Grow Your Blog: Organizing a Contest

Throughout the duration of One Crafty Contest, many of you jokingly suggested that when it was all said and done, I should do a post about everything I learned in the process of hosting my first competition.  I agree completely.  However, there's no way all that will fit in one post.  I'll have to split it into several parts, but here's my first go at it.

These are the questions you have to answer before you can even begin to put things in motion for your contest. 

WHO: Figuring out the contestants, judges, and sponsors

*Who is eligible to enter the contest?  How will they apply/be chosen?

* How many contestants will proceed on to each round?

* Will contestants' projects be published along with their names or anonymously?

* How many judges will you have?  How will they apply/be chosen?

* Who will sponsor your contest in general and for specific rounds?  Think of certain people you want to target, and you can always have a sign up sheet too so that anyone who's interested can volunteer.  When it comes to sponsors, the more the better!

WHAT: The contest itself and the individual rounds

* What will your contest be called?

* What {and how many} rounds will you have?  Will they be based on materials {ie: fabric, wood, mod podge}, specific projects {ie: wreaths, furniture, etc}, or something else?

* What will your prizes be?

WHEN: The time frame

* When will interested crafters apply? 

* When will your first round of competitors be selected?

* When will each round take place?  What are the starting and ending dates of the contest?

* When do crafters need to complete their projects {can they enter things they've already made, should they be created during the contest period, or do they need to be made within the time frame of each specific round}?

WHERE: The advertising

* Where will you advertise the contest?

* What will your button look like?  Who will you ask to post it?

* Will the contest be held only on your blog, or will you be co-hosting it?

HOW: The decisions

* How will the original group of applicants be selected {by reader vote, judges' decision, or a combination of both}?

* How will each round be judged?  How many contestants will be eliminated?  Will it be solely based on votes or will judges get to "save" someone from elimination?

* How will the overall winner be selected?  Will it be based on all entries throughout the contest?  Votes?  Judges input?  A total of votes from the previous rounds?  All of the above?

* How will contestants submit their projects?  Will they post them on their own blogs and link to the post, or will they email you photos and descriptions to post?

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If you've thought about all of this and are still crazy enough eager to do this, {run!  it will consume your life!}... here's the next step.

Once you've considered all of this and made some decisions, it's time to draft your official rules.

These are the ones I used for One Crafty Contest.  Feel free to use them as a basic outline for your own.

 

Done that?  Ready for more?  Stay tuned!!