10 replies
Hi Warriors,

I'm putting together a contest to promote the launch of my new business, the International Association of Health & Wellness Professionals and need some prize ideas.

I need some good prizes and I'm a bit stuck for ideas. Do you have any ideas/suggestions?

I'm also really tight on funds right now, so I can't offer high-end prizes like iPads or iPods. My current contest prize ideas:

1. 30-minute strategy session with me.
2. IAHWP membership
3. Copy of my new book Boost Business Online.
4. Amazon.com gift card.
5. Starbucks gift card.

Does this sound appealing? Do you have any other ideas?
#contest #ideas #prize
  • Profile picture of the author JeedoAquino
    Hi Nightengale,

    You might get an idea of what I'm doing right now to give my website some traction:

    Get your own corner of the web!

    Hope this helps.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372508].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author goindeep
      Might not be right for health related business but this is one i used which worked awesome for me.

      I have over 1,000 friends on FB and cant even remember how many on twitter.

      I just uploaded a message saying "first person to submit xxxx to site xxxx gets a free large pizza delivered right to your door!".

      I had what i wanted within about 30 minutes, i logged onto dominos and sent the dude a pizza right to his door!

      There are also competition websites out there which can help with ideas, and they even publish your competition on their website for more exposure.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372522].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
        Thanks guys!

        One of the tricky things I'm running into is that this is for the launch of my association. I'd love to give away a free membership, but I'm very concerned that this will negatively impact my sales.

        1. I might not get any sales of memberships since contestants would be waiting for the contest to end to see if they won before buying. The contest will run for 2 weeks and yes, I can wait for 2 weeks for any sales (although I'd really prefer not to since this is for the launch of the association). And since this is a rolling launch, I'll be having several short contests (2 weeks each) during the launch period (4 months or so).

        With social media, the word will spread pretty quickly after the second contest and people won't buy at all if I'm always giving away a free membership with each contest. I'll end up diluting the effectiveness of the entire launch cycle.

        2. There's the psychological aspect of NOT winning a membership. If someone doesn't win, there's a let down . And people won't be receptive to buying something they didn't win for free in the first place. I have to be very careful not to devalue the membership.

        The obvious solution to this is to simply give away prizes that complement what I'm trying to sell. Since my target market is solo entrepreneurs and my goal is to help them build their businesses, I came up with my book, and the gift cards as prizes. I can't afford the standard snazzy prizes like iPads and iPods.

        I'd love to hear any other comments and suggestions. If you're selling business products and services to other businesses and are on a limited budget, what would you give?

        I like the pizza idea BTW!
        Signature
        "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372587].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Giving away a website is a great idea!

      However, I'm not a designer and I'd have to hire someone. I've had a horrendous experience with hiring people to get my own sites done and it took FOREVER. I'm very leery of giving away a website where I have to hire someone to do it. There's not one person I know of right now that I could trust to do a site for one of my customers. (I'm not exaggerating. Just getting my own sites done... ugghh!) Assuming you're providing a WordPress site, where do you draw the line at customization?

      I've got a headache just thinking about it!

      Any further ideas?

      Michelle

      Originally Posted by JeedoAquino View Post

      Hi Nightengale,

      You might get an idea of what I'm doing right now to give my website some traction:

      Get your own corner of the web!

      Hope this helps.
      Signature
      "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372610].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    I'm putting together a contest to promote the launch of my new business, the International Association of Health & Wellness Professionals and need some prize ideas.

    I need some good prizes and I'm a bit stuck for ideas. Do you have any ideas/suggestions?

    I'm also really tight on funds right now, so I can't offer high-end prizes like iPads or iPods. My current contest prize ideas:

    1. 30-minute strategy session with me.
    2. IAHWP membership
    3. Copy of my new book Boost Business Online.
    4. Amazon.com gift card.
    5. Starbucks gift card.

    Does this sound appealing? Do you have any other ideas?
    Hey

    The prizes should be decided by keeping in mind the demographic of the participants. For example, 1,2,3 of your choices may be a good choice for someone really interested in learning something related to the niche, but what would someone who doesn't visit Amazon (me.) do? And what would I do of the Starbucks card, when there's not a single Startbucks outlet in my country (or maybe a few are there).

    Karan
    Signature
    Penalty Safe, Long Term, 100% Whitehat Backlinks
    Love your site? Then check out SafeSpokes!
    ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_
    karan996@irchiver.com karan997@irchiver.com
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372588].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Good points!

      For Amazon, I'd make an executive decision and just use it as a prize. Just a judgment call...

      About Starbucks... Since I'm an international association, that's a valid point. Ok, nix the Starbucks idea.

      Grrr! Creating a contest isn't so simple!

      Michelle

      Originally Posted by Karan Goel View Post

      Hey

      The prizes should be decided by keeping in mind the demographic of the participants. For example, 1,2,3 of your choices may be a good choice for someone really interested in learning something related to the niche, but what would someone who doesn't visit Amazon (me.) do? And what would I do of the Starbucks card, when there's not a single Startbucks outlet in my country (or maybe a few are there).

      Karan
      Signature
      "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3372618].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
        Does anyone else have ideas? I was thinking I could offer four prizes:

        1. 30-minute strategy session with me.
        2. Copy of my book.
        2. $25 Amazon.com gift card.
        3. $10 iTunes gift card.

        All of these can be given online and used no matter what country the recipient is located in. I would dearly love to give away a free membership, but as I said, I'm worried about the impact on my sales since this is for the launch of the association and I don't want to mess with that.

        Not every prize is going to appeal to everyone; that's just the nature of it. I'm just trying to give out gifts with as much broad appeal as possible.

        And these gifts I can afford.

        Thoughts anyone?

        Thanks,
        Michelle
        Signature
        "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3376287].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    Hi Michelle,

    I do think you should focus on the prizes that are directly related to your association. That way, you don't get a flood of prospects who're tyring to win things like itune cards and so on -- these folks will disappear once the contest is over.

    You mentioned the problems with giving away memberships. Here are a few workarounds:

    1. Contest winner: If someone has already purchased a membership, they'll still win a free membership (e.g., you'll refund their membership fees), PLUS they'll win something extra... like a gift card.

    NOTE: If they're already purchased a membership, then a non-targeted prize like a gift card is ok, because they've already proved they're genuine prospects.


    Meanwhile, if the contest winner is NOT yet a member, then they just win a membership -- no extra gift card.

    In other words, you reward people for buying memberships and getting into the association early.


    (Not sure of the legality of any of this -- you'd need to check with an attorney, blah blah blah.)


    2. Another workaround is to offer everyone who participates a "consolation prize" -- a limited-time discount (like 48 hours) on the membership fee. I'd imagine you'd have to do partial refunds for those who already purchased. But then there's not so much let down, because everyone can take advantage of a great deal.


    Good luck with your contest!

    Becky
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3376331].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Becky,

      Thanks so much for your feedback!

      I agree, the prizes need to be in line with my target market and the purpose of my business. I probably really only need three prizes and the strategy session and my book could be two of them. I just need a third prize.

      As for the gift cards, I was going to keep them in low denominations, $25 and $10 respectively. But maybe that's still a bad idea.

      Essentially, I'm doing offline marketing within the framework of a membership-type business. I'm showing health and wellness professionals how to grow their businesses online.

      So, what kind of prize do you suggest?

      I'd almost decided late last night to go ahead and use a membership as a prize because I think it's a great prize. But I run into the same thing over and over: people won't buy a membership if they're thinking they might get one for free.

      You're right about giving a discount to everyone who didn't win (or refunding someone who already purchased). But since this is for my launch, I really don't want to depress sales.

      I love the idea of giving away a website, but that's a huge headache I think. Any other suggestions???

      Or...

      I know some Warriors here have put together a WordPress site first, and then sold it to offline businesses. Maybe I could get a Warrior to put together a generic WordPress site and give that away? That way, I'm not tied to customizing it? If the winner wants to customize what I give them, they have to pay for it out of their own pocket.

      Hmmm... Now, I just thought about that while writing this and I like that idea!

      However, a website for a chiropractor or a nutritionist would be very different. Maybe just customize the header banner with the winner's name or business name and type of business?

      I'd appreciate any help here....

      Thanks,
      Michelle
      Signature
      "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3376681].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
        A ha!

        I think I just got an idea....

        I can write a press release for the winner and provide them with a list of press release distribution services they can use to distribute it.

        It shouldn't take me more than 2 hours MAX (including all research) to write a press release.

        That's much better than a generic gift card.

        Michelle
        Signature
        "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3376893].message }}

Trending Topics