Posted in: Create A Giveaway

How To Create And Run An Online Giveaway In 2020 – Get More Entries

Today you’re going to learn how to create and run an online giveaway in 2020! Have you been wanting to get more email leads, social media followers, paying customers, and overall engagement with your business? A great way to do this is by running a giveaway, sweepstakes, or contest. Let’s get started!

What is a giveaway, sweepstakes, or contest?

This is when you offer a prize (usually free) in exchange for users giving you their information and/or performing a task. Giveaways and sweepstakes tend to require no skill on the users’ end. All they need to do is enter their personal information and engage with your company in various ways. However, a contest and/or competition is when the user must do a skilled task which is usually against other people. Examples of this might include an essay competition or a photo contest.

Why should I run a giveaway?

Ultimately, you as a business want to make more money. This all starts with getting more eyes on your company, products, and/or services. By running a giveaway, you’re incentivizing people to have a look at your business in exchange for them having a chance to win a prize. It’s a win-win for the users entering and the person hosting the giveaway.

What are good prizes to offer?

The most popular prizes in descending order are as follows:

  1. Cash and gift cards
  2. Cars
  3. Electronics
  4. Vacations
  5. Jewelry
  6. Miscellaneous

How to promote a giveaway – Best giveaway directories

One of the best ways to get more entries into your giveaway is by submitting to promotional directory websites. These sites have a large audience of avid sweepers who enter lots of giveaways every day. I’ve listed what I believe to be the best directories for getting the most possible traffic:

How to create a giveaway – best giveaway widget apps

There are various companies that offer easy-to-use tools that allow you can create entry forms that can be embedded directly into your site. These tools enable users to enter your giveaway in several ways such as email, social media, personal information, performing tasks, and in many more ways. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite giveaway form creation tools below:

1) ViralKit

ViralKit has a one-of-a-kind fully AI powered contest builder tool. I tried creating a giveaway by simply entering a simple search phrase, “Build me a Facebook giveaway for my page TrueSweepstakes. I’m giving away $100 cash to 1 lucky winner”. It created my entire giveaway in less than 10 seconds! It auto-filled in the title, description, start/end date, prize, and Facebook entry methods. From there I was able to make some small changes and publish my giveaway soon after.

Some notable features include:

  • 250+ entry methods with 60+ social media integrations.
  • Custom API.
  • Leaderboard competitions.
  • Style editor.
  • Custom branding.
  • Unlimited entries.
  • Real-time analytics.
  • Randomly select winners.
  • Starter templates.

I would recommend ViralKit for those who want to skip the learning curve. You need 0 tech skills to create a full bodied giveaway. Also, upon comparing it to the other tools, I found that ViralKit actually had far more entry method options than anyone else. Not only are they easy to use, but they have more social media integrations and entry methods than any other tool!

I would highly recommend using ViralKit for your next giveaway or contest – for start ups, influencers, e-commerce, or any other type of industry. They have a 7-day free trial with no credit card requirement. Plans start at $34 /m and go up to $129 /m.

2) Woorise

Woorise is an excellent option for running giveaways for your website or blog. They have a very easy-to-use interface and their widget is extremely intuitive for the end-user. I love the simplicity and sleek design of their product. Some of the types of giveaways you can run are: email signup, Instagram, Facebook, app download, coupon unlock, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, product hunt, Twitch, Steam, and polls/quizzes/surveys. Another great thing about their service is that you don’t break the bank. Their pricing plans are as follows: free option, $29 /month for basic, $49 /month for grow, and $99 /month for pro.

You can compare all pricing plans and features here: Woorise pricing plans.

3) SweepWidget

SweepWidget is our favorite company because they offer the most for the best price. They have a free plan that offers a ton of features and entry methods, a pro plan for $29.95, and a premium plan for $79.95. They’re an incredible option for everything from blogs to fortune 500 companies. You’re definitely getting a bang for your buck at such an affordable price.

Here are all of the tools SweepWidget offers: Embed the widget on your website, Unlimited entries, Free hosted landing page, Export entries to CSV, Google Captcha, Custom entry methods, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Snapchat, RSS, Visit a page, Bonus, Blog comment, Custom CSS, Add a prize image, Subscribe to a newsletter, 1-click email list integration (Mailchimp, Aweber, Active Campaign, Mad Mimi, Constant Contact, Iterable), Refer a friend, Custom user fields, Create a poll/survey, URL Redirection, App download, Linkedin, Etsy, eBay, Tumblr, Reddit, Telegram, Discord, TikTok, Twitch TV, Eventbrite, Bloglovin’, FeedBurner, FeedPress, Disqus comment, Soundcloud, Spotify, Myspace, Patreon, Post entry redirect, Remove branding, Restrict users by country.

Here’s a link to all of features you get with the different plans: SweepWidget Plans.

4) Gleam.io

Gleam.io came on to the scene in 2012 and has been the biggest giveaway form creation tool online for a few years now. They have a free plan, a $10 monthly hobby plan, a $49 monthly pro plan, a $149 monthly business plan, and a monthly $399 monthly premium plan. They offer the most entry methods for users but tend to be on the higher side when it comes to price. If you want a super sleek professional giveaway, we’d definitely recommend them, though.

Here’s a link to all of Gleam’s pricing plans.

5) RaffleCopter

Rafflecopter is an excellent option for blog giveaways and larger sweepstakes alike. They’re especially popular in the mommy blog niche, though. They offer a simple and sleek tool that allows social media engagement, email collection, custom entries, and more. Their software runs very smoothly, loads fast, and is simple to use. One of my favorite things about them is how intuitive it is to build a giveaway with their tool. They have a free plan, a basic plan for $13 per month, a grow plan for $43 per month, and a premium plan for $84 per month. You can see all the plans and comparisons here: Rafflecopter pricing plans.

6) ViralSweep

ViralSweep is an excellent option if you have a big budget. They offer very advanced functionality and are geared more toward corporate companies running large sweepstakes, or those with deep pockets. I absolutely love their widget, but it’s too expensive in my opinion – and there’s no free option. They have a starter plan at $49 per month, a business plan at $199 per month, and a premium plan at $399 per month. If you have the money and are willing to spend it then this is a great option for you. You definitely won’t be disappointed with their customer service and functionality.

You can see their pricing plans and features here: ViralSweep pricing plans.

7) WooBox

WooBox is my favorite tool for running Facebook sweepstakes. They also offer an embeddable format that can be added directly into your blog or website. But, they’re the best for collected Facebook likes and social engagement. Their prices are $0 /month for free, $37 /month for basic, $32 /month for standard, $99 /month for advanced and $249 /month for power.

You can compare all of their pricing plans and features here: WooBox pricing plans.

Conclusion

Every giveaway form creation tool has its pros and cons. It’s worth looking into all of them and deciding for yourself which one has the necessary features you need and which one fits your budget. Remember, the goal is to increase your newsletter list, social engagement, and ultimately get more users on your website. I wish you the best of luck on your future giveaways and hope your business thrives!

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