I was looking at a contest today where they were looking for creative submissions in an effort to hold a contest of sort where at first it sounded like a neat idea. However, upon looking at it further it seemed like they asked everyone for a pretty low entry fee which kind of made me think that was the real intent of this operation. Essentially, it’s almost like paying into a lottery system.
While granted not all entry fee based contests are like that, surprisingly many of them are. Usually I notice these things tend to target people in a creative field more as to many it sounds like a great opportunity to get more exposure for one’s work or talent. This is one of those times though where you have to really make a decision rationally as opposed to emotionally. Example, researching everything about the company that you can find as well as the operators of the contest. Your wallet will thank you later.