Brilliant Bloggers is a brand new series here at the BlogWorld blog, featuring some of the best bloggers from around the world. Every week, we’ll look at a different topic and I’ll feature three bloggers who have covered the topic in interesting, unique, comprehensive, or otherwise awesome ways. But that’s not all: I’ll also give you a list of other blog posts I’ve found about the topic, so if you want to learn even more, you can check out what other people have to say as well!
Want to submit your link so I don’t miss yours? If you wrote about this week’s topic, simply leave a comment below with a direct link to your post. Scroll to the end of the post to read about how to be considered for next week’s Brilliant Blogger post!
This week’s topic: Contests and Giveaways
People love free stuff, and by offering a contest or giveaway of some sort on your blog, you can encourage others to get more deeply involved in your community. The great thing about giveaways is that you can control what your readers have to do to be eligible. This could include leaving a comment, checking out a sponsor’s site, following you on Twitter, subscribing to your newsletter, liking your site on Facebook…the sky really is the limit. So, if you’re trying to reach a certain goal (like 1000 Twitter subscribers), you can use a contest or giveaway to boost your progress toward that goal. An now, without further ado, let’s see what our brilliant bloggers have to say!
Advice from Brilliant Bloggers:
Put Out the Welcome Mat: How to Run a Blog Contest with Panache by Nathalie Lussier
When Nathalie Lussier writes something, you know it’s going to be good. This is a guest post she did on Problogger about running a contest that covers all the ins and outs of making it a successful endeavor. Lot’s of people have written quick how-to guides for running a contest on your blog, but Nathalie’s has some panache of its own. Check it out, then consider following her on Twitter (@NathLussier) and checking out her other projects at Raw Foods Witch, The Magick Menu, the Nathalie Lussier Media blog, and Healthy Travel Lifestyle.
How to Run a Successful Facebook Contest by Grandma Mary
Running a contest on Facebook actually takes some consideration because Facebook has very strict rules about how you can and cannot run a contest using their platform. This post goes over everything you need to know about using Facebook for your contest, and Grandma Mary is much more entertaining than my grandmother. (Oh, and she’s not really a grandma at all, but that’s another story!) You can follow her on Twitter @grandmamaryshow.
Are Blog Contests Worth Your Time? by Jennifer Chait
There’s tons of great content on the Freelance Writing Jobs network, and when it comes to posts about contests, this is one of my favorite. Jennifer talks about why contests aren’t always a good idea for bloggers and how you can decide whether or not to run one on your site. She also links to a number of other great resources from around the network. Don’t forget to follow Jennifer on Twitter @jenniferchait and check out her site at Growing a Green Family.
Even More Brilliant Advice:
- 6 Quick Tips to Run Your Own Successful Blog Contest by Brent McCoy (@brentmccoynet)
- 10 Creative Contests Powered by Social Media by David Spark (@dspark)
- Blog Contests: Bribery or Motivation by Deb Ng (@debng)
- How to Promote & Run a Contest – A Case Study of An Aud Life dot Com by Jason Katzenback (@katzenback)
- How To Promote Your Blog with a Giveaway by Olivia (@FrugalBonVivant)
- How to Run a Blog Giveaway by Rachel (@busymommymedia)
- How to Run a Contest Using Twitter by Bill Bolmeier (@billbolmeier)
- How to Run, Advertise, and Find Prizes For a Blog Contest by Cherie (@working_writer)
- Is your Giveaway/contest Legal in social media? by Timothy Goleman (@timgoleman)
- Launch An Incredible Blog Contest by Chris (@EnlistMedia)
- My Secrets to Running Successful Competitions on a Blog by Darren Rowse (@problogger)
- Why Your Special Offer Isn’t by Jay Baer (@jaybaer)
If you have a post about running a contest of giveaway, please link it in a comment below! We’d love to learn what you have to say on this topic.
Next Week’s Topic: WordPress versus Other Blogging Platforms
Want your post included? Simple head to Blog Carnival and upload your link. Remember, only posts about this topic will be accepted. If you have another brilliant post, save it for a topic that better fits the post! Submissions will be accepted until February 9, 2011 at noon. Deadline pass already? Head to Blog Carnival and look under “about this edition” to find the current topic!
Hi! Seems like a cool way to find out about other bloggers. Will you be featuring any that blog about more than blogging/marketing?
I’m happy to feature posts by anyone, as long as it fits the theme of the week. The blog itself doesn’t have to be about blogging or marketing, and the posts can even be tailored for a specific niche (for example, if the theme is design and a gardening blogger writers “the 10 best designed gardening blogs” that would fit). I do highly recommend checking out the other Blog Carnivals out there to see what is available in your specific niche or even thinking about hosting your own carnival!
Contests were very helpful when i first started out and was really trying to gain an audience. I still run them, but they aren’t as important to my readers anymore.
http://www.spearmintbaby.com/
Hey Alli,
You asked for links, so here’s the piece I wrote on contests. A much different take than the other pieces. 🙂
Contest Criminals: Social media’s dirty little secret http://wordsdonewrite.blogspot.com/2011/01/contest-criminals-social-medias-dirty.html
Blog Carnivals used to be fun.
But now it appears that I’m done.
Cuz the site we’re all using
To build them’s refusing
My stuff — no more Mad Kane post fun.
Thanks for the nice episode show and contests giveaway!! I almost like every feature Brilliant Bloggers and simply surprised to hear that sounds of latest features. Hope that’s extra benefits for the visitors. Keep up the nice content!