How many competitions are there running on the net at this time? 1000 maybe? Nah, 100,000 is more than likely and when they pass their closing date there will be just as many to take their place.
So, why are companies so desperate to give away free stuff just for answering a question or two? I'll tell you why...
...because it is an INCREDIBLY effective and very INEXPENSIVE way to get your company name mentioned on hundreds, if not thousands of websites, message boards, forums, blogs and conversations both in the online and offline world, not to mention the good PR it generates - that's why!
Who doesn't want their company name-dropped all over the place for what amounts to mere peanuts when compared to the costs of traditional advertising?
There are thousands of specialist competition and freebie sites whose sole purpose is to inform the rest of the internet when a new competition or freebie offer hits the internet. There are as many mailing lists, newsgroups, message boards and blogs on the same subject and YOUR company name could be plastered over all these when you add a competition giveaway to your site.
But it doesn't stop there.
If you are reading this as a webmaster then you obviously know all the major search engines look upon inbound links as being one of the main deciding factors in deciding which pages rank where in the organic search engine results. All these free, one-way inbound links pointing directly at your website are pure gold dust in terms of increasing your link popularity and thrusting you up towards the top of the search engines.
Whilst everyone else is rushing around participating in link exchange programs, renting links on websites, buying their way into search directories and more costly measures to help get the jump on their competitors, you could be flying up the rankings by giving away something as cheap as a $20 DVD once a month.
Of course, you can also make your generosity work extra hard for your business as well and really milk that competition freebie... Rather than just give one lucky visitor a chance to win something when they leave their details at your site how about some of these ideas to get a double hit from your freebie:
1) Newsletter Competition
A competition give-away to everyone who signs up with your newsletter. Draw an email address from the hat every month and announce it in the newsletter and you'll treble your subscription rate and keep them reading. Want to ensure they really read it? Ask a question about a specific aspect of the newsletter and get people to email it in and draw a winner from one of the entrants. You get more subscribers AND you ensure they're reading!
2) Newsletters again...
Add a checkbox to your competition entry page, order page etc. offering people the chance to sign up for your newsletter (making sure to offer the hook of exclusive newsletter give-aways, freebies, coupons etc. of course) and you've got a bunch of new subscribers. This is a less effective means of building your mailing list but it still works.
3) The Scavenger Hunt Competition.
Get people to browse around your website to give you the answers to a question or two you propose. Think "By how much is the Super Megatron 2000 reduced by this month"? and use these questions to direct people to your latest promotions and offers. Not only do you get all those extra visitors from blogs and comeptition sites like you wanted, but you also show these extra visitors the highlights of your site which will either encourage them to buy there and then or bookmark you for future reference rather than hitting and running.
4) The Repeat Competition Hook
Giving away different freebies in your competitions each month ensures two things. Firstly, competition addicts (of which there are many) will hit your site every month giving you a chance to market your offers to them at least once a month. Secondly, you ensure those search result boosting links continue to multiply every month...
...and so on. If there is any aspect of your website or business you feel is a real hook and worth promoting to customers then a decent competition used correctly is the perfect way to highlight it to a wide audience without spending a fortune on advertising.
But hang on, this isn't the ONLY way to use competitions to your own advantage. Another great way is to not run your own competition at all but to simply SPONSOR a competition on another site. Getting into a small competition sponsorship deal with a high traffic site in a related (but non-competiting) subject area can bring some awesome targetted traffic your way. If they archive their competition results and past sponsorships, then that's another one-way link you got into the bargain as well.
The possibilities here are endless and it's not going to cost you anything more than a few bucks each month in order to start the ball rolling.
So what are you waiting for?
Mark Falco is the webmaster and owner of dvd rental services and dvd rental services.
elite cleaning services Des Plaines ..The Web is constantly growing and changing. The key issue... Read More
How many competitions are there running on the net at... Read More
Well I started out with seven, Free and low cost... Read More
Joe Nogood owns a small but thriving gift store. He... Read More
Do you dream of running your own business? Well, get... Read More
Successful websites extend their reach far and wide! They build... Read More
What is web-marketing? Why does your business need it?The best... Read More
Keeping it clean could give you a boost.By Mark White... Read More
When it comes to website marketing and promotions, you need... Read More
Is your website looking alittle bare? It's okay, you're about... Read More
If you are a small business owner with a website,... Read More
You have spent hours creating a HTML masterpiece, you have... Read More
We have a running joke in our office that one... Read More
You can learn many things you didn't know about your... Read More
We have dealt with the tags so the search engines... Read More
After spending substantial time and efforts the big day came... Read More
You have permission to publish this article electronically or... Read More
Writing articles for submission and distribution on the internet is... Read More
Yahoo! allows you to set up your own front page... Read More
There are 3 basic components to capturing leads on free... Read More
So what is all the talk about having a lot... Read More
Most webmasters are familiar with the concept of reciprocal linking.... Read More
Sorry, there's not really a free tee here, but... Read More
Acquiring relevant backlinks to your website is one of the... Read More
Depending on your site's subject... Read More
eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..DMOZ editors are supposed to be professionals in the category... Read More
Most website owners fail to differentiate between a directory and... Read More
Content One of the best ways to encourage website owners... Read More
Your biggest asset when becoming an internet marketer is to... Read More
Promote your website using articles - Internet is all about... Read More
Website advertising, the unending quest of every website owner. And... Read More
Webmasters across the globe are involved in a race to... Read More
If you master these nitty-gritty website promotion tactics, you'll be... Read More
Here's ten simple yet POWERFUL ideas for you to reflect... Read More
Yahoo! allows you to set up your own front page... Read More
According the National Association of Realtors(R) ("NAR") surveys completed between... Read More
Business is war.To get to the top, you must fight... Read More
Driving traffic to your website can be a time consuming... Read More
Google Sitemaps is a simple and fast way for your... Read More
Free For All Links Pages have been given a bad... Read More
Keeping in touch with other sites like Amazon.com, Buy.com and... Read More
Would it surprise you to know that Compaq Computer? outsources?... Read More
If you are website owner and you have begun exchanging... Read More
When you build your website you need to have a... Read More
Giving away content is a powerful way to get free... Read More
Web site owners are realizing Jack Humphrey's Power Linking isn't... Read More
As a small business owner are you looking at promotional... Read More
The Google patent application submitted in March, 2005 has generated... Read More
At present there are over 3.3 billion pages indexed by... Read More
Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More
Web Site Promotion |