November 3, 2021– We’re talking about daily tips for authors this month, and today we’re focusing on giveaways!
Giveaways are a great promotional tool for many reasons; let’s explore those functions and talk about some great ideas for your next giveaway!
Function: Giving away free promotional items or having a contest for a prize help people identify your brand and remind them of your business when they are ready to purchase.
Benefits of contests and giveaways for you as an author:
Giveaways and contests help grow your audience, boost engagement with your posts, and increase customer loyalty.
Define your goals:
- What do you want your contest or giveaway to accomplish? Perhaps you want to grow your email list, increase engagement, reach new customers, or reward your clients. Whatever it is, be clear about what results you want.
I love contests and free stuff, who doesn’t? As long as you conduct your giveaways and contests in the proper way, it can be beneficial for everyone. Here are some best practices that you should follow:
- Be truthful. If you’re doing a draw for a contest and you’re having people fill out ballots with their email addresses, ask for their permission first to add them to your database. Be honest and say that you’d like to sign them up for some free coupons, contests, and your monthly newsletter. They have the choice to opt in or out.
- Never give this away. The one thing you should never give away is a copy of your book. Why? Because that deters people from purchasing it. If your book is a draw item or part of a prize pack, your customer will usually take their chances and wait to see if they’ve won rather than buy your book upfront. That’s why it’s best to use complementary items as we’ll list below.
- Make it easy. We don’t want any barriers for people entering the contest. Make the rules clear, ensure that the steps are easy, and follow through with delivery/pick up and after the winner has been chosen.
Here are some great giveaway ideas:
-Promotional items such as pens, notepads, and cups with your business name or book name on them
-T-shirts, hats, tote bags with your book cover on them or the name of your business
-Gift cards, colouring pages, stickers, and activity sheets with your website info on them
A great way to entice people to visit your booth or table at an event is to have something highly intriguing and visible front and center. For example, let’s say that you’re a children’s book author; you can draw kids and their parents to your table by having an oversized, plush animal up for grabs in a contest. Maybe you’re a fiction writer who has a book for adults that has just come out and you’re offering a gift card to a spa or for wine tasting because that’s what your main character participates in during your book. Whatever you choose to offer, make sure it complements what your book is about or what your main character engages in.
Don’t forget to engage those on social media too! This helps boost engagement on your posts, increases shares, and gets people talking about you and your book.
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