What if I said there was one single element that could make or break your sweepstakes? That could mean the difference between dozens of entries\u2026and thousands? One thing will make people pass your sweeps by\u2014or make it irresistible?<\/p>\n
That one thing is your headline. It\u2019s the first thing that potential entrants look at, whether it\u2019s on your entry form or on the Promosimple Giveaways Directory. And if it doesn\u2019t hook them immediately, they\u2019ll leave and never return. (Goodbye subscribers and leads.)<\/p>\n
But luckily, it\u2019s very easy to turn your sweepstakes headline from a loser into a winner. Here are five tips to help make sure your giveaway is a golden ticket to success!<\/p>\n
The prize that you\u2019re giving away must be in your headline. An important concept in copywriting is that of the \u201cbenefit to consumer\u201d\u2014essentially, \u201cwhat\u2019s in it for them?\u201d A headline without a prize, something like \u201cEnter Now to Win\u201d, is missing that benefit completely. It doesn\u2019t get an entrant excited; it just makes them wonder, \u201cWhy should I?\u201d Let them know what they\u2019ll get out of winning. Put your prize in your headline, like, \u201cWin an iPad Mini!\u201d<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve got your prize in your headline, see if there\u2019s more specificity you can add to make the prize even more enticing and even more unique. For example, if your prize is a surround-sound TV and stereo system, what brand is it? If it\u2019s a compelling brand, use it! How many pieces does it have? Are there other details that make it compelling? Suddenly \u201cSurround-Sound TV and Stereo System\u201d becomes a \u201c25-Piece Sony HD Surround-Sound TV and Stereo System.\u201d Which one would you enter to win? Just be sure that when you add details, you only add compelling details. If they won\u2019t interest an entrant, they\u2019re just wasting space.<\/p>\n
Another important concept in copywriting is using words carefully and sparingly. While you want to include any important and compelling words like we discussed above, you also want to try to shorten your headline by eliminating any unnecessary words. For example, in the headline \u201cEnter to Win a New Jar of Smuckers Jam\u201d you don\u2019t really need the words \u201cEnter to.\u201d After all, the headline is on an entry form, so it\u2019s pretty clear what they need to do in order to have a chance to win. Also, you don\u2019t need the word \u201cnew.\u201d Unless your prize is a car or something that might conceivably be used, you don\u2019t need to specify this in your headline. And if you\u2019re really concerned that they understand that it\u2019s new, remember that you have your description copy to use. Look at your headline with fresh eyes and be ruthless about losing unnecessary words!<\/p>\n
If your prize is something with a value that isn\u2019t immediately clear, consider adding a dollar value to your headline. For example, if you\u2019re giving away a course on how to master Google Adwords you could write, \u201cWin a Google Adwords Mastery Course Worth $400!\u201d Not only does the dollar value give the prize some context and magnitude, but it also makes it seem more exciting. Wouldn\u2019t you like to win something worth $400?<\/p>\n
While you\u2019re being specific, don\u2019t make people have to puzzle through your headline. For example, it\u2019s not completely clear right away what \u201cWin an Internet-to-TV Device for Digital Streaming of Entertainment and Music\u201d is. Instead, how about: \u201cWin a Roku\u2014Stream the Internet Right to Your TV!\u201d The first is correct, but it makes your entrant have to think\u2014and most won\u2019t think; they\u2019ll just pass you by. Make it exciting and easy for them to get interested in entering!<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019ve got your headline techniques down to hook them in, don\u2019t forget that you have another resource to help entice people to enter your sweepstakes. Below the headline and picture sections on your entry form, you have room for a description of your prize. And, not only can you make this show up on your entry form, but you can also make it appear on your Promosimple Giveaways Directory listing. The description is another opportunity to add even more exciting (but easy to understand!) details to entice people to enter your sweepstakes. If you have more details to offer, don\u2019t hide them: Use this section and help make your giveaway standout from the others get as many people to enter as you can!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What if I said there was one single element that could make or break your sweepstakes? That could mean the difference between dozens of entries\u2026and thousands? One thing will make people pass your sweeps by\u2014or make it irresistible? That one thing is your headline. It\u2019s the first thing that potential entrants look at, whether it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[40,8,35,37,21,9],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psdev2.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}