What-is-Blog-Candy

Written and Created by PaperCraftCentral Susan

When Lisa of Easy Party Ideas and Games asked What-is-Blog-Candy, I decided to find a good web page about it and let her know where that page was. It's right here!

"Anyone who uses the phrase
'easy as taking candy from a baby'
has never tried taking candy from a baby."

                             ~Unknown Author

So, What-is-Blog-Candy ?

My original plan to find a website with a good definition was doomed to failure. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find a web page about it! Not even one! So I wrote a definition myself instead.

I know plenty of people who are new to the papercraft world have wondered what this tasty sounding item is, so thank you for your question, Lisa.

Here's the definition, a la PaperCraftCentral Susan:

When people who have papercraft blogs want to hold a competition and/or give away prizes, they may offer a reward for the best competitor. The prize can be something like a chocolate bar, of course, (who could resist chocolate? And the connection to the term we are discussing is pretty obvious when the prize is chocolate!) but more often than not the prizes are paper craft goodies instead.

Sometimes people offer rewards for certain behaviours, such as asking for comments or referrals.

So if you participate in a competition to, say, design a card around a certain theme, and you win, you may be offered

• some stamped images
• some designer paper
• some paper flowers
• embellishments 
• a papercraft tool of some sort
• a stamp set
• inks
• markers
• bling
• a free pattern/design/class
• a special graphic to display on your own blog
  
• a surprise -  usually samples of new or retiring products or a handmade project from the blogger her/himself
  
• any combination of the above
  

Sounds like a sweet thing to me!

We papercrafters know that none of us can ever have enough yummy choices in our stashes so such treats are easy to share and hard for people to resist.They don't even have to be edible, though you could send coffee or chocolate, as this image below suggests.

Send a gift card with enough on it to buy coffee, or chocolate, instead of trying to send actual candy or coffee sachets through the mail, if that appeals to you more.

How Blog Candy Can Help Build your Business

If you are a blogger or web site builder who wants more traffic to come to your site, tell your readers What-is-Blog-Candy before offering it to them can be a way to spread the word about the fact that your site exists.People tend to share news about give-aways to their friends and it can cause a real stream of traffic to your site for a short time.

NOTE: To sustain that traffic is another question altogether that SBI might be able to help you with.

Each person who knows of your site usually knows other crafters who may not have discovered you yet. Asking for your current visitors to tell their crafting friends about you can win you more traffic and fans of your own.

Offering prizes is a great way to showcase your new products as well, which can lead to more orders for you. Even showing your followers what the prize looks like (either before or after you draw the winner) can stimulate interest in the products you are giving away. 

Giving away a graphic that includes your own web address to display on another person's site can help drive traffic back to your own site for a long time.

So yes, offering incentives can be a form of advertising, but it also helps you build a relationship with your followers. It can warm your heart to give something to others too. I love this proverb for that reason:

"...It is more blessed to give than to receive".

Acts 20:35

The Rules

Of course, just like there being no official definition, there are no official rules about blog give-aways. The person offering the prize(s) chooses the winner and what that prize will be along with the stipulations for how it is won.

When you do the draw for the winner, an idea might be to use something like this random number generator and film yourself drawing the person's name to publish on your blog that so people know you are being fair in choosing a random winner.Just assign each person who enters the draw a number, or you could even do something like drawing a name out of a box or hat.

Sometimes you will know what the prize is going to be from the start and at other times the person offering the prize will keep what it is a secret until the winner is announced.This can add to the mystery and intrigue of the blog candy so you might want to consider trying a draw without revealing what the prize will be, just to see how it works with your audience.

I hope this has helped you understand the question about What-is-Blog-Candy. It may even encourage you to offer some prizes and competitions of your own! It sure makes the paper crafting world an even more fun place to be.