Contests are a popular strategy today to reach small business owners.
A good contest can:
- engage the hearts and minds of business owners
- create goodwill toward your company
- sometimes get a viral effect going
- build brand recognition
- be a source of PR and media attention
But if you are running a contest with an online component (as most contests these days seem to have), you will need to promote your contest online.
With the help of my team, I have compiled a list of blogs and sites below where you can list your contest to gain more visibility, exposure and contestants.
The following 3 sites earn top marks for being able to list contests quickly or respond promptly:
An Island Life (Kailani responded promptly and listed our contest quickly)
Laura Williams’ Musings (Laura responded promptly and listed our contest quickly)
Contest Blogger (a forum site — once you register you an list your contest immediately)
The following contest sites and blogs also list contests. Response times varied — some sites are updated more frequently than others:
Timing: You’d be wise to submit your contest 2 weeks before the start date. Some site owners are employed full-time — the contest site may be a part-time endeavor. Many sites are labors of love or hobbies. So it sometimes takes a little time to list your contest.
Fees: A few of the above sites accept (sometimes require) a small fee for a listing, a featured listing or email distribution. Fees typically ranged from $5 to $35. Check individual sites for details.
Traffic: The traffic you get depends, obviously, on the amount of traffic the listing site gets, and the attractiveness of your contest. While in our experience none of the contest sites individually provided droves of traffic, taken together the contest listing sites helped spread the word. Use the contest listing sites as one component but not your entire strategy for promoting your contest.
Reciprocal Links: In addition to the above contest listing sites, there are others that will list for free if you provide a reciprocal link back to their site. If you are willing to provide reciprocal links from your own website, check out the contest sites contained on this “List Your Contest for Free” page. There you will find over 2 dozen additional contest listing sites, including Canadian contest sites.
Appreciation: Finally, don’t forget to thank the blog or site owners and show appreciation. Many are taking their own time to list your contest — remember, they don’t HAVE to do this for you. Please don’t be demanding or think you have a right to a listing.
