Hints and Tips for Contest Newbies.

The new contest is quickly approaching so I thought I'd better get with the program and dust off my list of hints and tips for successful ProgressiveU blogging. Most of those were discussed in Secrets Pt 1 and Secrets Pt 2 during the last contest, so I will just direct you in that general area for those instead of going over all of them again. (Though it should be noted that the rating system has changed, so you no longer receive points for rating once the new system takes effect at the beginning of the contest period, so you can ignore that advice).

But, there are a few things that should be added to the list...

1) We do check to make sure blogs are original and we do remove those that aren't. It would be in your best interest to not copy and paste from a news source, from a chain letter, or from any other source and call it a blog. It doesn't count. A member or a moderator will come across it and will flag it for removal and disqualification.

2) The recent post list is not your territory alone. Please don't abuse it and post 400 blogs in a row. People will hate you for it. We even had one blogger last contest that claimed that the ProgressiveU community was discriminating against her because they refused to read her posts when she had 10 in a row on the recent post list. Believe me... we aren't saying it for the hell of it. We say it because it's true.

3) Be prepared to defend your position. When you post to ProgressiveU, it will be read and people will respond when they feel so inclined. Getting upset because they don't agree, getting angry because they gave evidence or research to the contrary is relatively pointless. That's what discussion and debate are all about. Name calling and things of that ilk are another story and should be brought to our attention. We'll take care of that, but we won't remove a comment simply because they disagree with you or you don't like them so don't try.

4) Posting a reply to every single comment (including your own comments) on a blog will make people hate you. In truth, it will make people want to strangle you and run you over with a bus (I believe that was the general consensus when it happened last contest). Comments should have a point. At the end of each contest the moderators go through every comment and blog from the top 5 and disqualify those that do not adhere to the Terms of Service, the Official Rules or any other ProgressiveU policy (FAQs, Editorial Policy).

5) Posting blogs about how much ProgressiveU sucks, how unfair the contest is, how much you hate us, hate someone else, etc doesn't count. We've probably heard it all before. Give us constructive criticism and solutions or something totally new to roll with. We appreciate those. We can't do much for you if you only want to tell us that you hate us and wish we would die a slow and horrible death. We'll just point and laugh and move on to something else.

6) Bonus point opportunities are to your advantage. Use them. They can and do make a difference.

7) Use your buddylist. It's a huge help in finding people that you enjoy reading and people that enjoy reading your posts. Take the time to get to know ProgressiveU members and form friendships... they go a long way and can be phenomenal both for contest purposes and otherwise.

8) Remember that while it is a contest, you should play fair because how well you do depends to a real extent on how well others like you. Cheaters don't win. People that alienate everyone else don't win. The overwhelming majority of contest winners are those that ProgressiveU members have come to know in some way. They help those people win because they enjoy discussing with those people, enjoy reading what those people have to say and in most instances, have come to respect those people.

9) Moderators and members alike give you advice for your benefit. You can take it or you can leave it, but please be aware that we speak from experience and are merely trying to help you.

10) As always, spelling and grammar checks are your friends. So is proper English. A few mistakes here and there won't end it for you, but continually posting entries riddled with mistakes will do you no favors. People will simply stop reading.

11) Read through past entries, the front page and those in the highest rated list to get an idea of what members are looking for style wise. We want a diversity of topics and opinions and we like them to be well written and engaging.

I probably forgot something, but I'm sure someone will chime in with that.

And since the question always comes up, no I did not win the contest. I became a moderator halfway through the Spring 2007 contest, thus giving up my chances of winning any future BfP contest from that point onward. I've been here for nearly two years and have been moderating here since April of 2007. I won the A-Team scholarship (moderator scholarship) in 2007. And despite being ineligible for the Blogging for Progress scholarship last term, I made it to the Top 10 point wise on reads alone. So, I'm not just making this advice up in order to make your life more difficult or because I have nothing better to do.

And now... 6 days until the starting bell sounds. Good luck!