  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: Melissa is fashionably late!  
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What fun would the world be if you didn't have Writing.Com? What fun would Writing.Com be if it didn't have interactives and contests?
If you have a hard time finding something fun to do, then this newsletter's for you! |
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The recipe for success of any contest is a subject that has been addressed multiple times by multiple newsletter editors, including myself, in previous additions of the Contests & Activities newsletter.
I thought I would readdress this subject, but with a twist. I visited Scrolling Messages and posed the question, "What do you think makes a contest successful?"
SueBear 's first answer was that advertisement was the primary success to holding a successful contest.
If you don't let members of Writing.Com know that your contest exists, you'll be less likely to get entrants. I don't know of many people, other than newsletter editors, who actually search for contests using anything other than "Writing Contests @ Writing.Com" .
Posting it on scrolling messages is also a way to advertise, but dionerochell warns to not advertise exclusively on Scrolling Messages. Doing so could limit your entrants to those who frequent Scroll, but not those who enter contests while staying away from places like Scroll.
Lady Stars and Andrea think that timing is also an important factor in hosting a successful contest. Lady Stars says if you'll get more entries if you hold your contest when "everyone is around like vacation time like college ie. spring break, Memorial Day, and so on" and not hold it during exams and other times that are busy for most of the Writing.Com members.
Andrea also suggested that competition is a huge part of timing: "If you hold a romance contest in February you're up against a dozen or so others. However if you hold it in August you'll have less romance competition."
Using Andrea 's example, you host a contest in Febraury that prompts for romance poetry while there are a half a dozen other romance poetry contests listed on "Writing Contests @ Writing.Com" running the same prompt and deadline. You're basically dividing the potential entrants among the 7 contests, since you're unlikely to get the same entrants in each contest, unless the entrants are able to recycle entries.
Problematic Content also suggests that a contest should be fun, as well as original in order to attract entrants. He used his contest as a good example of something fun that's original: "Invalid Item" .
Rules were another important note hit on by several members. SueBear said, "explain all the rules in the contest all in one place, don't make folks hunt for them, or new changes (but it's rude to change rules once it is started), and make the dates of the contest and word limits or minimuns very clear."
Most people don't plan to change the rules when they start a contest, but sometimes they do. If you're worried about rule changes within a complicated rule set, make sure to include a disclaimer within your contest header to warn entrants that rules are subject to change in the event of a rule conflict. If and when you have to change a rule, it's also polite to create a post (if you are using a Message Forum to host your contest) to let entrants know that the rules have changed.
SueBear also added, "And for me, the most important thing is to do what you say you'll do...if judging is on a certain date, then either judge or tel the particpants why there is a delay. Don't change the rules half way through."
Indeed, pushing deadlines forward and drawing out a contest because you don't feel you have enough entries is something of an annoying practice that any entrant hates to see, especially if you have enough entries to be able to hand out prizes. Not awarding prizes when you have enough entrants to be able to do so is (at least, in my opinion) the same as telling your current entrants that you don't think their items are good enough to award.
Sage added a nice conclusion to the contest recipe conversation with a recipe of his own:
1. Dip contest in melted chocolate,
2. let cool and chocolate harden,
3. set out and wait for entries to pour in as they eat the chocolate.
 I don't know about you, but I'm all over that contest.
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The winners from my mini-contest last month, a scavenger hunt of 26 different kinds of contests are:
kiyasama
laurie_o
Davy Kraken 
Congratulations, guys! And thanks for taking part in the great contest scavenger hunt, and also thank you to all of those who sent me birthday wishes!  |
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Contests & Activities: May 03, 2006 Issue [#1014]
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