  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: terryjroo
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The abundance of contests and activities offered at Writing.com, help to create the most exciting and fun website for writers. The Contest and Activities Newsletter is provided each month to, not only assist you in keeping up with the latest and greatest items, but to help assure that, if interested, you have the tools necessary to run a successful contest or activity. Enjoy this issue and please feel free to comment at the bottom!
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So You Want to Start an Auction
Less than a week from now we will begin the New Year! Yes, 2007awaits patiently to see what new and exciting things we have to offer. Personally, I skip the New Year’s resolutions and head right for the Contests and Activities pages to find something fun to do! At last check, raffles where the hot items on the list - seems like everyone has one. So, what will be the new draw for the New Year? Well, how about an auction?
But I’ve never run an auction.
Well, no worries, because I’m hear to tell you how to run a successful auction. Be forewarned though, auctions are a large undertaking and require you to be extremely organized and reliable. After all, if someone doesn’t follow through with their auction item, you should be willing and able to fulfill the item or offer a suitable substitute or, at the least, return their gift points.
So where do I start?
First you must decide what sort of auction you are going to host. Will it be to raise gift points for a charity? Will it benefit the host or the donators? Possibly it will be a combination of the above. Traditionally the auctioneer or auction house would retain a small percentage of each item sold and that practice continues today.
Then what?
Once you’ve decided on the type, you need to set up the basic auction (forums seem to work best for auctions) and you need to find people willing to donate items to your auction. You can certainly ask friends to help out. You can also advertise on the activities page or sponsor the item. Just make sure to indicate in the brief description and in the forum that you are currently accepting donations. Set a deadline for item donations as well. Around two weeks is usually enough time to get adequate donations, but it’s entirely up to you.
How do I set up the items and determine minimum bids?
I’ve found that the best way to set up the auction is to use a numerical system. Each item or package has a number which makes for easier bidding. Personally I like to see the required information arranged logically and neatly. The following example shows the required information:
1. Short description of item(s) to be bid on.
Donator’s name (list this by user name)
Minimum bid: XXXX GPs (once the bidding starts, this field changes to say “High Bid”)
Current Bidder: (this will be blank until the first bid is made)
Each item should have all of the information, arranged in the same order. You can certainly make use of WritingML, but I will caution you not to overdo it as it will detract from, rather than enhance, the listings. Keep it simple.
Minimum bids can be tricky to establish and they must be consistent. The easiest way is to total up the gift point value of the gift being given (i.e. Merit Badge: 10,000 GPs, Reviews: 1000 GPs each, Signatures: 2000 GPs each) and then make the minimum bid a percentage of the total value. For example, if the gift is five reviews and a 10,000 GP Awardicon; the total value (using the example above) would be 15,000 GPs. Then you take a percentage of that total, say for example 20%, and the minimum bid becomes 3000 GPs. You may use any percentage you’d like, but I wouldn’t set a minimum any higher than 50% of the total. For items that are real, being sent from the donator, it’s often best to work with the donator to set a minimum bid.
Okay, I’ve set up my auction, how long should I allow bids?
This is solely up to you, but the most successful auctions do not last any longer than a month. Personally, I find auctions that last over two weeks will lose my interest or I will forget about them. Auction bidding generally seems to pick up near the end of the auction, usually in the last three or four days.
This brings me to another very important point: make sure you list an exact ending time for your auction. For example: Bidding will end at 11:59 PM Writing.com time on January 15th. This means that you will accept the highest bid that posts with a time of 11:59 PM. Bids posted or changed from 12:00 AM or later are not accepted. You are not required to be online to end your auction, though it can be helpful so that you can post a message that the auction has ended. If you are not online you simply go by the time stamp on the forum posts.
Wrapping up the auction.
This is often the most difficult part of the auction and where the organization comes into play. In the past, I’ve used a static item (set to private) to help me keep track of everything. I also use form letters to notify the winners of their winning bids and to notify the donators that the item has been paid for and can be fulfilled. The following example is one that you can use (it is for a combination auction in which gift points went to charity, to the donator and to the host):
1. Short description of item(s) to be bid on.
Donator’s name (list this by user name)
Winning bid: XXXX GPs
Winner: (listed by user name)
Amount to Charity: XXXX GPs
Amount to Donator: XXXX GPs
Amount to Auctioneer: XXXX GPs
Notice sent to donator: date
Notice sent to (winner’s user name): date
GPs Received from winner: date
Item Completed: date
Confirmation of completion: date
GPs sent to donor: amount and date
GPs sent to Charity: amount and date
Repeat this format for all of the items in your auction. You can also use this format and keep the information in a notebook, if you don’t wish to create a static item. A word to the wise, it’s helpful to create a group, in which you are the only member, and use it to store the auction gift points and then to disperse the gift points. This will prevent you from mixing auction GPs with your personal GPs.
Finally, give donators adequate time to fulfill their obligations. Usually a month is enough, unless an unforeseen circumstance arises. If the donator does not fulfill their auction item within a given amount of time, it is up to you, as the host, to contact the winner and come up with a solution that is agreeable to you both.
There you have it. Hopefully these step-by-step instructions will make running an auction less daunting. Good luck with yours, should you decide to run one! And don’t forget to submit your auction to this newsletter. If it’s listed as an Editor Pick you’ll gain some great exposure!
I hope you’ve found this issue helpful!
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Interesting and fun activities around the site!
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SHERRI GIBSON   says, “Great newletter, Terry! Gives a great list of where to purchase some cNotes and on the contests and activities.”
Being Diane  says, “I really loved the information provided in this months newsletter. I think even though some of us have been members of this site over a year we can always learn something new. That's why, Terry, I was so pleased to see the article on how to make a cNote! I'm going to try we'll see what happens.
Oh, have they got a website for people who are owed and loved by their pets? I know it's supposed to be the other way around but I now have 3 dogs that own me!”
Humming Bird  says, “This one's good. It encouraged me to create a c-note. ”
StaiNe  says, “ This is by far my favorite newsletter, it keeps me on the up and up with some of the activites and contests going on, as these two things are always one of my firsts to check out when logging on. Thanks for providing such a help to us here at wdc.”
bkcompton says, “I loved this month's newsletter with the graphics! It was a nice touch. Another newsletter chock full of goodies to consume, too! Great job, Terry!”
Lexi  says, “Good idea, Terry! I just had someone email my about C-Notes a few days ago. I already emailed them, but this is more detailed. This will help them out much more.
Thank you for the feature ”
Mariposa says, “Very informative, Terry! Thanks for all the hard work and dedication you put into your newsletters!!!”
aeroshika says, “thanks a lot for this enlightening newsletter, I leant what I needed to learn about c-notes, good work!”
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Contests & Activities: December 27, 2006 Issue [#1456]
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