Running an online contest can be a breeze, especially when compared to its direct mail cousin. Not only are they quicker and easier for consumers to complete, they have the ability to go viral resulting in a far greater breadth of data collection and are an excellent customer acquisition tool.

But boring contests, with boring prizes aren’t going to cut the mustard. They won’t inspire people to enter. They aren’t going to be passed on to others. They won’t create a buzz online.

So, how do you make your online contest click with consumers?

1. Don’t skimp on prizes. It sounds rather obvious, but the more a consumer stands to win, the more likely they are to put effort into entering a contest. Not only that, they will be willing to exchange more personal data for their dream prize. It seems anyone can win an iPod or a laptop from just about anywhere these days, so differentiate your prizes to stand out from the crowd. For example, Elance’s recent contest offers to pay the winning freelancer a year of healthcare insurance to the value of $10,000. 

2. Promise fame, or a crack at it. Bear in mind that some consumers put a high value on personal publicity and to have their winning video, photograph or talent broadcast either online or offline can be every bit as enticing as many thousands of dollars or a flash laptop. Ourstage.com runs contests with prizes such as the chance to play a set on tour with other artists or studio time with a recognized producer.
   
3. Include celebrity. Depending on your target audience, a celebrity can push an online contest in to the spotlight. Whether the celebrity is related to the prize (‘win a day with’) or is judging the contest, the association can drive online buzz.

4. Build online buzz. Even a great contest with an amazing prize won’t travel far unless consumers get to hear about it. Use social networking sites, micro-blogging platforms, forums and even blogs to get the word out. Include “send-to-a-friend” or “share” links within the contest framework to make it easy for entrants to pass the contest on to others.

1. Keep entry quick and easy. While the temptation is to get as much data back from the contest entrant as possible, endless profile questions can turn consumers off, as do tasks or questions that are too hard or time consuming to complete. Ensure that the ability to enter is as accessible to your target audience as possible, and keep data collection questions to a minimum. This is particularly relevant for contests targeted at mobile Internet users.

And finally, one aspect of online contests that should not be overlooked, but often is - the announcement of the winner. This in itself is a valuable marketing activity that drives awareness long after a contest has closed, particularly when a great prize or a well-known celebrity is involved.

On Tuesday, dozens of engineers, developers, and designers were begging for money. Of course, it was a very sophisticated kind of begging—the kind of begging that only engineers, developers, and designers are entitled to do: seek funding for building revenue-generating Facebook applications.

The source is known as “fbFund,” and it’s over $10 million deep. Its Facebook description calls it a “10M seed fund supporting developers and entrepreneurs on Facebook.” In addition to providing the monetary backing, fbFund provides mentoring and marketing for companies who think that they can cash in on Facebook and acquire revenue for themselves, revenue for the investors, and revenue for Facebook.

The fund is a partnership between Facebook and Accel, a high-profile silicon valley investment firm, along with Founders Fund, an investment firm that is also deeply invested in the social networking site.

This week, the companies delivered their sharpest appeals in the hope to be awarded the cash that will help them launch their ideas into the “Facebook-o-sphere.” It’s no easy task. As one news report observed, “finalists in the annual program, the startups have spent the past 12 weeks camped out in an old Facebook building in downtown Palo Alto, building their products, scribbling ideas on whiteboards and refining their pitches.”

The startups lucky enough to get money are the startups which have a good idea that will eventually turn into revenue. Good examples of this are sites like Thread.com, a service that claims to match up potential mates by allowing you to find friends of your friends who could turn out to be that special someone. Nutshellmail is another potentially lucrative idea that empowers you to “take control of your social networks,” by putting all those social networks into an easy-email format rather than having to ply through the networks themselves all day long. FriendRadio tries to amp up Facebook’s music tab by adding a browser plugin, integrated with Facebook that lets you listen to your friend’s favorite music, not just look at it. Samasource is a humanitarian site which gives you access to outsource your tasks to underprivileged but educated people that live internationally.

Obviously there are more appeals and ideas, much more. The ideas cover everything from viral marketing services to errand-running services. There is no end to the options, but there is an end to the money. As the companies get cash and get going, you may soon be invited to become a fan or join a group.