Business Blog Wire

The folks at BizNicheMedia have come up with an interesting little idea that has gotten a lot of attention in the blogosphere today.  Here’s their link bait contest idea, in their own words:

"The problem is, we want some exposure for our blogs/network. But we’re too lazy and uncreative to think of good link bait ideas. So we thought to ourselves, how can we outsource link baiting?  The answer, of course, is to hold a link baiting competition. So here’s the deal: whoever gives us the best link baiting idea … wins $500 USD. In. Cold. Hard. Cash."

The other $500 will come if the link bait idea garners significant success ("If the link bait makes it to the del.icio.us / popular page within 72 hours, we’ll give you another $500 USD").  Ingenious, eh?

First of all, I find the self-referential aspect of the post quite delicious.  They are indeed creative, or the idea wouldn’t have gotten such attention so fast.  Check out BizNicheMedia’s traffic spike (Sitemeter stats).  The link baiting competition is, itself, a tasty-looking link bait.  (I’ve bitten too, of course.)

Also, it’s a fun idea.  Simple, tempting, contagious … viral.  Think about ways you can use similarly creative ideas to spread the word about you and your business.

Now then - where do you draw the line between good and bad bait?  Does the answer only depend on the content that the baiting site provides, or is the issue more complex?

I think the BizNicheMedia linkbait idea is fine.  I just hope that the overall effect is good - I’m worried that we’ll start seeing more sites stooping to crass or vapid sensationalism (as opposed to BNM’s self-deferential, self-conscious move).  In other words - I like the initial idea, but I don’t want to see it followed by a parade of cheap imitations.  I think Jim Boykin would agree with me.  Matt Cutts, too.

Read Performancing’s "The Art of Linkbaiting" for seminal information on this topic.

My questions for you: Do standout posts make you subscribe to or bookmark a website?  What makes you decide whether to visit it again? I’m still trying to wrap my head around this issue.

P.S. I entered the contest, too.

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