How to Run a Successful Giveaway

 

Since blogging is my jam, I will share several tips and tricks for running a successful blog giveaway. Blog giveaways are an excellent way to get the word out about a product that you are promoting. Not only do they help you earn pageviews, they can help you expand your network. There are several ways to approach using giveaways to strengthen your blog—I will just share a few. 

Host Your Own Giveaway

This might seem intimidating if you have a small micro-blog but this is one of those slow and steady wins the race type situations. This is actually an excellent way to grow your blog. Even if you only gain twelve new email subscribers and thirty new X followers—it's more than you had before you started! Plus, if you plan a giveaway regularly, it means your following has the potential to steadily move up rather than slow down. Here are some tips for getting started:

–Host an Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash Giveaway

Product giveaways work too but if you are just getting started then these will give you more eyeballs on your giveaway. People love Amazon gift cards and PayPal cash so hosting one of these will certainly draw more people to your blog than if you did a niche book or product. 

–Utilize the Comments Feature on Your Blog

Encouraging entrants to comment on the giveaway blog post is an excellent way to help boost your blog. You can also have other entry options where entrants need to comment on another blog post on your blog. This helps you gain more views throughout your blog. You can even link to specific posts that you might be trying to get out there in the world. You can choose to use this option as a mandatory option or optional. If your goal is to gain traction on your blog and encourage engagement then I would make this mandatory. Another way bloggers encourage comments is to ONLY use the comments section rather than a widget. This is highly recommended if you are just getting started. It's quick, easy, and effective for gaining pageviews on your blog. 

–Use a Giveaway Widget

I am a fan of Rafflecopter. Even though there are paid options—I use the free version and it works great for me. I simply set up a template for how I want my giveaway to look and use this template each and every time I host a giveaway—usually at least one or two a month. Having this template saves me so much time and energy. They can be edited quickly and easily for each giveaway. I personally use giveaways to grow my newsletter subscriber base and social media channels. If you have goals for this year for your blog, keep them in mind as you utilize giveaways on your blog. In addition to Rafflecopter, you can try Gleam, Shortstack, or SweepWidget. 

I highly recommend only having a handful of entry options so you do not overwhelm those stopping by. I hope you have found this useful. Next week, I will share how to collaborate with other bloggers to help grow your audience even more!