Most people think winning online contests is a moonshot. I’m here to tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’ve won close to $75,000 worth of prizes across 10 different video contests over the past decade. Some of those prizes include:
- A Queen BeautyRest TruEnergy mattress and NuFlex adjustable foundation (ARV: $5000)
- A $5,000 Panasonic.com shopping spree (ARV: $5000)
- A complete car restoration by West Coast Customs (yep, the Pimp my Ride shop) (ARV: $50,000)
- 12-day trip to Los Angeles, all expenses paid
- Raleigh Revenio Carbon 3.0 ($3,000)
- Sony 46” Google TV
- 15 pounds of coffee
- Panasonic FH25 Lumix camera
- Kitchenaid Mixer
- $250 Visa gift card from Ultragrain video contest (Runner up)
- $3000 cash - Corning Optical USB cable (Rare bird) 2nd place
- $2,750 in Lowe’s gift cards (WD40 Repair not replace, 2024)
Here’s everything you need to know to maximize your chances of winning a competitive online video contest.
Determine the popularity of the sponsor
The first rule is the most important one. This will tell you how well the contest is promoted and the exposure it receives. I once won a contest that was sponsored by a company with just about 2,000 likes on facebook. Of those 2,000 folks, how many do you think would take time out of their schedule to enter a contest? Most people are intimidated by the belief that they can't win, so they never enter in the first place. Your competition does a lot of the hard work for you by thinning themselves out.
Most of the contests I enter have an entrance rate of about 2%. Let's be generous here and say that 5% of the fans enter (100 people).
Most of the contests I enter have a disqualification rate of about 20%. Now, of those 100 people, 80 remain.
Lastly, 75% of the submissions are of low quality, are confusing or don't otherwise fit the judging guidelines. You are now down to the best of 20 entries. How do those odds sound now?
Gauge your competition by genre
Is the genre one that would attract your most fierce competition? If it has anything to do with extreme sports, filmmaking, music videos, commercials etc., you will have a much tougher time winning than if the guidelines, promoter and prize were a little more obscure.
Judging VS Voting
I only enter contests where your entry is judged by a panel. Otherwise, you are simply in a popularity contest, and the task of recruiting votes is more cumbersome than creating an entry to begin with. People don't like to be inconvenienced, and they most certainly don't like giving away their email addresses for any old reason. Stick with the competitions that judge your entry, and be confident in the work that you create.
Effort and Time
What are the requirements? Is it a 10 minute documentary? A music video? Does it require motion, audio, editing and coloring? You need to gauge the amount of work that you would be required to create an entry and ultimately ask yourself if it is worth your time, knowing full well that you may not win the contest.
Competition and Prize
Rules and Deadlines
The first thing that I do before I even think about entering a contest is read the rules.
Is the deadline flexible?
The last thing that you want is a contest that goes on forever at the promoter's discretion. This will only allow for more time that your competitors can begin to get involved. Try to find contests that have a set deadline - the shorter, the better. If a contest only runs for 3-4 weeks, most people won't be able to prioritize the contest and your competition will thin itself out.
Never CHEAT!
Are you restricted to usage of certain assets?
What is there that will deter most people away from the contest?
Do you have a good story?
With all this said, most of the time, there does need to be some compatibility with your ability to tell a story that fits the prompt.
- finding contests
- knowing which ones to skip and which that are interesting
- how to filter through the rules to find the ones to enter