by Stacy Altiery of InkSpot Workshop
Hello everyone! Are you enjoying this month’s theme on ethics as much as I am? The dialog among the comments has been extra insightful and I want to personally thank everyone for taking the time to post such well thought out comments.
Today I want to elaborate a bit more upon Jessika’s post To Give Or Not To Give. She does a superb job of helping you to weed out all of the “bogus” requests we all seem to get on a daily basis, which are merely people starting blogs for the sake of getting FREEBIES. Jess helps you to determine which blogs are a perfect fit for your products by looking at some key criteria.
There are so many schools of thought when it comes to blogging, giveaways and ethics and I too have found the Design*Sponge Biz Ladies series Online Etiquette + Ethics Part I – Part II and Part III plus “the art of the give-a-way” extremely useful. Since I know my own business best, I thought I’d share the method behind InkSpot Workshop’s Blog giveaway madness called Hump Day Giveaways.
It all started on my Facebook Fanpage and Twitter (4 score and 7 years ago:) All of my followers regularly tune-in to see what new shop, product or trend I have recently spotted. I’m an inpatient web surfer and can cover miles with just the click of a mouse. Sometimes this lends itself to my productivity detriment, most often it leads me to finding a new business to give a shout out to. I never really gave much thought to what I was posting until I started to receive e-mails from my followers actually thanking me for all of the “new stuff” I regularly place on their radar. Additionally I make just about all of my purchases online and buy handmade as often as I can. This is where I had an epiphany and Hump Day Giveaways were born. Let’s face it…Wednesdays are the worst days of the week so why not try to make them a little brighter for everyone?
If all of my followers enjoy the new and unique goodies I discover on the web, wouldn’t they love a chance to win them and experience them first hand? Quickly I contacted all of the sellers on Etsy I had ever made a purchase from and asked them if they would be interested in sponsoring a giveaway. Since I am not a “review” blogger, nor do I ever intend to be, I made it clear they need not send me a sample of their product, just send directly to the winner. I was amazed at how many sellers jumped right in and offered up something for my giveaways and since I already owned the item I was offering to my readers, it was easy to speak from my heart.
It’s been close to a year and Hump Day Giveaways are just as strong as ever and I’m completely booked until the end of Summer. Since there are 52 Wednesdays in each year, not all of my giveaways are based upon items I have actually purchased myself. I really pride myself on taking the time to hand curate ALL items and sellers I feature each week. I want my blog readers to see the beauty in each item as much as I do so I also take the time to add my own signature style to the graphics I create each week in order to compliment the product pictures. Lastly, each giveaway gets heavily promoted via my Facebook Fan Page, Twitter and e-newsletter. Likewise the sponsor also promotes the giveaway through their own channels. I consider myself a full service blogger and often find myself giving my sponsors a Social Media 101 class before all is said and done:) The most successful giveaways happen when we both are equally committed to promoting. It’s safe to say the best way to judge your giveaway success is by how many people are entering your giveaway, plus the buzz it’s generating on the web. I fully believe all of this TLC and attention to detail is why Hump Day Giveaways continue to grow and thrive.
On January 1, 2011, InkSpot Workshop’s Blog got a face lift. Part of my new layout included a space for advertisers. Similar to the way I hand curate all Hump Day Giveaway items, I also hand select my advertisers. As a way to say “Thank You” for past, present and future support of Hump Day Giveaways, I offer each sponsor an ad space price break when they purchase advertising on my blog. These sponsors already know the way I work and trust me, so advertising with me is a natural fit. So far this win-win arrangement is working out well for my sponsors and blog readers. I’m able to get high quality, fun items for my readers to win and my sponsors are able to get blog advertising at an affordable rate and lots of social media exposure from my giveaways.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I’d love to hear from you should you have your own tips for successful blog giveaways.
Please be sure to visit InkSpot Workshop’s blog each Wednesday and enter our Hump Day Giveaway. You just might be the next lucky WINNER!
