love the post melvin,
i have only just recently entered the world of blogosphere and even thou it wasn’t much of a time as compared to other seasoned bloggers out there, i can indefinitely say that blogging has thought me a great deal of lesson of succeeding online.
apart from them, i haven’t had the chance of participating in a contest and i hope to do so soon.i am really looking forward to learning more about it .
apart from just keeping track of some of the blogs around for contest, do you reckon any other ways of finding it finding out before ‘its-too-late-?
cheers
I agree with your view on the reason you like to joining contest, it is nice way to express yourself and show other people what you can do. Internet is a place you meet lots of people around the world and express yourself in other to make your country proud.
I am not really a big fan of blog contests.. I have participated in one or two which was long time back. Once I won a UBT theme, that’s it 🙂
heheh, but you never used that UBT right?
This may be a selfish reason, but as there is a lot of publicity that goes with a contest, one reason that I may join is because I have the opportunity to reach more people and expand the reach of my blog and brand by entering.
Thanks for posting this. As for me, being “new” to serious blogging (blogged before but not too actively) and just started to get the hang of joining contests, I think I find it too interesting, amusing and a great deal of fun. But of course, I also wish to win 😀 , to win prizes and to win friends.