People ask us every day: “How do I run a sweepstakes or contest?” and “How much does it cost to run a sweepstakes or contest?” As a Sweepstakes Company, we recommend having a sweepstakes budget. It is extremely important if you want to maximize your results from a sweepstakes or contest. While many businesses are open to running sweepstakes and contests, most are also trying to do so as cost effectively as they can. 

The problem is that even though you are given some tips to launch your sweepstakes or contest, it’s not always clear how much you should spend on each aspect of your promotion to get substantial returns on those efforts. 

To help you sort it all out, here are some tips on how to budget for a sweepstakes or contest.

1. Advertise on Social Media

Brands can leverage the power of social media to help a sweepstakes promotion to go viral. By tapping into your existing following and that of the sweepstakes sponsors, you’ll be able to engage people on social media, have them sharing your contest or sweepstakes, and attract a pool of sweepstakes entrants who may later become customers. 

2. Don’t Go for the Most Expensive Prize

When it comes to selecting sweepstakes prizes, don’t go for the prize that is more expensive than you can reasonably afford. Not only will your audience not acknowledge the extra expense of the prize, they may not even like the prize, especially if they don’t feel like there is a realistic chance of winning it.

3. Ask Sweepstakes Sponsors to Pitch In

If you plan to partner with another brand in order to run a sweepstakes or contest, the cost of the contest shouldn’t only fall on your company. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your sweepstakes sponsors as it can definitely save your budget. Aside from money, sweepstakes sponsors can also help by sharing your promotion with their audiences and giving you access to influencers who regularly work with their brands.

4. Don’t Skip Out on Sweepstakes Administration

The customer experience is key to a successful sweepstakes or contest. As a result, you don’t want to leave any of the critical details, such as drafting official rules, making sure that your promotion follows sweepstakes laws, and prize delivery to chance. Hiring a sweepstakes management company like Sweeppea will ensure that all of these important details are carefully planned and executed and you stay within your sweepstakes or contest budget.

Need help with sweepstakes or contest management? Call 305-505-5393 or email us with your questions.

The post How to Budget for Your Sweepstakes or Contest Promotion appeared first on Sweeppea Blog.

Notifying sweepstakes winners is the next sweepstakes administration step to tackle after you’ve successfully run your sweepstakes campaign. There will be a lot of people eagerly awaiting your announcement. Make sure to do this as soon as possible and as stated in your Official Rules (see below).

Drawing and Notification Template: Seven (7) winners will be selected in a random drawing on or around [date] at [time] and [time zone] from among all eligible entries received during the Sweepstakes Period. Each winner is a potential winner pending verification of their eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. The potential winner(s) will be notified on [date] at [time] and [time zone].

Here are a few tips to follow to effectively communicate with your sweepstakes winner that they’ve won an amazing prize!

Here is how to notify your sweepstakes winners.

When to Notify Sweepstakes Winners? 

Apart from notifying entrants by sending sweepstakes alerts “entry confirmed,” you should also be mindful about notifying sweepstakes winners.

Notifying the winners of the sweepstakes must happen before you formally announce the winners to your audience; if a winner doesn’t claim or want their prize ( it happens), you will be able to select a new winner.

Your Sweepstakes Rules should specify the dates by which the winner must respond in order to claim the grand prize. Generally, 5 to 7 days is a good timeframe. State that if no response is received a new winner will be selected.

Now that you have an idea of how much time a winner has to respond to a sweepstakes winner notification; here are the best methods of notifying sweepstakes winners that work best:

1. Notifying Sweepstakes Winners by Text for Text-To-Win Promotions

Since you are running a text-to-win promotion, it’s only natural that you announce the winner via text message.

Sweeppea automatically sends a congratulations message to the winner. The non-winners will also be notified that they did not win the sweepstakes.

To show that you appreciate their efforts, make sure to offer non-winners a consolation prize to thank them for their sweepstakes entry.

Some brands opt for sending exclusive coupons and limited-time offers to everyone that entered their sweepstakes.

2. Notifying Sweepstakes Winners by Email

Sweepstakes alert email is another useful way to notify the giveaway winner that they’ve won. When you design your sweepstakes winners notification email, opt for a professional-looking email template that is fun, yet reflects your brand. If you’d like to get some ideas on good sweepstakes winner emails, head over to Really Good Emails and check out what other brands have done!

Vyper is another great source of email sweepstakes templates you can build for your business.

For the tone of the email, use user-friendly and fun language to show the reader the excitement of the moment. Avoid overly formal language, such as “We’d like to inform you that you have been selected as the winner of…”

No Response? Send a Follow-up Email and Call

If you don’t receive a response to your text or email winner notification, let the original winner know that you plan to select a new winner with a follow-up message. That way they will have been notified of the prize forfeiture via the same method that you used to originally notify them of the win. Furthermore, it also confirms in writing (for legal purposes) that they have forfeited their sweepstakes prize.

Grand Prize Winner will be required to complete and sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release form provided to them to be returned within 7 days of written notification, or prize may be forfeited, and an alternate winner selected.

Winner Notification Method to Avoid? Social Media

Avoid social media (like a Facebook post) at all costs as a means of notification to the sweepstakes winner.

While social media is awesome for announcing the winners of your sweepstakes after they have claimed their prizes, we do not recommend social media as a sweepstakes notification method for winners.

It’s simply too easy for entrants to miss your messages. Furthermore, it’s much harder to confirm an eligible winner as the real owner of a social media account, which could create legal concerns amidst the sweepstakes, raffles, and lottery scams circulating social media nowadays.

As a Sweepstakes Company, we recommend from experience notifying hundreds of winners that when it comes to notifying sweepstakes winners, stick to text, phone call, and email for best results. Act fast to notify winners and deliver the prizes for a smooth finish to your promotion that your customers will appreciate!

It is highly recommended that you hire a sweepstakes company to avoid legal ramifications. Companies will be able to provide Official Rules templates (similar to raffle rules template), a sample winning entry form, and more.

Need help with sweepstakes or contest management? Call 305-505-5393 or email us with your questions.

The post How to Notify Your Sweepstakes Winners appeared first on Sweeppea Blog.