Friday, April 19, 2013

BOB and contests -


BOB complained not too long ago -

About a contest that she entered -

That struck BOB as a variation of “bait and switch” - ;))

BOB entered a contest to win a book -

And got a pin instead - ;))

How disappointing!

But BOB should probably explain -

That the complaint was directed more to the “publisher” -

Than it was to the “blogger/hostess” - ;))

That pin cost her over two bucks to mail it to me!

And the lady probably had to make a special trip to the post office -
To mail all of the "prizes" -
So I sure hope that the "publisher" made it worth her while -
To host the "contest" in the first place - ;))

It sure seems to me that the "publishers" are getting a lot of free publicity -
And free distribution of their product -
By conning bloggers into hosting these "contests" - ;))

I turned down a "please review our free e-book for us" recently -
Because I thought that it was just "hype" and free advertising -
And I think that this is basically the same thing - ;))

The e-book was free to anyone who provided them with an e-mail address -
And they already had MY email address -
What they didn't have -
Was the email addresses of all of my READERS - ;))

===

As a side note -

Just for fun -

I signed up for the free e-book -

That I was asked to review -

And then declined - ;))

In two months time -

I got 43 emails from the publisher -

Hyping one thing or another - ;))

That’s a LOT of junk mail in my inbox -

So -

If you sign up -

Be prepared - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))



6 comments:

Katie M. said...

I received the invite to 'review' the e-book also. I sent the email to 'junk'. I did go to the publishers site, lo and behold, I could download the e-book free from their site - go figure....

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Yes - it IS free to download - to anyone - but I think that by getting us to "review" it - they don't have to send emails to hundreds of other people. One "review" post on one blog is a much faster way of reaching potential "customers" than them trying to email each reader individually. They just want your readers' email addresses on their list - so by offering something "free" - and getting you to spread the word - they get it with little or no effort - but then again - it's probably just me - ;))

Julie Fukuda said...

There is something to being "old fashioned" and wanting to have books made of paper.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

I LOVE being "old fashioned" - and I LOVE the smell of books made of paper - ;))

TiramiSue said...

I thought I was 'special'and said I would be delighted to write a book review. Being that I am a little slack, I took my time getting to it. What's this, I realised I wasn't special;-0 because as I read the blogger list what did I see, reviews being posted all over. Now I am aware and in the bin will the next request go. Sue

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

I thought that I was "special", too - but then thought that there had to be a "catch". BOB is naturally skeptical and doesn't like being "used". The marketing geniuses who thought up the "contest" and "review" methods of free advertising don't realize that we are smarter than they think - and aren't falling for it. If anything - they are ticking us off - and BOB, for one, does not intend to buy their stuff - ;))

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