  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: Melissa is fashionably late!  
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5. A Word from Writing.Com
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What fun would the world be if you didn't have Writing.com? What fun would Writing.com be if it didn't have interactives and contests?
If you have a hard time finding something fun to do, then this newsletter's for you! |
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To auction or not to auction? That is the question. With all of the different member-run auctions floating around Writing.Com these days, it's hard to decipher which is funding which group, when one is beginning and one is ending, and who is trustworthy and who isn't. If you have a group in need of GP funding, I'm sure you've pondered whether or not to jump on the bandwagon of auctioneers.
Putting together an auction isn't an easy thing. You have to find trustworthy and reliable Writing.Com members to donate to your cause. You have to find more Writing.Com members to trust that they will receive the items on which they have bid. If you decide to make this a repetitive auction, you'll not only have to do both once, but over and over again.
Running an auction not only entails the organizing and executing, but also the responsibility of follow-through. It is your job to make sure that your bidders get what they're asking for, and your job to make sure that those donating are providing what they agreed to at the auction's start.
The best way to follow-up with members both donating and bidding, is to send emails at the auction's completion to let them know their status. You should also follow up on any complaints in an especially timely manner, because if your donators are not reliable then neither is your auction.
I've seen auctions run weekly, monthly, and semi-regularly (every few months). While you may have every good intention when you run a weekly auction, you may find a lack of interest because of the frequency. Those that run monthly or only semi-regularly tend to have a higher bid turnout because there is time to draw high quality donations between each auction run.
If you decide to run an auction, also remember that you should put the proceeds toward something that can be proven to be an asset to the Writing.Com community. I have seen many instances where the proceeds were donated to a group that did nothing or little-to-nothing with what was raised. If your auctions proceeds go to a cause that isn't sufficiently using the funds, members may be less likely to participate in future auctions.
That said, auctions run by responsible members, who follow up with both donators and bidders, tend to run successful and high turnout auctions. |
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Mark says, "Thank you for another wonderful edition of C&A, and also for featuring "Invalid Item" .
I wanted to add to your advice regarding activities, especially for newbies. It is important that when we create an activity that it is proportionate to the exposure/reward that the participants will receive. The incentive to participate should be a combination of interest/challenge, exposure, and reward. Simply creating a prompt and asking for signups is not going to work. How does a newbie figure out what works, or is new and different? How abot looking at old Contest and Activities newsletters, and checking out the featured selections? It should help give a feel of what works, and hopefully lead to success. Lastly, I see a lot of ativities that could have benefited from advanced solicitation of donations, advice and participation. There are so many here who are ready willing and able to assist/advise - why not ask a few questions before opening the activity? Anyway, thanks again!"
Thank you for the wonderful additional advice! You've included a lot of things for the Writing.Com public to chew. |
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Contests & Activities: May 16, 2007 Issue [#1718]
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