Make your prize draws sparkle10 tips by Steve Masters

Use a catchy

headline

• “Half a case of champagne” sounds better than “six bottles of champagne”.

• “A year’s supply of shirts” sounds much bigger than “12 shirts”.

• “Win your height in DVDs” sounds like a lot and it is more catchy than saying, “win a big bundle of DVDs” or “win between 60 and 90 DVDs”.

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Tip 1

Sell the dream,

not the detail

• “Take your family to the Caribbean for two weeks”

• Much more exciting than- Four flights- Family hotel room- Holiday to be taken Nov-Jan- Food not included- UK residents onlyPrize

draw

Tip 2

Hide the price,

sell the value

• Highly sought-after prizes, like gadgets, have a higher demand.

• Their perceived value is greater than their retail price.

• Lots of people will enter to win something they would love to buy, even if it is easily affordable.

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Tip 3

Don’t wait till

last minute

• Giving away tickets to events at the last minute reduces the chances of reaching lots of people.

• You need to leave time to get the tickets to the winners, or organise the guest list.

• Plan ahead.

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Tip 4

Celebrities and

movies sell

• Prizes involving celebrities are very popular and more likely to attract higher entry levels.

• CDs, DVDs, books and games are all popular.

• Also, impossible-to-buy merchandise is likely to do well, if you can get the publicity company to supply it.

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Tip 5

Beware of the

local limitation

• Talking to a national audience? Don’t give away a prize that is local to one area.

• If you do, state whether travel will be included in the prize.

• Be clear about location, dates and what the full package includes, if your prize is tied to a specific location.

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Tip 6

Show the

actual prize

• Don’t con your reader with a picture of something that is not the actual prize.

• If you are giving away a used car, don’t show a brand new one.

• Don’t show a hamper full of food to represent a hamper prize unless it is a picture of the actual prize.

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Tip 7

Keep the prize

levels simple

• Giving away multiple prizes? Be very clear what is the first prize, second prize and third prize.

• Be clear on the difference between a first prize winner and a runner-up –and how the winners will be chosen.

• Also be clear how many prizes there are at each level.Prize

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Tip 8

Tell the world

• Promote the draw on prize directories like Loquax and The Prize Finder.

• Email your subscribers.

• Post it on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and other social networks, using appropriate hashtags.

• Keep promoting it – don’t just announce it once.

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Tip 9

Announce the

winners

• Contact all entrants at the end inviting them back to the winners’ page.

• Offer a follow-up, such as a discount voucher or second prize draw.

• Don’t just contact the winners – tell everyone who entered that the draw is over.

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Tip 10

Thanks for

reading

You can find me here:

• Twitter: @masterstips

• Blog: www.stevemasters.co.uk

• Instagram: @stevemast

• Google+: +SteveMasters

All images courtesy of Pixabay.