How to Use Sweepstakes to Promote Your Blog
Conduct sweepstakes and contests to draw visitors to your blog. Providing your readers with the chance to share and promote your blog for entries into the sweepstakes increases the frequency of their readership, and they'll bring other readers to promote your blog as well. The Federal Trade Commission requires a statement of the reason and source of the item that you are giving away as a prize. A fun sweepstakes is a fun change of pace to promote your blog and attract more readers.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Select a prize for the sweepstakes. Decide if you want to give away gift cards, homemade items or some other promotional item sponsored by another company. If a company pays you to hold the sweepstakes, let your readers know that it is a paid sponsorship.
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2
Promote your sweepstakes using blog etiquette. Ask other bloggers to promote your contest and write about the sweepstakes using social media sites. Only promote your giveaway on message boards if such promotion is permitted. You don't want to spam a message board and get a bad reputation.
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3
Clarify the rules and expectations for the sweepstakes. Let readers know how to enter, how many times a reader can enter, and if you allow additional entries for promoting the contest.
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4
Track the entries you receive using either a spreadsheet or another type of list. This ensures duplicate entries are removed and keeps your contact information organized. Establish a begin and end date for the sweepstakes, and make sure to specify the exact times, including time zone.
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5
Select a winner, and promote the winner prominently. Hearing about someone winning often draws in new readers looking to win other sweepstakes.
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Tips & Warnings
Announce the winner on time. Failure to do so may lead to fellow bloggers writing about your sweepstakes' failure, or painting your sweepstakes as a scam.
Be honest and upfront about a sponsored sweepstakes. Not only does the FTC require it, but your honesty enhances your credibility.
