Easier Entry to giveaways?

[momofone709]

I was reading some feed back about blog giveaways, and someone was saying about how they hate when bloggers use giveaways as "lazy marketing ploys" and you have all these things to do to enter the giveaway.

I didn't reply- but I wanted to tell the poster that giveaways are NOT lazy marketing ploys-- I host 1 giveaway every week, and i have to say that giveaways are HARD WORK. It takes time to find someone to sponsor the giveaway, set up the post, market the giveaway (not only for me, but for the sponsor), and than choosing a winner and getting the specifics of their prize. While I am pretty booked up with giveaways from now until the end of march, in between my giveaway marketing, I need to be trying to find the next giveaway. AND I started hosting photo contests on my blog (with prize) so that is taking up a lot of time too.

The main reason I have a mandatory entry is so that the sponsor gets some traffic to their site too, that way it is beneficial to both of us.

But I since reading this, I am considering just having a simple form to fill out for the next giveaway- name and e-mail-- What do you think?

[ChickenFreak]

Well, my (minor) issue with giveaways is that for most blogs, they're sort of beside the point. Ideally, a blog could sell itself on just being a great blog - that is, on the content.

Now, I understand that no one is going to _see_ your great content if they don't see your blog. And that a giveaway might increase people's motivation to go see your blog. And if you have great content, some of those people will come back. For the blog. Sure, I get it. There's nothing wrong with that.

But maybe that's the basis of the "cheap marketing" complaint? The thing that you're marketing is not an inherent feature of the blog, it's a frill that's added just to get people to look at the blog.

Now, on your blog, the "secondary" aspect is less true. It's about saving money, with a big focus on bargains, so the giveaways are more tightly in theme than they would be for many blogs.

Giveaways on perfume blogs seem, similarly, more tightly linked than on many other blogs - they're generally a giveaway of something that the blogger actually reviewed. Also, they may be a side effect of blogging - many perfume bloggers who receive free full-sized products from the vendors will then give away those free products when they're done with the review, in order to ensure that there are no murky ethical issues.

I do think that your ways to enter the giveaway are too complicated. Most giveaways that I see are just "comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway". Then the winner's announced, and they provide email address, address, etc., at that time. Your long list of ways to enter, with all of the things that the reader could do for your blog, makes the giveaway feel sort of aggressively self-serving. Now, I realize that of course you wouldn't be doing the giveaway if it weren't good for your blog, but I think that some veiling of that fact goes over better.

[Gennie32]

the blogs should be simple and lovely and also intersting. to enter into giveaway is bit complex. hv patience and do it

[raiundazan]

if you feel its gonna help your blog, then go for it