How to get votes for your site in the SayLive Prize
Nobody votes for a site they have not been told about. Who to ask, what to say, and the two rules that keep your votes valid.
On this page
TL;DR
Votes come from people you tell. From the day voting opens, share your candidate page with the people who already know your work: clients, colleagues, your newsletter, your own site. Talk about the site, not the contest. Two reminders, not ten. Every voter needs a SayLive account and gets three votes. Bought or automated votes are cancelled and can cost you the entry.
Where the votes come from
The field is public and sorted by votes from the day voting opens, and the count on your tile moves in real time. That is designed so that a candidate whose audience sees them climb brings more of it. Which means the votes do not come from the contest page: they come from the people you tell.
Your dashboard, under My contests, has your candidate page address and a set of texts to share. Rewrite them in your own words: they will work better than ours.
Who to ask
- The people the site is for: your clients, your patients, your regulars. They know your work, and a vote is a small way to say so.
- Your professional circle: colleagues, suppliers, the people you refer work to.
- Whoever already reads you: a newsletter, a social account, a community you are part of.
- Your own site: a line on it, for the visitors who come anyway.
Each voter needs a SayLive account, which takes an email and a click. Say so up front: a link that asks for a sign-up without warning loses half the people it reaches.
What to say
Talk about the site, not about the contest. "I built this with an assistant, in a conversation, and it is online: what do you think?" gets a look, and a look gets a vote. "Please vote for me in a contest" gets a sigh.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| Vote for my site in the SayLive Prize! | My new site is up. It took an afternoon and a conversation. If you like it, there is a vote button. |
| I need your votes to win 1,000 EUR | A site I made is in a public vote for the next 30 days. Two minutes, if you have them. |
| Share this with everyone you know | If you know someone who would like it, send it on. |
How often
- The day voting opens: one message to everyone, with the address.
- Halfway through: one reminder, to the people who did not answer, with something new to say: your position, a comment you received, a detail of the site.
- The last week: one final message, with the closing date.
Three messages over a month. More than that and the people who were going to vote have voted, and the others start to mind.
What gets a vote cancelled
- Votes that were bought, traded or automated
- Votes cast from accounts made for the occasion
- Anything that turns a vote into something other than a person choosing a site
A cancelled vote is removed from the count; an entry that benefited from it may be disqualified. The podium is set by a person after reading the votes, and the rules say the count founds the ranking without being the verdict. A real audience is the only thing that holds.
Say this
Write three short messages I can send to the people who know my work, to ask them to look at my new site and vote for it in a public vote that runs for 30 days: one for the opening, one reminder halfway through, one for the last week. Talk about the site, not the contest. Mention that voting takes a free SayLive account. In my voice, no exclamation marks.
Frequently asked
Do my voters need a SayLive account?
Yes. Voting takes an account, three votes per account for the whole contest and one per site at most. It is what makes the count mean something, so say it in your message.
Can I ask people to vote before voting opens?
You can tell them about the site, but no vote can be cast before voting opens, and the field stays hidden until then. Send the vote link on the day it opens.
Can I see where I stand?
Yes. From the day voting opens, your dashboard says your current position in the field and your votes, and every tile on the contest page carries its count.
What happens if someone buys votes for me without my knowledge?
The votes are cancelled. Whether the entry is disqualified is decided by a person after reading the votes: tell us if you notice it, it is the best way to keep your entry.