As a blogger, you’re always looking for ways to engage your audience and drive more traffic to your site. A giveaway can do just that! Here’s how giveaways can benefit you, along with some tips for preparing and promoting one.

Why you should run a giveaway

You can use giveaways to raise brand awareness, engage your fans, increase traffic to your site and draw more followers to your social media accounts. According to Business2Community, giveaways are also great for attracting new subscribers to your email list and generating additional leads. And if you’re planning to offer a new product or service, this is an ideal way to create enthusiasm and interest prior to launch.

Giveaways are often very cost-effective, too. It’s cheaper to run a special promotion of your own than it is to pay for digital advertising — especially if you’re giving away a product or service that you already offer.

You can even launch giveaways as part of a collaboration with another blogger, influencer, or brand. By combining forces with a partner, you can potentially offer an even more enticing prize than you could on your own. And by running a joint promotion, you can expand your reach to new audiences.

Tips for preparing a giveaway

Successful giveaways require some advance preparation. First of all, consider what type of promotion you’d like to offer. Should it be a contest, sweepstakes, or lottery? Also, make sure to identify what you would like your giveaway to accomplish. Do you want to raise brand awareness, or are you especially interested in growing your email list prior to a new product launch? Make sure the prize you’re offering makes sense for your brand and is appealing to your audience.

In addition, determine the time frame for your contest. When will it begin, and when will it end? If you don’t mention the deadline, it could cause confusion and result in late entries. Provide clear rules for participating so your audience knows exactly how to join in the fun. At the same time, make sure that any rules you specify are compliant with any legal restrictions and platform-specific regulations that may apply.

If you have the budget, you may want to consider using software tools to manage your giveaways. WordPress.com plugins, such as RafflePress, Gleam, and Rafflecopter, are some of the most popular choices out there for site owners running these kinds of promotions.

Tips for promoting a giveaway

Don’t forget to promote your giveaway so you can invite as many participants as possible. It’s easy to integrate social media with your WordPress.com site, so be sure to share the details on your social accounts. You can also get the word out via your email newsletter, any relevant online communities, your friends and business partners, and any influencers you may know. Remember to send out an announcement once you’ve found a winner. That way, everyone who participated will know it was worth their time and enthusiasm.

After a successful first promotion, some entrepreneurs and business owners decide to host giveaways on a regular basis. It’s a great way to keep your brand top of mind with your audience and even expand further, generating more traffic and engagement on your site.