Hosting giveaways is something of a staple for many in the blogging business. On the surface, it seems to be a good deal for all involved. The readers of the blog get the opportunity to win a prize, the blogger gets better engagement, and the brand benefits from being splashed on a popular blog. Everybody wins – right?
Perhaps, but perhaps not. If your blog is at the point where it’s enough of a success to be offered the chance to host a giveaway, then it might be worth making sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for.
Hosting Giveaways Is A Lot Of Work
There are two ways that giveaways work. The first is the most common:
The blogger is sent two products. One product is for them to use and review for the benefit of their readers. The other is to offer in a giveaway. The blogger is responsible for running the giveaway and will send the prize to the winner.
The second (and far less common) sees the blogger hosting the giveaway and then passing the winner details onto the brand, who despatch the product directly to the winner. The brand will often pay the blogger for hosting the giveaway.
The first option is far more likely. Why? Because it’s easier for the brand. They get plenty of exposure for minimal work – but someone is going to have to do that work. Who? The blogger.
So not only do you have to write about the product (preferably enthusiastically – why else would someone want to have it?), you then have to photograph it, organise the giveaway, usually run a Rafflecopter.com way of entering, and then mail the product to the winner.
So you have to be sure you have got the time to spare if you’re going to host a giveaway. Make it as easy on yourself as possible:
- Only accept giveaway offers on items you actually want for yourself
- If you have multiple winners, grab a label printer from dal.com.au to make the processing of the winning parcels go faster.
- Try and limit the number of entrants, if the brand will allow you to do so. They will often agree – as it makes the contest feel more exclusive – but always check with them beforehand.
Giveaways May Result In More Engagement
Generally, a giveaway is entered on receipt of a behaviour from the readers – usually by following the blogger and/or brand. By doing so, they are entered into the contest. This means that hosting giveaways can be a great way of boosting your follower numbers on social media.
However, there’s no guarantee those followers are going to stick around once the contest ends. To keep them, you’re going to need to keep hosting contests or up your game with content to make sure they keep coming back.
Too Many Giveaways
If you host too many giveaways, you can be in danger of your blog looking like nothing more than a contest site. Try and space them out, running a maximum of one per week so your non-interested readers still have a reason to visit your site.