How to hold an online contest

If done correctly, one of the most effective ways to get visitors to your site is to hold an online contest. One reason this is effective is because bloggers love to mention and promote your contest for free!

Here are key questions your marketing staff should answer before launching a contest:

• How many days are needed to encourage people to enter the contest?
• What legal risks are there? Whose attorney will approve the contest rules?
• Who is permitted to enter the contest? (Who is eligible?)
• Is there an age requirement?
• How much staff time is needed to manage the contest & what tasks must be done and at what point of the contest must the task be completed?
• Who is the target audience for entering the contest?
• How is the winner of the contest decided?
• What do people need to "do" to enter the contest?
• How many prizes will be given away?
• Who decides which entrant wins the contest?
• What is the total cost of the contest?
• How many entrants are needed to make the contest worthwhile?
• How will you get people to enter the contest?
• Where / How will contest be advertised / promoted?
• What risk areas are there for complaints against the contest?
• What areas are prone to cheating in the contest?
• If there is travel involved, how will travel arrangements to handled?
• Is there opportunity for spammers to exploit the contest?
• How will you handle "joke" entries?