Boost Traffic With A Website Contest

It seems like this is the season for contests. And there’s good reason. In this worsening economy, contests provide websites with a cost-effective way to generate traffic, build a mailing list, and gain inbound links. And for the visitor, he gets the chance to win something for nothing (or for very little work).

But there is a skill to creating a good contest. So before you go out and create something that doesn’t work, pay attention to these tips. Otherwise, you might find that your contest doesn’t help you boost traffic at all.

4 Characteristics of a Good Web Contest

1. Entrant Requirements Should Not Be Hard To Meet.

Entrant requirements are the set of criteria which determine whether someone can enter your contest. In most cases, contests or giveaways simply require someone to sign up for a mailing list or newsletter. Sometimes, entrants will have to submit something which is used to judgethem against the other entrants. But whatever is required, make sure that it easily allows visitors to enter.

2. The Prize Needs To Be Worth The Effort.

Have you ever seen those contests which require you to complete several tasks to become eligible for a prize which is worth very little? This is a bad contest, because few people will enter.

It is important to remember that a contest does not give an entrant a guarantee. So if a prize is small, there is very little motivation to complete any required tasks.

3. It Needs To Be Well Publicized.

One of the biggest reasons for creating a contest is for the traffic. In order to get this traffic, your contest needs to be well publicized. Some ways to get the word out include:

• creating a blog entry about the contest and syndicating it
• distributing a press release
• publicizing the contest on forums or social networking websites
• inviting any contest sponsors to promote the contest
• giving advantages to entrants that refer friends or write about the contest on their websites or blogs

4. The Contest Should Run for a Reasonable Length of Time.

We all like instant gratification. So the longer a contest runs, the less likely that it will appeal to many people. So we suggest that your contest not exceed 1-2 months. In some rare cases, contests may run longer, but there should be regular milestones and status reports so that contestants do not lose interest.

Have we missed anything? What other characteristics do your web contests have?

Source : http://www.velvetblues.com/web-development-blog/boost-traffic-website-contest-giveaway/