29 Aug 10 3 Content-Heavy Contests That Will Pull Visitors to Your Blog

As we discussed in an earlier post, organizing or sponsoring a contest is a very effective way to pull visitors to your blog. We also discussed that contests could be divided into two broad categories — based on the nature of human involvement — Content-based contest and click-based contest.

We will take that discussion forward in this article, and we will talk here about 3 content-based contests that could help you skyrocket your blog’s readership.

3 content-heavy contests

Comment here contest

This is one of the best contests to host. The idea is quite simple. Ask your visitors to post a comment in the comment box to get a chance to win the prize. Also remind them that each comment will get one entry into a lucky draw, so they can enter more than one comment to get more than one entry. At this point, do not forget to tell them just one-line generic comments will either get filtered out by your spam filter, or will be weeded out by your staff. Remind them that the comment that will add to the discussion will only get accepted. Comment done just to get multiple entry and which does not take the discussion forward, even a bit, will automatically get disqualified.

Review me contest

This is another form of contest that you can run. Ask your readers to write a review for your website on their domain, in Facebook, or wherever they want, as long as it is written on the websites talking about topics like pornographic, abusive, racism, etc. make an e-mail ID, and ask them to send the URL to that mail ID. Promise the announcement of the result on your blog, and tell them that 3 best reviews will get the prize. To win the prize, it is important for them to include two links to your website in the review — one to the home page, and another to any other page. For deep linking, you can provide some options from your blog posts.

Guest post writing contest

The third form of content-heavy contest is guess post writing contest. Ask you readers to write guest posts for you. Announce that the best written guest post will get the prize, and the second and the third ranked guest post will also get prize. To motivate them to write a guest post, tell your visitors that each guest post will be published, and writer will get the byline for the guest post along with 2 links back to their website, Facebook page, twitter, etc.

Content-based contests are time consuming, so the prize should be good, otherwise people will not get motivated to spend time on your blog.

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Tags: blog, Contests, Deep Lining, E Mail, Facebook, Guess, Human Involvement, Lucky Draw, Mail Id, Options, Promise, Racism, Readership, Send Mail, spam filter, Url, Win Prize, Writing Contest

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05 Apr 10 Marketing Power of Thank You

Thanks a lot for reading this!

Read the above sentence again and tell me how it makes you feel. Well, it must have made you feel good a bit about this post. This is we call power of thank you.

Thank you works not only as a tool for showing gratitude, but it also has an enormous power to influence people’s behavior. That is the reason behind such a widespread use of the word in marketing communication.

What Thank you does?

Along with what we discussed in the above paragraph about what thank you does, it breeds curiosity. It pushes us to find why are we thanked for, and this is where real marketing opportunity lies. It pulls listeners’ or readers’ attention to the things being said. A lot of seasoned marketers use this word to build rapport with the audience. This is a nice little way to steal attention.

Thank you appeals to our emotion and the mention of this word make people pause abruptly to find the reason behind shown gratitude.

Where to use thank you?

You can use thank you wherever you wish in your marketing communication, but overusing it will definitely blunt the sharp edge of this weapon. Therefore, a controlled aggression is required in the uses of this tool. This weapon is most effective when used in the following:

Subject line and opening paragraph of an e-mail newsletter.
Headline Teaser print campaign.
In in-program television interstitials.
Teaser campaign on television
Banner advertising.
Twitter status update
Title of blog post

How to use it?

Do not just say thank you and start complaining or talking of things that people hardly care. Use the word to create foot-in-a-door situation, and once you have the attention, start building rapport with your reader before pitching any product whatsoever. Never pitch the product before rapport has been established.

Never pitch your product immediately after thank you.
Never complain immediately after thank you.
Do not push readers to take action immediately after thank you.

You need to make the readers feel at home before asking them to take any action. This will convert well.

Thank you very much for reading this post and leaving comments!

Tags: Aggression, Audience, Banner Advertising, Building Rapport, Curiosity, E Mail, Emotion, Enormous Power, Gratitude, Listeners, Mail Newsletter, Marketers, Marketing Communication, Marketing Opportunity, Marketing Power, Paragraph, People, Real Marketing, Sharp Edge, Subject Line

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21 Mar 10 Business Blogging – 3 More Groups to Satisfy

It is not just your customers, employees, and investors you need to satisfy with your business blog. There are at least 3 more groups that need significant information about your company before they can proclaim any kind of allegiance with your company. Who are they and what they need? This is what I will talk about in this blog post.

Future employees

Every company needs qualified work force and person who is good or very good in his field does not tend to apply for a job in a company that has dodgy reputation or that does not have any proven track record. These people research the company for the past record, growth opportunity, and the company’s work culture. You need to provide them with the information they need. Talk about the work culture, ethics, and how employees in the past have made it big. Tell them how conducive your organization is for development and innovation.

Clients and Prospective clients

If the nature of your business is B2B then your clients need to know about the development in your company and its operation. Your clients’ decision to continue with you as well as your prospective clients’ decision to give you their business will depend a lot about the things that happen inside your company. Instead of giving grapevine communication void to fill in, you should open up a channel to communicate, and what could be more efficient than a blog in this. A blog will also help in B2C market if you sale high-involvement products for which customers need research.

Vendors

The decision made within the four walls of your company is going to affect your vendors as well, so they want to keep themselves abreast with the changes in your corporate policy. Communicating with vendors also become easier when done through the blog, you will not require sending out e-mail alerts to your vendors informing them of every small or big changes of general nature. For specific purposes, you still need to talk directly.

These three groups of people are also as important as are those we talked about in the previous post. Whom else do you think a business blog should appeal to?

Tags: Allegiance, B2b, blog, E Mail, Ethics, Four Walls, Grapevine, Groups Of People, Growth Opportunity, Innovation, Investors, Job, Nature, Prospective Clients, Proven Track Record, Reputation, Research Vendors, Void Fill, Work Culture

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29 Aug 10 3 Content-Heavy Contests That Will Pull Visitors to Your Blog

3 content-heavy contests

Comment here contest

Review me contest

Guest post writing contest

21 Mar 10 Business Blogging – 3 More Groups to Satisfy

Future employees

Clients and Prospective clients

Vendors

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