Well it’s the end of another week and that means that it is time to give some Entrecard credits to one lucky email subscriber. This is the 4th week of this contest and it’s also the last. I will have given away 4,000 Entrecard credits in November (which kind of makes my first blog contest seem pretty small) but I’m going to be giving away a lot more than that in the DotComDud Thanksgiving Contest, which still has a couple of weeks left to go. That contest will end on December 10th but right now it’s time to announce today’s winner so…

The winner this week is…

Momma Wannabe

Momma Wannabe is a blog all about the journey towards motherhood, as always be sure to check the blog out and see what you think. Unfortunately due the transaction limits set by Entrecard, I have to wait until Tuesday to transfer the credits but don’t worry, I’ll make sure they are sent as soon as I can.

I’ve been considering continuing this weekly giveaway, as it has certainly achieved some good results. However, with the DotComDud Thanksgiving Contest still running, where you can win several thousand Entrecard credits plus cash and other prizes, I think that will be enough to give away for now. Once the DotComDud Thanksgiving Contest is over, I might start giving away Entrecard credits again regularly. Although I have a couple of new contest ideas as well that should be a little different from the standard blog contests you see around the net.

Blogging Idol Update #4

This will most likely be the last Blogging Idol update, at least until Blogging Idol #3 is launched. I’ll do a Blogging Idol Wrap-Up post next week though to analyse how the whole thing went. As for this week, well it has only been a few days since my last Blogging Idol update but the good news is that DotComDud.com broke the 100 subscribers barrier!

I was very pleased to see my blog reach this milestone, now I just need to make sure the numbers stay in the triple digits and keep on increasing. It will be interesting to see if the next 100 subscribers come quicker and easier than the first 100 did.

I am currently sitting at #25 on the Blogging Idol Scoreboard and with today being the last day of the contest, I don’t see my position changing much overnight. It’s not quite #1 but it’s still a respectable result. Once again, I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who has subscribed to DotComDud.com and I hope you enjoy reading what this blog has to offer!

I know this post is a bit behind schedule but I have been waiting to hear back from the winner of the 1,000 Entrecard credits with their details so I could announce them. I’ve now sent them the credits, so without further delay, here is the announcement.

The winner this week is…

Net Bucks blog

Net Bucks is a fairly new blog where you’ll find some other great contests they have posted about, so check out the Net Bucks blog and support them if you like what you see. Remember, there is still another chance to win at the end of this week, so remember to subscribe if you haven’t already.

Blogging Idol Update #3

Things have been going well as far as DotComDud.com gaining subscribers goes. In fact as of today, my FeedBurner count is sitting at 96, so that’s just 4 subscribers away from 100! So if you haven’t already subscribed, help me out so I can reach triple digits. I’ve added the FeedBurner count widget to the subscription area in the sidebar, so everyone can see how things are going from day to day.

I am currently in position #34 on the Blogging Idol Scoreboard, although it hasn’t updated in a few days (even though it’s a “live” scoreboard) so that will probably change again soon.

The open voting has started on Blogging Idol but I realise that at this point I probably will not win. Unfortunately I didn’t get all my plans together in time to send my strategies in, which is what most of the voting will be based off (I would think). I’m fine with that though as the whole experience of Blogging Idol has obviously had a positive effect on DotComDud.com with subscribers already tripling over the past 3 weeks.

I still plan on doing a few new things that were originally going to be part of my Blogging Idol strategy, so the competition has definitely given me inspiration to push DotComDud.com forward and I still plan on gaining as many subscribers before December as possible. I wish I had of found out about the contest earlier, so I could prepare my plans for it better but I’ll just have to remember to keep an eye out for Blogging Idol #3 instead.

New Contest Sponsor

I was also contacted by another site wishing to sponsor the DotComDud Thanksgiving Contest so I’ve updated the contest post. The new sponsor and prizes are;

1 month 125×125 ad @ Anything Goes

If you’d like to become a sponsor of the contest and get some exposure on DotComDud.com just contact me and let me know.

I’ve been talking about it a lot lately and finally here it is! The next big contest on DotComDud.com is now open for entry. This time there are cash and prizes up for grabs, so enter quick for your chance to win! I’ve called this contest the DotComDud Thanksgiving Contest as it’s that time of the year (in the US) and this contest is also my way of giving thanks to all of my readers.

What?

Here is a list of the prizes being given away and who they were provided by…

Cash

3 x $25 from DotComDud.com

Blog Design Package

A free template from buytemplates.net

A free icon set from IconGalore.com

A logo from LogoAngel

Ad Space Package

1 month 125×125 ad @ Better Interpersonal Communication

1 month 125×125 ad @ Free Famous Quotes

1 month 125×125 ad @ Gift Reviews

1 month 125×125 ad @ Anything Goes

1 month 125×125 ad @ DotComDud.com

Entrecard Credits Package

1,000 credits from Idiot Box

1,000 credits from Random Detoxification

1,000 credits from DotComDud.com

Thanks to all the sponsors of this contest. If you are a DotComDud.com reader then make sure to check them out, as they are supporting the site and helping me give more back to my readers, so help me support them too!

Which?

The prizes are split into 3 packs. If you win, you will get $25 cash and a choice of one of the prize packages! First place will naturally get first choice, then second place can pick from the remaining packs (as well as getting $25) and finally third place will get the remaining prize pack and $25.

Note: To receive the cash, you will need a PayPal account.

When?

The contest is open for entries right now and entries close on the 10th 24th of December, 2008! The winners will be announced the next day.

How?

Entry into the contest is easy. To be eligible to win, you must subscribe to DotComDud.com via email. This will autoamtically get you an entry into the contest. Just click on this link or use the form at the bottom of this post to subscribe! All existing email subscribers are automatically entered as well.

It’s as simple as that, no blogging or links are required but if you would like to make a post about the contest on your own blog, go for it! Good luck to everyone who enters!

It’s that time of the week again, time to draw one lucky reader’s name out of the virtual hat (thanks to random.org) and give away 1,000 Entrecard credits. Last week’s winner was Wiehanne from simplywp.net! Who’ll get the credits this time?

The winner of the 1,000 EC this week is…

chethStudios.blogspot.com

Congratulations! I’ve sent the credits to you on Entrecard, I hope you enjoy them!

For everyone else, remember there are still 2 more weeks to win as well as a few other surprises worth sticking around for!

Blogging Idol Update #2

As I will be doing every Friday, I’ll give you all a quick update on how I am going with Blogging Idol. Things have improved this week and I am now at #30 on the list. If you take a look at the scoreboard, you will see that I have gone from 27 subscribers to 57, giving me an increase of 30. That means I have doubled my subscribers in 2 weeks, so I’m quite happy with that but can still do better. My numbers are increasing almost every day and with the competition not even at it’s half-way point, there is still plenty of time to climb up the leader board.

The open voting starts next week, so it will be interesting to see how that goes. The voting makes up the majority of the points in Blogging Idol, so if I want to stand any chance of winning, I’ll have to make my strategies stand out from the crowd! I still haven’t rolled-out all of my strategies yet, so hopefully I can get things moving real quick so I don’t miss out on any votes. I think it would have made more sense to have the voting at the end of the contest but rules are rules and I don’t see them being changed at this point.

Thanks again to everyone who has subscribed and for those who haven’t then there is no time like the present!

It has been a bit quiet on DotComDud.com so far this week but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been going on behind the scenes. I’m still working on Blogging Idol and have already hit a small milestone which I will write about at the end of this post. More importantly though is that I have been getting ready for my next big blog contest. I’ve mentioned this upcoming contest a few times recently and I had planned on announcing it by now but promoting for Blogging Idol has taken up more time than I thought it would. That being said, I now plan on announcing the contest early next week and it will be my top priority!

I’ve already found some sponsors for the contest who will be providing the lucky winners with some great prizes! I will also be rounding up a few more sponsors before the contest is announced so you can expect plenty of stuff to win this time around! I thought it would only be fair to see if any readers were interested in stepping up and sponsoring the contest also. As a sponsor, you will get plenty of publicity right here on DotComDud.com as I post updates throughout the contest. I’ll be promoting the contest sponsors every chance I get.

If you are interested in sponsoring the next DotComDud.com contest, please contact me to discuss it further.

In regards to the kind of sponsorship that can be offered, I am open to all prize suggestions. Some great prizes that could be put up are advertising space for the contest winners or maybe some blogging services (cash is always good too :D).

In Other News…

I mentioned at the start of this post that DotComDud.com has reached a small milestone. Just recently (two days ago) I reached 50 subscribers! I’m pretty pleased with reaching that point and I think I can hit 100 before the month is over if I keep up the promotion! Thanks to everyone who has subscribed and for reading and supporting DotComDud.com as it has grown, I really appreciate it.

Also, don’t forget that I will be announcing the week 2 winner of the 1,000 Entrecard credits tomorrow, so if you haven’t already entered, now is the time to do it!

It’s the first Friday in November and that means it is time to give away 1,000 Entrecard credits to one of my subscribers! Just in case you missed it, you can read about the contest here. So without further delay, the winner is…

Wiehanne from simplywp.net!

The 1,000 EC have been transferred and should have appeared in your account by the time you read this post. Congratulations SimplyWP.net! Don’t forget to take a look at the SimplyWP blog where you’ll find free WordPress themes and tips on getting the most out of your blog. They are also running a pretty awesome contest too, so check it out, I’ve already entered!

Remember, I am giving away 1,000 Entrecard credits every single week this month, so keep reading as you could be the next winner! Also, don’t forget to confirm your email subscription if you haven’t already, to be in the running for next week’s draw. If you never received a confirmation email, try checking your junk mail folder.

How did I pick the winner? I thought I would answer this question for anyone else running a contest who is confused about how to randomly pick a winner. I use the list randomiser at random.org which randomly sorted the list of DotComDud.com email subscribers (from FeedBurner) and numbered them accordingly. If you are running a contest and need to pick a winner at random, I suggest checking out Random.org.

Blogging Idol Update

I’d also like to include a quick update on my performance so far in Blogging Idol #2. I am currently in equal 32nd position after gaining 11 subscribers within the first week. That’s not bad but I can do a lot better. So far I haven’t done a whole lot to increase subscribers (apart from this give away) but in the following weeks I am going to expand and diversify my strategies, so at the very least I can reach my goals for RSS subscribers I have set for November.

Thanks to everyone who has subscribed so far, I really appreciate it. Good luck to everyone who didn’t win this week, you have plenty more chances to win here on DotComDud.com during November!

Just like the title says, DotComDud.com is going to give away 1,000 Entrecard credits every week during November to some lucky readers! All you have to do to be in the weekly draw is be an email subscriber, simple as that. No tickets, no blogging or back-links involved, just subscribe and you’re in. Signing up is as easy as entering your email address in the form below and hitting Subscribe!

Now, I know I have given away EC before in the first major DotComDud.com Blog Contest, where the total prize pool was 1,000 EC split up between the winners. This time around it’s 1,000 EC for 1 winner, once a week! Don’t think this is my next big contest though as I’ll soon be announcing an even bigger contest that is going to run during November. So even if you don’t win the 1,000 EC, being an email subscriber will put you in the draw for the much bigger prizes I’ll be posting about soon!

This is all part of my efforts to win the Blogging Idol contest! It is the first of many methods I will be using during November to give value back to my readers for subscribing to my blog. I’m going to leverage everything I can to succeed in Blogging Idol and what I have is lots of Entrecard credits, so it’s time to give them away!

I’m going to announce the lucky recipients of the 1,000 EC every Friday, including this week. That means there is only 2 days until the first winner is drawn (at random) so don’t delay, subscribe today!

Now I don’t usually plug contests like this but these two are too good not to share and I’ve recently gotten some link love from both of these blogs and this is my way of saying thanks to them!

The first contest comes from the Mr. Javo blog and has over $2,000 worth of prizes. There are 10 different prize packs being given away, so even if you don’t get 1st prize you are still in with a pretty good chance! Prizes include free advertising on different blogs, eBooks, consulting and even custom made WordPress themes. The first 5 winners all get a copy of OIOpublisher too, which is what really grabbed my attention. Anyway, I’ve already signed up and you can too, just check out the announcement post.

The second contest is being ran at the Work From Home Business Blog (who actually won 3rd prize in the DotComDud 1K Giveaway) and is the blog’s first ever contest! Prizes include some free advertising packages as well as free Entrecard credits, you can read up about the contest (and enter) from this post.

Fingers crossed everyone, good luck!

During my time away from blogging, I actually won two different blog contests I had entered! So I thought I should make a quick post to say thanks to the blogs for running the contests and give them some link love back in return.

The first contest I won was on the Work From Home Business Blog, you can see the announcement here. I was winner #5 and I won a month of free advertising on GT Bulmer’s Web Bizz Blog for a 125 x 125 ad spot!

My winning ad in action!

The second contest was on Experimental Blogging where I won 1st prize of 1,000 Entrecard credits!

It just goes to show you, entering blog contests is well worth it and I’ll be sure to enter plenty more in the future. Extra entrecard credits and free advertising are both awesome, that’s why I made them my prizes in the very first DotComDud blog contest and you can expect another great contest from DotComDud very soon!

The very first blog contest on DotComDud.com is officially over and it’s time to announce the winners of the 1K giveaway. Just to recap the prizes…

1st prize - 300 Entrecard credits! Plus 30 days FREE advertising on DotComDud.com with a 125 x 125 on the right sidebar!

2nd prize - 250 Entrecard credits!

3rd, 4th & 5th - 150 Entrecard credits each!

Now on to the big announcement, the first place prize goes to:

1st Place - Webby Contest

2nd Place - Cah Kontes

3rd Place - Work At Home Ideas

4th Place - Sukosaki.info

5th Place - Shawal

Congratulations to all the winners. For everyone who else who entered, don’t worry as you will have plenty of chances to win from DotComDud.com in the future as I hold bigger contests with better prizes. Everyone who is subscribed to my blog (via email) will be automatically entered into all future contests.

P.S. Sorry for the delay, I have been unwell and unable to finalise the contest until now.