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Contests can be seen as a stunt. In my opinion - a stunt is something new and out of the ordinary that catches peoples attention, and when it comes to marketing, if done correctly a stunt can generate a lot of positive attention.
Contests can be used to attract people to your website, to build your email list and even to build links. Online contests can be a very effective tool for marketers with any budget.
Before running your own contest, one thing you should be aware of is that online contest have mixed reputations in the minds of consumers. Many online surfers have been enticed to click on links offering them a “free iPods” or a “free trip” only to be rewarded with an inbox full of spam. Keep this is mind, you may have to earn peoples trust before they decide to enter your contest.
Build Links With a Link Building Contest
We all know that quality content and quality inbound links are the key to Google’s heart. You might already have great content, but anyone who has tried their hand at link building knows it can be tedious at best. Luke mentioned in his post last week that he has had some success in generating links by networking with influential bloggers and using social media. Another great way to build links is to have a link building contest.
A link building contest is a way to entice people to link to your site in return for the chance of winning something. To see how this is done you can check the This Week in Photography (TWIP) contest page. TWIP is part podcast and part blog. They are currently running their second quarterly link building contest. At the end of this quarter they will randomly select one link and award the webmaster or blogger a Drobo from Data Robotics. This is a $500 prize, and I’m sure the links generated by this contest will be worth a lot more than that.
TWIP also has a bi-weekly photo contest where they give away photography related prizes like books and software to the winning photographer. Their Flickr Photo Challenge Group now has over 2000 members.
Turn A Product Launch Into a Contest
Firefox made an event out of it’s Firefox 3 release by inviting the entire web community to make/break the world record for most software downloads in a single day. Not only did this “stunt” generate 8 million downloads in 24 hours, but it generated a lot of excitement and created a lot of free press for the second most popular web browser. One week later, Guinness is still reviewing the record breaking attempt, and Firefox 3 has now been downloaded 19 million times. If and when Guinness confirms the world record, Firefox will get more free press, more downloads, and as a result more profit.
Don’t Forget To Promote Your Contest
Once you have decided to have a contest, you will need to get the word out. A good place to start is by posting comments on popular forums in your niche (try not to SPAM) and contact contest blogs.
Legal Note
Before running a contest you may want to check with your lawyer, there are certain restrictions when it comes to running contests. If you run your website out of the US you are probably safe as long as you restrict your contest to US residents over the age of 18.
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