Time sure flies! It feels like only yesterday that I announced my contest. As you may recall, I held a contest during November 2008 wherein the person who sent the most traffic to Beyond the Rhetoric would receive a terrific prize package worth over $200. This included three Griffin iPod accessories (docking station, FM transmitter, protective and case), as well as a sponsored review on Beyond the Rhetoric.
Before I get around to announcing the winner of this contest, let’s take a look at what else went down in November, just like I did for October.
Top Commentators
The relative growth and success of Beyond the Rhetoric are not due only to the contest winner, of course, so it’s only fitting that I give proper recognition to the other people who have contributed too. Blogging is a two-way street. If it were not for the people below, I’d be shouting into a vacuum. Thank you for continuing the discussion!
- Nick (Romandock)
- Eric Tan (Feeding the Crave)
- Derek (Derek Semmler)
- Chrisblogging.com (Chris Bibey)
- Betshopboy
Most Popular Posts
So, what do you people like reading on Beyond the Rhetoric? Seeing how the majority of my traffic comes from search engines and social media, it’s not surprising that the five most popular posts rank quite well in one or both of these arenas.
- How to Open a US Bank Account as a Canadian Citizen
- Rock Band 2 is Better Than Guitar Hero World Tour
- Freelancing: Why It’s Easier Blogging For Others
- Real Dot Com Moguls Eat From a Toilet
- Video: Top 10 Best SNES Games Ever
And the Contest Winner Is…
Here is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I was hoping that this contest would bring more traffic to Beyond the Rhetoric during the month of November, but I’m still glad that a number of people made a valiant effort. Interestingly, the eventual winner of the three iPod accessories and the sponsored review on BTR didn’t really put in a push until the last week of the month.
A hearty congratulations goes out to Mike Huang of PinkyArcade.com! Congrats, Mike! You’re the big winner! Make sure you contact me with your shipping address.
How did Mike manage to leapfrog the competition in just one week? Taking a slightly evil and deceiving route, he linked a number of “free online games” banners to Beyond the Rhetoric. The visitors probably expected to find places where they could play Bejeweled, but instead they got posts about running mice and self-fulfilling prophecies. I hope a few of them chose to stick around anyhow. 🙂
Honourable Mentions
Naturally, Mike Huang wasn’t the only one who participated in this contest. When I did my mid-month update, I noted that three Dot Com Pho members made the top five. Not surprisingly, they’re still among the top performers for directing traffic my way. I’d also like to thank Nick (Romandock), Chris, and Derek for their efforts.
Thanks again for everyone who participated. I plan on holding more contests in the future, so stay tuned to Beyond the Rhetoric and follow me on Twitter. You don’t want to miss anything.
congratulations to the winners!
That was a slightly deceptive method that he used to win, but whatever works I guess. Did you see a significant increase in subscribers or did it appear that most of those that clicked through from the winner just left right away?
Anyway, congrats to the winner and at least I was on the top of one of the lists 🙂
By and large, subscribers and visitor counts remained steady for November compared to October, so like I said, I don’t think the contest was quite as successful as I had hoped. Maybe I should try a different strategy.
You and me both!
At least you didn’t make the mistake I had made and enforced a rule against any deceptive tactics.
Happy to see that I made the commentators list this month, as well as squeaking in there with at least a few referrals.
Congrats to Mike Huang.
My strategy didn’t work so well. Even though I was late to the game, I had some confidence that I could come from behind for a win.
I directed traffic from Twitter to my blog, and then had a contest of my own with a scavenger hunt where people would hunt for answers on other blogs, including yours. But, that didn’t send much outgoing traffic to your site, and it didn’t bring me much of a tick in traffic either.
I’m going to have to rethink my strategy for any future attempts.
I your scavenger hunt idea. It sounds fun and interesting…
I’m new here.. miss the contest and looking forward new contest from you mike..