Gift Giveaways Rock – Benefits of Hosting Your Own Giveaway

Have you been wondering if hosting your own Giveaway is a good thing for you and your business?

Like all worthwhile marketing strategies, sure, they require some planning and implementation work...AND there are some very big benefits. 

For several years, I’ve been hosting the “Thanksgiving Feast of Education”.  

It’s a gift Giveaway promotion that has become very popular with small business owners and I’m often asked, “Cathy, how does a Giveaway work...and what are the benefits?”

As the name implies, my particular Giveaway takes place during the week of U.S. Thanksgiving.  It provides a collection of free business-growth programs specifically for small business owners.

The 2019 “BusinessSuccess.com Thanksgiving Feast of Education” runs from November 25 to December 1 and thirty (30) partners have donated gifts worth a total of over $5,000.

Each of the gifts normally sell for $47, $197, $497, or even more. But my partners in the "Feast" are giving them away for a limited time.

How Does a Giveaway Work?

Giveaway promotions have been around for several years on the Internet now, and there's different permutations and styles of doing Giveaways. They are sometimes also called a “Summit” if the items given away are live or recorded video or audio trainings.

In simple terms, how a Giveway works is, first, a host gathers up a number of partners to participate. 

Often these partners are JV Partners or affiliates but typically they are not partners in the legal sense of the word. These partners agree to provide something that will be given away during a defined period of time - and they agree to promote the event. Sometimes they pay a small fee, but I prefer not to charge my partners to participate.

The gifts are most often in a digital format, and anyone can choose as many, or even all of those gifts - it’s all FREE for that limited time.

No, you don’t have to have 30 partners involved for a “Giveway” to be successful.

But the gifts must be:

- something that people in your target market really want
- of high perceived value
- available for a limited time only to create some urgency

What Are the Benefits?

It’s clear there are some great benefits to those who are going to get some wonderful gifts.

But, if the Giveaway is going to work, you'll need to promote it. That means you have to be able to attract partners who want to provide gifts AND are willing promote your Giveaway event.

And, of course, as the host, you'll need to see a significant reward for all the work involved.

There are two big benefits...both of which can lead to additional revenue and profits for the host and the partners involved: Exposure and New Leads.

Properly managed and promoted, a Giveaway can provide everyone involved with great exposure and visibility. The event can be seen by thousands, even hundreds of thousands of prospects. When each of the partners shares with their tribe, everyone involved gains credibility and exposure.

Another big, and equally important, benefit for both the host and the partners are fresh hot leads. Those who register for the Giveaway join the host’s community signing up to receive email from the host and by connecting with them on social media.

Similarly, when a participant requests a specific giveaway item they become a lead for the partner providing that gift. Often, those are very targeted and high quality leads indeed! 

So the partners are attracting new prospects who are in their niche, interested in what they do, and need their help. If they didn't, they wouldn’t ask for the gift from that partner.

Depending on the partner's follow-up strategy, sending the gift is the first step in creating a great relationship between the prospect and the gift-giver. One that can turn into a customer relationship - and often does.

There is no “hard cost” to the partners to acquire these new leads (though they do have to provide a high-value gift)... and if the Giveaway is promoted properly, each of the partners can get hundreds, or even thousands, of new leads- in a very short period of time.

Given the high cost of acquiring leads using paid ads these days, a properly run Giveaway is a very attractive alternative for the partners involved.

A Great Giveaway is a Win/Win/Win

A well run, well managed, and (most importantly) well promoted Giveaway is a win-win-win.

It’s a win for the participants - they get awesome gifts. (During the Thanksgiving Feast of Education - 30 of them!)

It’s a win for the partners. Yes, they are giving away programs that they usually sell (but only for a very short period of time)... and, in exchange, they get to add highly targeted (and grateful) prospects to their community.

For similar reasons, it’s also a win for the host. Plus, it’s a great way to appreciate and acknowledge partners you have enjoyed working with... and would like to again.

There’s one more WIN I should mention.

After gathering up the gifts provided during the “Feast of Education,” I do encourage participants to consider paying it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs, by making a donation to Junior Achievement (™).  It’s entirely optional... but a great thing to do this time of year.

When planning out your Giveaway event, consider adding something similar that supports a common interest. It can make the promotion much more rewarding for everyone!

To learn more about the Thanksgiving Feast of Education (and get some great gifts before it’s over), CLICK HERE

Happy Thanksgiving!