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~ Henry Ward Beecher"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
~ Joseph Chilton Pearce"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
- Henri Matisse"I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me."
Creating a contest is a great way to attract the attention of new customers, as well as get remembered by repeat customers. For the small amount the prize costs you and the time it takes you to host the contest, a contest can often gain more exposure and have more of an effect than if that same amount of money and time was invested in advertising. However, in creating a contest, there are many things to take into consideration before launch.
One of the most important things to consider are the laws and regulations of your city, state, social network, etc. Some prizes may have tax complications for both the recipient and provider that need to be reviewed on a state by state basis (and most likely, by a lawyer and CPA). Additionally, some social networks may have strict guidelines about what type of promotional events and contests can be promoted through their network, as well as the means of promotion itself.
If you are interested in hosting a contest to help boost your brand awareness and ultimately increase your sales, visit Vertical Response's article to read more about hosting online contests.
Pinterest, a social network that allows you to share all of the beautiful images you see on the internet, is also a wonderful tool to help promote your business. Surpassing the traffic stats of several other popular social networks such as Facebook and Google+, Pinterest is a great venue to drive more traffic to your site and brand. Social Media Examiner reveals 6 tips towards using Pinterest to drive traffic that include using original images, pinning other people's images, creating catalogs and more. Click to learn more or to follow me on Pinterest.
After a month and a half of open applications, the Stoke the Fire Contest for a chance to win $2k worth of design and marketing services has come to a close.
Applications were reviewed based on timeliness of submission, how compelling their essay was, how realistic applicant goals could be achieved with the prize, and how receiving the prize could help keep stoke alive in the Truckee Tahoe basin. Jim Kaspari and I are proud to announce that the 2012 Stoke the Fire Contest Grand Prize Winner is:
