Gathering ideas for a contest

[Pauline]

I have decided to hold a contest! Not as big as we did on SlowTrav, but I think it will be fun. I will post more later but here is a rough outline.

• Prizes will be vacation rentals in Europe, a free week or a 50% discount.
• To enter you have to be a member of the forums, have at least 10 posts and post a trip report or resource (for any country, any time - 500 words or more - trip reports and resources previously posted count). When you have done this, you will enter by posting on a contest thread that I will set up.
• Names will be put in a hat and drawn. The first winner picks the prize they want, and on until all prizes are gone.

The contest will be announced in January and the drawing will take place mid-April.

I already have 7 nice prizes - 5 in Italy, 2 in France.

I have a few more people to ask, but would like your help with suggestions. It would be nice to find "off the beaten path" places to promote that type of tourism, and some prizes for countries other than Italy. Do you know someone who might be interested in offering a prize? I am looking for accommodations only, preferably vacation rentals but B&Bs and hotels are an option. If you could send me a message or post here with your suggestions.

I did not title this thread with "contest" because I wanted to keep this discussion low-key - 28 December, changing thread title to get this thing rolling.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Sounds like fun. I hope to win 1st prize

 

[artnbarb]

Time to get busy writing trip reports!

 

[phirhon]

My trip report will be coming in the new year. Sounds fun.

 

[jan]

Woul it count to copy and paste sections from my blog to form a trip report?

 

[SMJ]

Wow! I've never written a trip report, as I don't have what I would call super-interesting trips; but I'll do my best!

 

[Eleanor]

Don't undersell your trips SMJ, I'm sure there will be something interesting - the most unlikely of places can turn out to be winners.

 

[Pauline]

Woul it count to copy and paste sections from my blog to form a trip report?

Yes, that would be good. You could write a summary version and link to your blog if people want to read more.

 

[Pauline]

Don't undersell your trips SMJ, I'm sure there will be something interesting - the most unlikely of places can turn out to be winners.

I agree!

 

[Pauline]

I will include Resources for entering the contest I think. Either a trip report or a resource page. And there will be a few non-accommodation prizes (amazon gift certificates).

Thanks to everyone who sent me suggestions. I have one more prize and a few more companies to email. I will wait until after the holidays to email people. More suggestions welcome.

 

[artnbarb]

I wrote a new trip report about our visit to Ireland last summer, then found a travelog I wrote about out visit to London in 2006! I need to write something about our 2 weeks in Yorkshire and our 2 weeks in Sussex.

 

[Pauline]

The summary version of the trip report, if linking to your report off site, must be 500+ words to count for the contest.

 

[artnbarb]

I know there must be a way to see how many words are in a document, but I can't find it - I use Open Office. Thanks if you can help! Found it! Google is my friend!

 

[freakTraveller45]

That's interesting!

 

[artnbarb]

The summary version of the trip report, if linking to your report off site, must be 500+ words to count for the contest.

I just re-read this, and I think I misinterpreted it before- I think what it's saying is that I have to have a 500+ word summary post here on SE, then a link to the full post on my blog, is that correct?

 

[Pauline]

I just re-read this, and I think I misinterpreted it before- I think what it's saying is that I have to have a 500+ word summary post here on SE, then a link to the full post on my blog, is that correct?

Yes, the purpose of the contest is to get more content on the forums, and more traffic. So I need to have your trip report on the forums but you can post a summary and link to your blog if someone wants to read more details.

I will make this more clear in the contest description.

 

[artnbarb]

One down, one more to go! That makes a lot more sense!

 

[Doug Phillips]

I'm in! Is Steve going to be drawing the names?

 

[Pauline]

I'm in! Is Steve going to be drawing the names?

Yes, just like the old SlowTrav contests, Steve will pull the names from a Tilley Hat! Some traditions must continue.