Beginners Guide to Using Rafflecopter to Host Giveaways
Rafflecopter, a widely known giveaway site, helps organisations and people promote their product or services. The primary method they do this is through hosting giveaways. When I initially began to run giveaways to promote my writing, I had no idea what service to use. The very first one I came across was Rafflecopter.
Below is a truthful evaluation of their services.
Pros
1. Free to host a free gift
Functions of Rafflecopter Free Account
The complimentary hosting abilities are standard however do finish the job. I extremely advise going with the free alternative for your very first free gift and then choose later on if you wish to update.
Also, all of the giveaway linky websites understand Rafflecopter and this makes sharing your free gift information easier.
2. Relatively simple to navigate
Hosting your very first vacation is quite easy to understand, although there was a learning curve that I'll get into later in this post.
Rafflecopter's site is divided into 3 areas-- setup, setup, and entries.
In the setup area, you include the reward description, choose how people can enter, include the conditions, and start/end dates.
In the installation section is where you discover the links and code to embed the Rafflecopter widget on your blog/website or preview on your Facebook fan page.
The last location is the entries area. You can view a report showing who has gone into the free gift and what options they chose. You can likewise download the report into a stand out spreadsheet. Another fantastic function is that you can include a widget to pick a winner at random when the free gift ends.
3. Incorporates with Facebook
I found this to be a big benefit since as soon as it's setup, the modifications you make to the free gift on Rafflecopter are automatically upgraded on your Facebook fan page. Likewise, you can boost your posts on Facebook to reach more individuals. Not to mention there is always a direct widget to your free gift. You can likewise arrange posts on Facebook to advise people of the giveaway as it goes on to increase traffic.
4. Great Q&A Articles
Links to Q&A Articles
As I discussed previously, there is a finding out curve when utilizing Rafflecopter, but they do offer a field manual about a range of topics concerning in the ins/outs of utilizing their services. I found them clear and to the point.
5. Ability to copy the settings of a free gift
I found this feature truly helpful because I hosted three comparable free gifts in a short quantity of time. Basically, I copied the setup from one previous free gift to a new one.
Cons of Rafflecopter
1. Free account has actually limited features
You can easily host a free gift, however some crucial features aren't consisted of. The primary one for me was that you can't personalize your entry kind by adding an image of your prize. A great quality picture actually enhances traffic to your giveaway and the complimentary account does not include this option. After my very first free gift, I upgraded to a standard account for $13 monthly to have this option.
I likewise wanted to incorporate my mailing list with the free gift and have the ability for the entrants to refer a friend. Integrating your e-mail list is just included in the Grow Plan. Having the ability to refer a buddy is only included in the Premium strategy.
2. Setup is pretty easy, however there are a couple of confusing areas.
The very first one is deciding how individuals can go into. For my free gift, it was critical that the entrant nominates my novel, to enter the giveaway. To do this you need to invent your own option and make this necessary.
If you read about giveaways they suggest not making an entry option necessary since it can dissuade individuals from getting in, but considering that this was the whole function of the free gift, I ignored this recommendations.
I did read that adding more than one choice is a smart method to go. Some other choices include: tweeting about the free gift, checking out a website or talking about a blog post. I added a few of these as well. I was puzzled by the number worth you can provide each option. 1-5 are the options. I instinctively understood to offer the Invent Your Own Alternative a greater value and the others a lower worth to make this alternative more appealing, but it wasn't till later when I looked at who entered the free gift that it became clear that the numbers represented the overall number of entries each person can earn for completing the various entrant options. So it looks like you've had a lot more entrants than you've had.
I was puzzled by the number worth you can offer each alternative. 1-5 are the choices. I intuitively understood to give the Invent Your Own Alternative a higher value and the others a lower worth to make this option more appealing, however it wasn't until later when I looked at who entered the giveaway that it became clear that the numbers represented the overall number of entries everyone can earn for completing the various entrant choices. So it looks like you have actually had a lot more entrants than you have actually had.
Another confusing location is the terms section. For the complimentary account you don't have access to a design template that creates your terms and conditions for you. And for a giveaway beginner, I had no idea what my terms must state. I had to do some major research study to discover the best language and to include all the needed terms and conditions. Once you update to the basic account you have access to a template. But if you do not wish to pay for this, you require to figure this out yourself.
The last confusing location is that you can set your start/end dates but the start/end times should be at midnight. Having the ability to change the time your free gift begins is a feature of the standard account, not the free one. I discovered this two times as frustrating because I keep reading a Rafflecopter's Q&A post that there are much better times to begin and end a giveaway to increase traffic. And midnight is not one of those times.
3. Rafflecopter Uses JavaScript
Normally, this wouldn't be a con unless WordPress hosts your website. WordPress does not support JavaScript when you have a totally free account and use a totally free theme. In the beginning, I wasn't sure why the embedding code wasn't working on my site up until I read multiple articles about this on WordPress and Rafflecopter. JavaScript is what makes the giveaway look slick and professional. Otherwise, you have to produce a link to an image or tag in your post. This is what I did, and is a good workaround, but I like things to be ideal, so I found this a downside.
4. Integrating the Facebook App
There is a finding out curve when incorporating your giveaway with Facebook.
Initially, you need to develop the connection on your Facebook page. Basically, link your Facebook account with your Rafflecopter free gift. When this remains in place, you can then create a post advertising your free gift on Facebook. But you need to utilize the Facebook generated link, not the one offered by Rafflecopter. This required time to comprehend. Nevertheless, once the criteria were clear the treatment simple to execute.
Overall, once I learned the basic ropes of utilizing Rafflecopter, I chose it was best to stay with them for more free gifts.
The widget is fantastic general. I highly recommend it. Let me know what your experience resembled with Rafflecopter below. I would love to hear them.
Take a look at How to Host a Giveaway. This informative blog will assist you start in hosting a giveway.
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