Looking at all of the sites that want to rip off Contest Blogger for a blog contest website, I’d say it was fair to assume that blogging contests are taking off. However, it seems that as this new phenomenon takes off, it comes with a few morons that want to ruin it all, primarily people trying to scam bloggers out of a backlink, such as Ashwin Khanna, or Dax Desai, who lied about his Feedburner numbers.

Ergo, it’s important to establish yourself credibly when running your own contest, so I offer these simple guidelines….

Establish a prize

This may seem obvious, but most bloggers believe that they have to pull a John Chow and flaunt some LCD monitor or TV to get their contest noticed. Not really. Basically, a contest prize could be anything from a bucket of snails to a house…just pick something you think your audience would like to win.

Establish a deadline

One of the reasons why Khanna was suspect in the beginning was that he didn’t supply a deadline. The deadline tells people when the contest will end, and when the winner will be drawn. You can set it to anything, just make sure people don’t forget. Also, it’s ok to extend the deadline, but only if something related to the contest or your personal life occurs (Such as lack of entries, death of a family member, etc)

Make people do something for an entry

Remember that you’re doing your readers a favor for putting an item up for sweepstakes, and maybe they can do something for you to enter. Some suggestions for what readers can do include:

• Posting a comment
• Subscribing to your feed
• Hitting up Digg, StumbleUpon, etc
• Faving you on Technorati
• Making a post on their blog
• Reviewing their blog
• Linking to your blog

Don’t try to hold a raffle/lottery. Federal regulations state that only charities and/or state and federal organizations can do that. However, if you state that all proceeds of the raffle will go to a charity, then it’s probably legal, so long as you make due on your promise. (Do not take my advice on this, I am not a lawyer. If you are in doubt, talk to an attorney.) 

Advertise the contest

Go advertising! Get your contest on Digg, Reddit, Technorati, etc. Submit your contest to sites like Contest Blogger or The Prize Blog, anything to get that out there! Kinda stupid if people don’t enter your contest because they don’t know about it.

DELIVER ON THE PRIZE!!!!!

This is the most important thing of all…your cred as a blogger depends solely on how you fulfill your sweepstakes. If you’re quick, you will be lauded. If you pull an Ashwin, you’re more then likely going to be blacklisted in the blogosphere, regardless of how much Technorati you flaunt because of it. (There’s a special place in Blogger Hell for you, Ashwin, in case you haven’t noticed…)

Just remember, don’t go to crazy with your contests, and only work what you are able to do, and nothing more.