Gifts are something of value that is given in exchange for the personal information of visitors to your website or sales page. Internet marketers give out free videos or e-books to visitors to your website in exchange for the visitor’s email address. The purpose is to increase the sales provided by the marketer’s website. In other words, increase the return on investment (ROI) of the marketer’s efforts.
Giveaways have always been an effective marketing strategy. But for about 2-3 years, most visitors value their privacy above the value of the free e-book or video. Visitors prefer to open another tab in their browser and search for the same information presented in the Sweepstakes rather than giving their contact information to someone they do not know. They do this not out of spite, but to avoid giving their email to an unknown Internet marketer.
One way to counter that trend is by using your creativity to tap into the visitor’s self-interest. The reason behind most gift failures is because the internet marketer asks the visitor to do something the visitor is not comfortable doing: give away personal information. Asking your visitor for an email address is like asking for the phone number of a woman you just met at the local coffee shop. She doesn’t know you, so why would you expect her to give you her personal contact information? First you need to establish their trust in you. For marketing purposes, you can achieve this when the visitor visits your website for the first time. Your website must be professional. It should establish a good image. You should not overemphasize “selling products” but rather “giving information that solves a problem” that the visitor has.
There are other ways to obtain the visitor’s contact details. You can ask him to like your article on Facebook or to tweet on Twitter to access premium content. Ask your customer, with a pop-up, to show you that they can follow you on Twitter to receive great articles every time they are published, informing them that they would never miss one this way. Always assure your visitors that you will protect their information and that you will never share their information with others.
There are plugins that facilitate this process. Websites can now use automatic alerts to send text messages or emails to their customers via their browsers or cell phones (of course, with the user’s permission).
Create social media giveaway contests
Create a simple contest that is easy for the visitor to do and enter. For example, you can ask the visitor to take a photo of their pet with a “theme” (ie Christmas if it is December) and post it on their Facebook, Twitter or blog page with a certain hash tag (#) and to share it with your circle of friends with a request to do the same again. The person with the most shares on a given date wins the contest and the prize! Keep the contest steps simple but as specific as possible. Leave no doubt about what is required to participate and win the contest. Make sure to follow all the rules the social media site has regarding contests!
Now, to get the traffic you are looking for, you will need to advertise your contest. Advertising attracts quality subscribers who will help your business grow. If you can run viral contests targeting your specific niche, you will see an increase in the size of your list (which will increase traffic to your website, resulting in increased sales).
Your contests should be geared towards increasing social engagement. You need to have well-defined goals and objectives. If you want to grow your email list using the contest method, you need to focus on that method. If you want your posts to be shared more, focus on that method. Don’t get distracted by trying to do too much. Be Resolute … BE FOCUSED!
You must use your creative inspiration to create an exciting prize that is so expensive to you, yet still valuable in the eyes of the visitor. Remember, the visitor has a problem or they would not be looking for a solution. A person who is a millionaire multiple times will not be tempted by a free e-book on “How to make money online”.
Find your target audience. Target your Giveaway towards that goal. Be specific. Create an Avatar of the ideal person you are trying to help! Focus all your marketing efforts on that Avatar! Don’t try to be “everything to all people” by thinking that you are a better marketing plan. If “you give everything for everything you give, you have nothing left to give.”
I love giveaways! I especially love the Sweepstakes in the form of a contest! You will get more traffic, which translates to more sales, if you know who your target market and Avatar are!
The challenge of getting your website visitors to provide you with their email address is not overwhelming if you are FOCUSED on providing value to your Avatar. In today’s marketing climate, you need to GIVE VALUE while providing an answer to the visitor’s problem. Otherwise, they will probably skip the Giveaway giveaway and go to another marketer who is giving away something the visitor deems to be of more value.
Giving away value> Results in a larger list size> Results in more traffic> Greater ROI for your business.
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