So you’ve created a giveaway - and people are signing up for it. Amazing! It means you’re reaching your target audience and that they love what you have to offer. It means they’re hooked.
Now comes the next (and some might say much tougher) part: You have to not only keep them hooked but start reeling them in.
No matter how enthusiastic people who sign up for your giveaway are, they will forget all about you if they never hear from you again; yes, even if they win. This is your first and often only chance to keep in regular contact and start building a relationship with them. That’s where email automations come in handy.
A signup to your giveaway should trigger at least one, better several, well-thought-out automatic emails to the participant. Don’t waste that major opportunity to stay at the forefront of people’s minds and turn them into solid leads.
The tough part (again), is figuring out what such an email or email sequence might look like. But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Just keep reading to find out how to design an automated welcome email sequence if you set up a giveaway with KickoffLabs.
As our example, let’s assume you’ve created a giveaway for a pair of yoga pants with the newest pastel print. Let’s call them Pastel Yoga Pants. The winners are drawn randomly out of the signup pool.
Obviously, your target audience are yogis. To narrow it down for better targeting, you could focus on 20- to 40-something-year old women. Sure, there are tons of older or male yogis out there, but let’s face it, Pastel Yoga Pants will draw more women than men - and that’s a-okay!
In fact, it’s great. Your target group for the giveaway is important to determine, because in your automated emails, you want to get the tone, style, and voice just right, to make your leads feel like you’re talking directly to them.
So what could an email sequence triggered by a signup to this giveaway look like?
Follow along with our step by step guide below or watch or video walkthrough:
Email 1: Thank You
When? Right after the sign-up.
When someone signs up for your giveaway, the logical thing to do is to thank them for signing up, for their interest, for taking the time out of their busy day to spend it with you. You’ve probably received tons of these yourself and are almost expecting them nowadays, no matter what you sign up for. It’s like the order confirmation after you buy something online.
But that first Thank You email can do so much more than give your participants warm and fuzzy feelings. Use it to make sure they understand the giveaway rules and parameters.
You could also let them know that, by signing up for this giveaway, they have the chance to win cool monthly prizes from you. All they have to do is climb the “leaderboard” by referring the giveaway and/or your products to more people.
Every lead gets a link on their Thank You page; this is a unique code they can use to share with their friends on social media, via WhatsApp, or even via email, and get credit for each friend that signs up through that link.
Ergo, the first email in a welcome sequence after someone signed up for your giveaway, could look something like this:
Subject Line: Thank You For Signing Up To Our Giveaway
Body of Email
Dear [NAME],**
Thank you for signing up for our giveaway. Your name has gone into our singing bowl, out of which we’ll be drawing the winner on December 20th.
But yoga pants aren’t the only thing you can win here!
Even if it’s not your name drawn out of that bowl, you’re eligible for many more mindful prizes in future, like our Ultralight Yoga Mat. All you have to do is share your love for us as far and wide as possible.
The more people you refer to us, the more prizes you can win. Every single month.
To start, all you have to do is share this unique link on social media and spread the love about our awesome stuff. Just a few shares will make you eligible to win this month’s Organic Lavender Yoga Mat Spray - it’s mindfulness in a bottle!
Namaste.
Email 2: How to Move up the Leaderboard
When? Two to three days after the sign-up.
Give your new leads a couple of days to look forward to their potential giveaway win and try out a few ways to share the link. You want to stay in touch and in their minds without coming across as annoying and “clingy” by sending a daily deluge of emails. That will only teach your leads to ignore your emails when they land in their inbox, the exact opposite of the effect you’re hoping for.
The important thing to remember is: You have to provide value in every single email. Something your readers and contestants can put into action fast and easy, that will give them some sort of advantage. In our example, that could take the form of the following second email:
Subject Line: Psssst… We’ve Got Your Abundance Mindset Right Here [There’s** More For You To Win Than Yoga Pants!]
Body of Email:
Hi [NAME],
You live by the maxime that everything good in life is already on its way to you. And it’s true! Even if you don’t win our Pastel Yoga Pants in this giveaway, your abundance mindset won’t be wasted. There’s loads more for you to win every month, if you just spread the love.
So far, 12 friends joined, which means you’re signed up to win our Organic Lavender Yoga Mat Spray, too. Keep sharing! The higher you climb on the leaderboard, the more likely you are to win big. The next level is our Ultra-Light Yoga Mat.
Spread the love by sharing your unique link. Surely your mindful friends and family would all love the opportunity to win a pair of our Pastel Yoga Pants - and to help you with the opportunity to win even more. That’s the essence of the abundance mindset at work, right?
Good luck and Namaste!
Email 3: Remember Your Awesome Pastel Yoga Pants?
When? Five days after the sign-up.
We’re all super busy and our attention spans are incredibly short. Just because the chance to win something awesome felt incredibly important to us five days ago, doesn’t mean that today we’re still on the edge of our seat, biting our nails as we anxiously await the contest results. That’s human nature.
So how do you get your contestants re-excited about your giveaway? You simply have to remind them of the awesomeness that awaits them (if they win, but maybe don’t mention that), for example like this:
Subject Line: “I** Would Love These Yoga Pants to Pieces - If They Weren’t Indestructible” Says Christine H., Yoga Instructor
Body of Email:
[NAME], we’re so excited to be drawing the winner’s name out of our singing bowl very soon - maybe it’ll be yours!
Can’t you just feel that soft, stretchy, light fabric bend and twist with you like a second skin as you salute the sun?
Customers - including pro yogis - are loving our Pastel Yoga Pants. They’re calling them “indestructible”, stating that they “fit like a glove” or “don’t make me sweat even in Bali”, and proclaim them to be “so comfortable, I wear them to bed, too”. And their calming pastel coloring prompts you to take a deep inhale and just breathe.
So keep sharing your unique link. Get your friends and family, colleagues and neighbors on board - and increase your own chances of winning not just the Pastel Yoga Pants, but many other awesome monthly prizes.
Now stop dreaming and start sharing!
Namaste.
Email 4: Your Leaderboard Status
When? Eight days after sign-up.
Winning big often requires some out-of-the-box thinking - which of course requires some effort your contestants might not have the time or inclination to put in. So make it easy for them by giving some specific, easy-to-follow suggestions of ways to share that they might not have thought of.
For example like this:
Subject Line: 3 Tips To Climb the Leaderboard and Win Big in 5 Minutes
Body of Email:
Hi [NAME],**
Do you want to climb the leaderboard by 20 easy points and enter the next contest level? Then we have some ideas on how you can share your unique link with the last of your untapped contacts in just five minutes.
For one, you’re not limited to your own social media channel and followers. If you’re a member of a yoga-themed Facebook group, why not spread the word via your unique link in those (admins** willing)? And if you’re not a member, it’s high-time to join one, anyway. Yogi Facebook groups can be super inspiring.
Second, what about your mindfulness WhatsApp group? You know, that group of people who do yoga-in-the-park or share mindfulness hacks with you. Definitely share it with them. And if you don’t have such a group? Create one! We could all use a little more mindfulness in our lives, and I bet you know who in your contact list would love to join such a group.
Third, do you have a virtual message board at your company? Most big companies do, and they’re a popular place for people to virtually browse during their coffee breaks (or** boring meetings). Don’t miss the opportunity of posting your link and recommendation for our giveaway and products there. You might draw more attention than you think.
Make sure to share your unique link even in the most unlikely places - you might soon win not just our Pastel Yoga Pants, but so much more!
Namaste!
Email 5: Achievement Unlocked!
When? As leads hit the reward milestone
Automate the rewards process by setting up Reward Level triggers mails to notify your leads when they’ve unlocked a prize. Take it a step further by utilizing our Unique Coupon Code delivery system to automatically send leads one time use coupon codes.
Subject Line: Congratulations! The Pastel Yoga Pants are Yours!
Body of Email:
Hi [NAME],**
Congratulations! 5 friends have joined the contest thanks to your hard work. Enjoy a free pair of Pastel Yoga pants on us with code {coupon_code}.
The contest isn’t over yet! Refer 3 more friends to win an Ultra-Light Yoga Mat.
Make sure to keep sharing your unique link - you’ve already unlocked the Pastel Yoga Pants, but can win so much more!
Namaste!
Building a Relationship with Automated Email Templates
Never lose sight of the Number One Goal of an automated email sequence like this one: to reel in the lead you hooked when they signed up for your giveaway.
To reel them in, you have to build a relationship, which you do by providing value in every single email. In this case, it’s the value of helping them increase their likelihood of winning your contest(s) and by making them fall in love with your products.
Check out our video series on additional emails to send below:
Here at KickoffLabs, we offer a myriad of ways for you to turn your campaign leads into influencers. We know how to incentivize new leads so that they’ll share your contest with their circle of friends and family - thereby turning one lead into many more.
Read more Running Viral Giveaways with the next chapter:
10. Reducing Fraud
Learn how to prevent fraud and scams from dragging down your giveaway with these strategies.
