When I first got this contest idea in mind, I was excited. Since this is the first contest I was going to run, I had a mixed feeling of fear and excitement. I was not sure how to take the right steps.
The big things of concern are finding sponsors for the contest and getting people to participate. Since blogging contests are getting so popular (and as well so common) I was in doubt if anyone will step in to participate.
Finding sponsors for the contest
As I said, this is one of the most challenging bits. Let it be money, or products, you cannot easily get people to say “yes”. But in my case, I was lucky (or should I say I followed a success strategy?). Given that this is the first contest I’m conducting at this blog, the prize money and the bonus product prizes offered are really cool in amount and value.
I did a brief consultation with Hesham of Famous Bloggers to get to fix the sponsor levels and prizes. I came up with some ideas and Hesham encouraged some while offered tweaks in some others.
All in all, what I ended up doing went really well. In the first place, I contacted sponsors of earlier contests. I did a bit of Googling to find out the past contests in our field and found out the people/companies who were sponsoring those contests.
And the conversion rate was really good.
And then I moved on to blast the announcement via email to the potential fellow bloggers. The conversion in this case was not very great, but decent.
Finding people to participate
Trust me, this part is equally and even more important than finding sponsors, because, almost every sponsor I contacted replied to my email with the question: How many participants do you expect? You see, that’s really important.
Again I was lucky enough because when I emailed my list and some of my fellow bloggers announcing the contest, I got good response. And when I announced the contest on the blog, some others joined too!
OK lets move on.
First things first, let me take this opportunity to thank the contest sponsors. This contest wouldn’t have been possible without them! Here we go -
Sponsors of the Blogging Tips 101 Contest:
Sponsors
Media Partners
Elite Sponsors
Problogging Action Plan - Your sitemap for Successful Blogging.
Blokube - Social Blogging Community
Annabel Candy is the founder of Successful Blogging. She also owns a travel blog.
Platinum Level - $150
Make money blogging with the Bad Blogger - Internet Marketing Blog.
Professional guest blogging services by Spork Marketing
Get 15% off on printer ink cartridges using a 123Inkjets Coupon Code and get 10% off with the latest 4Inkjets Coupon Code.
Gold Level - $100
Social Media Services
Silver Level - $50
Green Geeks Hosting
Freelance Blog Writer
Nightlife
Qatar Web Design
Special Sponsor
IM Graphic Designs
OK now the winners…
Winner: First place
Hajra
Winner: Second Place
Abhi Balani
Winner: Third Place
Allie
Fourth Place (Bonus Prize)
Kuldeep
Fifth Place (Bonus Prize)
Radu
Sixth Place (Bonus Prize)
Sai
Seventh Place (Bonus Prize)
Jeevan
Here’s how it goes regarding prizes.
Prizes
The first, second and third position winners will get cash prizes of $500, $250 and $125, respectively. The bonus prizes are as follows:
1. 2 Free Blokube premium memberships for a year.
2. 2 copies of my premium ebook Problogging Action Plan (a bit of tooting my horn here - the book is a winner of the Small Business Book Awards 2012).
3. 3 copies of Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps Ebook + Audio book package.
The first prize winner gets to choose her choice of one bonus prize. The second prize winner will choose one from what is left and this goes on.
Final words
The contest was great. Although I was it burned out in the counting job (all done manually) I really had a great time. The experience gained was awesome.
And I’m not the only one who enjoyed!
Hajra:
I have to tell you this; this contest was fun. And no matter who wins; I have made some wonderful friends through this and you managed the scoring and all so smoothly. Like how all this is sorted out! The best part of this contest was I had amazing competitors; not only did they keep me on my toes; I loved the camaraderie we shared during it all.
Thanks so much Jane!
Abhi:
It was my very first online contest and my entry was my first guest post ever. I never imagined that I will get 380+ comments on my post and will survive in this contest. I’m never gonna forget this experience. Because of this contest, now many bloggers out there know me. Thanks for this contest Jane!
Allie:
The Blogging 101 Contest open new doors for me. I forged new relationships and learned valuable blogging, SEO and social media lessons along the way. I am grateful for working with such wonderful people and congratulations to everyone that participated in the contest. Thanks Jane!
Please join me in congratulating the winners and thanking the sponsors, media partners, readers and commenters I appreciate your comments as always.
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Hey Jane,
Thanks so much for hosting this. This was my second contest and thanks to the lovely competition here; I had to be on my toes! But having said that, I loved how friendly they were and the fun they bought to the contest. Not only did I learn a lot through the contest but I did also end up making great blogging friends.
Hajra,
You are so humble. It was you that was friendly the most. I would make the crowd stand and give you applause for being a great friend and blogger. And for snagging #1 !
~Allie
Congratulations, Hajra!
Same here, I got many friends in between this. Last 3 months was really fun. Yeah, I was little upset the last night. .. But now, you know how I’m going to recover. LOL!!
Once again, congrats.
LOL! Yes, I love your energy and how active you are with this! Another contest already for you!
Good Luck, you have all our support!
You’re going to recover by beating ME! I know your nefarious plans.
Congratulations, Abhi - for a first guest post, and for having only been blogging for a year, your success in winning Second Place on this was FANTASTIC. I’m sure there are a few folks who think I helped more than I did - but let me set the record straight: You did all the work. I gave you a few links. Some comments to help start the conversational ball rolling. Some words of advice from my own experience. But this achievement is ALL YOURS. Well done, and good luck against me this month!
Congrats Hajra!
You did it! I was so- so sure you would make it right on top
Other than winning, I think this contest has surely brought us closer to you or vice-versa, so we are just happy with that 
Enjoy your prize
Harleena Singh recently posted..How to Nurture the Perfect Woman Within?
Congratulations, Hajra! You are one tough competitor, but so impossibly charming it’s hard for your competition not to want to hand you victory on a silver platter! (I know, having met you myself during a competition last year - and having come in THIRD!! Time you give me a rematch, now, don’t you think?)
LOL! I will just bask in the glory of the wonderful compliment!
But there is no way I am standing up against your mighty post; not ever again! That is all yours now!
Congrats on winning, Hajra
Mind to share some of your winning tips with me
You won both guest blogging contests that you participated :D.
LOL! No secrets really; maybe I am just lucky to have wonderful people who come by and “button dance” my post!
Hello Hajra,
Congrats for your first price in contest. I’m a regular reader of probloging success. When the contest was started there were hundreds of new and unique post are visible to all readers.
Jane,
You mean I can stop CTRL C and CTRL V now?
When I joined your contest I didn’t realize I would make new friends and meet new people. I thank you for helping me get out of my comfort zone.
Also I learned the value of SEO. Wow! Commenting on Comluv blogs really does work in raising PR on a post! My post for the contest was a PR 2 early on with all the commenting and sharing I did for it. I believe others gained PR 3 rank! It was amazing!
I am no longer shy about getting my stuff out there into the world. Thanks for opening doors for me.
~Allie
Congratulations to you, Allie! Glad to see you in winners.
Congrats Allie!
Glad you won the third position, though more importantly is the experience that you have gained and the wonderful contacts you must have made
Wishing you the best always
Harleena Singh recently posted..Prayer and Fasting for a Better Life
Congratulations, Allie! It was also, I hope, a good demonstration of why you never, ever concede until the contest is well and truly over.
I love that you were able to fit in all the silly Scavenger Hunt items - you and Abhi both - for my little birthday party contest, while working so hard on this one, too! Your creativity is AWESOME.
Congrats on the success, Allie
Glad to see you on the winning list. I am sure that you worked really hard towards the last few weeks of the contest. Congrats on that too
LOL Allie, yes you can stop your finger dance now
Indeed, this is such a great proof that blog commenting helps in boosting page rank (and hence ranking). There are contest posts with PR3 (same as the page rank of my home page). This means that my homepage will surely get a PR boost if Google does an update now!
I could not have done this without the help of Hajra, Abhi and Holly. They created relationships with me, we saw each other on common sites and gave me a few pointers along the way. It pays to make friends or for a brief time they were “frenemies” lol.
I sincerely thank you for showing me the way.
~Allie
Wow! What a post Jane!
This is truly a wonderful source of information and a learning experiences for anyone thinking about holding a contest. It sure looks easy from far, but it’s easier said than done- and hats off to you for having done it wonderfully- right till the end (even with the little down moments in-between!)
Congratulations to all the wonderful winners, though I was so sure that Hajra would win because of her awesome personality and the ability of reaching out to people and touching their lives in her own way! Yes, I do know most of them, like Allie and Jeevan also, while the others I have yet to check out.
The prizes offered are wonderful indeed and so is the awesome list of those who sponsored the contest as well!
Great going Jane, and congratulations to everyone, as well as you for having managed the contest so well
Harleena Singh recently posted..How Can I Be a Better Parent?
Awww.. you are too sweet! I couldn’t have done this without your support! I would always get the messages when you tweeted my post … everyday! Thanks a lot Harleena!
It’s been a pleasure Hajra, to help out in whatever small way I could- though hates off to your efforts and patience!
I guess the end result is what matters the most- isn’t it
Harleena Singh recently posted..Easy Ways to Achieve Wellness
Thank you, Harleena! Don’t know if you read my post or not. But I’m sure you’ll enjoy my next contest article. Linked it below.
Congrats Abhi!
I guess this is a nice place to meet new friends, though I have been seeing you a great deal here, as well as on BlogEngage
I didn’t get the chance to read your post, though am sure it must have been good- no wonder you won!!
Would surely be checking out your post at the new contest, and wishing you the best for it as well
Harleena Singh recently posted..How to Move On and Get Over a Break Up
Harleena, thanks for your continued support throughout the contest. You’re one of those people who were cheering up the participants all the time
Thank you!
The pleasure has all been mine Jane, as it was an opportunity for me as well to meet and interact with new people, and learn from them
And supporting or cheering the participants is the least we can do
Thanks so much
Harleena Singh recently posted..How Can I Be a Better Parent?
Harleena,
It is very true, Hajra has a great way of reaching out to others. She is so genuine and sweet. She is good representative of the blogging community.
Thanks so much!
~Allie
You are absolutely right Allie!
Hajra has a distinct personality that shines right through her comments and the way she interacts with people!
But you too are no less- though perhaps in your own way can relate so well to everyone. And such contests make your connections even more better- isn’t it?
Harleena Singh recently posted..How to Move On and Get Over a Break Up
Wow Jane, what an accomplishment. This contest was truly a successful one and it generated some awesome content for everyone to benefit from.
Congratulations to Hajra, Abhi and Allie - and all the other winners as well. I know how much hard work goes into promoting your contest post so it was well worth the effort.
Cheers everyone!
Thanks so much Ileane!
Contests are always a learning experience and I am glad I could be a part of this!
Thank you, Ms Ileane!
Yeah, it was great experience.
Thanks Ms Ileane,
Now I have time to visit your blog and videos more. During this contest I rediscovered blogs that I neglected to visit because I was working on other projects. I forgot how wonderful you and Adrienne are at teaching bloggers. I will surely be by more often.
Thanks!
~Allie
Thank you for the great contest, Jane. I enjoyed it a lot.
Congrats to Hajra, and to other winners. I admire you for this contest, Jane, I bet it was hard to make it happen but you did it great. Not only that but telling us how to do it here
Great work, everyone!!
Thank you for your wishes, Brankica! I won second prize and just participated in another one. See the article linked below. I hope you’ll like it.
Hey Brankica!
Thanks so much for all the support! I couldn’t have done it without your awesome tips; praise the guru!
You are just too kind!
I loved getting to know you through this contest!
Haha… Thank you Hajra! It’s good to know that you’ll be there to support me.
Holly and you there; I am having a tough time, but I have a plan.. sort of!
Congrats to Radu, Jacob and all the winners. This was really an fantastic contest, Jane.
Good work, everyone
!
-Dev
Hey Jane,
Thank you for this wonderful contest and experience. This is the first blogging contest for me ..I didn’t expected to receive such a great response. Besides the work that is required a blogging contest is only a big opportunity.
It was an honor to be part of this contest along with these great bloggers above in the both “battle fields”-our post promotion and the link building in the second phase.
Hajra, Abhi, Allie, Kuldeep did a great work with their posts and taught me some good lessons along the contest . Thank you guys and gals!
Jane, keep up with blogging-you’re born for it
All the best,
Radu
Good job Radu, ma man!
I thought you should’ve gotten a higher place, but oh well
I was pullin’ for you. But I am glad you could learn along the way and do your very best.
Congratulations to Hajra, Jane. and the Oddblogger
You guys deserve a good reward!
Congrats to all the winners … and best wishes to the host “Jane”
Hey Congratulation to All :).
Abhi Best of luck for your Next Contest.
You Really all did a great Job.
Wow… those are some really excellent sponsors… Wish I ran into your contest before if was over.
Great recap though! Congrats to the winners.
Ryan H.
Congrats to all winners of this contest
Big thanks to Jane for hosting it
It was exciting, fun and I did sure learn a lot of stuff (hope to use those lessons for other contests that are coming up online in the blogosphere and learn even more “lessons” :D).
The idea about the contest was aswesome. I think that it’s a great motivation for a lot of people in here.
Congrats for the contest winners “Jane” really an interesting contest i wish you to run more like this in future to make all bloggers to engage.
Congratulations to all of the winners: Hajra, Abhi, Allie, Kuldeep, Radu, Sai and Jeevan, and Jane for organising the event. It is a win-win situation for us all, we all got to meet new people and made friends. We have learnt a lesson or two from the posts, about perseverance and what friends will do for you when you ask them a favour.
You do stalk me everywhere..don’t you?
Thanks so much for commenting regularly on my post Barbara! You are a sweetheart Captain!
Ah, but we do need these stalkers, do we not? I am a captain now - thanks, btw the patch is off and I look as good as new, well sort of!
Congrats guys on winning in the contest guys
Luna says
It really seems so awesome contest! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Congratulations to all the winners. Congrats to Sheeba as well for succesfully hosting such a big contest event.
Kael23 says
This is a great competition you have here. A big Congratulations to all of the winner! I know you all deserve it.. Keep up the great work..
Congratulations for the winners!
It has been a fantastic blog content indeed.
Contest and challenges are a great way of giving your website some authority, especially for those who are new or have let their website lapse for a while.
Congratulations to all who entered and to those who conquered!
Love your website Jane!!
Sandy Moore
Congrats to all the winners, enjoy your prize……….
Great point you discuss with us. I love it this post.
Congratulations to all the winners of the contest. It is necessary that whenever you join a content you should make sure that you will do your best do win.
OH WOW!!! Congrats to all the winners; but a Special Congrats to two of my favorite blogging friends. Hajra and Allie! Way to go ladies!! I’m SO happy for the both you. Keep up the awesome work! Cheers!
Congratulations to all of the winners on a job well done! Great job hosting the contest, Jane!
Congratulations to all the winners
and thanks Jane for having this contest.
Renea says
A big congrats to all the winner….How I wish I could join here..
Congrats to all the winners and it seems liek the guest blogging contest propelled your site to the next level. Quite good going
Thanks for sharing your experience Jane. Your experience will serve as a guide and also an inspiration for those who want to start blogging and those who want to start a blog contest.
Congrats to all the winners and also good contest hosted by jane, keep up the good work.