Buzz, buzz, buzz! I have learned that the more I spread the word about a contest, the better it makes it! I spread the word on Twitter which in turns get spread by someone else and so on.--Amy Stuffed Bookshelf
Giveaway of a great book or gift card and simply entry's...Name, email are you a follow...not all that nonsense- post here, post there, do you dig, did you tweet, do a back flip, massage my feet...and so on.....--Tinas Book Reviews
A book I really want to read! I don't care about the rules or whatnot. If I am interested in the book, I will follow what the blogger wants.--Michelle Redheadedbook
Easy to enter and not too long of a wait to find out if I won or not. And don't ask me for my mailing address up front. That's stalker-ish. Why do you need EVERYBODY's address? Ask for it from the people who win. If they don't respond, then pick a new winner. I host a fair amount of contests and giveaways and I have yet to have someone who did not claim their prize. But if I were to have a prize left unclaimed then I would have no problem selecting a new winner.
Signed books are a plus. When I go to a book signing, I like to pick up an extra signed copy to give away. I like being able to give someone else an opportunity to get a signed book, especially someone who isn't able to go to signing because maybe the author doesn't go to their area.-- The Book Vixen
Two words: Google Forms. This makes contests SO much easier to enter! I have a lot of blogs in my Google Reader, and I have to admit, sometimes when the contest requires a comment, I don't enter because I don't want to pull up a new window, wait for the page to load, go through word verification to make my comment, etc. Google Forms allow me to enter contests from my Google Reader, which I love!--Natalie Mindful Musing
Contests that I enter? Well, sometimes I like fun contests, like I just did a Read-Along contest where we read a book together and someone will win from commenting on all the questions. I also really enjoy hosting contest with riddles and things like that, they're so interactive and fun. But I guess a lot of times that's all a little overwhelming and sometimes it's nice to type my name and click submit. I know a lot of bloggers don't like the extra entries and things on contests, but I feel like the purpose of a contest is to publicize a book and its author. The extra tweets and things definitely do more to promote and get the word out about the books.--Andye Reading Teen
I'm a fan of Google forms. So any contest that uses the forms is good. Also, choices, either through gift cards or a choice of certain books. If the winner is going to receive, say 5 specific books and I've already read a few of them, I won't enter since I'd rather someone else win and read the 5 books instead of me trying to find new homes for the ones I've already read.--Jennifer Reading Tequila
I like contests to be simple to enter so that's what I do when I have contests, give everybody one chance to win.--Rebecca Biblignome
I don't enter too many contests, but I like the new trend of using forms so that the blog has your email in case you forget to check back to see if you've won.--Karen FWIW
I enjoy contests that are easy to enter. I prefer simple forms and/or just leaving a comment. I don't mind if I have to be a follower. What I don't like is having to jump through hoops - tweet about it, add up points, etc. I will only enter contests when I don't have the book and I really want to read it. Otherwise, I stay out to let someone else have a chance.--Jen Twimom
Not having to jump through to many hoops to enter, and filling out a form. I get enough spam as it is and filling out a form helps prevent further spam… as least somewhat. The easier it is to enter a contest the better. Giving me options as well. And with that I mean not forcing me to do things to gain an entry. With my contests I give everyone options, you can do things to earn extra entries, or not. Nothing is mandatory.--Lisa Bound By Books
Putting my name and email address in a google form. The simpler, the better. For the most part I've stopped doing extra entries on my own contests.--Emily What Book is that ??
Kelli: A book I really want to read.
Natalie: When you are not required to follow using GFC, I like to follow different blogs in different ways (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube)--So Rather Read
I agree about making it easy for me and for people those entering my contests. I love google forms for contests and I'm not going to make everyone jump through hoops. I understand for different items there should be more work if the prize is bigger. It all depends on the blogger and what their personal preference is to for contests/giveaways.
Stay tuned for the next question
Loved the feedback! I feel the same way: the easier it is to enter, the better!
ReplyDeleteI like that there are all different kinds of giveaways because we are all different. It would be boring if they were all the same.
ReplyDeleteMy giveaways tend to be super simple though.
I posted about this last week and it's interesting how all over the board people are. It's impossible to keep everyone happy.
ReplyDeleteOne person (or more?) told me they prefer to give their address, then on here someone said that's stalker'ish. I tended toward the stalker'ish though I have no problem giving it to bloggers I know.
Using a google form seems to be most people's preferred method and I can't argue with that. I like them too, especially when they are embedded in the page so I can fill it out as I do the entries. But for me I use a netbook and the google docs don't work so well on my tiny screen. I can't even see a full entry at a time and the page won't scroll. So I stopped using them for my contests. Also I think when your hosting a contest for someone who's sponsoring it then they like to see the comments. Of course asking people to leave a comment about the post and fill out the form works too, it's just another step.
I HATE word verification. I don't have it and guess what? I haven't got any spam since blogger started having a spam detector. When I did before I just erased it.
I like easy entries for contests, but I understand the need for the extra entries to spread the word. So I say that if your hosting a contest for someone else and it's a single book then super easy entry (like just leaving a comment or filling out a simple form) is the best. But if it's a bunch of books and is a high dollar contest OR if it's a contest your sponsoring and am throwing in a bunch of money then extra entries are fine. Also if it's a contest sponsored by an etsy or any other business extra entries are fine, though I prefer if they are more for the shop then for the blogger but I'm okay with it however.
Mostly I'm just whatever about all this. We all have different opinions, different methods, etc. We're never all going to agree. But I think it's great if we share our thoughts and opinions because others may have thought of something we didn't.
And the things that make me enter a contest, besides not having to jump through too many hoops, is if it's a book or books I really want, a gift card (LOVE those!) or an order of a book of your choice. I never enter a contest if I don't REALLY want the book. And I also like if we have a choice. If someone is giving away 5 books and I have 3 of them but REALLY want the other two then I may enter but if I happen to win I'll let them know I already have the others. But if they give a choice of 10 books and you can pick 5, much better! Then I can pick the ones I don't already have.
Great post Julie! Love hearing everyone's thoughts!
I'm always curious to see what people think of contests, since there are so many different variations on how to enter throughout the blogosphere. It was great to get some feedback!
ReplyDeleteWow- it seems everyone is spilt down the middle for contests. I like doing the simple but Im thinking I should do the forms as well for my contests.
ReplyDelete