Have you created fun and engaging sweepstakes that you’re excited to share with your audience? Use the checklist below to ensure your promotion is cleared for takeoff and as successful as possible! It’s important that you don’t press “Publish” until you have addressed each of these essential details during the setup process.
Don’t forget to…
1. Set and double check the correct start and end dates.
Determine when and for how long you would like to run your contest and then make sure to correctly set those dates and times in the contest set up. Verifying these dates when building your contest is essential to ensuring your on-air mentions, newsletters, and promotional social media posts line-up with the campaign.
2. Specify the number of winners for your contest.
If you’re awarding prizes to multiple winners in your contest, be sure to specify the total number of winners in the contest set-up. If you’re giving away fifty pairs of concert or movie tickets, set the contest to allow for the selection of fifty winners. Remember, more entries may draw higher entries, but fulfillment will take longer.
3. Set the Entry Throttle.
At what frequency would you like for your audience to be allowed to enter the same contest? Only once? Once a day? Allowing daily entries is a great way to boost traffic. Determine your goal for the contest (total unique participants versus increased repeat engagement, for example) and check the Entry Throttle drop-down menu to make sure you have your desired frequency selected.
4. Proof your contest copy.
Compelling copy is one of the most important aspects of a successful campaign. Be sure to write clear and enticing copy that excites your audience and give them all the important information about the prize and entry instructions. Check out our Contest Copy Checklist for tips on how to deliver your message in a concise, engaging way. Proof your work before publishing to ensure it’s free of typos and grammatical errors.
5. Preview your contest design.
Put your best foot forward with an eye-catching design that will grab your audience’s attention. If you’re working with limited design resources, we’ve curated a list of free and easy online tools for creating gorgeous graphics. Once you’ve uploaded your design to the contesting engine, be sure to preview your sweepstakes to see how it will look on your site and mobile device. This is a great way address any last-minute adjustments or fixes before publishing the sweepstakes.
6. Choose your winner selection method.
The option to have a contest automatically generate a winner for you is a default setting in our contesting engine, however, you may wish to vet your winner to ensure they meet your specific criteria. Choosing the Manual option will allow you to view the contest participants after the sweepstakes has ended and either randomly select a winner or choose a specific entrant, per your contest rules.
7. Determine your registration form fields.
While some contests may simply require a name, email address, and zip code in order to enter, your sweepstakes sponsor may want to obtain additional information for their database. You can customize registration fields to collect a wide variety of data from your audience– just keep in mind that asking for too much information could turn some people away.
8. Verify your contest rules.
While there is a template of standard contest rules housed in the sweepstakes setup, you may wish to customize the terms for your contest. Consult with your legal team before making any changes to these rules.
9. Choose your desired prize fulfillment method.
Are you planning to ship a prize to your winner, or will they need to pick it up from your office? Before publishing your contest, always check the winner selection settings to be sure you’ve chosen Ship or Pick Up.
Grab your own copy of this checklist below to keep at your desk and ensure that your sponsor and audience are receiving your best quality work.
Download Your Free Checklist| Looking for more easy promotion ideas for an upcoming event or holiday? Want tips for promoting your content on social media? Contact the Syndicated Content Team and tell us what you’d like to read about in future engagement blog posts!. |
