Hosting a contest is a very effective marketing strategy that has been around long before the internet. It’s been around a long time because it works. It helps bring in buyers, cause a buzz, and spread brand awareness. A good contest can pay off for years to come due to the publicity that occurs long after it’s over.
Know Who You’re Targeting
If you don’t know what your goal is and who you’re targeting with the contest, you might not succeed. Is your goal to get more email sign-ups so that you can nurture them and sell to them later? Is your goal to sell products directly? Setting this part up right is essential to your success.
Choose the Right Type of Prize
This is another essential component of your contest. If you don’t select the right prize, you may have freebie seekers joining. You want the prize to be related to your product (or be your product) and something only the audience who wants the product will be keen to get.
Add Incentives to Act Now
Don’t let the contest go on forever. Make it short and sweet so that you can get onto the real thing fast. A contest that lasts too long will get boring for people. Don’t give it more than a week, but do talk about it more than the week leading up to it to give them notice.
Track and Test Everything
When you set up your goals, you’ll want to match each goal with something you can track using your analytics software. You can use Google Analytics or if you’re using special software such as email software, it may have native tracking solutions to use. Don’t assume why things are happening as they are; know why by studying the data.
Build Up to the Contest
Don’t just launch the contest on the first day. Instead, talk about it while you’re planning it. As you talk about these things, you’ll be creating buzz and excitement about the contest in advance, so people will be ready to go when it launches.
Stay Excited and Show It
When you’re hosting a contest, it’s up to you to jazz people up and get them excited. Talk about it before, during, and after. Do Facebook Live videos so that people can hear and see your excitement. Excitement is contagious.
Follow Up
Don’t just let the contest be over and die. Instead, make sure you follow up with people who got on your list due to the contest, to affiliates that did very well, and to your audience by letting them know about the winner that you brag about via your social media and blog.
