Check out this contest over at MarketingPilgrim.

The gist of the contest is that MarketingPilgrim will be putting in “secret” RSS ads (which will only appear in the RSS feed) and people who see the ad can then email MarketingPilgrim to be entered into the contest. The prize will be a free iPod.

It’s genius on a few levels:

1. Maximizing Value of RSS Ads. No one is too sure how to monetize RSS feeds, but a few companies do offer advertising within RSS, including Text Link Ads through their Feedvertising service. What’s genius here is that MarketingPilgrim is drawing people’s attention to the ads. Every time you read one of their posts in your RSS Reader you’re going to look at the ad. Is it the contest ad yet? No? That’s OK, you’ve at least registered the existence of the ad and you might even click on it. MarketingPilgrim is maximizing the value of their RSS ads by literally forcing you to check them out.
2. RSS Subscribers Will Increase. There’s no question in my mind that they’ll see a nice jump in RSS subscribers. And if they’re smart enough to draw people’s attention to the ads in the first place, you can bet they’re smart enough to maximize value out of a higher subscriber base. Everyone wants more RSS readers; MarketingPilgrim’s found a great way of doing it.
3. Everyone Loves Contests. Contests are a great way of generating attention and they’re a ton of fun. Although there’s no genius in running a contest (since we already know they’re good), coming up with a great contest isn’t always so easy. A very smart move on MarketingPilgrim’s part is that they’re offering to increase the size/value of the prize depending on how many people subscribe to their RSS feed. Genius!
4. This Thing Will Go Viral. I’d bet MarketingPilgrim will get a lot of people talking about their genius contest for a free iPod. I’m doing it right now, giving MarketingPilgrim free promotion because I love the idea. That’s viral. The beauty of it is that all the links going to MarketingPilgrim’s site will not only increase the number of contest participants but will also increase long-term traffic to the site. More links = more popular blog.

Damn you MarketingPilgrim for coming up with a very smart, fun and viral contest idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe I’ll have to copycat them in some way…that’s the best form of flattery right?

Meanwhile, I want that free iPod! Go check out MarketingPilgrim’s free iPod contest and yes, subscribe to their feed…