Alerting the Winner
So you’ve selected the winner of your giveaway with one click using PromoSimple. Great! Now, how do you let them know? Well, using their email address that you’ve collected, you can send them a standard winner notification message. Here’s what you’ll want to include:
- Let them know they’ve won your contest/giveaway/sweepstakes, and let them know how they’ve won. Were they randomly selected? Or were they selected manually because you chose them as the winner of your (recipe, photo, or other) contest?
- Tell them how you’ll be sending them their prize, or ask them for any additional information you may need to send them their prize.
- Tell them how much time they have to respond to you before you’ll need to choose another winner. Typically, winners have 48-72 hours to respond in order to be eligible to claim their prize.
- Include as much information about you as possible when you sign off so that the winner knows that your email and company/website/blog are legit!
Here’s a sample giveaway congratulations/winner notification email:
Hi [Giveaway Winner],
Congratulations on winning the [title of giveaway] giveaway! You were [randomly or manually] selected as the winner of this giveaway.
Please confirm that this is you by contacting us within [48-72 hours] in order to claim your [prize] which we’ll be sending [via email or snail mail]. When you email us back, please provide us with [any information you need in order to send the prize]. If we don’t hear back from you in that time frame, we’ll have to select another winner.
Congratulations again on your win!
[Sign off with company/website/blog name, address if applicable, and contact information – i.e. phone number and/or email]
Alerting the Rest of the World
Now that you’ve emailed your winner to inform them of their win (and after you’ve heard back from that winner), it’s time to tell the rest of the world about the results of your giveaway. In order to do this, you’ll want to use the congratulations message.
When you choose a winner, you’ll have the option of publishing their name, entry # and as much winner information as you’d like to the expired entry form. That way, when people check back on the giveaway, they’ll be able to see that the giveaway was legit and that a real person did indeed win.
Luckily however, using PromoSimple, the congratulations message can be so much more than just a way to alert people about the winner of the giveaway. It can also be an excellent marketing tool. Here are 5 ways you can use the giveaway congratulations message to your advantage:
- Create a Custom Template to Promote a PageDo you have a giveaways section on your website? Why not use the space in your expired entry forms to bring people who love contests to that page and the other giveaways you have live on your site? Or perhaps you have some content that’s relevant to the types of giveaways you run. Either way, you can create a custom template once that’s ready to be posted to your expired entry forms anytime with the click of a button.
- Use HTML to Your BenefitThe congratulations message can be fully customized with HTML and images, so take full advantage. For example, if you’re running another giveaway, you can include an image of what else you’re giving away (along with the giveaway link) in your congratulations message. This could make other giveaways more enticing to your entrants and get them to check out your other promotions.
- Give Visitors Access to Exclusive Deals or DiscountsGet entrants excited about your site, or ease the pain of defeat for those who didn’t win your giveaway, by allowing them access to a special deal or discount. For example, say you have a photography business and you gave away a free wedding package to one lucky winner. Perhaps you could include a 10% off coupon for your services in the congratulations message. That way, when people land on your page after your giveaway has ended, you’re still using your entry form to promote your business and, hopefully, entice clients to give you a try.
- Let Visitors Know How to Keep Up With YouJust because your giveaway is over doesn’t mean that your visitors should miss out on everything else you have to offer. Use the congratulations message to tell your visitors how they can keep up with your news and offers. Include a link to your newsletter signup page, or include a link to your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram page. Chances are you’ve got more great stuff to share, so use an expired entry form as a gateway for your visitors to other great content.
- Use a Custom “Thank You” MessageIf you’ve got a Business or Brands & Agencies account, you can actually create a custom “Thank You” message to be displayed to your entrants after they enter your giveaway. This section, which can be customized at the Step 3. “Display” tab in your campaign builder, can work much in the same way as your congratulations message. It too can be fully customized with HTML and images. The most important difference, however, is that this message is displayed to all entrants right after they enter, while your giveaway is still live. Therefore, unlike the congratulations message, the “Thank You” message will reach all of your entrants.
If you’d like to discuss more techniques involving marketing via giveaways and sweepstakes, or if you have any questions about winner notification/congratulations messages, please feel free to email me at anytime at kira@promosimple.com.
