List of Blog Contests to enter

We don’t have daylight savings time in Arizona, so this time of year the sun rises officially around 5:17am. However, I wake up at the crack of light, in spite of my heavy blackout curtains. This morning I was up at 4:29am. Everyday I try to read and leave comments on at least ten other blogs before my kids wake up. There are several advantages of leaving comments and visiting other blogs, I understand.

1. I’m able to see what other people are doing on their blogs and can possibly incorporate new ideas into my blog
2. Most bloggers check their comments and often then visit my site.
3. I can begin to develop relationships with other bloggers and network.
4. Many blogs offer backlinks for those who leave comments (backlinks are good for Search Engine Optimization) .

Recently while visiting other blogs, I have discovered lots of people are offering contests to increase readership, and to obtain backlinks. Until this morning, I haven’t registered for any of the contests, because I keep hearing the voice in my head that says “you never win anything, they just want your information”. The truth is, I’m giving these sites my “information” anyway (my email address and website) when I leave a comment. Also, most contests I’ve entered in the past offer horrible chances of winning – like one in ten thousand or something crazy. My chances on most contests are the equivalent of winning the lottery. However, most of these blogs have few visitors (though probably more than mine!), i.e. increased chances I will win. In fact, several of them I’ve come across only have a handful of entries. Today I registered for the following contests:

1. Sweethacks - Giving away $1300 in prizes, all you have to do is comment on their site, subscribe to their RSS feed and/or write a blog post about them. Ends June 13

2. DesignPal.org - Giving away $350 in prizes. To enter, either subscribe to their RSS feed, enter a comment, or blog about them. Ends June 20.

3. freefrombroke.com - Giving away $100 Amazon gift card. To enter, either subscribe to their feed and email them the secret phrase, write a blog post about saving money and send them the link, or leave a comment on their site with a summer savings tip. Ends June 30.

4. - I need Alex -Just subscribe to his feed and enter a comment. Ends June 15.

5. - IMBlogger - Win cash. Subscribe to his feed and leave a comment. Also, "You shouldn’t cancel your subscription at least until the contest is over". This guy is hilarious. Ends June 15.

6 DNXpert - This one has almost $9000 in prizes. Subscribe to their feed. Optionally, blog about the contest. Receive more entries by listing all the prizes on your blog. Ends June 19.

7. Life is Colourful - This is an interesting website that talks about how to make money online. They offer almost $6000 in prizes to celebrate their anniversary. To enter, do any or all of the following: Comment on their blog post, favorite them in Technorati via pressing a button on their site, Review the site on Stumbleupon, blog about the contest, subscribe to their feed (required), be a top commentator on their site. Complete directions are on their site. Ends July 1.

8. Newtotv.com - offering a free ipod to comment on their site. Ends June 12.

9. John Chow and Market Leverage- offering a bag of goodies. Either leave a comment or write about the contest in your blog. Ends June 30

The reason I'm posting this on Winning Startups: There are lots of people who make winning contests their career. This is a new avenue for people wanting to make some money, without a lot of effort. Assuming you are lucky.