Hey there! Are you ready to take your email list growth to the next level this year? I‘ve got two words for you: giveaway campaign.
Seriously, running a contest or giveaway is hands-down one of the most effective ways to get a ton of new subscribers on your list quickly. People absolutely love the chance to win cool prizes, and they‘re usually more than happy to hand over their email for the opportunity.
In fact, according to data from Kingsumo, the average email giveaway brings in over 3,500 new email subscribers. And some businesses have grown their lists by 150% or more with a single well-executed giveaway. That‘s a lot of new leads to market to!
Of course, not every giveaway is a smashing success. To get those kinds of massive results, you need to be strategic about structuring your contest for optimal email capture.
Don‘t worry though – I‘ve put together this ultimate guide to walk you step-by-step through how to run an email giveaway that will skyrocket your subscriber numbers. I‘ve included all the best practices, tools, examples, and tactical tips you need.
By the end of this post, you‘ll be ready to create your own high-converting giveaway campaign to flood your list with eager new leads. Let‘s get into it!
Why Giveaways Are So Powerful for Email List Building
Before we dive into the how-to, let‘s talk about why you should consider using giveaways to grow your email list in the first place. Here are a few key reasons:
People love free stuff. The chance to win a desirable prize is a huge motivator for people to hand over their email address. A giveaway provides a strong incentive to sign up.
Giveaways can bring in a high volume of subscribers quickly. Since entering is free and easy, a well-promoted giveaway can bring in hundreds or thousands of new email signups in a short period of time. It‘s a great way to build momentum.
You can attract high-quality leads. By selecting a prize that will appeal to your target customers, you can bring people onto your list who are likely to be interested in your products or content. These people will be more engaged and easier to convert down the line.
Giveaways are highly shareable. People get excited about giveaways and are often willing to share them with friends and followers. This helps expand your reach and bring in even more entries.
Email is extremely profitable. Email marketing has the highest ROI of any channel, generating $36 for every $1 spent on average. Building your list should be a top priority, and giveaways are one of the quickest ways to do it.
Plus, email subscribers are valuable because they‘ve given you permission to contact them directly in their inbox. You can build long-term relationships with them and have repeated opportunities to turn them into customers.
Convinced that giveaways are worth trying for list building? Great! Here‘s how to create a giveaway that will supercharge your subscriber numbers.
Step 1: Choose an Irresistible Prize
The prize is the centerpiece of your giveaway, so it‘s important to select something that will get your target audience excited to enter. In general, the higher-value and more relevant the prize is to your ideal customer, the more entries you‘ll get.
Here are some tips and examples for choosing an incredible giveaway prize:
Offer your own products/services. If you sell something your audience wants, put together a bundle of your bestsellers or a free upgraded service package. A fitness coach could give away a free 90-day coaching program, for example.
Give gift cards. A high-value gift card to your own shop, Amazon, or popular retailers is almost universally appealing. A $500 Visa gift card would attract a ton of entries.
Pick a trending gadget. Tap into people‘s desire to have the latest tech by giving away something like the newest iPhone, a virtual reality headset, noise-cancelling headphones, etc. A software company could give away a free laptop or other hardware that complements their product.
Provide a special experience. People love winning experiences that are memorable or prestigious. Think backstage passes, trips and vacations, spa treatments, dining at a famous restaurant, etc. An outdoor brand could partner with a resort to give away a dream backpacking trip.
Offer multiple prizes. Having multiple prizes or prize packs lets you showcase a range of items and also increases the perceived odds of winning. You could have one grand prize, plus several smaller runner-up prizes.
The key is to choose something that your specific audience will find exciting and relevant, but that will also appeal to a broad enough group to attract a high number of entries.
For example, a wedding photographer could give away a free engagement photo shoot package. This would attract a lot of people who are actively planning weddings, which is the perfect audience for their business. It‘s specific enough to bring in qualified leads but broad enough to get a lot of entries.
Step 2: Set Up Your Giveaway Campaign
Once you‘ve nailed down your prize(s), it‘s time to create your actual giveaway. This involves making a few key decisions:
Select start and end dates
Your entry period should be long enough to allow for plenty of entries but not so long that urgency is lost. Generally 2-4 weeks is a good range. You want the end date to feel soon enough that people are motivated to enter right away.
Outline entry criteria
The only thing entrants should have to do to be eligible to win is provide their email address. However, you can offer additional entry methods that give people the chance to earn extra entries. For example:
- Visit a specific webpage
- Follow you on social media
- Share the giveaway on social media
- Tag a friend in a post
- Answer a question or provide feedback
- Upload a photo or video
Just don‘t make these mandatory as that creates too much friction. The email signup should be the ONLY required step. Everything else is optional bonus entries.
Choose your winner selection method
Make it clear how the winner(s) will be chosen. Will it be a random draw from all entries? Judged based on some criteria? First entry drawn? Picking a transparent, fair selection method is important.
Write your terms and conditions
To protect your business legally, it‘s smart to include terms and conditions. This is where you outline key details like:
- Geographic restrictions on who can enter
- Start and end dates/times
- How the winner will be notified and when they must claim the prize
- Your right to disqualify incomplete or fraudulent entries
- A release of social media platforms from any responsibility
- Disclaimer that you will not sell or share entrants‘ personal info
If your prize is high-value, consider having your terms looked over by a lawyer.
Create your giveaway landing page
You need a place for people to learn about your giveaway and enter. Create a dedicated landing page that includes:
- A strong headline that makes the value of the prize clear
- High-quality images of the prize
- Simple bullet points outlining what the prize includes
- Clear explanation of how to enter and earn bonus entries
- Compelling call-to-action buttons
- Countdown timer to show urgency
- Terms and conditions
- Social share buttons
Keep the form short with as few fields as possible. Ideally just first name and email.
Optimize the page for mobile since many entries will likely come from social media. Make sure it looks great and has an easy-to-tap CTA button on mobile devices.
There are a number of Contest tools that make creating giveaway pages easy:
- Rafflecopter
- Gleam
- ShortStack
- Woobox
- SweepWidget
With these tools, you can create a professional-looking giveaway landing page in minutes without any coding. They also provide features like built-in entry forms, winner selection tools, social media integrations, and more.
Step 3: Promote Your Giveaway Everywhere
Creating your giveaway is only half the battle. To get a ton of entries, you need to aggressively promote your contest to the right people. Generally, the more you promote, the more entries you‘ll get.
A multi-channel promotion approach works best. Here are some key tactics:
Email your existing list
Don‘t forget to announce your giveaway to your current subscribers! Send them an email with a link to the entry page and encourage them to share it with friends. You can also remind them as the deadline approaches to create urgency.
Share an eye-catching image and compelling post about your giveaway on all your social media channels. Include a clear CTA to go enter. Post multiple times throughout the giveaway period.
Paid social ads let you reach new people who aren‘t following you yet but match your target audience. Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok all have good ad options depending on your audience.
The key is to dial in your targeting to reach the right people. Focus on people who match the interest and demographics of your ideal customer.
Collaborate with partners
Find complementary businesses, bloggers, or influencers who reach a similar audience as you. See if they‘ll promote your giveaway to their audiences. You could offer them free products, a shoutout on your channels, or even a share of the leads you generate.
Post in relevant online communities
Where does your target audience hang out online? Share a link to your giveaway in relevant Facebook groups, subreddits, forums, etc. Just make sure to follow any group rules about self-promotion.
Add an announcement bar to your site
Put a banner or notification bar at the top of your website announcing the giveaway. This makes every site visitor aware of it.
Submit to giveaway directories
There are websites and directories dedicated to listing giveaways. Some popular ones include:
- Giveaway Frenzy
- Contest Girl
- Giveaway Promote
- Sweepstakes Lovers
- Rewards Central
Submit your giveaway to these sites to reach people actively searching for contests to enter.
Embed the giveaway on your site
In addition to a dedicated landing page, consider embedding the entry form in multiple places on your website. You could add it to your homepage, blog sidebar, and other high-traffic pages to drive more entries.
The more places you promote your giveaway and the more targeted your reach, the more entries you‘re likely to get. Aim for a multichannel approach that reaches people at all stages of the funnel.
Step 4: Follow Up with Entrants After the Giveaway
Your giveaway doesn‘t end when you select a winner. In fact, one of the most important parts of your contest happens after the entry period closes: following up with your new subscribers.
Remember, the ultimate goal of your giveaway is not just to get email addresses but to turn entrants into engaged followers and customers. To do that, you need a post-giveaway email strategy.
First and foremost, you want to deliver on the expectations you set. If you promised bonus content or special offers to anyone who entered, make sure you send that out right away. Welcome new people to your list and thank them for entering.
Then, plan to put your new subscribers through an automated welcome series to introduce them to your brand. Share your best content, invite them to connect on other channels, and make it clear what kind of value they can expect from being on your email list.
It‘s also a good idea to segment giveaway entrants on your list. That way you can personalize your emails and offers to them as a cohort over time.
Above all, focus on serving your new subscribers well and building trust. While it‘s okay to make some offers, balance promotional content with a lot of value. The goal is to keep them engaged and turn them into raving fans.
Giveaway Success Stories
Need some inspiration? Here are a few case studies of businesses that generated amazing email list growth with giveaway campaigns:
- Death Wish Coffee used a giveaway to collect more than 10,000 new email addresses during the week of Black Friday.
- Envelopes.com ran a "Win Free Rent For a Year" sweepstakes that brought in over 47,000 email entries, resulting in a 225% increase in list size.
- Bikini Luxe generated over 2,400 email leads with a spring break giveaway that included bonus entries for sharing.
- Qzzr captured 12,000 new email subscribers with a March Madness contest centered around filling out a bracket.
- Vortex Optics grew its email list by over 90,000 with a giveaway that incentivized people to visit their booths at trade shows.
These examples show just how powerful a giveaway can be for email list growth when executed well. With a compelling prize, strategic promotion, and smart follow-up, you can see similar results for your own business.
Go Grow Your List with a Giveaway!
Whew, that was a lot of information! Let‘s recap the key takeaways:
- Choose a prize that will appeal specifically to your target audience
- Make email signup the ONLY required entry method
- Outline clear terms and make entry as simple as possible
- Promote your giveaway aggressively through multiple channels
- Follow up with entrants to nurture them into engaged fans
Now I want to hear from you: Have you tried using a giveaway to grow your email list? What were the results? Are you planning your first giveaway campaign? What prize will you choose?
Let me know in the comments!
If you found this guide helpful, be sure to share it with your fellow entrepreneurs and marketers. And don‘t forget to subscribe to my email list for more actionable tips to grow your online business. I promise I won‘t spam you – just tons of value.
Now go get started on your own epic giveaway to skyrocket your email list growth. Happy list building!
