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Due to certain circumstances changing, this posting is outdated and comments are closed. There are more up-to-date contest postings within.
*****
Hey everyone, I got some cool news! Monthly comment contests are comin’ back!
If you don’t know what a comment contest is, it’s real simple. The reader(s) with the most comments at the end, wins a prize.
If you like the average comment contest, you’ll LOVE mine; that’s guaranteed!
Depending on how long you’ve been with me you may or may not remember; I ran consecutive monthly comment contests for 4-6 months in a row on my old marketing blog.
I don’t recall exactly how long, but I do remember they were extremely popular. The key for such popularity is prize sponsors, something rarely, if ever, seen before on a mere comment contest.
Most are run strictly by the blog owner with one or two prizes. Every month we had a minimum of 10 prizes; one for everyone on the top commenter list, not just 1st or 2nd place.
I say, let’s do it again!
Originally hoped to be this month, that obviously will not happen. January 1st, seemingly far away now, is perfect! A short list why, in no particular order:
1. Time to re-work my rules page. Don’t whine, this is a good thing for all.
2. Proper time to find awesome contest sponsors. There are three different “levels” (explained next post). I wish to find as many “continuous” as possible, not to mention haggling for the very best prizes possible.
3. Lots more content!
Good: I will be allowing comments on ANY post posted, not just the “new” ones like some contests.
Not so good: I can’t be so egotistical to think any visitor is going to sit and read/comment on 40 posts at a time throughout the month(s).
Of course, I am a big fan of republishing older posts, so that might be OK.
4. Lots more subscribers (Hopefully, lol.) What good are contests with few entries?
5. At least one more blog in the network should be launched; Small Business Blog Coach. This is HUGE. I mention below how each blog, once launched, will be included in the contests.
That’s all I can think of for now, I may be back to add. If you’ve ever held a contest, you might be able to come up with more.
FYI: Just to be perfectly clear, this is not going to be a one month contest, then done.
We will be running consecutive monthly comment contests. Meaning, they will continuously run silently in the back ground, month after month after month, with winners at the end of each month.
Simple, yes?
This is the coolest part of it all, the 2nd thing that makes it different from any other comment contest on the ‘net.
As you know by now, one by one I will eventually be creating a network of blogs. As each one is created, it will then be part of the comment contests.
This is where it gets different. Pay close attention…
One blog comment contests are run by “position” on the top commenters widget, 1st-2nd-3rd-4th, etc.
However, with a multiple blog comment contest it is strictly a numbers game; “positions” on each widget on each blog, mean NOTHING.
At the end of each month each commenters numbers will be tallied across the network and prizes awarded accordingly.
Subscribing to the newsletter for blog updates when it becomes available is sounding better and better, ain’t it?
As I type this, there are more comment contest related posts waiting to be published.
One asking for prize sponsors, another wondering if prize sponsors should be allowed to compete as well. ~~Start thinkin’ now so you’re ready to comment then!
Any comments/questions? Do you enjoy comment contests?
Related posts:
Twitter: AMater
Says:
August 17th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Sponsor, eh? Well, you already know my answer to that one.
I’ll be on the lookout for your email. A network wide contest could get very interesting.
Alan Mater recently posted..Marketing Your Online Business Effectively
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 10:31 am
@Alan Mater,
Yes indeed, especially once the entire 6 7 8 whatever blogs go into full effect.

Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 4 – The Forum and Live Chat Room
Twitter: imstrategies
Says:
August 18th, 2010 at 2:56 am
Ooooooooooooooh, a chance to win moola!!!!!
JR @ Internet Marketing recently posted..Bing Serving Yahoo Search Results to Finalize
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 10:31 am
@JR @ Internet Marketing,
Hopefully…someone has to sponsor moola before someone else can win it.

Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 3 – The Newsletter
Twitter: BlogisBlogging
Says:
August 18th, 2010 at 3:21 am
WoW a Commenting Contest once again over here
i am all set to take part once again 

Lucifer@BlogIsBlogging recently posted..15 Interesting Facts About Wikipedia
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 10:32 am
@Lucifer@BlogIsBlogging,
It’s been a while my friend, where/how ya been?
Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 1 – What DEDC is About
Lucifer from BlogIsBlogging
Twitter: BlogisBlogging
Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
@Dennis Edell, Busy Due to Studies
but i never missed your updates because of google reader 

Lucifer@BlogIsBlogging recently posted..15 Interesting Facts About Wikipedia
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 7:51 am
@Lucifer@BlogIsBlogging, Thanks! Good to see you around again.

Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 1 – What DEDC is About
Twitter: tycoonblogger
Says:
August 18th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Great idea to include your other future blogs. I will be involved, not sure if as a sponsor or contestant..I guess I will wait and see what the policy is.
dan keller@blogging tips for beginners recently posted..Promote your Blog with this new Twitter Sharing Community
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 7:41 am
@dan keller@blogging tips for beginners,
Are you for or against sponsors being contestants?
Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 1 – What DEDC is About
August 19th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Out of curiosity, how much extra traffic do you usually get on your site when you’re running a contest like this? I’ve only recently been turned on to contest marketing, but I’ve seen some amazing results even with a few small contests we’ve held for our business.
TJ McDowell@Photographer Education Blog recently posted..Photography Startup – Managing Stress
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 10:25 am
@TJ McDowell@Photographer Education Blog,
Excellent question TJ, and one that is surrounded in misconception. I personally received considerable traffic when I held them on the other blog.
Blog contests in general depend largely on one thing, promotion – both yours as the contest runner, and word of mouth from readers.
Comment contests depend largely on two things, promotion and content. If your articles suck, you will attract crappy-spammy comments, but nothing worthy.
Readers are generally too busy to bother with crap no matter how good the prizes are. The main point is to keep them coming back, especially after the contests end, assuming you have an end date.
Know what I mean?
Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 3 – The Newsletter
TJ McDowell from Photographer Education Blog Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
@Dennis Edell,
Do you generally get a high rate of retention with followers that stick around after the contest is over? What would it take for you to consider a contest to have been worth it? 5% of contest participants sticking around? 10%, 20%? Thanks for your insight!
TJ McDowell@Photographer Education Blog recently posted..Wedding Photography For The Craigslist Photographer
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
@TJ McDowell@Photographer Education Blog,
“I” have kept a high retention rate in the past, yes. I’ve never put a percentage behind it though.
There are two ways to track, and since they both depend on Feedburner (a little glitchy at times), neither is 100% reliable.
1. You can only track subscribes that subscribe via email (not feed-readers). This is one reason many bloggers including myself make subscription via email a requirement for contest entry.
2. Keep an eye on your subscribe count overall for the following month or two…..very glitchy.
Again, retention depends LARGELY on your content. Some may stick around to possibly win a freebie, but you have to keep them there with good content.
No actual numbers, but I hope that helps some.

Dennis Edell recently posted..A Personal Post – Do Not Skim
Twitter: twitter
Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 1:03 am
If nothing else, I love comment contests, because it gives me a little extra nudge to be chatty in reply – which I quite enjoy doing anyway (you must have noticed by now!).
And obviously, the busier things are, the more opportunities there are for a good debate to spin off from a post..
Matt Chatterley@Web Development Hampshire recently posted..Starting an online shop – Part 6 – The Shopping Cart
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
@Matt Chatterley@Web Development Hampshire,
Absolutely right! I’ve gained MANY post ideas from comments, either on my own blogs, or others.
Dennis Edell recently posted..Update 3 – The Newsletter
August 29th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I never tried to be in a comment contest and I really want to be part of a comment contest because I want to experience arguing,debating and sharing ideas about a certain topic

tom @ online marketing business recently posted..SEO Training Signing Up for Twitter
Dennis Edell
Twitter: DennisEdell
Reply:
August 30th, 2010 at 10:08 am
@tom @ online marketing business,
Well, that’s a new way to put it, welcome aboard Tom!

Dennis Edell recently posted..Twitter Weekend 1 Followup 1
November 28th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
[...] you been reading along? Starting January 1st, 2011 we’ll be having monthly comment contests across the [...]
November 28th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
[...] The simplest of all, all the way around (in my opinion) are comment contests. [...]