Today's win-win: Free website giveaway!

Do you need a website? 

I need fresh new websites for my portfolio!

Let's help each other out - it's a win-win.

Whoohoo!

I will build a basic 3-page website for free*, in exchange for allowing me to use it as an example of my work when advertising my marketing business.

You provide the content (text) and pictures, and we'll work together on what design you have in mind.

What do you you get in this free website dealio? 

• You get a basic three page website designed and built. While I recommend one page should be your homepage, the other two can be anything you like. It's your site. Tell me what you want.
• All of your social networking sites will be integrated into your website - Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blog, photo sharing, event calendar, etc. 
• Unlimited emails with your domain name, such as you@whoohoo.com 
• Your site will be listed in all of the major search engines. 
• As an added bonus, you get a QR code that can be used to promote your website in print and online 

How do I get this free website?
Just "Like" my Pam Hawk Marketing Facebook page and leave a comment telling me what kind of business you want the website for. Hurry! The first three comments get a free website. Super simple.

So what are you waiting for? Get over there and tell me about your business! Go on; I'll wait right here.

*Gosh, you say it's free, Pam. So what's this asterisk for? Is there a catch?
Yes, actually I'm glad you mentioned that. I wouldn't say it's a catch, just the cost of having a website.
While I am providing my website building services for free, there is still the cost of publishing a website live on the internet. This is the one cost you'll be responsible for. The cost will vary a bit, depending on what kind of website you're interested in, but I'm all about getting the most bang for a buck, so we'll keep it as budget friendly as possible.


Well can you at least give me a ballpark price? 
Accounting for a little variation, we're looking at your annual cost to be under $120. That averages out to about $10/month. This price includes both your hosting fee and annual domain renewal.


Can you say that in English?
Think of having a website like having a phone.

• The domain is your very own version of www.whoohoo.com and like a phone number, and you have to pay an annual fee to keep your domain. Usually it's about $10/year. 
• Web hosting is like having a calling plan, and you can pay monthly or annually. It costs less overall if you pay annually, of course. This price can vary, but the company I prefer using is less than $120/year. Plus this company uses only wind power for their offices and equipment, and appeals to this Oregon girl. (That would be me. I live in Oregon and am proud to be a dog-loving, recycling, rained-upon treehugger.)

What the heck is a QR code?
This funky little square barcode is cellphone readable and can store any alphanumeric data you can think of, such as website addresses, phone numbers, special messages, coupon codes, email addresses, etc. Here is an example of a QR code:

151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Contests & Giveaways

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Contests & Giveaways.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

I want to preface today's list with a link to this post in Etsy's Storque regarding contests. By sharing these contest ideas I am not advocating contests, but just relaying info about what other people have said or done.

That said, here is today's list of ideas:

CONTESTS

1. Enter your crafts into contests...such as the county fair. Winning competitions and contests is a good way to get your name out there and win some money or recognition to boot!

GIVEAWAYS - Do they help?

1. I just recently ran my first blog giveaway. I had put an announcement in my shop announcements. I had over 400 views that weeks and over 100 people register for the contest. I would say that was pretty successful, and it was a ton of fun. ;-)
   
2. It is pretty easy, and it does get you traffic
   
3. I know that it generates a lot of views, some hearts, and we've got our fingers crossed about more sales :)
   
4. I participated in a blog giveaway earlier this week on another seller's blog that gets a TON of traffic and someone who read that blog found my site via that blog and purchased $80 worth of prints from me

GIVEAWAYS - Great Ideas

1. EcoEtsy Team did a scavenger hunt through participating Etsy team shops - http://ecoetsy.blogspot.com/2008/02/st-patties-day-team-scavenger-hunt.html
   
2. You could have a contest to post a picture of yourself in one of the ugliest fads you've ever owned. E.g. slouch socks with rolled up stonewashed jeans. And then vote on which one you think is the ugliest and they win something.
   
3. Do a monthly giveaway for those who sign up for your blog/newsletter.
   
4. I have a mailing list that I ask people to join, and I pick monthly from that list. I am also having a blog give away right now, and to have a chance to win, you just have to comment to that post.
   
5. I have people enter my giveaway by sending me photos of things made with beads from my store. I let them know I'll use the photos to create product pages that are inspiring and creative instead of the same drab photos.
   
6. Every blogger that featured us during the month of April, would be entered in the drawing to win.
   
7. I often like product testers for some of my items before I launch them for sale. I was thinking of doing a giveaway for a beta product, so it could be something small or big, with the expectation that the winner(s)would use it, abuse it and answer a few questions in a month's time.
   
8. OneWorld One Heart - an annual worldwide giveaway every January
   
9. I have a giveaway at the beginning of every month.
   
10. How about a "free flair" giveaway where I would send people a free button and then I would ask them to send me a picture of their "flair" in action--- wearing the button on a jacket or purse or whatever--- that I would post on my blog with their link.

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Gifts

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Gifts.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

1. Rebekah commented on this post with a great idea:
   Give a gift to a blogger and let them write a review! :)
2. my USPS clerks love getting custom stuff at xmas
   
3. nice little gifts for all the teachers, they work so hard with our children all day.
   
4. just giving my stuff as gifts has resulted in a lot of requests for my work.
   
5. i have my paintings on greeting cards and i use them for all sorts of occasions
   
6. send them as gifts, and "What do you think? How could I make this better?" It's not pushy so long as you are truly giving it as a gift.
   
7. and the most shameless of all: at a baby shower I made a blanket for the newcomer...she held it up and told everyone I made it and I sell them.. I was passing around business cards for the rest of the party ;)
   

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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Don't want to host your own giveaway?

No prob.
Just have Sweet 'n' Sassy girls host it for you, but keep in mind, there are pros and cons to giving away your merchandise in this manner.

Pros:
1. These kinds of sites have a lot of steady traffic. Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls frequently has over 100 entries in their giveaways, so whether you use this site or have any other blogger host your giveaway, there's an opportunity for a lot of traffic to clamor over your loot.
2. Less planning, no dealing with advertising on sites that announce giveaways, no advertising to worry about, to comments to babysit (to weed out any possible comment spam.)

Cons:
1. These giveaways are hosted on another site which may not necessarily increase traffic to your site.
2. Because you may not get the increase in traffic generated by a giveaway, there's less opportunity to market yourself and the other items you have for sale.
3. No chance to encourage people to subscribe to or follow your blog.

Remember - hosting giveaways are not to get rid of product, but to boost your marketing efforts.

Giveaways on your own site will:
1. Expose new prospective customers to your product line.
2. Generate new traffic to your site in hopes they will like what they see, then return again and again.
3. Add one more name and address (the winner's) to your contact list for future marketing, such as snail mail newsletters, post card advertising, etc.
4. Encourage visitors to subscribe to your site or your email newsletter so you can continue marketing to them on a regular basis.
5. Bottom line, your giveaway is part advertising and part lead generation for your ongoing marketing efforts. If your giveaway doesn't provide a way to bring new traffic to your site, you're not only missing out on a fantastic marketing opportunity, but you're throwing away the money you spent on creating and shipping the prize.

I'm not bashing sites that host giveaways for you, but I want you to understand the difference between hosting your own vs. having someone do the work for you. If you are still interested in having Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls or another site host a giveaway for you, make sure that you have a way to capture the audience for your own marketing program.

If you remember, I posted about Handmade Showcase a couple weeks ago (read that post here.) She hosts giveaways for other shops, but also includes a full interview and gives her readers a more in-depth look into you and your shop. While you may not be able to capture a lot of marketing info like if you host your own giveaway, this is a great way to drive extra traffic to your site where you could include a few posts inviting people to sign up for your newsletter or use other techniques to market to the new crowd shopping by.

(And yes. The Sweet 'n' Sassy badge is in the sidebar for easy future reference.)

Any thoughts on this?
Have you done giveaways?
What worked the best for you?



(And remember, all comments are do-follow, so your comment left here supports YOU.)

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Giveaway. Here. Now.

As of this writing, there are 50 followers to this blog.

I'm deeply honored that so many people have chosen to follow this blog and am thrilled to see my traffic increase daily.

To commemorate the 50th person to follow this blog, let's have a giveaway. Why not? I've blogged about them enough.

How does this sound?

+ Free email marketing consultation to help get you on the right track with marketing your product or service. You choose whatever area you want to work on. (Up to 5 emails sent from me to you; equivalent to 1 hr face to face consultation.) $75 value

+ Free badge and matching Etsy shop header created from your photo - this could be used for a special promotion or as your every day image - you choose. $25 value

+ Free badge (same as above) with text box for you to place on your blog. $10 value

+ Free advertising spot for a month here, at the top of the right sidebar. $1.50 value (this could change*)

*At this moment, the Project Wonderful ad box is bidding at $.05/day, so to be fair I'll put this at a $1.50 value. With my constant increase in traffic, this would likely go up.

The total package is valued at $111.50 and will help you to "boost your biz," as my PW ads say.

To enter, leave a comment here telling me about the one marketing or promoting thing you're struggling with.

I'll keep the comments open until 11:50pm Saturday February 28 and will have Random.org help pick a winner on March 1st. Winner will be announced on March 2. Giveaway open worldwide; be sure to leave me an email address or a link to your blog/website/online store.

Another important tool for your Giveaway

Several weeks ago I posted about how to host a giveaway on your blog. If you're using this info, you must add this brilliant blogger to your arsenal of giveaway tools: Handmade Showcase. The link has been added to the sidebar under Giveaways Toolbox.
See it there?

What makes her site so special?
She conducts an interview with you, posts several pictures of your products, and conducts a giveaway of your item(s) for you.

According to her Project Wonderful stats, she has a lot of steady traffic, which means a LOT of people will see her feature of you and your shop. (Yes, I looked at her PW stats. I always look. More on that subject later...)

I browsed through the items and Etsy shops featured... she features some beautiful, high quality items ranging from baby goods, jewelry, other sewn items, paintings, paper goods, bath and body products, scarves...

Please go check her out and consider contacting her to sponsor a giveaway for you.

I'm heading over there myself, to see about sponsoring a giveaway with my plates.


(And remember, all comments are do-follow, so your comment left here supports YOU.)

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A brilliant giveaway strategy... continued

Continuing this from the previous post, I just have to tell you what is so darned brilliant about the rules of Sharon's 1000th Jewelry Creation Giveaway.

Shannon of Fox & Prince commented, asking if it's because she asks other bloggers to post an image. That's very smart because it uses viral marketing to advertise the giveaway (and her brand) but that's not the piece de resistance in this particular giveaway.

Look at Sharon's third rule where she asks readers to sign up for her newsletter on her website. This is the biggest winner of the giveaway; not for people who enter, but for Sharon.

Why?
Think about who is signing up for the newsletter:
People who really want to have her jewelry
People who want to her from her again and again
People who are (or will become) familiar with her, her products, her shop, and her brand
People who trust her (or are willing to trust her)
**People who are most likely to buy from her.**

Get it? Pretty smart, eh?

By encouraging interested people to sign up for her newsletter, she is building her list of contacts. This valuable list consists of both existing customers and prospective customers. Long after the giveaway is over, she'll continue marketing to this select group of people.

Sending a newsletter is one of the least expensive and most successful marketing tools out there.

It's the most effective way for you to target your marketing information to a receptive audience.

And just in case you are wondering, what Sharon is doing is 100% ethical because she's asking people to opt-in. It's not spammy or underhanded in any way.

I'll let you think about this marketing technique and how you can use a regular newsletter to further market your business to your contacts...

Next week: Newsletter tools and techniques

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A brilliant giveaway strategy...

I'm a long time reader via my Google Reader (and yes, I admit, I haven't commented... my bad...) and this particular giveaway caught my attention. Not because of the prize, which is lovely and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be thrilled to win, but because of Sharon's giveaway rules.

After entering the 1000th Jewelry Creation Giveaway, I added the Bravenet link to my sidebar, which I'll tell you about later this week. Sharon, you are a genius.

Dear Readers, go to Manna Moon Studios and see if you can figure out why the Bravenet feature has me so impressed with Sharon's marketing savvy.

If you can figure it out, comment here with your thoughts.

Oh, and of course please enter her giveaway as you browse through the rest of her interesting and entertaining blog...

(And remember, all comments are do-follow, so your comment left here supports YOU.)

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Seven steps to hosting a Great Giveaway

Do you regularly host a Giveaway on your blog or website? This is a great way to increase your traffic and get your products in front of new potential customers. It's also a fantastic way to drive a lot of new traffic to your online store, if you have one.

Today's question is: How do you conduct a Giveaway?

1. Plan on what you will give away. It could be:
- Something from your online store and/or something you have made
- A gift certificate to your online store or to your favorite online store
- One of your favorite products (a new one, of course!)
- Something your regular readers would love to have - perhaps a hobby or lifestyle item?
- Something related to your blog topic or something you frequently blog about
- Advertising space on your blog
- A one-year membership - like a pro account from Flickr.com, for example
- Entrecard credits, if you use them

2. Take clear, well-lit pictures of your item on a simple background, then write up an irresistible description of the item. At this point you could package up the item and get it ready to be mailed. Include any promotional material you have for your shop, if applicable. Just make sure you label the outside of the package so you remember what it is.

3. Calculate your cost to host the Giveaway, including shipping. Since this will cost you some money, you'll need to decide if this is a hobby or a business. If it might be a business expense, you may want to consider how to categorize it. I am not a bookkeeper or accountant, so I recommend contacting yours to check on the best way to calculate the cost of the Giveaway into your accounting method, whether it's part of your advertising budget or belongs in a different category.

4. Write out your Giveaway rules.
a) Do you want people to perform specific tasks, such as visiting a certain website and/or leaving comments about anything in particular? Several Etsy shops require contest entrants to visit their shop then leave a blog comment about their favorite thing in the shop. Some bloggers ask contest entrants mention the Giveaway in their own blogs. Others ask for everyone's answers to a specific question. Requiring a specific action, while not necessary, can make the giveaway fun for everyone.
b) What are your Giveaway dates? Note the time zone of your start and end times.
c) How will you pick the winner? There are a few online places that will randomly pick a winner, such as Random.org or Contest Machine. Actually, Contest Machine collects entries, then randomly picks and contacts the winner for you. If you're really into hosting Giveaways, you may want to look at Contest Machine to help. At this time, use of the widget is free for up to two Giveaways per month.
d) Write up your entire Giveaway announcement and doublecheck it for clarity.
I am also not a lawyer so I cannot give you legal advice, but I recommend you look into any laws that your Giveaway will need to follow.
e) Where do you want people to put their Giveaway entries? You could have them leave comments on your blog or if you're expecting a lot of traffic you could install a Mr. Linky widget to take care of that for you. (You'll have to register to use the Mr. Linky, but there are two basic Mr. Linkies for free with a basic membership.)

5. Just like sending invitations to a party, invite people to your Giveaway.
a) Make an announcement on your blog at least a week prior to the beginning of the Giveaway.
b) Include a signature line in your outgoing emails with the Giveaway dates and a link to your site. (Be careful not to spam people with emails about your Giveaway, though.)
c) Get the word out. Notify all the blogs and other websites that announce Giveaways a day or two in advance. (Keep in mind it may take them up to a couple days to announce the giveaway, so you may want to consider running your giveaway for up to a week. Experiment and see what works best for you.)
Please follow the submission rules of each site, of course. Some places to start are:
Tip Junkie
Etsy Giveaways
Blog Events Dex
Blog Contest Station
Mom Giveaways
The Giveaway
Barefoot Mommies
Prizeatron

If you look at my sidebar you'll see a "Giveaway Toolbar" where I will continue to list these Giveaway announcement blogs as I find them. If you host a Giveaway blog not listed here, please comment below and I'll add you to the list!


d) If you advertise via Project Wonderful, The Indiego, or through other sites, run an ad for your Giveaway. Schedule your ad to end a couple hours before the Giveaway ends.

6. Get ready for traffic. Giveaway time is like tv sweeps, where you are offering something fantastic to encourage new visitors to stop by and check you out. Clean up and spruce up your blog, if needed, and schedule some great blog posts for first time visitors to read. If you don't have a "Subscribe to this blog" button or a "Follow Me" widget (available on Blogger,) add one near the top of the page to make it easy for new visitors to become a regular reader.

7. Unleash the hounds! Post your Giveaway announcement with the picture of your item and watch the traffic zoom in. When it's over, announce the winner to everyone, thank your visitors for stopping by, and send the prize to your happy winner.

Related post: A Brilliant Giveaway Strategy

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