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Posted: Mon January 19th, 2009, 10:46 pm
by Misfit
Sorry to threadnap.
:) :) :) I like that one.

Posted: Mon January 19th, 2009, 10:54 pm
by EC2
[quote=""Julianne Douglas""]Sarah,

I noticed the same thing happened on my contest, too. I didn't allow email entries, but when I got comments from unfamiliar names, I traced back through sitemeter to see where they were coming from. Some were lurkers who seemed to have actually read the blog, but many were from a generic sweepstake site. I was really annoyed an almost disqualified those names, but then I noticed some of them stuck around and read a few pages of the blog, so I did the drawing with all the names. It seems as though people surf the internet just for free giveaways and enter their names for anything that vaguely interests them. It almost makes me not want to do a contest in the future. But then again, the point of doing a contest is to get new readers, both for the author and for the blog. If we only award prizes to faithful regulars, then we're shooting ourselves in the foot in this regard. Arrgh!!!! What do others of you think about the situation?[/quote]

I only run giveaways through my yahoo reader list. I see it as a thank you to my loyal or keenest readers. Occasionally I pass on to them moments of first news. If I get a new deal, they're the first to hear. They're the first to see the new book cover etc. I do it because it builds a sense of community. I see the point of a contest to reward my existing readers - which is perhaps not the most brilliant idea in terms of instantly garnering new ones, :rolleyes: :( but I rely on steady growth, friendship and loyalty to build that core audience, who then pass on the positive vibes by word of mouth to others. It seems to work. I add value to my blog by giving detailed and interesting historical snippets concerned with the background to the novels, that hopefully attract genuine visitors rather than folks with an eye to the main chance. And since my giveaway is on my moderated Yahoo list, I don't get spammers - even if I don't get instant new readers!
Ariadne - yes, truly Ick! You build a garden and sooner or later the slugs arrive!

Posted: Mon January 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
by Ariadne
I'm getting lots of blog comments from unfamiliar names, too, and I think that's great. Some of the newcomers seem really enthusiastic, and I've been checking out their blogs in return. I'm all for increasing the blog's audience and getting the word out about authors they may not have tried yet. (Brigid Knight has written other novels that are just as good but easier to find!)

The entries I'd rather avoid, though, are the ones submitted on behalf of the sweepstakes site, from people who haven't read the blog and don't intend to. I'm getting many more entries than blog visitors (per Sitemeter), and many emailed submissions follow the same format. I'm actually surprised how much personal info some of these people include in their automatic submissions (birthdates? SSNs?). The blurb on one online sweepstakes site doesn't say anything substantive about the book other than it's old, and all people need to do is say "enter me automatically in all of the day's sweepstakes" to sign up. That defeats the purpose of my offering the contest in the first place.

I'd also be curious what others think, and if anyone else has experienced this phenomenon with their contests. This has been an eye-opening experience to say the least. I am sort of amused that the book's getting all this publicity, considering I may be the only person to have read it in the last decade :)

Posted: Mon January 19th, 2009, 11:10 pm
by Ariadne
[quote=""EC2""]
Ariadne - yes, truly Ick! You build a garden and sooner or later the slugs arrive![/quote]

Heh, yes, that about says it!

I had been considering doing a giveaway when my new book comes out, depending on how many copies I get, but that may not happen. I need to find a way to keep the slugs out of the garden first.

Posted: Mon January 19th, 2009, 11:51 pm
by diamondlil
We haven't had trouble with spammers on contest, but then again we don't offer the option of emailing entries, only through comments.