With as popular as blog contests have become in the past few months, it became inevitable that a blog be created exclusively to showcase other contests. Well, Contest Blogger is the blog to do that. That being said, before you assume Contest Blogger is just a gimmick that is trying to act as centralized blog contests, listen to their premise:
In addition to providing you with the best source for contests in the blogosphere, Contest Blogger is also entering itself in dozens and dozens of contests. And eventually, unless we end up on the business end of a voodoo curse or something, we’re bound to win one of them.
Before you start getting jealous and huffy, though, check this out: we’ve taken an oath to give any prizes we win right back to our readers. No, seriously. A blood oath. Don’t ask us to go into the details.
Reading that gave me instant respect for Contest Blogger. They are practicing what many new bloggers fail to realize – the importance of giving back and providing value to the readers.
How does Contest Blogger work?
Well, apart from acting a free and centralized location for all blog contests, they also offer Featured Listings. For $15, Contest Blogger will feature your contest in the sidebar for 30 days and also include a “longer than normal review.” How much longer remains unknown. That might be something worth clarifying. Other than that, they will also post a screenshot of your contest and feature your contest at the top of their page for an entire day. Sounds like a great way to inexpensively promote a new contest.
One aspect I especially like about Contest Blogger is their way of categorizing contests. For instance, Contest Blogger organizes all of its contests into the following categories:
- Blog Backlinks
- Blog Contests
- Blog Writing Projects
- Blogging Communities
- Cash Above $50
- Cash Below $50
- Comment Contests
- Featured Contests
- Review Contests
Should you run a contest?
Contests are no doubt a great way to boost traffic and gain new readers. However, some argue that contests do not bring targeted visitors and that most of the visitors are not long-term. Of course, the same is true for any influx of traffic – some readers will stick and some will not.
I ran a contest last May to celebrate my 1000th comment. I got a nice boost in traffic, but not as many entries as I would have hoped. I am sure that if Contest Blogger had been around at the time, I would have received quite a bit more interest in the contest.
Contest Blogger has only been online since June, but it already has 217 RSS subscribers. Clearly, Contest Blogger is doing something right if they have established that significant of a readership after only a few short months.
Given that kind of growth, it is a sure thing that Contest Blogger will continue to act as a great resource for bloggers looking to promote and enter other contests.
