From the Contest Queen
Welcome to TheWinningEDGE, formerly EDGEbeat. This is the same great e-newsletter you have come to expect with a new face.
WOW! What an interesting couple of weeks I have had. I had two experiences that have changed my view of sweeping and contesting. The first was an online voting contest that escalated into an online voting war resulting in hurt feelings on both sides. The second was the way I view Attracting Luck resulting in a small lottery win.
In this issue I will talk about the online voting contest. There was a contest called Livin’ the Game sponsored by Microsoft. The prize was a trip for two to Atlanta GA to see the band Yellowcard and interview them. The promotion had two parts:
- submit a question you would like to ask the band and you were eligible for a weekly prize.
- submit a “press pass” and get your family and friends to vote for you to win the grand prize.
One day, a fellow contestor from one of my online groups, posted a message asking everyone to vote for her. I went and voted for her, noticed she had 32% of the total vote at that time, was in first place and thought nothing more of it. A week or so later I was cleaning up some of the URLs I had bookmarked in my Favorites. I was back at the ‘Livin’ the Game’ contest page and noticed that my husband had entered the contest also and had not mentioned it to me.
I went to all the groups I am a member of and posted a message for everyone to vote for my Hubby. Overnight he garnered 9% of the votes. The girl in the lead, Brenda, dropped to 26%. There was also another girl, Shannon, and she was in 2nd place with 17% of the votes. It was the start of the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend and the race was on. We all started bugging our friends, families and colleagues to vote for us. Craig, Brenda and Shannon began trading the top three positions as the votes poured in. By Tuesday morning Craig was in the lead with 33% of the votes. I thought he was a shoe in. Brenda was in second with 20% of the votes and Shannon had 19%. Brenda and Shannon began putting a push on with their friends also. Craig’s percentage began to drop as theirs began to rise.
This is where I feel the entire process fell apart. It became all about winning for me. I forgot the reason I like to enter contests: its fun. I began to post more messages to all my online groups. I put a message in this newsletter. I put a link on my website. I emailed everyone I knew. (Craig also has a very large network of friends, colleagues and groups that he was also making voting requests to.) I was getting bent out of shape and all stressed out. Then someone posted to one of the online groups that what I may be doing was unethical because I am the “Contest Queen”.
Craig got very angry because he sees what I do on a daily basis, posting contests and answers along with contacting contest management companies to rectify promotional errors and problems trying to make this hobby better for everyone. He posted a scathing reply message. Craig said he didn’t want anything to do with contesting again EVER! This had gotten way out of hand.
Since I know the owners of all the groups I had the message pulled, but not before many feelings (on both sides) were hurt. Many people posted their two-cents and also emailed me privately. I had a lot to think about.
I decided I will never enter a voting contest ever again. I will recommend to the contest management and promotion design companies to create a different style of promotion. I advise if you decide to enter a voting style contest, post a request for votes once at the beginning and once near the end of the contest voting period. Whoever wins, wins. No sense in losing friends over it.
Part of the problem is in the design of a voting style promotion. It pits people against each other under the guise of vote for the best. What actually occurs is a ‘who knows the most people’ contest. It does drive traffic to the site but most people are only going to vote for their friend. They don’t care about the product or service being promoted. Most companies create contests to increase
sales so just getting someone to click will typically not result in sales or even greater product awareness.
The story ends like this: after Brenda and I squared off online with heated messages back and forth, Shannon won. We nearly ruined our friendship and hobby for nothing.
NEXT ISSUE: How to attract wins. For a sneak peek on the technique go meet Mr. Fire, Joe Vitale and read this article.
HAPPY CONTESTING,
carolyn@contestqueen.com
Tips and Tricks
This is the second excerpt from my book on how to Increase Your Chances.
Entering as often as you can goes hand-in-hand with entering over the entire contest entry period. It is especially important to stagger your entries over the entire entry period when entering via regular mail because it may be financially prohibitive to mail in entries every day.
Look for contests with short entry periods. Contests that are only open to accepting entries for a two week period will get far fewer entries than ones that are open for several months.
Promotions with entry limitations attract fewer entrants. I have seen contests limit entries to a city, an area code, a province and even specific age ranges.
Have a great tip? Send me your best tips to share with the contesting community. Remember “You Can’t Lose Helping Others Win”. tipsandtricks@contestqueen.com
Your Questions Answered
Hello Contest Queen!
How do you keep track of one time entries? Writing them out or using a spreadsheet is time consuming. Any tips?
Thanks!
Tanya Calgary, AB
Hi Tanya,
I don’t. I know many people that do use a spreadsheet or a notebook and find those entry tracking methods to be very successful. I rely on my memory, which thankfully is very good. Also, many companies put a Repeat Entry Block in the online entry software so you won’t disqualify yourself by accident.
GOOD LUCK,
Carolyn
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Hi Carolyn,
I'm having a disagreement/confusion amongst three contesters regarding the following snail-mail question: When you draw UPCs, can you use a ruler? Here's the Duncan Hines contest we're currently discussing, the UPC rules:
No Purchase Necessary, one (1) original hand drawn facsimile of any Duncan Hines layer cake UPC symbol, not mechanically reproduced, mail to: Duncan Hines and Cuisinart Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 250-A, Pickering, Ontario, L1V 2R4.
Dear Contest Queen, what is your pronouncement? I need an authority here! I'm real new, and I don't want to mess up my precious entries, I want one of those food processors!!! One of us said she has heard of people winning with ruler-assisted UPCs. Please, please, be my tie-breaker!
Here’s the link to the full rules. Contest January 31st.
Warm regards, and high hopes
Lee, Vancouver BC
Hi Leigh,
You can use a ruler if you wish. I freehand my UPCs. The important part is the twelve numbers. They must be correct and clear as the contest management companies do check the potential winning entries. Please see an example below of one of my freehanded HDF (Hand Drawn Facsimile). (It is not from a Duncan Hines product.). Ruler-assisted is not considered mechanical. They really just don’t want you to use photocopiers or other means of automated reproduction of the UPC code. So long as the HDF
looks like you drew it with pen or marker by hand and the actual code numbers match a qualifying product, then you will qualify.
GOOD LUCK,
Carolyn
Send me any sweeping or contesting questions you would like answered. questions@contestqueen.com
You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter
The second rewrite is complete and it is now back with the editor for the third time. It will be finished soon...
Keep your eye on this section for future updates on the book’s progress.
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