Money contests: yay or nay?

Yes I agree, I didnt have a contest till AdminBB was already an active community. Having contests on a new forum can bring in more content and members, but its only until the contests lasts, and after that everything will be back to normal and your site will just be inactive again. Its a good way to jump start but it shouldnt be your main plan in trying to get your community active.

 

But, also sometimes members leave once they get the prize money - however, if you keep providing quality content, they will keep coming back. A little incentiving never hurt anybody, and plus, you can promote the contest across the web, and get more exposure; thus, possibly driving in new members. If I had a lot of money, I'd screw around and launch contests every month. Why? It drives in more content to your community, and if you have a lot of links, your content will be indexed fast, and thus, driving in the organic search results.

 

I'm of the opinion that offering cash prizes as a part of a contest winners package will just attract people who will not write quality posts to your forum and then leave the forum when your contest is over. :/

 

That's why you'll have a good moderation team, right? To kick the cheaters ( AKA low-quality, postcount padding posters ) where it hurts...
About the member leaving after the contest part, the prize is just to get 'em to register and actually check out the site.
You need to win 'em over with what the forum has to offer,

 

I actually tell those who make low-quality posts that they'll be removed from the contest.

 

It is really helpful if you know what you are doing and really are strict about the rules.

 

Haven't yet tried it but I would caution people to be very careful and know your local laws regarding contests involving money. There can be strict rules governing Lotteries and Contests with money as the prize. I don't think you'll have the FBI knocking at your door over a 100 buck contest but it always pays to stay within the limits of the law.

 

Only if you require members to donate money towards it, which I don't do.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/716341.html

 

I've used contests a few times for my own sites and it definitely helps. You get back links, other people blogging about you, more members and traffic. So it's totally worth the investment. Even if you don't have $100, start off small and it will still get you some decent results. After all who doesn't like free money? That's like hating cute kittens. lol

 

Have tried 2 such contests and they failed. Then I realized money is not what my members care about, they care about the community. So, instead of trying to add more incentives, I just added more content and made the forums look more professional. It did the trick. There's different communities, of course, so, if you see in yours such contests would work, then have them by all means. People will have fun and it will surely increase your community's stats.

 

We haven't done any money contests at my forum yet, but I'm thinking we might start one once I get some spare cash, and reward the players with money to their poker accounts.