Well, sometimes it’s best to use a little bit of sense when approaching a blogger with anything right? Â We all know bloggers always keep a running list of what to post on their blog. Â Well here is the latest scandal to come my way through the contest circuit.
I was checking my email when I received an email titled “Will You please do me a favor?” Â I didn’t recognized the name or email address so I started reading. Â The email started out like any other email when someone is wanting a vote in a contest. Â Essentially it is a “please vote for me” email.
Now I am absolutely okay with that, I know everyone emails friends, fellow blogging buddies asking to vote for them. Â We all do it, heck some even hold giveaways with extra entries as vote for me in such and such a contest. Â I am absolutely okay with that, what I think is a bit not okay to put it lightly is trying to “buy” my vote.
What am I talking about you ask?
Well I will share with you part of the email I received and see what your thoughts are on this situation. I have removed links to the sponsor, contest, and the site as not to send negative press their way. Â As well as the senders name, I am not going to blast them publicly by name, Â it’s not how I operate. Â But rather I want to share to get your views on this situation. Â Here is part of the email:
I realize this is a rather strange request, but could you please vote for me in the such and such contest? I can hear you thinking, “The such and such contest?! What is that crazy woman talking about now?â€
To make a long story a bit shorter, I entered a “name of the contest is here† thing. It’s all mostly just for fun, but hopefully it’ll get people more interested in reading my blog, too… at least, I guess I hope that. – LOL!
What’s at “stake� Well, the one with the most votes on November 29th will win…
a Tahitian Pearl Bracelet, worth approximately $1600 and sponsored by ———-!
If I win, I may “hawk†it and split the proceeds between us (if you  vote for me!  But, then, of course, you’d have to help me pay the income taxes on it!)
So please… go vote for me (and my blog) at the following website:
and the letter continues on with the link to the contest site, what place she is in, asking if I would vote for her, etc etc. Â Now as mentioned I am all for soliciting votes for yourself. Â When coming to me, a simple “Can you please vote for me” will suffice. Â When it turns into essentially a bribe (one that is no where near close to what I am worth anyways *snicker*) is not okay.
I personally would never be okay with paying someone for votes. Â Â So I have some questions for you and would love to know your thoughts:
Where do we draw the lines and is this something that I am just being a prude about?
Is this really not that wrong and I am just the prude who thinks it is?
Would you resort to offering to “pay” for lack of a better term someone to vote for you in a contest?
Am I totally being a jerk for posting about this? Â Okay don’t answer that one LOL.
But on a serious note I want to know your answers to the above questions and any other thoughts or experiences you have had with situations like this. Â What is okay and what is not?
Toni Patton
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Maybe she was joking?
No, this isnt right. You should ask for votes, if you want, but then leave it at that.
I won a photo contest a while back…$20. and i asked EVERYONE I knew to vote for me. Of course, I do have the cutest photo so it wasnt hard. LOL
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Getting through the first few weeks post partum =-.
I agree asking is totally okay with me, begging your readers etc.
Whoa. That is so over the line. I’m doing the same contest…for FUN! Honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to me to email peeps to ask for votes (I thought that was cheating). Beg on the blog, sure. Maybe I’ll rethink that?
Maybe she was joking? I’ll hope she was joking. Because, really?
I could keep going (I’m pretty riled up today), but I’ll stop.
.-= amber´s last blog ..Too Many Are Born Too Soon. =-.
I knew emailing was okay it’s done all the time emailing friends and family but the saying you were going to hock it and pay me is a little upsetting to me personally.
I hope she was joking too but it just got me curious so i posted LOL
Sounds like someone really desperate 🙁
I have entered one contest that entailed the most votes result I hate asking people for votes. I did send out some facebook message for people to visit my blog and vote but I hate bugging people.
I will NEVER do it again.
I think she would be joking right about the whole splitting thing with ya because how would one vote make a difference unless she is telling everyone the same thing. NOW that would be an interesting post LMAO….
I don’t find anything wrong with it just someone desperate.
.-= Grissell Barros´s last blog ..IF your planning on gettin it on in a car and your over the age of 25 DON’T Do it! Just Don’t! =-.
LOL I wondered how many people she told that too.
I wondered too if she was just joking but I dont know… just plain weird and no you are not a jerk for posting it.. LOL
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..Wordful/Wordless Wednesday~ New Moon!!! =-.
Whew glad to know I am not a jerk, I didn’t want to call her out publicly but it really got me curious as to what others thought of this or if i was reading too much into it. That’s why I didn’t mention her name and such
That’s sad. What pisses me off is that I am in that same contest! And it’s supposed to be for FUN! It’s SO INCREDIBALY SAD that some people just can’t have FUN. They have to pull shit like this!
Now, go ahead and vote for me instead 😉
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!
LOL If I hadn’t already voted for someone before I read your comment I just very well might have 🙂
I got an email today from a blogger requesting I vote for them for something else but she bluntly asked and didn’t offer anything in return other than to tell me what she would use the prize for and I’m okay with that. I voted for her and even e-mailed her a good luck. Point is if you want something from me ask me short and sweet, sure I spend time entering contests but that doesn’t mean I don’t also have a busy life.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Christmas Club Card Giveaway and More! =-.
Exactly that is what I am okay with too, email me, but essentially bribing me (when I can’t see that it is a joke) gave me a bad taste.
Hey There! So she was asking for you to vote for her via email? Hmm. Maybe she just really really wants to win. Hmm. When you started talking about it, I thought you were going to say it was SPAM and the link was bogus…:) Any-hoo Did you vote for her? Just curious.
.-= Cluttered Brain´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday…Hmm..ya think so? =-.
No not spam and I don’t mind the emailing asking for a vote it was the rest of the email about selling it that bothered me LOL. And no I did not vote for her LOL
Im curious as to how many people she promised to split the $$ with?!
Maybe she just had 1 to many glasses of wine before emailing…??
.-= Stephanie@The Blue Zoo´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
LOL STephanie! I wondered that too
It’s wrong and a little weird – maybe she was joking, maybe she was tired and didn’t think it thru.
Wish that the cutest kid or pet or website would actually win vs the ones that simply get the most voters to vote for them. Not sure that they should let promotion entries be given for votes either.
I know I too wish that on stuff like the cutest kids they would have judging. I just checked my email and she says she was joking but if I had showed the whole email it just came across different. However I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and take her word that she was joking.
Way over the line! In fact, I’m pretty sure it is illegal although she worded it may. While I wouldn’t myself ‘cuz that’s not how I roll (or as miss devii says, I’m not a rattle tattle tale I’ll let Karma bite her in the *ss), I know many would send it to the sponsor as they should probably be informed of potential cheating.
.-= Dddiva´s last blog ..Win a set of 4 O2xygen Balloon Wine Glasses by Lenox =-.
Yeah even if a joke it did not come across that way in the email so I was just really shocked. It very well could have been an honest mistake and a joke but reading the whole email it didn’t come across that way. Unfortunately that’s the sucky part of text LOL
My guess is she was just joking but who knows. The contest is meant to be fun and I am enjoying it.
.-= Gena´s last blog ..The Ultrasound Results! Winners Drawn as well! =-.
I am hoping so it just raised a questions b/c even if she is joking I bet there are people out there that do it. Integrity is missing in a lot of people’s dna unfortunately
If she doesn’t want the bracelet than she should not be asking for votes! I’m in this contest and this is just wrong, it makes me mad.
.-= Miss Blondie´s last blog ..Vitaminwater10 Review =-.
Well if it make you feel better you got my vote 🙂
I’m new to this whole contest thing…so maybe I am seeing things too naively, but that seems way, way over the line. Even if it WERE just a joke, it would rub me the wrong way.
The times I would be most likely to vote for someone, would be if they told about a contest…and then just asked that we VOTE…for ANYBODY (not them, in particular). To me, that seems the most fair…and gracious. THAT would make me want to vote for the person.
:o)
See that’s me, it just rubbed me the wrong way 🙂 I totally would have given her my vote if the hock it part had been left out that just turned me off a bit, joke or no joke
WTH?! Why is she even entering a contest for something she doesn’t want. Hawk it?! Get a life lady.
.-= Deborah´s last blog ..Welcome to FeedBurner =-.
No idea, maybe she really wants the title of winning.
I am in this same contest and I have to admit I had the same thoughts run through my head. “Hey, what if I split the money with someone?” But I wasn’t serious. I knew that would be just wrong to do.
I worked my butt off asking almost every single blogger I could. I facebooked like MAD. I tweeted a ton. I racked my brain for creative ideas I could do for votes.
I am sure she was just kidding, cause really how would she pull that off?
.-= Annie@MamaDweeb´s last blog ..Jell-O Dreams =-.
I dont’ think she could if she emailed a lot of people, even if she was joking I know there are some people who would resort to that. I think facebooking, tweeting, emailing just simply asking for a vote and even adding entries into a giveaway to vote for you are standard 🙂
I don’t think you were a jerk on not voting for her. I get emails all the time asking for votes, I don’t tend to vote because there are just too many that I would like to see win. So I stay neutral.
My 2 cents, it was rude of her to even think about splitting the money and have you help pay the taxes. I would stay clear of anything like that.
LOL the paying part of the taxes is what made me giggle, I was like okay bribe me right if you are going to do it LOL. totally kidding but it did make me laugh
There is an updated on this on a more recent post 🙂