Where and How to Advertise Blogger Giveaways

Giveaways can be an excellent way to draw new eyes to your blog and to potentially find new, loyal readers.  However, once you've gone through all the work of creating a fantastic giveaway, there's nothing more discouraging than seeing the entries just trickle in.  You and your giveaway sponsor want a large turnout.

Through the years, I've found some excellent resources for advertising giveaways.

Where to Advertise Blogger Giveaways

There are a few sources that I submit to every.single.giveaway.  They bring so much traffic to the giveaway, that I consider them essential when it comes to advertising.

Online Sweepstakes.  Membership to Online Sweepstakes is free.  Simply login and submit your giveaway; within 24 to 36 hours, your giveaway will appear on the site.  Thousands of people use this site, so your giveaway gets a lot of free advertising, especially if you're advertising something like a gift card.

Tightwad in Utah Low Entry Giveaway Listing.  The blogger behind Tightwad in Utah offers a fantastic service--she will advertise your low entry giveaway (under 200 entries) for up to the 7 days before your giveaway ends if you will put her blog button on your blog.

The traffic I get from this site makes it more than worthwhile to have her button up on my blog, and I appreciate the service.  Entry is simply through a Google Docs form, so it's easy.

There are also a few places I go to find blogs to advertise my giveaways.

Savings Lifestyle Host/Linky Site.  Savings Lifestyle has a list of over 100 blogs that offer giveaway linkies to advertise your giveaway.  This list is organized by day that the bloggers offer their linkies as well as bloggers who offer ongoing linkies.  While this is a great resource, be aware that some blogs on the list no longer post a giveaway linky, so you may waste a bit of your time going through the list.

Blog Giveaway Directory Daily Linky List.  You can add your giveaway to Blog Giveaway Directory's monthly giveaway linky, but even more useful, you can use her Blog Giveaway Directory Daily Linky List.  This list tells you all of the linky lists that are currently up on a variety of blogs.  Using this list, you won't have to waste your time with blogs that may or may not have current linkies.

How to Submit Giveaways for Advertising

You can link up to any blogger's giveaway linky list, but to optimize the use of your time and maximize the traffic to your site, follow these tips:

The Earlier, the Better.  The sooner you can list your giveaway after the linky goes live, the better.  Most blog giveaway linkies seem to go live between 10 p.m. EST and 6 a.m. EST.  That means you have the advantage if you're a night owl or an early riser.  I try to list my blog giveaways on linkies no later than 7:30 a.m. EST.  If a linky has more than 30 entries, I often don't list my giveaway because most people don't scroll down that far.

Emphasize the Positive.  If you are giving away a prize pack that includes a $25 gift card, emphasize the gift card.  People love free money.

List the Country the Giveaway Is Valid For.  Some giveaways are valid worldwide, some are for the U.S. only, and some are for the U.S. and Canada.  When you list your giveaway, state the item you're giving away, the date the giveaway expires, and the country:  $25 Visa Gift Card - 12/15 (US). 

Use these tips, and you'll get more traffic to your giveaway and hopefully, a few new readers in the process.