The more readers a blogger has, the better! Having many readers is important, not only to the blogger's ego but if you are a blogger that makes money through advertising or merchandising, having lots of readers would really be a big help. Visitors also help to boost both your Alexa and Google ranking.

There are lots of ways to market our blog, and of course, we at Pickaweb are always looking for innovative and creative ways to help you find the right audience. And here's a way that's both easy and a sure-fire formula for success: create a contest for your readers!

You can immediately appreciate how this can get you more visitors and build loyalty among your existing visitors:

* It's interactive,
* It's competitive, and, best of all,
* There's prizes!

But that's just the readers' side of this. For you, a contest can not only help you gather hundreds, even thousands of Twitter / Facebook /blog feed followers in a short period of time, but build loyalty and credibility among your readers too!

By using hashtags on Twitter like #contest and #prizes, you can also attract new visitors who are always looking to participate in interesting online contests.

So, what are the essential things needed to start a contest that will target the right kind of visitors? How can you maximize good publicity while minimizing any chances of negative fallout?

The following are some tips you'll find useful in this process:

1. Create a contest that's related to your product and/or your keywords. This will ensure that people can not only find you easily, but when they tell their friends about it through the use of social media and blogging, you'll get a ton of keyword-rich backlinks.
2. Be guided by the input and opinions of your existing visitors. People who have been reading your blog for a while know where its true value lies, and from their comments or feedback about your blog in general, you can figure out what kind of competitive interaction would be most interesting for them. Don't reach out for new visitors without taking care of those who are already loyal to you.
3. Choose prizes that fit into your budget easily. Choose prizes that would be interesting to your readers and are related to your website's subject and keywords. It's really not about how expensive they are; we all just love to compete, and win! So don't think that you need to offer an iPad or even an iPod to get people's attention. As long as it's something useful, fun and interesting for the market you are trying to attract, your visitors will be happy to give your contest a go. Keeping prices low will also mean that you can enjoy the contest, and maybe even have another one in the future, as per your convenience. A good prize can be anything from an eBook you wrote to a good gardening tool, or beyond.
4. Set down clear instructions and rules. Blogging contests can backfire when the instructions are unclear or people don't understand the rules of disqualification and judgment. From the beginning, make it certain that these are clearly stated.
5. Don't cheat - in selecting winners and giving prizes. The whole point of having a contest is to get more visitors and create a fun blog for them, so don't mar it and damage your credibility by manipulating or ignoring the rules you've clearly communicated to your readers.
6. Always remember that internet is not just local! This doesn't mean that you have to ship prizes to people across the world; you are free to make your contest as local as you like. But remember that people from all over the world can access your blog, so communicate clearly the restrictions on participating.
7. Don't ignore the losers! Make sure that people who don't win will still have fun in participating, and make sure to thank them for their participation - through e-mail or social media interaction. You can also use that opportunity to point them to other interesting areas or information on your blog, and invite them to communicate with you about their experience of the contest.

So... do you have a great idea for a contest yet? Do you know how you're going to use Twitter and other social media to popularize the contest and gain more visitors? Are you ready to make your blog popular?

Go for it, we say... and let us know how it turns out!