If you are like most people, you’ve probably seen promotions known as “giveaways.” They work like this: you simply go to the giveaway site and you’ll see tons of free gifts from contributors to the event that you can get just by registering with your name and email. (**At the bottom of this post, you will find a private invitation to participate as a giveaway contributor. See details below.)
When you go to a contributor’s website to get the gift, you give them your name and email to get access. The person who contributed the gift gets to build their email list and in return you get something of value.
There are other parts to this as well. When someone comes to the giveaway site, they sign in and before they are taken to the gifts download area, they are presented with an OTO (a one time offer). Often, these one-time offers are also combined with downsells for those who do not purchase the OTO. The people who are contributors to the giveaway also promote the site and when anyone comes to the webpage and buys the OTO or downsells through their link, they receive a commission on that sale.
Giveaways can be an excellent way to build your list as well as make money, especially if you are just getting started. All you need is a downloadable bonus gift and an opt-in page so visitors can give you their names and emails.
DISCLAIMER: Some people don’t like giveaways because they feel they are too “in your face” and too promotional. Other people rave about how they add hundreds of names to their lists for free. If you do choose to participate in a giveaway, just keep in mind that some of your subscribers will love it and some will probably hate it. Those that hate it will be sure to let you know!
**Internet marketers Stephanie Mulac and Guido Nussbaum have put together a Social Marketing Giveaway that is currently accepting contributors by invitation only. The site launches to the public on July 7th so you’ll need to hurry if you want to participate as a contributor.
Just go here to get the details on how to submit your gift.
Good luck!
Ellen
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photo by Saquan (license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Ellen,
Excellent information here! I have participated in a few of those giveaways, with mixed results. I want to share this information with the readers of my new BigMoneyTinyList site, so look for a trackback.
I will also take a look at Stephanie and Guido’d giveaway to see if it is a good fit for me.
Connie Ragen Green
Thanks for the info, but after I clicked over I realized I had to pay for a membership to participate and then register once again for another list.
I have become way too inundated with these types of things lately so I felt I had to pass on this. And without seeing more and/or knowing more about the device and where my offer would go, I felt a bit apprehensive.
But thanks for putting it out there. I’m sure many will take advantage of it.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for your feedback! Yes, the site is confusing…but you do NOT have to pay to contribute. That’s just a way to get points in order to be able to submit a gift without promoting it. This would be useful for those with no lists at all. If you simply scroll down to the bottom of each offer page, you will see a place that says click here to continue.
As I said in my post, these giveaway events can get hyper-promotional. This is why I always send out a disclaimer when I do announce them, as some folks find this to be too much for them.
You can get a good marketing education though by signing on as a free member, just to take a look at the process and the offers that they are presenting.
Hi, Ellen,
I’ve participated in giveaways, and continue to debate whether it is worthwhile. Yes, you build the list, but its not usually a targetted list, so how useful is it really? On the other hand, even though it may not be targetted, having more people on your list gives you greater reach, and if they share your information with someone who would be in your target market, it builds your list with your target.
What has your experience been? Does it help to, ultimately, build a targetted list?
Tracey Fieber
Your Retirement Transition Expert
http://www.NewFaceOfRetirement.com
Hi Tracey,
This is an excellent comment. Most JV giveaway events tend to be sponsored by internet marketers, so the list you are building usually is centered around people who are interested in marketing.
If you are going to participate in these, then I think you have to be sure that the giveaway fits your market. For someone such as yourself, who specializes in retirement, self-development or personal development giveaways would certainly be more appropriate for you than a marketing related event, but even then your list is not likely to be targeted.
But, if you choose to contribute in one of these giveaways, and your gift is directly related to your target market, such as a downloadable retirement planner for example, only those who were interested in this would come to your site and download the gift and get on your mailing list. So you can control the targeting of your list by 1) being careful about the giveaways you choose to participate in and 2) making your downloadable gift very specific to your desired target market.
Ellen, thank you for pointing out this giveaway.
I have participated in a few of these and have had a few good connections.
I have chosen to give very targeted gifts to attract those people who would find support from what I offer in my company.
I make it a point to space out my participation so that my list doesn’t feel flooded by the giveaway model.
Suzanne Holman
Suzanne Holman, MAEd
Life and Business Coach working with you to
stay sane, healthy and professional
when your parent has Alzheimer’s
http://twitter.com/suzanneholman
http://facebook.com/suzanneholman
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