How to conduct a giveaway

All bloggers worth their salt conduct giveaways and there are many resources available on net outlining how they should be conducted that we take it for granted. However they are many beginners out there who have basic doubts.  Recently a crafter contacted me through a facebook group with queries on ‘hosting a giveaway’. We had a nice chat which had led to this Post. I hope some of you would find it useful too

How to conduct a giveaway – 10 questions of a beginner answered

1. What is a giveaway? Why host giveaways? 

A giveaway is a promotion exercise where you give your reader/client/customer a free product or service. It generally comes under the category of sweepstakes. Giveaways give you an opportunity to ask you readers and clients questions to understand more about then and what they want. Interactions lead to friendships and blog buddies who will look out for you. Products /companies get more advertisements and new/potential buyers. Finally you create goodwill by providing value to your customers and readers.

2. What all can be given away?
Any item of value ( new and undamaged) or a service ( e.g. Free blog design)  can be given away. You can even do a stash buster GA of supplies but that doesnt mean you dump all the things that you dont want on someone else’s head. While picking a product – think about what you would like to receive

2.Do you need a blog to do a giveaway?  can we conduct giveaways on Facebook?
its easier to conduct giveaways on a blog or website of some sort. You cannot directly conduct giveaway on Facebook ( personal timeline) by asking people to “like” or “share” certain posts but we can use a third party app to conduct a Giveaway.  More details in FB rules here

3.  Are there different types of giveaways? 
Yes there is a self hosted one where the host ( blogger) sponsors the gifts,  sponsored giveaways where the blogger coordinates with a sponsor ( brand, company,  designer)  to give away a product decided by the company through the blog. Here the host responsibility is to conduct the giveaway, select the winner and pass on the details to the company who will directly ship the prize to the winner. Some bloggers aldo do a review-giveaway wherein the company sends them two sets of product- one for the blogger to use and review and other to giveaway to the winner. Here the blogger is responsible for shipping the prize but must inform the company about the winner . The last type is a group giveaway where a group of people pool their resources together to create a grand prize or a gift basket. A giveaway simultaneously runs on all the blogs with winners being picked out of the pool.

4.How to promote a giveaway so that more people participate and how long it should be run? 
Duration depends on the sponsor and the response. A week would be optimal giving old and new readers a chance to participate. But promote it (shamelessly) in your social media FB, twitter, google+ and newsletters. Use the @ and # symbol to get more attention and to be searchable. Use a great visual, Ask your readers to do shout outs of facebook and twitter – like or retweet them to show your gratitude. You can also link up the post to certain giveaway blogs and sites

5. Should it be local or international?
Again depends  on your product. You cant individually ship a sewing machine overseas but you can easily send fabric supplies or jewelry. Personally I like doing international giveways and if I have more than 2 products to give away I pick a local winner too.  Whatever you do, please do not charge the winner for shipping – its either free or not; nothing inbetween works!

6. Do you need rafflecopter to host giveaways?
No you dont, you can use the comment form in your blog and receive entries. rafflecopter is a widget that helps you keep track of multiple entries – e.g.like a page, follow on pintetest or Twitter, etc

7.Can I ask for email ids during giveaway?
Yes, you can, that is how you contat them if they win. Often bloggers have their mail ids visible on their blogs, if they are a no reply blogger or if their mail id isn’t visible to you in one click, they must leave their id in the comments

8. How do I pick a winner?
Most hosts randomly pick a winner – you list out all entries as consecutive number and then use a random number generator or ask a kid/spouse/pet to pick a number in that limit.

9. Do giveaways really bring people who are interested in buying your products?
Though that is the goal, a giveaway generally brings in more traffic, more followers to your site and advertises your product. It might or might not lead to actual conversions

10. What sort of etiquette should I follow while hosting a giveaway?  
– Mention whether the giveaway is local or international at the beginning of the post or at the title, so that readers don’t get frustrated later
– Be transparent and mention all details clearly – product, duration, method of picking a winner
– If you are working with a sponsor, be sure to direct traffic to their site and media pages, not just to yours
– State clearly whether or not following you is required to enter. Also mention if it a single entry or are optional entries allowed

So those were the 10 points we discussed regarding giveaway, please leave your tips, suggestions and recommendations in the comments.  

Hope you find it interesting
Cheers