 Contests & Activities: September 11, 2024 Issue [#12736] |
This week: Long Term Challenges with Contests Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Contests & Activities Newsletter by Dawn
Taking a little from experience, today's ramble goes over some aspects of running contests and whether it's something to keep going long term or a limited edition approach. |
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Hosting a contest comes with a variety of challenges and decisions that need made. From the decision to create one all the way down to who wins the first round, there is a lot involved when you decide to start a contest. That includes taking into consideration how many rounds or how long the contest will run. Not every contest is going to last forever, which means at some time or another (doesn't have to be right away) you might have to decide if the contest should continue running long term. And it's a tough decision to make.
I have had a few contests of my own over the past 19 years that I've been on the site. A couple of them were ones that I created and one long standing contest is one I host but did not create. I even re-opened one of my contests after years of having it closed, including a special round this month for the WDC Birthday Bash. While I enjoy running my contest that asks "What if" for short story entries, it was something that got put on hold when my life got busy and other distractions kept it closed for a while.
On the other hand, I've hosted the Weekly Quickie contest for many years and while it has had a few different breaks or times where it was closed for a while, it still has been running more often than not. Even though I didn't create it, the contest is something I've tried to keep going despite a lack of entries most rounds. It's also one that I share with others and am looking for some new judges to help take rounds, if anyone is interested.
While it's fun to run a contests and it might seem like such a great idea that it should last forever, not every contest is going to be like Writer's Cramp. Not every contest will survive the years. That is okay too.
Sometimes, there is fun in creating something short term. The novelty of an item can create interest, catch writers attention and get people entering. It is means the time commitment as the host/judge is limited too, which can be helpful. Because managing a contest long term means that you do all of that work, long term.
There are also times when it's okay to take breaks. Maybe something comes up in your personal life or things get super busy. It's okay to put your contest on hold as most of the contests don't have to be held every week/month. We'll miss the contest but it's understandable when someone needs to take a step back.
The last thing to consider is maybe there isn't as much interest as you might have hoped. It's unfortunate but true and something I've faced over the years too. Maybe there have been a number of rounds where no one has entered and there just doesn't seem to be enough interest no matter how much you promote the contest. Maybe it's time to consider either a break, or to let things go. That is a tough decision. It's hard if you had wanted to keep the contest going super long term but things didn't work out as well as you had hoped. It's easier if the contest was started as a possible short term fun instead. Maybe start with a hiatus if that feels less final compared to closing down for good. Whatever decision you make, there is support on the site. Many of us have contests and are open for talking things out. Just send an email if you need a little help or advice on managing your contest.
How long will a contest run? There are so many decisions you will make as a host but hopefully, it will be worth all of the effort in the long or short run for any event. Whatever approach you take, try to have fun with it.
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How do you handle running a contest long term?
Challenge: Enter one of the contests promoted in this newsletter or in the one from last week.
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