I know that a lot of video contest filmmakers hate it when contests let online voting help determine the winners.  So do I.  I can’t even imagine how many contests I would have won if quality was the only thing that mattered to the judges.  But contest organizers LOVE online voting.  Every time a contestant asks for votes on facebook or twitter or on their blog, that’s free advertising for the sponsor.  And you can’t really blame contest organizers for wanting to get as much exposure for their company as possible.  After all, if it wasn’t for the publicity, most companies wouldn’t even bother running a contest in the first place.  So if you want to make money in video contests, you have just got to accept the fact that getting votes is just part of the game.  And once you do, you can start developing strategies to win vote-based competitions.

If you’re really serious about winning a contest, you’ll need to try and get votes from people outside of your social circle.   How do you do that?  Well I suggest you try the site GetOnlineVotes.com.  GOV is what contest junkies refer to as a “vote exchange.”  When a person needs votes in a contest they can post their link on GOV and ask for votes.  Then other people who need votes in other contests vote for that entry.  Then they post a comment that includes their own link and ask the original contestant to vote for them.  So basically, the whole thing is based on the premise, “you vote for me and I’ll vote for you.”

And it works.  It works great, actually.  I just learned abut the site recently but I’ve tried it 2 or 3 times now.  And if you really work the website, you can get dozens or even hundreds of votes from GOV.  But I’ve noticed a lot of people who use the exchange sabotage their chances by making some simple but key mistakes.  So I thought I’d make a quick list of tips to help you get more votes on GetOnlineVotes.com.

1. Before you post your vote request, make sure that swapping votes does not violate your contest’s rules.  Most contests don’t care where votes come from.  As long as they are getting web traffic or new sign ups or facebook fans, they’re happy.  But some contests prohibit offering “inducements” to get people to vote for an entry.  For example, I was recently in a contest sponsored by Excedrin and they had a “no inducements rule.”  Several contestants used GetOnlineVotes.com and all of them were disqualified!  So for sure, check before you post.

2. Keep it brief.  GOV gives you the option to say something about you or the contest you’re entering before you post your voting instructions.  You are required to fill in the space so keep it as brief as possible.  One sentence is all you need.  A huge explanation just makes it look like voting for you will be complicated.

3.  Make your instructions as easy as possible.  A wordy or confusing explanation will just scare voters away.  This seems like a no-brainer but a lot of people over-explain the voting process.  Just post the link, and present STEP 1, STEP 2, STEP 3, etc.  But be aware, if you really do have more than 2 or 3 steps, not many people are going to want to spend so much time on one vote.  The more votes people make, the more they get in return.  Just keep that in mind.

4. Promise that you will return all votes and ask people to leave their link.  This make other users feel like a vote for you will result in a guaranteed return vote.

5. Vote for everyone that leaves a comment on your post!  Some jerks will post their request, let people vote for them and then not return the favor.  So let people know that you are voting by replying to all comments.  If other users see that you are replying “I voted!” to every comment, they’ll know you’re good about returning votes.

6. Work the site.  Vote for other people and leave comments asking for return votes.  But try and focus on only voting for people who will actually vote for you in return.

7. Consider Re-Listing your Post after a few days.  GOV doesn’t allow you to post the same vote request over and over.  But for just $3.95 you can have your post put back at the top of the list of requests.

I was actually inspired to write this article because I just submitted a vote request to GetOnlineVotes.  So here’s what a nice, simple request looks like:

Granted, this isn’t exactly a typical GOV request because the “voting’ is done on youtube.  Most of the contests listed on the site are run through facebook.  Still, other GOV users are actually voting for my video.  All I need to do to win the $1,000 “Crowd Favorite” prize in this particular contest is get the most youtube likes.  And I think I can pull it off, fair and square.  I can get a lot of likes through youtube since I have more than 3,500 subscribers.  But GetOnlineVotes.com will probably be the thing that puts me over the top.  Of course, I’d certainly love to get some likes from you VCN readers.  So if you want to help me out, head here and give me a like.  Thanks!

October 24th Update: I won the “Crowd Favorite” prize! Thanks for the votes everybody. I told you GOV works!

 

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