Winning a Contest: It's Good To Be Original
Not too long ago, I was researching for great sites to follow, as well as, scoping out some competition in some niches that I was considering at the time. It was during this time, that I literally stumbled upon Stephane Kerwer's website, dukeo.com, and discovered the news of his $200 contest to review his blog.What is so monumental about that discovery is that entering a contest is something I would never have done before. I would have created umpteen million reasons why I should NOT enter. As you might guess, I battled with the following thoughts:
- Not enough time
- Not enough information about the contest...does he want feedback on this website design or???
- I NEVER win when it comes to contests
- I've NEVER written a website review. Product reviews, yes, website reviews-NO!
- What makes me think I'm qualified enough to do this and win?
Excuses No More!
The list was endless! Would all these excuses stop me? Not this time!
This time, I was hungry for information and on a mission to find someone who would, not only be a great resource for me to follow in 2013, but also for my readers. Adding in the possibility of earning $200 was just icing on the cake. Well, it was just too good to pass up! After all, how many times do opportunities come along, just by chance. I had to take action.
Armed with a keyboard, little time to compose a review and much to research, I let my fingers do the walking! No time to check for errors. Just get it done.
I figured the deadline was at midnight on the 28th. But what time was midnight for Stephane. So, I did as best I could to get the review out, as early as I could, and called it a night. But I couldn't sleep! I worried that my review wouldn't make sense or flow smoothly, since I didn't have time to spend doing the usual proof reading and edit.
When I posted my review to my new blogger blog site that I set up for this sole purpose, I panicked. No one would see this, maybe not even who I needed to see it most, my readers and Stephane.
So, I sent Stephane a copy of the review as well, telling him of my situation, because I really wanted to be included in the contest. The possibility of winning meant everything to me.
It wasn't just about the $200 from the winnings that were so important, and yet... it meant everything to me. I could start again with a new site domain and hosting. It was the fresh start with a new perspective.
It was a challenge that I needed to prove to myself that I was serious about the direction I was taking, and that I could do this "online marketing" thing. Nothing would stop me! Not even my own worst enemy, MYSELF!
When I found out that I had not won the $200 contest, I told myself that I was not surprised, I knew it was a long shot. but it didn't damper my ambitions one bit.
As I knew that Stephane was going to hand select the first $200 winner and for the second, he'd merely draw a name out of a hat.
I hadn't been really sure what he was looking for. My first thought when throwing my hat into the ring had been, that he wanted to redo his site. I had found that it wasn't the most user friendly and had difficulty navigating my way around. But at the same time, I wanted to give my readers the total scoop on the site and it's accomplishments, so I decided to proceed.
The real surprise came when in that same email, I discovered that two $50 awards would be made, and that I was selected for one of those.
One recipient Stephane chose because the person took action immediately after launch time. The other, mine, was chosen for being most original! Those two words alone were more valuable to me than winning the $50 dollars. It meant that I did something right! I was finally going down the right path.
So, what suggestions would I make to anyone wanting to do the same thing...
Honesty doesn't mean you have to crucify someone to get your point across. At the same time, you shouldn't feel the need to sugar coat it, either. So, anytime that I write a review, I always try to give a comprehensive, well-balanced review, so that others can make a well-informed, educated decision. You should, too!
Armed with a keyboard, little time to compose a review and much to research, I let my fingers do the walking! No time to check for errors. Just get it done.
I figured the deadline was at midnight on the 28th. But what time was midnight for Stephane. So, I did as best I could to get the review out, as early as I could, and called it a night. But I couldn't sleep! I worried that my review wouldn't make sense or flow smoothly, since I didn't have time to spend doing the usual proof reading and edit.
When I posted my review to my new blogger blog site that I set up for this sole purpose, I panicked. No one would see this, maybe not even who I needed to see it most, my readers and Stephane.
So, I sent Stephane a copy of the review as well, telling him of my situation, because I really wanted to be included in the contest. The possibility of winning meant everything to me.
It wasn't just about the $200 from the winnings that were so important, and yet... it meant everything to me. I could start again with a new site domain and hosting. It was the fresh start with a new perspective.
It was a challenge that I needed to prove to myself that I was serious about the direction I was taking, and that I could do this "online marketing" thing. Nothing would stop me! Not even my own worst enemy, MYSELF!
When I found out that I had not won the $200 contest, I told myself that I was not surprised, I knew it was a long shot. but it didn't damper my ambitions one bit.
As I knew that Stephane was going to hand select the first $200 winner and for the second, he'd merely draw a name out of a hat.
I hadn't been really sure what he was looking for. My first thought when throwing my hat into the ring had been, that he wanted to redo his site. I had found that it wasn't the most user friendly and had difficulty navigating my way around. But at the same time, I wanted to give my readers the total scoop on the site and it's accomplishments, so I decided to proceed.
The real surprise came when in that same email, I discovered that two $50 awards would be made, and that I was selected for one of those.
One recipient Stephane chose because the person took action immediately after launch time. The other, mine, was chosen for being most original! Those two words alone were more valuable to me than winning the $50 dollars. It meant that I did something right! I was finally going down the right path.
So, what suggestions would I make to anyone wanting to do the same thing...
Helpful Suggestions To Winning Your First Contest:
1. ALWAYS follow the rules of the contest.
Here were the rules that dukeo.com/review-contest/ had in place. (Taken straight from Dukeo.com.)
Notice: I checked off every single requirement as I wrote my review, several times in fact, to ensure that all requirements were met.
2. Stop listening to all the negative NOISE! Never let anyone tell you that you CAN'T do something, especially YOURSELF!
It has been my experience that "I" am my own worst enemy. Allow yourself to make mistakes! It's hard to do, I know, because I hate making MISTAKES and having to start over.
The journey through the experience will enlighten you and make you stronger. Never underestimate it's worth...you will learn MUCH!
3.Step up to the plate and accept the CHALLENGE!
As with all challenges in life, we all struggle with the concept of being a newbie and out of our element. It can be scary, I know! But the only way you can grow in confidence, and in your business, is to step out of your comfort zone.
4. Find your own UNIQUE take on the situation:
If you go back to the first graphic, you will see that I mentioned following the rules of a contest. This is one of the most critical steps, if you wish to meet the criteria and be taken seriously. In this case, if you didn't meet the requirements, Stephane would simply toss that entry out!
Note, that the contest requirements didn't tell me whether contestants were to make suggestions concerning the site's theme, the layout, and/or the navigation, etc.
I considered that first and thought, "Well, I could make a quick top 10 list for pros and cons, or I could create an infographic about those features for his site, or I could take totally unique approach.
It may have stated in a previous post somewhere, but I was new to the Dukeo site, so there was no way, that I would have known that. I did, however, inspect other areas of the site with interest, because it was that type of information that lead me to Dukeo.com to begin with.
While I saw some things that I would add or change as I tried to navigate through his site, I was more interested in the man behind the site.
So, I decided to approach it from a unique position. In doing so, I felt the only fair way was to take you on that journey with me. Undoubtedly, my review was totally different than the others.
Does that mean that there was a right or wrong answer? Perhaps, but not necessarily, as long as you met the contest requirements.
5. BE HONEST, even if it hurts!
Honesty doesn't mean you have to crucify someone to get your point across. At the same time, you shouldn't feel the need to sugar coat it, either. So, anytime that I write a review, I always try to give a comprehensive, well-balanced review, so that others can make a well-informed, educated decision. You should, too!
Only through honest evaluations would it be possible for Stephane to make the necessary changes to his site, so that he can accommodate his audience's needs better. To his credit, that was exactly what he expected in return.