Do giveaways work?

[lewisandbucky]

Has anyone here tried a giveaway as a special promotion, and did it bring in sales?

[CaseyHPerez]

I have heard of them working if done the right way. Say through a blog that has a heavy following. I think there is a give away app for facebook (I think I heard this, someone correct me if I misinterpreted this) which you have have a give away and it brings people to your facebook page that are not following you on facebook.

I have also heard of people doing them and getting nothing in return. Say they do it on their own blog, don't do a good job promoting it, or they don't have many followers.

[lewisandbucky]

I'm interested in that FB app you mentioned! Any idea how to get it? Does it cost anything?

[Former_Member]

I have done giveaways. I was promoted by a blogger, she even mentioned my shop in a local newspaper interview. In return I sent her one of my bracelets. She also posted a photo of her wearing the bracelet, gave the name of my shop, etc.. I also did a monthly giveaway through my shop and FB page. I gave away a nice piece of jewelry every month for about 5 months. Neither one did anything for me.

[SharonsCompendium]

I have participated in a couple of giveaways and felt that they were not particularly helpful. I did one through the HandmadeMN blog, which is a regular thing that team does, and I promoted it on various sites and my Facebook page etc., and there were a decent number of responses, but in the end, it only attracted people who like giveaways! At least, that's how it felt to me. So, although the giveaway itself got plenty of "business," my shop did not benefit.

I think you're right that if you don't do a good job of promoting your giveaway, you don't get much from it. But that's true of our shops in general, so why spend time and energy promoting something you're giving away for nothing, instead of spending the same time and energy promoting your shop?

I just think that when you give stuff away, unless you're donating it to charity, you are saying something about the value of what you make.

Anyway, that's my two cents' worth!

[Former_Member]

I have never found them to work.

[Former_Member]

If you item is very focused and completely fits the target market of the customer, you'll have more success. There have been several giveaways I've entered where I've gone and bought the item with a coupon code when I didn't win.

You have to know your target market and know the target market of the blog you're hosting on to get a good percentage of people who would actually buy.

[msformaldehyde]

Yes giveaways and reviews work if the blogger/reviewer has a big following. Know's how to promote and get your name out there!

[lewisandbucky]

Yeah, I'm wondering if it's a way to "pay" for advertising with one of your products. It seems to be a good idea though I'm not sure how often I could get away with doing it. I am trying one this weekend, and I will soon see if it leads to any sales. ...
Have any of you had a giveaway lead to lots of sales?

[Former_Member]

I've done two giveaways and both have had different results.

For my first giveaway, I was hosted on blogs and I barely received new views/likes. However, my second giveaway seems to be going well. I've only been going at it for a few days and I seem to be doing great so far. I've received some new customers from giveaway referrals.

[Former_Member]

I don't have enough of a following to generate a giveaway, as I found out recently when I held one and didn't even get a single entry.
I've been toying with the idea of somehow having a multi shop giveaway. So that everyone could kinda cross promote, but I haven't gotten it out of the " planning in my head" phase

[Former_Member]

Yes and no. I would say that no, they don't "work" if you're looking to coerce people into buying your wares. The kind of people that join all the giveaways out there aren't the "buying" type, they're the "free stuff" type.

They do, however, work well for creating hype and buzz about your brand. If done correctly they can bring in people that might not have otherwise been exposed to your brand. That hype and buzz can create customers, so I consider that a win.

[Former_Member]

I agree with Amy. I never do a giveaway expecting to get sales. I do giveaways to gain exposure and build my own FB/twitter/Pinterest/etc. following.

I have found that rhe free reviews from people who just happened to find and love my products gain more views and sales than giveaways. But the giveaways have helped gain likes and followers.

[SageNThymeDesigns]

I've been asked to give to several blogs and nothing much (other than initial good feelings and lingering bag feelings) has ever come of it.

I suppose if you have product to share, then send good things out to the world. If you're so busy that making something for a promo would break you, send good things to yourself and call it a day.

[Former_Member]

For my other shop, I did 2 give aways to promote and get FB fans. I think on one, I got well over 400 new likes just for the giveaway. I have no way of telling whether any of the new followers have come and bought without going back through a list, But I used it as a promotional tool to introduce my shop, so in that respect, I say it worked for me.

[Former_Member]

I tried it a couple of times but nothing came about~~~