WRITER WONDERLAND
  • Blog
  • Romance Rocks
  • Goddess Fish Tour
  • About

Contest Backlashes

7/23/2013

2 Comments

 

The Dangers of Using Contests to Self-promote

Picture

As a new author, I have spent hundreds on contests and tours to promote my book. In the beginning, I made theme basket that were adorable, but costly to ship. Sometimes, it cost me twice as much to ship an item than it cost.  The idea of a contest is to help you get your name out there.  When does it not work for you?

Jayne Ann Krentz when addressing the subject of contests at 2010 RWA conference spoke about knowing your audience. These are the people most likely to buy your books. What do they want? Her answer was chocolate. In the Pacific Northwest, this might be a good possibility. Where I live there are months we can’t ship chocolate.  What she was really saying is watch that your prize doesn’t attract folks who have no interest in your books.

For instance, many people give away Kindles hoping the winner will download their books. Not so, people who do not care for your genre will participate in the contest sometimes hoping to win an item to gift or resale it. Krentz’s point was not to spend too much money on something you may get no return on. What’s even worse is getting a negative return.

The lack of follow through kills the contest, the company and your name. A few months ago, I won an involved scavenger hunt for romance books. It took me two hours to complete it. The prize was a huge bundle of gifts including books. The author asked for my address. After about a month, I sent a note to see why my prize hadn’t come. Nothing. I checked my email to make sure it went. It did. It’s been three months and no gift. I realize I am not getting anything. Someone dropped the ball. I remember the author well because we have similar names. I remember the sponsoring organization too because I do not want to waste my time on any future contests on that site. As a reader, I felt unimportant.

If you run a contest, you are responsible for delivering the prize. Do not depend on a tour company to do it. I have won probably a half dozen books on tours that I never received. Sometimes the author will ask if I received them. When I tell her I didn’t, I still get nothing. I rather be told I didn’t win. At least, I wouldn’t expect anything. The author didn’t value me and it showed.

On the other hand, I’ve had authors follow up who were perplexed why I never received my prize and handled it on their own. Those writers saw a future reader and reviewer.

As a controlling personality, I send out all my own prizes. Sometimes, they do not end up where they should. This happens more with e-gift cards. I keep checking back to see if they are picked up. One woman had a very difficult time picking up her card. I resent it six times. This is my job. I can’t leave it to someone else to do. Not having follow through hurts credibility. A person might be inclined to read your book, but she didn’t get the prize she was so excited about winning and her inclination changes.

My first boss told me no one talks about you when you do a job right. If you do it wrong, then that’s all they talk about. Same with contests, get your prizes out as soon as you can. Announce the winners if they are okay with it. Thank people for entering. Do not allow yourself to become a victim of contest backlash.

2 Comments
Angela Adams
7/23/2013 09:52:46 am

A lot of food for thought...thanks.

Reply
Lesa link
7/24/2013 12:25:54 pm

I'm not a writer, but I've used a contest to encourage people to sign up on my mailing list. It was pretty successful, but I made sure to clearly match the prize to my intended audience (Grand prize: not a Kindle, but a complete web design package).

I sent out notices to the winners on the day I had promised, but I did have a difficult time delivering the website reviews to their winners. I had said it would take 2 weeks and it really took 4 (due to technical challenges). I was feeling pretty bad about that, but after reading your post, I think I'll give myself a break. Thanks for the perspective shift.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ​

    Picture

    Only .99 Pre-order

    Christmas Cozies

    BOOK THREE

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    July 2012

    Categories

    All
    Abraham Menard
    Atty Eve
    Bitten By Romance
    Cathy Maxwell
    Celebrate Freedom Blog Hop
    David Caruso
    Dorien Kelley
    Emergency Call Series
    Emergency Calls Series
    Free Book Sites
    Fun Summer Reads
    Harry Potter
    Historical Romance Blog Hop
    Historical Trivia
    Incognito
    Interracial Romance
    Joan Stewart
    Johnny Depp
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    LaNora Mangano
    Lindsay Downs
    Marcus Aronson Interview
    Mature Romance
    Michael A. Rothman
    Perfect Stranger
    PJ Fiala
    Prizes
    Realistic Characters
    Reciprocity
    Scarlett O'Hara
    Secret Cravings
    S.E. Hinton
    Street Team
    Sylvia Hubbard
    Teresa Gallagher
    The Fault Is In Our Stars
    The Hunger Games

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.