October 19th, 2011 8:36 pm
One of the things that I wanted to accomplish with my contest was to increase the number of comments — and readers — on this blog. Right now, there are about 30 ‘hits’ a day, which is not too bad, except for one thing. More than half of them are known spambots looking for a blog where they can post spam comments.
The overall traffic to this site has not changed a bit with the contest, but I did notice that I started getting 10 or 15 attempts each day to post a spam comment on the blog. Most of them were for the perennial make-money-fast and porn sites. A few were pushing the HCG Diet scam or the Acai Berry Multi-Loser-Marketing scam. All of them were trivially easy to spot, because it is obvious that they are automatically generated by a spambot, and not by a real human who has actually read the post on which he or she is trying to comment.
I’m at a bit of a loss about how to proceed from here. I still would like to do something to increase reader engagement and feedback, and the conventional wisdom is that a contest give-away is the best approach. Ok, I gather that a $15 book (although it was a very nice one) just doesn’t get anybody very excited. I have some other items to give away, but I really wanted to come up with something that only somebody who would be interested in reading my blog would really want. I think I’ve come up with just the thing, and I will be putting together the new contest in a few days. The first prize will be fairly substantial. I haven’t decided if there will be more than one prize, but I will make that decision in a few days.
If you have any suggestions for what would make a good prize for a contest, please feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments. Bear in mind that my budget is not unlimited — the top prize will probably be in the range of $150-$200, the 2nd prize in the range of $50-$100, and the 3rd prize in the range of $25-$50. I do have a top prize in mind, but I want to wait a few days to see what ideas my readers have about that.
November 2, 2011 at 6:29 am
Well…….I hope you have better luck this time! You have at east one new follower…..ME!
I’m now going to spend a little time reading your older posts………some of them look quite thought provoking. And I look forward to future musings from you.
November 2, 2011 at 6:53 am
Good luck with your contest and your blog. I was interested enough to check it out so I’m sure you’ll get lots of lookin’.
I don’t have a suggestion for a prize but I do have a suggestion for your blog. Could you possibly post a link to some Texas music festivals. I’m a beginner fiddler (at 62 years old) and we travel in our motorhome 6 months a year. We spend most of the winter months in Texas (RGV and Hill Country) and I would love to visit some local festivals and hear some good Texas fiddlin’.
Thanks, good luck with your blog.
November 2, 2011 at 7:00 am
It’s me again………..After writing the comment above, I had a bit of a think about blogging and increasing traffic and interaction. I’ve been an avid blogger for a few years now and I have lots of followers. I am a visual artist and I use my blog as a kind of diary to update about new work, show work in progress mostly, but I also write about more everyday stuff in my life. I have regular giveaways to “celebrate” blogging milestones and such and I usually have around 150 or so respondents.
For what it’s worth, here’s what I’ve discovered is important about blogging:
* Do it really regularly – once or twice a week (or they forget you!)
* Pictures are important – blog followers love the visuals.
By the way, I DO play the violin, or at least I am learning it (I’m no spring chicken, but it’s going pretty well!) I come to it from a background as a flautist and oboist…….I’m just wondering why it took me so long to “discover” the joys of playing a stringed instrument.
Cheers, and good luck with the contest.
Susie (in Tasmania)
November 2, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Hi, Howard! I don’t get on line every day, and lately have not had computer access (I’m at the library paying bills and transfering funds, etc, important stuff!) and reading BAVS, trying to catch up. I have enjoyed your entries on BAVS for a few years, so I’m thinking I would enjoy your blog. I will try to read it and am always up for a contest! I’ve often thought you would be good to take lessons from, I’m not w/ a teacher right now but have been playing for several years (7 or 8?) and play at home every day. I’m actually able to practice shorter times now b/c of pain I have in playing. Anyway, glad I got on and went thru all my BAVS I”d saved up and read your recent post.
God Bless,
juli
November 2, 2011 at 6:44 pm
PS Any prize would be fun, esp. considering it’s free and we do absolutely nothing to earn it but read your blog! BUT, since you asked, maybe a ticket to your town and a lesson would be nice! LOL! OK, that MIGHT be a bit extravegent, considering I live in the Chicago area!
November 2, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Yes, a round trip excursion from Chicago for a lesson would be a tad over my budget. However, if I can figure out how to make some money on this blog, something similar, like a Skype lesson (or two, or even a month’s worth) might be possible. I’m not sure how well that would work, but I’m game. For this round, however, it’s going to be physical goods that I can send through the mail (or UPS). Still need to round up another prize, but I should be ready to announce the contest and the requirements in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for your input, Julie!
November 4, 2011 at 8:51 am
Picked up on your blog on Yahoo – BAVS. As a new fiddler, for the past four years, I’m always looking for a better way to play. Currently playing with a Celtic Session group and a community civic orchestra. Prizes are always nice — music books-CDs — are great.
Mary
January 25, 2012 at 12:08 pm
I do not understand how to submit a entry.
January 25, 2012 at 12:17 pm
That’s understandable — because I haven’t gotten around to finishing the rules! I still have to work out the logistics, which include coming up with an entry mechanism that is easy to track, preferably automatically. It’s probably going to be sometime in February before I announce how to enter, and depending on the response, I may need to run the sweepstakes for 8 to 10 weeks. I *do* have the prizes selected, but two of them require some additional work. The carbon fiber bow needs to be re-haired, and the violin needs to have a better bridge fitted, both of which are going to cost me some money.
Plus, I may have a 4th prize, if I can arrange it. That will bring the total value of all prizes to over $400.
Thank you for your comment, Ed!
January 25, 2012 at 12:19 pm
As you might have already read, I’m working on another give-away, this time with about $400 worth of stuff that would appeal to violinists. Stay tuned…
Thank you for your comment, Mary (Remark777)!
January 25, 2012 at 12:22 pm
I agree with your suggestions! But as you probably already know, good writing takes a LOT of time, and time has been a scarce commodity of late. I am getting a bit more of a handle on my schedule, though, and I’m going to try to establish a regular posting schedule fairly soon, probably once a week.
Thank you for your comment, SusieMac!
January 25, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Hmmm… Good Suggestion. I do have some links to stuff related to Celtic Fiddlin’. I just need to find some time to build the appropriate pages around them.
Thank you for your comment, Mary C!