Low readability and less engagement- these are two major issues of several bloggers. Although passionate and highly skill blog writers provide useful information to their readers, they cannot increase the engagement rate. You may have already tried out different techniques to overcome this problem. However, nothing has worked for you.
But, there is one tried-and-tested method to increase the number of blog readers on your site. A giveaway is the most effective option for solving your problem. To say simply, you have to run a contest from your blog. It helps you to promote your blogging website, increase social media followers, and trigger interactions.
Now, how will you host the contest in your blog? The present scenario is different from what you can find in the past. A few years ago, there was a need for the administration to run competitions. At the end of the contest, the website owner needs to check the entries manually. It takes much time to decide on the winner.
However, at present, there is a time-saving option, as you can rely on an advanced tool, like Gleam. By using Gleam, you can avoid the administration overhead and get several options to host the contest.
Before reading the comprehensive guide to using the tool, it is important to know the value of your blog competitions.
Benefits of hosting a contest on your blog
You may find varying benefits based on the type of contests you have chosen.
- Find new loyal readers– One of the common reasons behind running your blog competition is to engage new readers. Bloggers hope that the prizes will lure them. However, they have to do something more than offering attractive prizes. For instance, they must provide their readers with better posts in the future.
- Reward loyal and dedicated readers– It is another reason for hosting a contest on your blogs. With your effort and dedication, you may have gained some loyal blog readers. These long-term readers read every post on your website. You can now think of giving them a reward to encourage them to read your blogs in the future.
- Increase the number of page views– Based on the type of your blog contest, you have a chance to increase the website’s page views. You may ask readers to leave comments on different blog posts.
- Create a buzz– Successful contests can create a positive effect on your blogs. You can energize the potential readers by announcing the contest. Moreover, you have a community, the buzz will have its effect on it.
To get these benefits, you can use Gleam?
What can you do with Gleam?
Gleam not only helps you not only to run contests but also to offer rewards. You may rely on this tool to collect details about the participants in your contest. You can do these things from one dashboard.
You will find diverse entry methods through diverse service integrations. It may be your blogging site, Facebook, and other social media users.
The major goal of Gleam is to increase your user engagement rate. It provides you with analytical details to let you know the success of your giveaway. You may also conduct post-contest surveys to identify the effectiveness of your competition on the blogging site.
From follower growth to social interactions, you can choose any goal for your blog. The data obtained from Gleam will help you to learn more about readers. Based on their interest, you can refine your blogs and find more readers.
Steps to create your Gleam account
You will find it very easy to create your Gleam account. You can sign up with the site without paying an amount.
- Go to the home page of Gleam.
- Click on the button- Sign Up.
- It will direct you to a different window where you have to input some details.
- To start using the platform, you have to provide your email address, name, and password. Then, you can add your blogging website’s URL and name.
The free version presents you with useful features. Still, you can pay for the premium package (Business and Pro) to find better functionality, like Google Analytics and MailChimp integration.
Make sure that you have provided accurate details to the platform. Using your Gleam dashboard, you can create contests and rewards.
What additional services can you integrate with Gleam?
Facebook Likes, Twitter Follows, and blog comments are some prevalent activities. However, Gleam enables you to choose other services for the contest.
- Using the blog’s aspects, like RSS subscription, post writing, and commenting.
- Multiple usages of Twitter, like retweeting and adding hashtags
- A Bonus method, like visiting a website daily
- Visiting a webpage
- Any custom entry method
The premium users will find these options for service integrations.
Hosting the first contest
As you have already opened your Gleam account and configured it, you can run competition easily.
- Use your dashboard to choose the option- Competition.
- You will reach the competition management section.
- Hit another new green button- New Competition.
- Add a name to your competition.
- Input the date of your blog contest
- You may also set some terms and conditions
After going through these steps, you have to select the entry method and clarify the prize details. For instance, you need to mention the-
- Type of your prize
- Number of prizes
- The prize description
You may go through some steps for reward creation. When you have not added any prize details, you need to define the type of your reward (like downloads, coupons, and links). It is one of the ways of sending some resources to choose rewards.
Blog contest formats- Which one to choose
After creating a format, you have to integrate it easily into your website. Make sure that it matches your website’s style and theme. Know some commonly used giveaway formats.
Embed Gleam in your blog page
There are several options for Gleam installation on your website. The easiest one available for you is to embed it in your blog post. By embedding it in your blog, you run the contest on your blogging website’s domain. However, Gleam has some restrictions on the number of sites where the campaign can be embedded. When you have teamed up with influencers and brands, you can send them your embed code.
Running contest across your website
In some cases, readers can overlook the giveaways embedded in your blog posts. That is why you can run the contest across every webpage on your site.
Contest posted on a unique page
You may create a standalone page for your contest. The giveaway tool- Gleam lets you do it easily. You can design an attractive page for the giveaway.
Compatible entry options
How do your target blog readers enter your contest? The third-party tool, Gleam offers a number of options, including-
- RSS Feed subscriptions
- Blog post writing
- Discord entry
- Image selection
- Multiple Choice Questions
Mistakes that you must avoid to host your blog contest
You have now understood the way of using Gleam to run your blog contests. Still, some bloggers and entrepreneurs make mistakes while hosting contests.
- Prices remain hidden-
You know the value of your giveaway, as you have paid for it. However, your contest participants do not understand it until you have informed them. Let the potential contestants identify your prize and its benefits. Reveal your prize details and capture their attention.
- Low ratio of prize to effort-
Contestants have to put in some effort to win a big prize. Without this effort, you may not get value from investing in the contest. For instance, you can receive photos and images as user-generated content for your website. However, when you have asked contestants to write a 2-page essay, the winner’s prize value needs to be about $10,000.
In some cases, participants find obstacles to entering your contest. For instance, they may need a camera, microphone, and other tools. But, when the prize value is low, your contests will not be successful.
Moreover, too many niche-based prize may not be valuable for your contestants.
- Irrelevant giveaways-
It is important to host a targeted contest. You need to know the tastes and preferences of your blog readers. Based on it, you can choose the right giveaways. When you write blogs on some products, you may choose similar items as your giveaway.
- No follow-ups-
It is already said that Gleam helps you to collect data on your contestants. Your blogging site has gained user-generated content while you have found new leads. However, when you have not nurtured those leads, you will lose the value of hosting the contest.
Have you now thought of running a contest on your blog? You can sign up with the third-party tool, Gleam. It is essential to go through a number of steps for a proper setup of the blog competition. Although it is a slightly intensive process, you will get the desired benefits. Grow the readership of your blog and make the website more popular. The way you have hosted the contest will make a difference in the result. Keep your readers engaged in your blogs by posting interesting content.