Some Ideas & Tools To Help Market Your Essay Contest

Updated on 12/22/01

The Gebbie Press publishes a very handy All-In-One Media Directory in print and on computer media (with ready-to-print mailing labels). Published since 1970, their directory is the bible of media outlets.

Here are some limited web-based resources that Gebbie provides:

Daily Newspapers Weekly Newspapers Magazines Radio Stations Television Stations

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This is a broadcasting trade publication that regularly goes out to over 4000 radio & tv show producers across the United States and Canada. Each issue contains 100-150 advertisements from folks that are looking to publicize a book, a cause or an event, and will make themselves available for interviews. Producers are constantly seeking interesting new guests and topics to fill their air space, so here is your chance to publicize your contest on a regional and national basis. For several hundred dollars, you can place an advertisement with a photo of you and your prize.

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GuestFinder is a web-based directory of people available for radio, TV, and newspaper interviews. The site is designed for the media professional and others who wish to quickly and easily find interesting guests or interview subjects. A one-year membership costs $249.

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Here is one of several companies that will assist you by sending out your press releases on your behalf. For about $250, they'll send your essay contest announcement to over $10,000 of media outlets. Think of all the stamp-licking that saves! And it frees you up to be on the telephone to some of these outlets to reinforce the press release. Don't forget that personal contact!

Incidentally, your press release will contain information that should not appear on your flyers. Assuming that your press release piques a reporter's or editor's interest, they will want to check you out. Include the name & phone number of your attorney and/or a contact person where you've set up a trust account to hold the entry fees. Let the media know that it is info for their eyes only, and ask that they not include it in any articles. You don't want hundreds of calls going to your attorney's office or bank!

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Instead of writing your own press release, would you like a professional to do it? Charles Kessler & Associates is one of several firms on the net that offer such a service. A one-page news release runs $200; two-page - $350.

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Here is another company that will assist you by sending out your press releases. Here are some information pages that they provide:

Press Release Content Basics
10 Essential Tips To Insure Your Press Release Makes the News
Sample Press Release
Press Release Formatting Suggestions
Press Release Template

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Here is database site that lets you search for various media outlets worldwide. If you do advertise your contest worldwide (and we whole-heartedly suggest you do!), don't forget to specify in the rules that all essays be submitted in English, or you may find yourself needing a Brazilian Portugese translator!

In addition to the more formal-looking press release that your be sending to the media, you will definitely need to print up flyers about your contest. The flyers should be professionally printed, glossy and, preferably in color. The flyer should contain one or more attractive photos of your prize, details of the contest, and info on how folks should reach you if they have questions (preferably an email address). You should also list the URL address of your contest web site. The web site will serve as an extension to your flyers. It is a place where you can post lots more photos, the detail rules and a lot more descriptive text. More about web sites later.

How should flyers be distributed? Here are some suggestions:

Posting on local bulletin boards; not just in your area - mail some to friends and relatives in other parts of the country and ask them to post them. Mail them to the English Departments of universities and colleges. Include a note asking the receiver to post it on the department's bulletin board. Send them to writing and poetry clubs. Ask the local Chamber of Commerce if you can put a stack of flyers on the rack where they keep the other brochures and maps about the area. They might even be willing to include one in each packet that they mail out to folks that inquire about moving to the area. Send some to sydicated radio and tv show hosts. You just might pique the interest of Imus, John Boy & Billy, Oprah or Howard Stern. If they mention your contest, even in a somewhat humorous or mocking way, you still will get a bunch of serious inquiries. You can find their addresses by via web search engines, or through media outlet books like the Gebbie Press directory listed above. Mail them to folks that have already shown an interest and confidence in their writing abilities by entering prior essay contests. I offer such a list here.

Now let's talk about web sites. Your site should be your main support tool for your other advertising efforts. Yes, the web site might bring in additional entrants, but it is most powerful in helping to "close the sale" on someone that heard about your contest elsewhere, but wants more information, or just that warm, fuzzy feeling that this contest isn't a scam. Here are some of the elements that your web site should contain. This list presupposes that your prize is your home, but even if it is not, most of them apply to a business, a car, a boat, etc.

Photos - LOTS of photos. Good photos, not dark snapshots. Take outside pictures on a sunny day, with the sun at your back. Use a digital camera if possible; if not, good 35mm photos can be scanned. Take lots and lots of photos from attractive angles. And have your web site developer allow them to be enlarged on the web site with the click of a mouse. A photo of you (and spouse, if applicable). Fewer potential contestants will think that your contest is a scam if they can see your face. A floorplan diagram of your home. URL links to area web pages supported by local government, the Chamber of Commerce, the Welcome Wagon, local churches, local tourist attractions, etc. Let folks see how nice the area is; let your site's visitors picture themselves winning your home and moving into the area! Your email address. You MUST have an email address. If folks have questions about your contest, don't make them write you a letter ... because many just won't bother. Make it easy for them to reach you! Be sure to list your contest web site on every flyer that you print, and that you emphasize to each media reporter that they should mention it in their articles! Don't have a web site developer? Click here. Check out a pay-per-click referral service like the one below. They get your ad placed in search engines under the key words or phrases that you choose (such as "essay contest"), and you pay them each time someone clicks the listing and actually goes to your contest website. You can get away with paying as little as one penny for each time their listing attracts someone to your website. Not a bad deal!

Tips on writing a HOT press release ... from the experts!

to EssayContests.com

Copyright 2001 by Mark Samwick, Wilmington, NC. All rights reserved.

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