A while back, I talked about participating in a contest that another website was hosting. Well, this week, I’m taking it a step farther! I am actually running my own contest on www.celiacsupport.net. So, what steps did I have to take to run a contest?
- Decide on what the prize would be for the winner. In this case, it is a copy of the brand new, hot-off-the-presses book, “Once-A-Month Cooking: Family Favorites“. A friend of mine is helping with the marketing and she knew that I would be a good person to promote the book, since the book has a 2-week gluten-free cooking cycle in it that would interest my readers on that particular website. (Yes, I knew someone…but you could choose a product on your own and adapt this to work for you.)
- In this case, my job was to review the book and post my review on my blog. The prize for my readers is a copy of the book. I will be posting reviews, interviews with the authors, photos, and various other goodies from the book (quotes, recipes, etc.).
- Determine what your readers will have to do to enter your contest. In my case, I am trying to build my email list, so that is the one requirement for entering. However, visitors can earn extra entries by spreading the word via social networking. I find that if you make the contest too difficult, people decide it’s not worth the hassle.
Let people know that the contest is coming. I posted a preliminary entry on my blog to build the buzz. I tweeted it a few times and let my Facebook friends know about it. Hopefully, the word will get around.- Today, when the contest opens, my first post will appear and visitors will see all the details on how they can enter, when the winner will be chosen, and see a photo of one of the recipes I made from the book. In addition to my own photos, I will also be using graphics such as this one (right) and a photo of the authors later in the week.
- I will be spreading the word through social networking throughout the week and hopefully, creating a buzz!
Please feel free to sign up, if you’d like to win a cookbook. Only one of the 2-week cooking cycles is gluten-free; the rest are just plain great recipes!
Tell me your thoughts! Have you ever run a contest on your blog? Any helpful suggestions that you can add? I’d love to hear them! Sign up below, if you’re playing along with the Monday Marketing Meme!