My First Contest! Time To Put Your Thinking Caps On…
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Hello everyone! That’s right, this is my very first time running a marketing contest. Admittedly it’s put together spur of the moment, but will run for exactly Two Weeks (14 days) from this posting…..Oct. 16th.
The reason this is so spur of the moment - John Dilbeck, one of my awesome readers and owner of 21stCenturyAffiliatemarketing, made a startling comment on my last post. The beginning read…
“This is the first time I’ve visited your blog. My first impression was not good. All I saw was your header, a banner, some pages, and a lot of blank space that said “coming soon”. Truthfully, I almost didn’t scroll down to see what was below the fold.”
Gad Zukes! That’s just not good at all. I do have special plans for those spaces. Very special, very secret plans, but it will take a bit of time before I’m able to implement it.
This is where you, your brain, and this contest come into play…..I need to fill those boxes NOW!
It’s simple - I’m looking for the best/most unique ideas you can think of that would enhance this blog further for it’s readers (which hopefully includes you 
).
You don’t have to think of all 3 by yourself, one each is fine. It’s not going to be 125×125 ads as those are on the sidebar where they belong, so no need to mention that.
The winners will not be judged in any *random order* like most contests for obvious reasons. The best will be judged by myself and one or more trusted colleagues who will not be in the contest.
SIMPLE RULES:
1. Subscribe Via Valid Email - Used for contact, all future contests, and because you don’t wanna miss all my golden nuggets of info 
.
2. Post about it on your own blog pointing to this post - Unique posts please. Do not copy&paste this all over the net.
3. Comment on this post including: Your idea. The email you used for subscribing. A link to your post.
3.5. A mention through your favorite social media/bookmarking site would be sweet! But not necessary.
PRIZES:
1. Since it is not a random draw, EVERYONE who participates gets a link back in the follow-up post announcing winners
2. The 3 top idea winners have a choice - A 125×125 banner ad for one month (31 days). A Free Review. $10 cash via PayPal (including fees )
You may pick ONE at point of contact.
Those that pick the ad must supply their own. I don’t do graphics.
Those that want the review, please read the review page (just ignore the cost). I only do one review per week for the maximum exposure.
***UPDATE:***
Noticing some of the comments left, I feel this update is necessary to make something perfectly clear. Your *idea* MUST be ORIGINAL in order to be considered to win.
What this means is, you must READ ALL COMMENTS BEFORE YOURS.
You cannot repeat an idea or “agree with” an idea to win. This would be completely unfair to everyone.
Thank you.
———————————————————–
That’s it! That’s all! Simple right? Put your thinking caps on and let me know your excellent ideas!
Never stop pushing forward!
Dennis
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Tags: Advertising, Blog Contest, Blog Review, marketing contest, PayPal, Social Media
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 am
Contests are good if you want to gain traffic, but they won’t convert to alot of regular readers. You need exposure or your contest may fail. Let others stumble it for you if they find it interesting. Stumble is a keeper for special events such as contests and other. Good luck!
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Sometimes they do, often they don’t, but you can’t really say “won’t”.
I do plan on plenty of exposure, however it is against SU’s rules to come right out and ASK for a stumble.
Thanks for the input, any ideas for the contest?
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Just a quick one: I’ll be back to fine-tune them later
1. Pick the 250×250 affiliate banner that converts the most for you.
2. A short blurb directed to your resource page which is the compilation of your best articles. Create one if you don’t have.
3. A list of most popular pages (the one with the most comments). Trust me the most commented article has the highest click through provided they are visible to the readers so above the fold would be the most strategic position.
Yan
Blog for Beginners´s last blog post..The Best 15 SEO Tools At Your Disposal
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I didn’t mean to scare you, Dennis!
Seriously, I’m sure my normal browser window is smaller than most so I can easily switch between the dozen or so applications I’m running, plus I have a smaller monitor than most folks have these days. Still, I could see nothing below the empty “coming soon” space without scrolling.
I do think, however, that you’re doing the right thing in getting something useful in those spaces until you have the time to implement your plans.
I don’t have any substantive suggestions, but I like Yan’s #3 idea about linking to your most popular pages.
I’ll be interested in following the contest and seeing what you do.
Act on your dream!
JD
John Dilbeck´s last blog post..Twitter Updates for 2008-10-02
October 4th, 2008 at 12:43 am
[...] Contest URL: Thinking Cap Contest [...]
October 4th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Posted about your contest at http://www.submityourcontest.com/thinking-cap-contest/
Hope it gets you more exposure.
Navjot Singh´s last blog post..Win upto $3000 Cash for Designing a Theme
October 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am
[...] a sponsored review or cash via paypal. In order to help this blogger, I invite you to visit the contest’s post and partiicpate on [...]
October 4th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Best wishes on the contest, I ve subscribed………..
October 4th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Hey thanks ZK, but what’s your idea/suggestion? (The main point of the contest hehe)
But hey, if you just want to subscribe, thats cool too.
October 4th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
John - just real grateful you pointed it out. Actually it seems anyone with 800×600, which so happens to be the most popular I believe.
October 5th, 2008 at 1:45 am
[...] Check out the full details here. [...]
October 5th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Hi Dennis,
Have subscribed to your feeds and blogged about your contest here:
http://aceblogging.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/put-on-your-thinking-caps-contest/
My ideas for your spaces:
1) Top commentators - Reward your readers for their involvement in your blog by giving them a link!
2) Most popular posts - This one has been mentioned earlier and I do think it is a good thing to have to attract more people to your blog.
3) Recommended articles - This is not so common but I always believe in sharing the love and if you find some great articles, why not spread the word and let others find these great articles?
Good luck!
Kris´s last blog post..Put On Your Thinking Caps Contest
October 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I’ve heard some goody things about this blog. The content has really been useful a great balance of text and pictures.
October 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
thank u for contest
October 5th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
i agree with yan. as a reader, the ‘most popular’ and ‘most commented’ sections are some of the areas i tend to look for first. good luck with the contest.
kouji´s last blog post..haiku poem: poverty (goodsearch)
October 6th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Hmm, 15 comments - 2 possible contestants so far - interesting…
October 6th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Cannot agree more with John Dilbeck, I actually thought it’s a spam blog when I first visited… sorry Dennis, hope you did not take it personally.
Why 2 contestants out of 15 comments? My take on it - “Simple Rules” are not so simple. Why to make people go thru all these steps if YOU need a help?
make 1 rule only - Comment on this post with your email and a winner (my choice, I meant yours) will get a link back and $10 thru Paypal.
My advise for empty boxes - Take your 3 BEST posts and publish excerpts from them. Title of the box will be post title.
Good luck!
October 6th, 2008 at 2:20 am
No offense taken, no worries.
For my help or not, it is still a contest, with prizes and all.
As for the rules, they are pretty much the same if not even less then all others… subscribe, post, comment??? Can’t get much simpler for that for an actual contest
Interesting idea you had though. At the very least it is definitely unique, as far as I know
October 6th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Nice contest.
Blogged at:
http://www.indocontest.com/direct-sales-web-marketing-first-contest/
October 6th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Thanks Indo!
October 6th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Hi Dennis,
Been subscribed to your blog in a reader for a while but I’m now subscribed by email
I blogged about your contest here: http://home-made-online-income.blogspot.com/2008/10/win-review-cash-to-paypal-or-125×125.html
And here are my suggestions:
1) I would really consider using one of the squares to offer some kind of report/ebook with opt-in fields to build an email list.
I understand you offer the RSS email subscription but you will notice that it’s a lot easier to build an email list then it is to build an RSS subscription list.
May sound funny, but a lot of people don’t know what RSS is all about… and you can keep in touch with information other then your blog posts.
2) I’ll give my second suggestion to Kris above for the most popular post… I too look at those quite often.
3) A monetized Blogroll… where you can offer a text link for some kind of retribution (cash, advertising, reviews, etc…)
So, there it is… my 2 cents!
Good luck with your contest and to all that enter…
Regards, Pete
P.S. I gave my second spot to Kris because I couldn’t think of anything else but a picture that involves 2 blondes, 1 albinos python and a whip
Pete from Home Made Online Income´s last blog post..Win A Review, Cash To Paypal OrA 125×125 Banner Ad
October 6th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
1. Subscribed via email (this current email - wiehanne[at]g)
2. Post it here:
http://wiehannecontest.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-contest-from-direct-sales-web.html
3. About the blank space, yes, it’s best if you put “Popular Post” at one of the boxes. The current position of you popular post (next to recent post), is not noticeable enough.
wiehanne´s last blog post..First contest from Direct Sales Web Marketing
October 6th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
[...] in one more blog that I found interesting this week when I was reading around. The blog is called Direct Sales Web Marketing and the owner is Dennis. I found him and his blog in the WAHM forum. He’s holding a [...]
October 6th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Subscribed via email.as requested.
Posted it Here: http://everydaymoneymaking.com/2008/10/06/you-scratch-my-back-ill-scratch-yours/ which for some reason is all ready in your comments lol.
As for the blank space I say make a few YouTube videos one being About You, One being a video of you discussing the most popular post/topic on your blog and the 3rd being either the 2nd most popular or an introduction to your site and what it’s about.
This will bring both hits from YouTube, get readers a chance to meet the person behind the blog, and have another form of entertainment
October 7th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Ryan - if that’s a trackback, that’s why it already posted…does that give me 2 links?
October 7th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Hello everyone! I truly appreciate all that are playing along so far, however some comments have me thinking an obvious assumption may have been overlooked.
I have made an update which reads as follows…..
Your *idea* MUST be ORIGINAL in order to be considered to win.
What this means is, you must READ ALL COMMENTS BEFORE YOURS.
You cannot repeat an idea or “agree with” an idea to win.
This would be completely unfair to everyone.
Thank you.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:00 am
[...] my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Dennis Edell at Direct Sales Web Marketing are holding his first marketing contest. All you need to do to enter the contest is leave a comment on contest post including the best idea [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Only If I can win twice lol
October 10th, 2008 at 4:38 am
contests a realy good to gain some links from other blogs.. but most of the time you can create no new readers for your blog. i tried it several times in my blogs but i wasn´t realy successful
October 10th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
LOL@Ryan - not this time
October 10th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Liebesgedichte - as I mentioned above, sometimes you get real “lucky” and subscribers stick around
You need good content though.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
My First Contest! Time To Put Your Thinking Caps On… | Direct Sales Web Marketing…
Join my first contest for link-backs, cash, and prizes!…
October 12th, 2008 at 9:05 am
“You cannot repeat an idea or “agree with” an idea to win.”
Alright, I’ll think of another idea:
1. Write a short welcome words, follow by “Subscribe to RSS” button (both RSS feed and via email).
2. Social bookmarking buttons for your blog.
3. Feature post of the week.
I hope that I’m qualified in the contest now..
wiehanne´s last blog post..Win $20 weekly from Garanew
October 12th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
You’re in!
October 13th, 2008 at 8:34 am
1. A RSS/email subscription box. You really should have this somewhere above the fold.
2. Popular Posts…leverage your most popular content to increase traffic.
3. A featured post - make it a good one that of course ends in some kind of affiliate promotion so you can earn a few bucks off it.
Mike Collins´s last blog post..Article Marketing - The Traffic Generating Machine
October 13th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Mike - first off, THANK YOU!
I KNEW something looked different but couldn’t figure out what. I had my subscribe box on the top right, right up to a couple days ago when I had to move some things around…..I forgot to put it back! Oy
‘
2nd - please read my comment above (#26)…..I believe all your suggestions have already been suggested
October 13th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Dennis - my suggestion is to remove them.
When I go to a blog I want to read the post.
Kay
October 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Yea yea I get the point! *grumble*