Competitions tips for Promoters (Running Competitions)

Most visitors to Competitions.com.au are everyday people wanting access to enter and win online competitions. However more and more businesses wanting to know more about competitions are spending time with us and asking questions. Whilst we don't hope to even come close to addressing all the issues, we can give some insights to the many things that do and don't work. Some simple "how to's" follow:

1. If you're going to run a competition, offer a proper one; Prizes such as discounts-off, or having to pay for part of the prize (believe us, this does happen) do more to lose you customers than gain new ones.

2. Be transparent: You need to let your entrant base know as many details of your competition before entering. Have a full set of terms and conditions (if you don't know how, look at existing sites for inspiration) that include at the very minimum start and end date, prize specifics and value, date and place of draw, and where the winner/s will be announced. You don't need to hire a lawyer to write you a set of t's & c's however you need to make sure everything is included

3. Don't get too personal; Avoid demanding mobile phone numbers, actual age or income unless you really need to know this.

4. Be legal; If your competition has any hint of randomness such as a draw, it's a lottery and will require a permit in some states. Even if you're based in a state that doesn't require a permit, if you can enter from NSW you need a permit.

5. Avoid too many barriers to entry; We believe that offering a free online competition is the best way of building up your member base. But if you want to require purchase first, that's okay, but ask for one, not two, three or four buys.

6. Ask relevant questions; Asking really difficult Words-Or-Less questions does nothing for your competition. Ask honest questions for honest feedback, and specify "no rhyming" to ensure that the answers actually mean something.

7. Offer prizes people want to win; By all means offer your own products, but offering stuff that you can't sell at any price never makes for a good prize. Think of what would entice your entrant, you don't have to offer the world, just be reasonable.

8. Be careful with tell-a-friend; This can work either way for you. Many entrants believe they are disadvantaged if they don't have a lot of friends or family to tell, many simply don't want to inconvenience others or be seen to spam.

9. Test your links; Before releasing your competition, make sure that it works. Place some dummy entries, and see that everything works as it should.

10. Follow through: Try not to leave your winner/s hanging for their prizes. Try to get them out as soon as you possibly can.

11. Don't change the rules to suit yourself; If your competition isn't working, don't pull it. Firstly it's illegal, but more importantly your members and visitors will know that it's disappeared. Learn from it instead. Also, if a competition is working well, don't extend it for another few weeks. Again, it's illegal, but it's also unfair on everyone who played by the book.

12. Email with caution; Once you have your database it's so tempting to hit that send button every day. Trouble is, what you see has marketing news, your members will see as spam. Email only if you have something new to say.

We hope this small amount of tips has added to your knowledge base. Feel free to contact us with any further questions, and we'll point you in (hopefully) the right direction.

*Want to know more about how to create and manage online competitions? - You can buy "Competitions - The Book" online here for only $13.95 including delivery. Click here to order

©Craig Bradley Market Engineering Pty Ltd. 2009. All articles are original content and opinions of the author Craig Seitam. Copying of all or part of any content without the expressed permission of the author is prohibited.