Blog contests seem to run in the vein of money giveaways, Entrecard freebies, or something over the top. It’s all a ploy, right? Blog owners holding contests simply want backlinks and new subscribers. Exactly, but why not?

John Cow worked with his sponsors to create a unique contest where he’s giving away an Xbox 360 Elite with a copy of GTA IV. While this prize may not attract everyone, it certainly appeals to me.

The Cow has also decided to sell his blog. Do you want a MMO site to moo users? You could buy it right now. Heck, you’ll only have to pay $50K to snag it.

I talked a few weeks ago about the prospect of selling a blog. I still stand by my thinking that its up to the owner. I am still very interested in seeing how this pans out for John. I’m sure he’ll receive nice coin from the deal and he’ll be happy for a while, but can you really put value on the overall experience of running a blog like his? Maybe its just time to move on in life. It does happen.

Back to the original topic — the contest. So John worked with his hosting provider to offer the prize. THC also gives JohnCow readers 15% off their hosting purchases. I think this is a great way to go about holding a contest. It not only increases his backlinks, but frees him up from spending money on prizes.

I’ve been approached to sponsor contests in the past. Many of the contest owners seemed to be holding onto the idea that sponsors should want to just throw out large prizes. Where’s the real value though? In The Cow’s contest, the sponsor should see nice traffic. The prize costs around $500, but for a business this might net them more than $500 in return. That’s how it should be.

Contest owners shouldn’t approach Jason Boom to sponsor some outlandish prize. I’m not a business. I’m not selling anything. How could I receive a return for a $500 prize? Better yet — how could you convince me I would receive $500 worth of anything in return?

It will be sad to see The Cow taken over by someone else. I suppose it will be like that strange cow costume you always see on lame TV shows. The guy in the front half of the costume will switch with the guy at the back. Soon we’ll get used to his personality and one day he’ll probably sell the whole costume. By then it will worn and tattered – a shell of its former greatness.

We’re back again with another $100 contest for April. The rules are simple, so be sure to enter. It’s a quick way to make a buck (or 100 of them).

For those who entered the March contest, the results will be online soon. Keep your fingers crossed…

To gain entries into the contest, just do any of the following:

- Make a comment of value (not just “i agree”, etc.) on a post = 1 entry (remember to comment on all blogs)

- Subscribe to RSS via email = 2 entries (per blog you subscribe to!)

- Write a post about the contest on your blog (must include a link to this page and the links below to participating blogs) = 25 entries

Please note: If you are already subscribed to any of the sites below, you are already earning entries. Also, to get credit for posting about the contest, your post’s link must show up in the comments below or in the comments on one of the other blogs below.

How much easier can we make it? So you can sneak in with just one entry by simply posting a comment here, you can increase your odds by reading and commenting on a few more posts here and at one of the blogs below and maybe subscribe to a couple, or you can really up the odds and subscribe to all all of our blogs (which you’ll enjoy reading anyway), comment on a bunch of posts, and blog about this contest. The more entries you earn, the better your odds, of course. If you’re going to post about this contest, just grab the image and code from here.

The deadline for this contest is 12:00 AM May 1, 2008.

Who wants to pay you?

- JoeTech.com

- Link Bait

- Gorilla Sushi

- CK Marketing

- The Big Bald Blog

- How 2 Blogger

- Jason Boom

- Mr Javo

- AFrogtoKiss.net

We’re at it again, giving away a hundred dollars to one lucky person. How great is that? To gain entries into the contest, just do any of the following:

1. Make a comment of value (not just “i agree”, etc.) on a post = 1 entry (remember to comment on all blogs) 
2. Subscribe to RSS via email = 2 entries (per blog you subscribe to!) 
3. Write a post about the contest on your blog (must include a link to this page and the links below to participating blogs) = 25 entries

For those who have already signed up to RSS feeds via email, don’t worry–your email will be added every month (unless you unsubscribe).

If you write a blog post about the contest, please return to one of the host blog’s contest thread to leave a comment with a link to your post. This way we know we have it.

How much easier can we make it? So you can sneak in with just one entry by simply posting a comment here, you can increase your odds by reading and commenting on a few more posts here and at one of the blogs below and maybe subscribe to a couple, or you can really up the odds and subscribe to all all of our blogs (which you’ll enjoy reading anyway), comment on a bunch of posts, and blog about this contest. The more entries you earn, the better your odds, of course. If you’re going to post about this contest, just grab the image and code from here.

The deadline for this contest is 12:00 AM April 1, 2008.

Who wants to pay you?

- JoeTech.com

- Link Bait

- Gorilla Sushi

- CK Marketing

- The Big Bald Blog

- How 2 Blogger

- Jason Boom

- Mr Javo

To gain entries into the contest, just do any of the following:

  - Make a comment of value (not just “i agree”, etc.) on a post = 1 entry (remember to comment on all blogs)
  - Subscribe to RSS via email = 2 entries (per blog you subscribe to!)
  - Write a post about the contest on your blog (must include a link to this page and the links below to participating blogs) = 25 entries

You can take the short route by simply making a comment in this thread, and you can also comment on all the other participating blogs’ contest threads and increase your chances exponentially. You can also subscribe to each individual blog in the contest group’s RSS feed to gain a steeper advantage. However, the most ambitious of you will do all of the above, plus write a post about this contest on your own blog. If you’re going to post about this contest, just grab the image and code from here.

The deadline for this contest is 12:00 AM March 1, 2008.

Who wants to pay you?
- JoeTech.com
- Link Bait
- Gorilla Sushi
- CK Marketing
- The Big Bald Blog
- How 2 Blogger
- Dot Sauce Magazine
- Jason Boom

After the terrific results of last week’s contest, I’ve decided to mix things up a bit. The entries for this week’s contest will be submitted via comments to this post. Ok, so on to the rules and the winnings.

You can enter in multiple ways:

1. by writing a post that talks about my site in some way. It doesn’t have to be a review, but should contain at least one link to the site. This will net you the most entries with 10.
2. by joining my reader community on MyBlogLog counts as 5 entries. (if you’re already there then just post a comment in this thread and it’ll count!)
3. by commenting in this thread nets you 1 entry.

You can do all three things to receive 16 entries total!  

What will you win? Tell ‘em Johnny…

 A BRAND NEW C…oh, wait. I have a budget.

1. (1) 125×125 ad for 30 days
2. (1) text link on the sidebar
3. A review of a site, tool, or service of your choice in the Powder Keg Review series. (This does not mean it will be a good review, so be sure whatever it is you want reviewed is up to snuff.)

It’s that easy to win that much! Next week I’ll be toying with Entrecard credits as a prize. Everyone likes credits, but as others have said — been there, done that. We’ll see.