Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Annual Contests, Why and How to Start the Process

Once a month I host a 5-round contest to decide the new Fashionista O' the month, and just for fun. Why? For one thing I love entering contests myself and as I started to enter more, I began to see things that I could do in a more organized way. As I continued to ponder this fact, I came up with the system which I wrote about in How To Start Your Own Avatar Contest, Part 1 and Part 2

Now, some people just hold random contests whenever they feel like it, but I prefer organization and consistency. So, I decided to have a monthly contest that would at the most have 15# contestants. As I  started my first Fashionista O' the month contest (Fashionista O' July, 2013), I realized that I needed to offer a prize to the winner. I also determined to come up with a title to give them, and after some thought I concluded that the winner would receive 1 month of likes and the title of Fashionista O' the month. 

At first I did an annual contest to see if I could improve the process I was seeing all-round me, but as I continued to host contests I started to do it just for the fun of trying to stump my contestants which sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't. I also noticed that my popularity, neighbor count and the number of messages left on my wall increased during my contests, to the point I have trouble keeping up. 

So, if your boutique seems a lonely place hosting a contest might help open up new doors and be a fun thing to do. To start, pick a specific time (if you are planning on doing monthly, pick a day, if you are going to do a yearly, pic a month, etc) and then a prize and title. Then I suggest at least reading if not emulating the instructions in the following posts:

How to Start Your Own Avatar Contest, Part 1 and Part 2

Round Themes, Part 1 and Part 2



Unlike when you enter a contest, to host one you do not haft to own a lot of clothes or be a certain level. Though I will say that having more clothes for my avatar is helpful, it is not required. In addition, you do not have to get it perfect the first time. I am on my 8th contest and I am still making changes to my operating system.

Though honestly, I just enjoy the fact that other people are having fun and possibly laughing at some of the things I come up with for keywords and round themes. To boot, I get to see some of the cutest outfits in the game as well as some of the silliest outfits on the face of the earth.  :)

I hope that this has help you see the importance and fun of hosting an annual contest and how it can impact your boutique's chance of survival. Please feel free to ask questions via comments. ~ Sky's Limit

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