Do You Find it Annoying?

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

What do you think about contests that ask you to do a million things just to enter their book giveaway?

+1 leave a comment
+5 follow me
+10 if you're already a follower
+2 leave a comment on another post
+2 link me
+5 Post about my contest

Personally, I find it a bit annoying and kind of ridiculous. It causes me NOT to enter contests. The probability of me winning anyway is small, but then asking me to do all of the above just for their little contest is a bit ridiculous. I think if it was simple you'd have MORE people enter your contest.

But, I'm a newbie...what do I know? What do you think? Does it work to have all that stuff to do? Does it annoy any of you? Tell me your thoughts.

Mary
The Sweet Bookshelf

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

I agree. I mean, I am following a blogger who started about the same time as me and has double the followers...at first I was like, "oh my gosh, how's she doing that?" but then I started thinking about how I started my blog for my friends and family because they are always asking me about the good books I'm reading and to write them down for them. I made this for them, and if others want to enjoy the blog too then that is great! But ultimately it's my family and friends whom I'm writing for. The Giveaways too! I say keep it simple....

[Nely Sanchez]

Yea, maybe forcing someone to subscribe to your blog is a bit much. I mean I will say that I do give every person entering in one of my giveaways extra entries but they are optional. You are very much entered in the giveway by just leaving a comment w/ your email address. I will agree that giveaways and the "follow my blog for extra entries" has built up my number is subscribers - but most of them are just in it for the giveaways. They don't comment on regular review posts and what is the point of having close to 200 subscribers when only 10 of them are the ones who regularly comment on your posts. It might really be pointless if you think about it.

[Anysia]

Just because readers don't comment on your posts doesn't mean no one else is reading them. With many book reviews, I'm not moved to comment on them but that doesn't mean I'm not reading the blog. Unless you have a discussion post up or have a call to action like a question for readers to answer, many readers will remain silent.

[Jaime Huff]

I agree. I read the blog posts through Google reader. I AM reading them, just that I don't always comment on them.

[Terri Quinn]

Interesting topic. Have to agree that I don't like the giveaways that "force" you to jump through all kinds of hoops and I usually don't enter those. And I don't like having to become a follower just to enter. I wouldn't want anyone following my blog unless they were interested in what I had to say, so why force them? Think that the hoop jumping for extra entries is fine so long as it's clear that it is optional, and I believe it's a good way to get the word out about your contest. I haven't hosted any giveaways, but the last thing I would want to do is annoy people.

[Julie Jones]

I don't enter those contests any more...it too much work for a book..when I do it I keep it simple. I like to reward the followers I do have. It does get annoying and so far I haven't won a thing from it.

[pussreboots]

These "annoyances" though are the only way to sort out the cheaters and spammers from the honest to goodness entries.

[Bluestocking]

I don't do this to my readers. If you want to enter, you just leave a comment with a way for me to contact you. I had an author ask me to post on a giveaway on my blog for her and ask people to jump through hoops, not a single person entered. Later on, this same author participated in my blog party, I set the raffle rules. She got 11 entries.

Keep it simple.

[Lori]

If I have to spend half an hour of time, which is already stretched to the limit as is, with entering a contest, I won't do it.

I have nothing against bloggers who ask for people to follow them or link their contest on other blogs. Networking makes the world go around and they are giving away a book, so I understand that. However, I will admit when I look at the rules and see a bunch of requirements or a lot of for this, you get +1, for this, you get +5, etc., my head starts swimming and I check out.

I do think that the extra requirements work, at least for some people. It will guarantee in some cases that you get more followers, who will hopefully become regular readers of your blog - - and perhaps get the word out to others by posting a link on their blog.

However, again, I think it's all personal choice and there is no wrong answer.

[Gwendolyn B.]

If it is too long and/or complicated, I don't enter - I'd rather be reading!
Also, if comments are counted from other posts on the the blog or if you can enter on a daily basis, I'll skip it. Some people have that kind of time, but I don't. If I think the odds of me winning are really slim, I'll skip it. There are lots of contests out there, so I try to make my entries really count.
I consider Following, Tweeting, and spreading the word to be pretty basic and those are the contests I enter and the options I offer for multiple entries at my own blog. (I reserve the right to occasionally throw in something more interesting if I think it's really appropriate.)

[LaTonya]

Mary,

I agree it can be annoying but it might help to remember that many new bloggers are usually hosting the contest to build a membership and to increase traffic at their site so the extra entries for jumping the hoops makes sense. And the extra entries are optional not required. +10 is a gimme. You're not doing anything but benefitting from a past action.

What I don't get is entering a contest on a blog where the blogger is popular and the number of people who entered the giveway hits triple digits. Why enter? On other blogs, a giveway has fewer people entering yet others don't jump on these contests. I don't understand that.

And it's a free book so asking the entrant to do more than leave a name to get something free isn't ridiculous when winning amounted to a few key strokes and no cash.

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

I love to find the NEW blogs (like mine) and enter their contests! I've even won books already! I wouldn't have won on a more notable blog.