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Lesson Info

Choosing a Giveaway Prize

So let's, get into how to choose your prize, as I mentioned earlier, it is so important that you choose the correct prize and I've seen so many people fall into this trap make this mistake of choosing the price that isn't suitable for their brand brand or business. This can make or break your contest. It is such a simple idea, but it is so important that you pick the right one. First thing to keep in mind is you want to choose a prize that draws and your ideal customer be very specific about what that prizes so the more general you are with the prize, if you think you, if you think of a product that could be a great prize, but if you think like a lot of people can like this that's kind of counterintuitive because you might think like while a lot of people are going to like this, that means a lot of people will join my contest, which is going to be true. A lot of people will join your contest, but how many of those people are really going to be people who want to stick around and be loy...

al following and actually be a customer? The higher the value of the prize, the more participation you'll get, so if you can somehow make it that the value of this prize of you were to spend money on buying this from your shop or from someone else's shop if it's a lot of money to spend more people are going to want to join thinking about who your complimentary brands are who do you share a similar audience with or you know it doesn't have to be one other company it could be two or three other brands that you might find on etsy maybe just online and google or instagram if you find that company just send them a direct message send them an email see if they'd be open to either giving a product you or maybe you can buy it from them to create a bundle of a prize that you can offer to your audience and that will create a great really viral giveaway because that value of the prize as a bundle is going to be that much higher if it was just one product. So for a lot of us makers artist designers we all make our own product to make it to make your life simple just give away your product don't you know you don't have to be totally innovative creative with this you don't have to start thinking about what else can I give my my my audience just give them your own product that's the best thing that you can give away let's talk about what not to give away these air the don'ts so as I mentioned items that appeal to everyone such as iphones and ipads, everyone is going to want ipods, iphones and ipads and you guys maybe want to like I can't even afford to buy an ipad for myself you think I'm going to give it to someone else, but the way a lot of people have been doing this is that they've been working with other businesses to pull together money in order to buy an actual ipad that they can then give away to people everyone's going to want to join your giveaway, but then so many of those people are not going to be people who will stick around and become your customers in the long run, so don't even bother going through that trouble, and even if you can't afford it, don't do it do not give away money even if it's like a papal give carter visa mastercard gift card money is one of those other things I mean, if you think iphones and ipads, everyone wants that once those things everyone wants money, right? And I'm not honestly sure why people choose to give away money when giving away your product can be so much more effective and cheaper. The only exception with gift cards I found is that if you buy gift cards to very, very specific stores that will only appeal to your ideal customer, so I didn't give away on creative hive cole I think it was last year where I gave away a gift card to a fifty dollars gift card to dick blake arts art supplies so I know like not everyone's going to want to join this giveaway because not everyone is going to want art supplies, right? So if you want to give away money if you absolutely have to do gift cards, then really think about how you can make it specific to just your audience watch stores did they shop in that only the's people shopping gift cards in general don't work as well as actual physical products? I think there's kind of, you know, a lot of people when you're buying gifts for people give carts or kind of that way that like, oh, I didn't bother taking the time to buy something nice for you so here's a gift card because I can't decide for the most part I think people like or prefer receiving an actual product that was picked up for them it's kind of counterintuitive because gift cards just allow the person to choose whatever they want, right? But I think there's a lot of in terms of marketing when you act can actually post a picture of the product you're going to give away as opposed to like a picture of a gift card that we'll reach far more people when you do giveaways in contests you also don't want to give away products that you're not proud of, so don't give away your leftovers I want to share with you two stories about this and what I have experienced back home in minneapolis, but we had received like a coupon to receive one whole free roast chicken a whole roast chicken from this really upscale grocery store and we're really excited like dinner time, you know? So we go out to the grocery store and pick it up and it was awful it tasted like cardboard. It was so funny what makes you think I'm going to go back to actually spend money on that chicken right? If if I got it for free and it tasted bed, I'm not going to go back and actually spend money to buy that the same thing happened we were my husband and I were at some music festival or was like a craft show or something and there was this big company that was giving away free food snacks in the the ones that come in pouches that you kind of squeeze into your mouth and we're like fun we've never tried this let's just have one it was they were giving it away for free and the moment we opened it out and put it in your mouth you could taste and smell that it was run yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I just don't I know it and you know, the impression you get of that company is like no, I had a bad experience with them. I'm not even gonna spend money. I'm not even gonna I don't want to get another three pouch, even if it's free so lesson learned apply this to your own business when you're giving people free stuff. If you want to give people less than perfect products which I talked about briefly in another workshop, in this in this course be very communicative about that. Tell people, make sure they understand that it is not a perfect product and that will be fine for the most part gave away your best stuff for free, right? Pick your best seller and give that away, because if you're giving away something that's kind of move well, then you're you're you're results from your giveaway in contests are going to be so, so just give away your best stuff. Do you have any questions about prizes? My question is, might this be a good way to collaborate with someone? Let's, say, as part of your ideal customer profile, there's an aspirational brand that you think ken, if it's in with their aesthetic? So giving away something that has to do with that brand might kind of appeal to your customer base, and if so, what is the kind of approach that you would take to kind of courting them and going together in partnership? Great question. So two ways, and I think this depends on how big this brandis air trying to court. If it's a larger brand, I might just buy it from them. I might just buy the product, and I can say that I'm sponsoring this, but I'm buying the product from this brand that I think you guys will like if it's a smaller brand. If it's another small business owner, if it's another artist that I might reach out to them and say, would you be open to this? I'd send them an email. Send them a direct message over on our on instagram on facebook. I prefer emails and offer them explain to them that the benefit what's in it for them and if you are expecting, if you want to get this product for free from them, tell them what's in it for them tell them you're going to help promote their business and it would be great if this other artists are reaching out to is also at about the same size of a falling they're much more likely to want to give it to for free otherwise, they might just say, well, I don't normally do this, you can just buy this stuff in my shop or ah, they might give you a discount to say, ok, well, I love to help you out, and I love to be promoting your page, but I don't normally do this. Maybe you can buy my stuff at a discount, but I would reach out to them by email on approach it that way or twitter, twitter is a great place to for you to connect with other artists. I love twitter for collaborating with people and to getting to know people that I want to work with, but that's really the only reason why I used twitter too many questions about prizes her anymore for the audience. There's one online, okay? Murphy has another question does may have any strategies for avoiding getting contest trolls those people who searched the internet for contests but have no intention to shop at your store. I don't believe that's something that you can avoid and for the most part, if we had toe, you know, if that was the worry and the concern that you would have and that prevents you from doing contests and giveaways that's really it's it's, kind of a limiting belief, it's kind of fear that's going to hold you back. I just just put your work out there if there are trolls they're trolls you know they're not going to be that many of them it's it's always funny that we think the worst of what's going to happen and it's always never true that the worst will happen and if you do get a few trolls trolls, trolls in my mind or people who come out and say mean things so I would just delete those people but if you're talking about the people who never buy become your customer then there's no way for you to really tell who that person is or what their intentions are so just let them join and if they win at least my mantra is to get your products and as many people's hands as possible and once if you're confident about the design of your product if you're confident that your product will will speak for itself once you get your physical product in their hands if they love it they're going to tell their friends about it even if they themselves are not going to be buying your products they're going to talk about it to other people and that in itself I think it's worth it so don't let that fear stop you I would say just do it and don't worry about it because you're not even going to know who may or may not buy from you so don't worry about it too much