Just a recap of the July contest for those who are just visiting for the first time.
You can find the complete rules here. The basic goal is to be the top commentator by the end of July, using comments that add value to the post. Comments such as “Great post” will either not be approved, or if it looks like they’ll be a factor in the results, will be deleted.
While Juggling Frogs has the early lead, there are over 100 posts on the blog and you’re welcome to comment on older posts, too. So really, anyone could win.
The prize is an original article posted on Ezine Articles, the subject to be tailored to two of your URLs with anchor text of your choice (subject, of course, to Ezine Articles editorial guidelines). I’ll work with the winner to come up with a subject that is suitable to the URLs.
Any blog that links to the original contest rules is also entered into a random drawing for a second article, with the same terms as the first. The same person can win both articles.
If you have any questions about the contest, feel free to leave a comment here or on the original post.
It seems like Juggling Frogs came out of nowhere. I do not know if I will be able to catch the rapid commenter.
Her basic strategy seems to be commenting on old posts to get the lead, and then maintaining it by commenting on new posts. To catch her, someone would need to do the same, comment on a bunch of old posts.
1. Thank you, Jay, for the link!
2. I came from a mention on one of the meta-blogging contest-announcing sites, in response to the contest. I didn’t know about this blog before that. That’s why I popped up just as the contest began.
3. I don’t really have a ‘strategy.’ I’m taking your comment policy seriously, as well as my own. I’ve looked around the site, and comment on the posts that I think I have something to say about.
4. I like this site, especially the blogging category. MLM and the MakeMoneyOnline items don’t apply too much to me, but I have a blog and the bloogging articles are of interest.
5. Had I found this site through other means than the contest, I might have made a comment or two. However, the contest has made me chatty and likely to spew forth what I think about a post, when otherwise I might have just read and lurked.
6. I see the contest as an open invitation to comment. It removes my timidity filter. I’m not afraid to be too chatty or to monopolize a conversation, because people won’t think it RUDE, they’ll think I’m doing it for an ulterior motive. Nobody can say, “Who asked YOU for YOUR opinion?” because, clearly, Jay DID ask EVERYONE to comment. (Not that anyone was saying this, that’s just a figment of my self-conscious imagination.)
7. Good luck to everyone who comments!
[quote post=”265″]6. I see the contest as an open invitation to comment.[/quote]
That it most definitely is! I’m glad it’s working, too. Blogs are much more fun for both the authors and readers when people comment and engage in dialog.
I am going to try to build up my blog and then offer contest like this. I think that the contest is a great way to get people to keep coming. I love reading blogs and find them addictive. I want to build up my blog the way that my other one is built up. I started from scratch and have already gotten a number of readers. I am excited about that. I am trying to join in on some of these contest that help me to promote my site.
Hi Rosa, entering contests is a great way to get some visitors to your site. Holding them seems to work well if you can get listed in some of the contest roundup blogs that have popped up. Keep at it with your new blog, and it’ll attract more readers.
Me too! I’m trying to think of an appropriate contest to run. I like how your comment contest lasts a whole month, so participation over time is encouraged.
Everyone quotes those studies indicating a new habit takes 30 days to form. After 30 days of commenting, I bet we’ll all be addicted to commenting on your blog!
I also like how we can see the mid-term results on the “Top Commenters” list. This gives the contest a feeling of fairness and openness. It also gives the commenters a little excitement, seeing their numbers increase with each comment posted; a sort of mini-reward.
[quote post=”265″]I also like how we can see the mid-term results on the “Top Commenters” list. This gives the contest a feeling of fairness and openness. It also gives the commenters a little excitement, seeing their numbers increase with each comment posted; a sort of mini-reward.[/quote]
I’d like to say I planned it that way, but that was a side benefit. I’m finding I like the comment contests better than the other types, but you’d probably get more entries in a contest that had just a one-time action to enter.
I guess it’s a question of quality entries vs. quantity entries. I bet all of the commenters who are ‘in the running’ for this contest will stick around. I wonder if that’s true for the one-time action contests.