Hosting contests or product giveaways is a great way to introduce a product to your readers. As an affiliate, it can also be a great way to generate sales. But during the actual contest or giveaway, you won't notice many sales as your readers are hoping to win!
Done right, you can easily turn your giveaway & contest posts into evergreen product reviews that will serve you long term, and bring in consistent affiliate sales.
I'll show you a live example, and give you the simple steps to make this work for you. This is a fun and simple marketing strategy you'll really enjoy! 😉
Using Contests/Giveaways For Traffic & Engagement
People love to enter contests and win products, so this is a great method for increasing traffic and interaction on your blog. It's also a great way to introduce products to your readers, in a fun and engaging way!
For example, I discussed one of my absolute favorite gadgets, the PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack, and ordered an extra one from Amazon to give away on my blog.
There are multiple ways to run a contest or giveaway. I did a random drawing from all comments on the post, as my goal was to increase engagement and to get legitimate comments on the product. So it depends on your objective. You can use contests, drawings and giveaways to grow your mailing list or social media channels even.
Some merchants will give you a product to give away, or even handle the product shipment for you. But even if you purchase the giveaway product yourself, it's easily the best and cheapest advertising you can buy!
What Happens When The Contest Ends?
Typically speaking, when the event officially ends... you're left with a useless blog post. People may find your post in search results or through links, and be disappointed when they read the post and realize the event has already ended.
That results in a big fat LOST SALE opportunity!
Making Money With Giveaways & Contests (Long Term!)
The first step is to make sure that your contests include a review of the product you are giving away. As I mentioned above, these events are a great way to introduce new products and merchants to your readers, and get them excited about a product you recommend as an affiliate.
In the example of my Powergen Giveaway, I chose a random drawing from the comments on purpose. Not only did I want to increase engagement on my blog, I also wanted people to discuss the product. I asked that they leave a comment specifically on what they liked about the product and why they would like to win one.
Why did I do this? Because in the end I have a Product Review post with legitimate comments from legitimate people talking about their personal experience and why they need this exact product! 😉
It's also important to set up your giveaway in a way that it can easily be turned into an evergreen product review. In my Powergen example, I included a Video Review of the product. I did NOT mention the giveaway in the actual video. I simply mentioned it in the video description, and of course in the blog post. This is important, because your video may rank well for the product name and/or your targeted keyword phrase, so it doesn't make sense to swap out the video later.
You also want to create a Blog Post Title that is easy to edit later:
Once the event ended, I simply removed the "Giveaway" bit from the Post Title, and from the blog post itself, leaving me with a solid Product Review post with a lot of legitimate comments about the product reviewed. Nice, right? 😀
If you properly optimize your giveaway posts, and target a specific keyword phrase in the Post Title, ranking well in the search engines for that phrase can bring in buyers for years!
Tip: Be sure to update post descriptions in WordPress and/or at YouTube after the event ends as well:
Quick Overview:
- Buy Giveaway Product or Coordinate With Merchant
- Write a Product Review
- Use your Affiliate Link for the Product
- Shoot a Product Review Video (optional)
- Choose a Keyword Phrase to Target Buyers
- Include Giveaway Instructions in Review Post
- Publish & Promote Your Contest
- Announce Winner & Send Product
- Edit Post Title, Excerpt/Description & Remove Contest Instructions
Now you're left with an evergreen product review post with supporting comments, long after your contest or giveaway ends!
Keep The Interest Alive!
In the example of the Powergen gadget, I might review other Powergen products in the future. Or I may mention it in future posts, such as a list of my top 10 favorite gadgets - linking back to the product review post.
With an informational product, such as an ebook, you could easily start a series or do a Case Study following the giveaway, and get people engaged in the implementation of the product and/or the results you're experiencing.
Consider how you can best serve your market when it comes to the products you are recommending as an affiliate. Get creative, and don't let your hard work on giveaways and contests just die out when the event ends! 😉
Best,
p.s. See: How to Write a Blog Post and How to Write a Product Review for help crafting posts that get readers and make sales!
About Lynn Terry
Lynn, this is an absolutely BRILLIANT strategy on many levels. I'm definitely adding this to my swipe file 🙂
What an awesome tip Lynn and such perfect timing for me as I'm about to do a giveaway on my blog for Subscribers Magnet sometime soon. I already had plans to also do a review of the product (actually to update a review I didn't do very thoroughly before) and now I know what to do with the giveaway!
The smartest way to do this would definitely be to plan ahead so it's evergreen like you mentioned. I'm glad I clicked the link over here today and got this advice before I set up my giveaway! 🙂
Thanks so much.
Great tip Lynn, As soon as I come across a giveaway opportunity, I'll be following these instructions and see what happens. Keep the advice coming - you're being read.
Thanks so much for sharing this info! Knowledge is definitely power!
Great information. Just what I needed, I am in the thought process of how to run a contest and this is very helpful!