The 9 Ways

Online Sweepstakes

Post your giveaway in the forum at Online Sweepstakes.

Contest Blogger

Post your giveaway in the forum at Contest Blogger and on their Facebook page.

SweepAdvantage

Get your giveaway listed on the website SweepAdvantage. Tweeting them your contest usually gets your contest listed there. Check their site to make sure though. You might have to do it manually.

TweetsWin

If retweeting (RT) is the method you are using for contest entry, use TweetsWin to augment your efforts. TweetsWin will tweet out your contest to its followers once you sign up for TweetsWin at their website. Their tweets for you will look like this: Follow (your twitter address) and RT this for a chance to win (the prize you are offering).

Use Hootsuite

Use Hootsuite to pre-write, date, and time tweets about your contest for your Twitter account.

@Tweet

Individually tweet contest, giveaway, and sweepstakes tweeters with a large number of followers, one at a time. If you tweet them en masse, it will look to them like spam and they will be less likely to RT your contest.

YouTube

Create a YouTube Channel for your website, make, and upload a YouTube video about your contest to it. Also, post an update about your contest on your YouTube channel. The update will show in your YouTube Channel Feed and I believe its sent to the inbox of your subscribers as well.

Pinterest

“Pin” your contest on Pinterest via a picture housed on the contest’s post page. Make a “board” on Pinterest labeled Contest or something that lets your board followers know that free prizes are advertised and can be gained in that board.

Facebook

Though you might have your site’s Facebook Fan Page set up to automatically post the articles published on your site (if you do not you should), its a good idea to manually repost it (later on) so people that might have missed the first posting know that the contest is going on. You can also pin the already posted contest to the top of your Facebook page. Click the edit button at the top right of the post and click “Pin on Top”. The post will be pinned to the top of the page for seven days.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many convential and unconvential ways to advertise giveaways, contests, and sweepstakes on the Internet to gain high entries for it.

How many of these advertising methods do you already employ?

Source: Allfacebook

I gave the Rafflecopter widget a try for a three week Blu-ray giveaway contest. I used a Rafflecopter contest hosted on another website for ideas for my own.

The Rafflecopter contest widget has many pluses and minuses for a publisher and contestant seeking to gain a prize.

Harrison Ford Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rafflecopter’s virtues

Rafflecopter supplies the user with HTML for the widget after they have made their contest entry criteria selections.

The widget has a timer on it (the time the contest begins and the time the contest ends). The contest automatically stops taking entries after the contest end date has been reached.

Rafflecopter allows the contest runner to select as a contest entry option: Tweet a Message, Follow a Twitter Follower, Like a Facebook Page, Like a Blog Post, Choose your own Task, Leave a Blog Comment.

One contest entry option can be selected or all can be selected.

Each contest entry option can be selected either as a mandatory entry requirement or as a additional contest entry.

“Tweet a Message” can be particularly useful if you write the “to be tweeted” message effectively. Rafflecopter automatically adds the contest URL to the end of the message.

The contest runner has the option of creating his or her own contest entry option for the contest.

Each option for contest entry can also be assigned its own value (how many entires that option is worth).

After you create one contest, you can “duplicate” that contest and its entry options for a brand new contest.

By clicking a single button a random winner or multiple random winners can be selected for a contest.

Rafflecopter allows the publisher via their account to view every entry and disqualify winners.

Problems with Rafflecopter

The main problem I found with Rafflecopter is that many of the same people will enter a contest every day, repeating the same contest entry operations over and over again e.g. they click the button that allows them to follow you on Twitter everyday.

Duplicate entries (the problem I just alluded to).

No way to limit entries.

Where Rafflecopter can be improved

There are many ways in which Rafflecopter can be improved to give webmasters the contest options they need and desire. They are as follows:

Ip Address

Have the Rafflecopter widget track Ip addresses and allow only one set of entires per Ip address. Give the contest runner the ability over this. Perhaps they might want to allow multiple entries per Ip Address.

Entries Per

In addition to the contest entry option of once per day, add once per hour, once per two days, once per week, and once per month.

The Follow Buttons

Add in a feature that people can only use the “Follow Me On Twitter” button once. This can be accomplished by recording the Twitter accounts that click the follow button on the backend of the widget. This will limit follow button spam i.e. the same person using the same twitter account to follow you for additional contest entires yet only really following you once.

Have a message come up that says: “This Twitter account has already made its entry for this contest.” when a person hits the Follow button for all subsequent times after the initial Twitter entry.

Add these follow buttons to Rafflecopter

Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Google +, YouTube Channel, FriendFeed, and Flickr.

Add RSS Newsletter and RSS Feed Follow options

Add a Google Feedburner Newletter sign up form as a contest entry option in the widget. The sign up and emailed verification of the sign-up happen within the widget so the contestant can do everything right there (and widget and contest runner know the sign-up has been completed). I do not know how this can be accomplished but where there is a will there is a way. Perhaps the widget gets automatically emailed the Google Feedburner Newsletter verification email right there while giving the contestant a “please wait” message.

To prevent entry spam, Rafflecopter records the email address used and only allows that address to subscribe once per contest. Even if that person unsubscribes to the Newsletter the next day in order to re-sign up for another contest entry, that email address is recorded and does not allow a second sign up.

Add Google Feedburner, Newsvine, and Yahoo RSS Feed buttons as contest entry options in the widget. RSS Feed subscriptions can only be completed if the contestant is signed into the appropriate service e.g. Google at the time. If they are not, they should be promoted to do so in the widget. Once they are, they select which RSS services they wish to use to follow the contest runner’s feed and subscribe.

To prevent entry spam, Rafflecopter records the email address used to subscribe to the RSS Feed and only allows that address to subscribe once per contest.  Even if that person unsubscribes to the RSS Feed the next day in order to re-subscribe for another contest entry, that email address is recorded and does not allow a second RSS Feed subscription.

Color

Add the ability to choose different colors for the Rafflecopter widget. This will help the webmaster match the widget to the color scheme of their website.

The Prize 

Add the ability to add a picture of the prize in question for the contest within the widget, either at the top or in a tab.

Entry Cloak

Add a cloaking option for how many entries a contest has. The contest runner should have the option of disabling displayed entries so that no one but he or she knows how many entries there are for a particular contest (some people get discouraged if they see a bunch of entries already for a contest and choose not to enter. Its psychological.).

Rafflecopter Logo

Final Thoughts

Rafflecopter is a good option for running a online contest but its not great and is not fantastic. Not yet. Rafflecopter takes some of the hassel out of running a contest (especially the duplicate contest option) but it also introduces contest entry spam into the equation as well. I had the same people entering my Rafflecopter contest in the same way everyday for weeks. That was great for tweets about the contest but it was also annoying because there was no system of checks and balances in place to curtail the entry spam. Hopefully this will change in the very near future.

Have you ever used Rafflecopter for a contest on your site? What was your experience with it?

Source: Dragonblogger, Midnightmommy, Jembellish

What is CinemaCon?

CinemaCon

Summer release and upcoming film-based, the CinemaCom is the

official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners. The convention is targeted at film industry professionals for the purpose of promoting upcoming movies.

Why CinemaCon is important to a movie webmaster

At a convention like this, there is the opportunity to:

1. Make industry connections you could not otherwise make.
2. Get on important mailing lists (movie studio and movie studio public relations firms).
3. See advanced screenings for upcoming, unreleased films.

The CinemaCon tells potential attendees that it is “where you should come” if you work in Cinema Exhibition, Film Distribution, Production, the Equipment or Concession fields, Marketing, Advertising or the burgeoning field of Social Media Networking, design, construction or financing of movie theatres or the exciting world of digital cinema.”

By running, owning, and operating a film website, you are in the movie marketing, advertising, social media networking fields the CinemaCon welcomes. Plus you are a journalist potentially covering the event (more on that below).

Officially what can expect to see and experience at CinemaCon

The CinemaCon schedule will feature

studio presentations and screenings (showcasing exclusive footage for the cinema industry); sponsored food events and the most topical of seminars geared to all facets of the industry. CinemaCon will also feature the largest theatre industry trade show – featuring the latest, most important and innovative technological advances in theatre equipment, and, the newest, most delectable offerings from the concession world—everything you need to satisfy the demanding needs of today’s sophisticated moviegoer. And to conclude the week in grand style, The Coca-Cola Company will be host to the Annual CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards that will see top honors bestowed upon some of today’s most glamorous and talented stars and filmmakers.

And, given the dominant role played by the International Box office today, for those professionals involved in the worldwide cinema industry, CinemaCon is delighted to be holding an International Day of programming …

[Attendees can expect to be] part of exclusive studio presentations and screenings highlighting the upcoming summer slate of releases, catching up on what it takes to outfit and run a state-of-the art motion picture theatre, sitting down and talking with the key executives and decision makers from the nation’s theatres, or, listening to some of today’s top stars and filmmakers.

Who runs CinemaCon?

Nato. No, not that Nato. The other one. The National Association of Theatre Owners. They’re “the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 30,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and additional cinemas in 50 countries worldwide. [Their] membership includes the largest cinema chains in the world and hundreds of independent theatre owners too… NATO helps exhibition influence federal policy-making and work with movie distributors on all areas of mutual concern, from new technologies to legislation, marketing, and First Amendment issues.”

Available CinemaCon attendance Packages

Attendance to the CinemaCon is not free but for  journalists and media representatives (e.g. movie webmasters and their retainers), it may be (more of that below).

CinemaCon Registration Rates

With the domestic package you get:

all scheduled and sponsored CinemaCon Events—studio presentations and screenings, seminars, trade show, food functions and of course, the Gala Final Night Award Ceremony and Dinner Reception. And as well, if your are attending as a delegate from the International Marketplace, you may find that the International Package is best for you.

There are also:

Trade Show and Seminar Package[s]
Gains admittance to officially scheduled CinemaCon seminars and the Trade Show. Screenings and sponsored food events are not covered.

Trade Show Pass[es]
Gains admittance to the CinemaCon Trade Show ONLY. Screenings, sponsored events and seminars are not covered.

International Package[s]
Geared specifically for those industry professionals in the International Market—Includes ALL scheduled and sponsored CinemaCon events and functions included in the Domestic Package… PLUS all programming and sponsored events associated with International Day.

Organizations purchasing 10 or more International or Domestic packages may contact David Binet at NATO for assistance regarding special packages and group pickups.

Registering for CinemaCon and Confirmation

Registration for the CinemaCon is available online. “Payment must be submitted with registration. We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express. After [a certain date], all new registrations will be handled on site with the higher, prevailing rates applying. If you are interested in joining NATIONAL NATO to take advantage of the discounted member rates, contact David Binet prior to registering.”

After you register, you will receive confirmation.”Registration confirmation will arrive via email within 24 hours of submitting an online registration. Please be sure to present your email confirmation and a current, valid government picture ID (driver’s license, passport, etc) to pick up your badge and other materials…Your badge should be worn at all times and is required for admission to all events.

If you mail or fax your registration, confirmations will also be distributed via email but will be delayed due to mail and extended processing time. If you do not receive a confirmation email in a timely manner, please notify the Registration Center at cinemacon2012@anidealpartner.com”

Covering CinemaCon as a Member of the Press

Providing coverage of CinemaCon and the films represented there on your website, advantageous for all parties concerned, maybe be a way of attending the CinemaCon without having to buy an attendance package or crashing the convention.

Black Widow The Avengers Hulk

From the CinemaCon website on journalist attendance:

For journalists and media representatives looking to cover CinemaCon 2012, we kindly ask that you complete this Media Application and submit directly to Rogers and Cowan as directed.

I spoke about this here: How to Contact Film Public Relations (PR) Firms but it needs reiterating: do not contact a film PR firm (like the one above) until your site looks professional and it is getting decent hits.

When are the next CinemaCons?

This year’s CinemaCon has already concluded. The next CinemaCons will be held on the following dates:

2012 – April 23rd – 26th
2013 – April 15th – 18th
2014 – March 24th – 27th
2015 – April 20th – 23rd
2016 – April 11th – 14th

Where is CinemaCon held every year?

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Conclusion

If you live in Nevada, a nearby area, and run a film website, “Git-R-Done” – Larry The Cable Guy. Attend the CinemaCon. If you don’t but you have the funding necessary (plane ticket, hotel room cost, etc.) and time to attend, CinemaCon seems well-worth the trip, especially for all you and your site could potentially gain in return.

When used properly, Pinterest can become a new source of referral traffic for your website and a new way to communicate what your site has to offer potential visitors and clients.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is

a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, ‘re-pin’ images to their own collections and/or ‘like’ photos. Pinterest’s mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting” via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. Pinterest allows its users to share ‘pins’ on both Twitter and Facebook, which allows users to share and interact with a broad community.

Why Pinterest should be of interest to a Movie Webmaster

Here is what I found intriguing about Pinterest thus far: Anything you “pin” from your site onto Pinterest is automatically linked to your site. If a person wants to see a larger version of a pinned photo or image, they are taken to the site the pin originated from.

That’s traffic for your site, new traffic, an augmentation to the traffic you already receive from Google, Facebook, Twitter, et cetera. This recently happened to ProMovieBlogger.com when the infographic housed in this post: The Brain of the Beginning Blogger Infographic was pinned onto a “board” within Pinterest by one of its users. We continue to get referral traffic from that pinning.

As a webmaster, you post and publish what movie studios’ produce:  posters, set photos, official movie stills, movie trailers, and movie clips. “Pinning” the images and videos (only YouTube videos right now) to Pinterest that you have posted on your site is a another means of drawing attention and traffic to your website and your YouTube posts.

As you can see, there is an interest for movie, film, cinema, and movie trailers on Pinterest. ”To find other [like-minded] Pinners, access the Everything drop-down menu and filter Boards by category.” If not, type in a specific site you like from the Internet. When I did so, I found that other people had already been sharing photos from our movie website. Pinterest catalogs the sites where images come from onto one, convenient source page. Example: a Movie Website Pinterest Source Page.

A Visual Aid

Since Pinterest is all about the visual, this is more than appropriate. The Power of Pinterest Infographic:

The Power of Pinterest Infographic

One downside to contributing to Pinterest

Time. Each and every image or video has to be contributed manually (there is no pin automation on Pinterest yet).

Pinterest has thought of this and has made pinning very easy through Google Chrome.

Drag and drop Pinterest’s Chrome browser extension onto your Bookmarks bar. That way, every time you come across a cute pair of shoes or a kickass motorcycle, you’re able to click “Pin It,” choose an image (left), attach a description and add the Pin to one of your Boards.

You can also add their social button to your posts so your site visitors can click on it and share your content more easily. Certain share button containers like Share This already have Pinterest integrated so adding a specific Pinterest button isn’t necessary if you are using one.

In Conclusion

Pinterest is new, brand new. Getting your foot, your brand, a few pictures, and videos in the door (you can not simply join. You have to ask Pinterest for an invitation) will not hurt.

Pinterest is pretty addictive. Potential visitors to your site through Pinterest feel the same way.

 Source: Wikipedia, Skande, Mashable

Content

Without content, no one will come to your website and no one will stay. Your content is housed on pages that also house your ads. Writing constant, interesting content is key (some articles on the subject: 5 Strategies for Writing and Publishing Website Posts Consistently, The 5-11-4 Rule for Posting Content on a Website, and Movie Content: Finding Movie Content to Write about). Interesting content will eventually draw people’s eyes to that page’s ads, if they are the right ads.

Relevant Advertisement

Ads that having nothing to do with the theme of your website will get very few clicks versus ads that are closely related to its subject matter.

If you are running a movie website, a Lexus car advertisement will get dramatically less clicks than a new movie release advertisement e.g. The Five-Year Engagement.

The Five-Year Engagement Google Adsense Ad

I previously wrote about the right movie ads here: Google AdSense 300×250 Ads are a Movie Website’s Best Friend.

Choose ad providers that send your site relevant ads. There are numerous, better ones out there besides Google AdSense. Some of them are listed here: Make Money Online and some new ones I found are listed here: 4 Ad Networks: Technorati Media, Value Click, Tribal Fusion, FOX Audience.

Traffic

Without traffic, there is no one to click on your site’s ads.

Traffic supplants even ad relevancy. If your site is getting tons of traffic, even non-relevant ads will eventually get clicks (its stands to reason that somebody will be curious or use one of those non-relevant advertised products and will click to get more information). A case and point of this would be Collider. They get tons of traffic during the week and have a gaggle of divergent advertisements, ads that have nothing to do with film yet the site makes middle triple figures everyday. Why? Great traffic.

Keep in mind, there are other ways to monetize your website besides clickable ads, such as Cost Per Impression ads and Direct Ad Sales.

Good Advertisement Placement

I see ads all over the place on websites, at the top, middle, and at the bottom of them.

Good ad placement begins with placing your ads above the fold of a webpage. It has to do with line-of-sight. Most people look at the top of a webpage first then move down. If your ads are at the top of the site, they will be one of the first things a site visitor sees.

I read in Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets (talked about here: A Professional Web Designer’s thoughts on Websites, SEO, SERP, HTML, and Search Engines) that people (studies were conducted) scan a page in an F pattern: the top of the page from left to right, then down, then back across from right to left.

Placing your ads across that path will properly be beneficial to your ads, your ad clicks, and the revenue you derive from them.

The F pattern is one of the reasons why you see a 728×90 ad at the top of some sites and a large right sidebar with a 300×250 ad on top of it. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an example of this (highlighted in red).

IMDb F Pattern

Some of the most effective ad placement I have seen has been in a post itself. One such ad placement can be found on Screenrant. They have an ad right in the middle of the article text (highlighted in red), completely blended into the page mimicking the text, its color, and the hyperlink color present on the page as well.

Screenrant In-Text Ad Placement

Another site, Slashfilm, uses 300×250 ads in the middle of their  articles, no matter what. This ad can be a little off-putting because it sometimes appears on top of embedded trailers but it is directly in the line of sight as the viewer reads the post. If the ad is interesting, they might get a click.

Slashfilm Middle of Post Ad

Since that ad placement has been there for years now, it must be working.

Conclusion

Content is king but site traffic trumps advertisement relevancy to your site.