Writing for life

Glengarriff Lodge,

Glengarriff,

West Cork,

Ireland

A few weeks ago we spent a wonderful weekend at what has to be one of the most enchanting houses in the whole of West Cork, perhaps the entire country. Nestled on its own little island between a fork in the Glengarriff River, this thatched former hunting lodge of the Earl of Bantry is like something straight out of a childhood fantasy.

Set in three acres of beautifully tended gardens, surrounded by mature trees that blend seamlessly with nearby native woodland, the fairytale house sits gently in this idyllic rural landscape. As we drove over the little wooden bridge onto the island I had to pinch myself to make sure what I was seeing was real. This was Glengarriff Lodge… and it was absolutely breathtaking.

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Rated 5/5 on May 8 2008

Vote on Calvin’s reviews at LouderVoice

LouderVoice review tags: Accommodation, West Cork, Glengarriff Lodge, Self Catering, House

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At the Search Marketing World conference last week I picked up a scratch-card entry to a competition from a new Irish search engine company called Vazumo.com.

Apparently this local search engine will help me to find web sites, companies, goods and services in my local area. I haven’t had chance to play with it yet, but it certainly sounds interesting.

I didn’t win on the scratch card, but if you click on the link above or the one below to go have a look at the site for yourself I’ll be with a chance to win their monthly draw for a , so why not take a look, and while you’re there sign up yourself to be in with a chance to win.

It’s an obvious link bait strategy, but hey, last time I entered one of these things I won!

Just had a quick look, and the jury’s out. The results pages are a bit sparsely populated, and I’m not convinced by the user interface… but you decide for yourself.

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I can’t believe it… I won!

The Glengarrif Lodge competition that sparked all sorts of interest and debate amongst Irish bloggers about what does and doesn’t constitute legitimate SEO linkbait is over.

And I won!

I got a phone call late this afternoon from Alan Callender, who owns the lodge, to say that mine was the winning entry.

So the family and I are heading for Glengarrif on the 11th of April. It looks fantastic… I can’t wait!

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Wow! Just saw a post about this great competition on Tom Raferty’s Social Media blog (sorry Tom, but I don’t think your appeal for people not to enter is going to work).

This has to be one of the most compelling pieces of “link bait” I’ve seen in a while, and a great way to generate buzz in the local blogosphere. Who, within striking distance of this superb looking accommodation, wouldn’t want to enter this competition?

Glengarriff Lodge — a former hunting lodge of the Earls of Bantry

I’ll have to post this as an example on my Digital Marketing blog… which is woefully in need of more attention than it’s getting. Funny, but researching and writing the book it sits alongside (due for publication by Kogan Page later this year) seems to be taking up all of my time!

I wonder if posting the competition to another blog means I get two bites at the cherry?

All you have to do is link to their homepage using Luxury Self Catering as your anchor text, and, in the same post, link to the site of a friend who might also be interested in the competition.

For more information take a look at the Luxury Self Catering Weekend Give-Away Competition Page on the Glengarriff Lodge website.

Now all I have to do is think of a friend who’d be interested in the competition and link to their site. Now, let me see… friends with websites I can link to…. Hmm… that’s trickier than it should be… OK, how about Marc Holden over at Firehorse Imaging.

Good luck with the competition… as long as you don’t win, of course! I’ve decided that’s my prerogative.

Technorati Tags: luxury self catering,competition,digital marketing success,viral marketing,link bait

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