How to create a Viral Sweepstakes

A viral sweepstakes is an excellent way to incentivize referrals and engagement without the high costs associated with traditional pay-per-click or paid social campaigns. With just a few prizes, you can drive unlimited engagement and reach, allowing participants to promote your brand for you. Here's how to set up a viral sweepstakes campaign.

Step 1: Navigate to the Campaign Builder

1. Go to the Campaigns section in your software.
2. Click on Viral Sweepstakes 2.0—this is the newest campaign builder, featuring updated capabilities.

Step 2: Set Up Campaign Details

• Title: Enter a catchy campaign title that will appear on the campaign page and in your campaign list.
• Start & End Dates: By default, the campaign is set for a one-month duration, but you can change this by clicking on the calendar icons or manually entering different dates.
• Number of Winners: Specify how many winners you’ll have. This helps set expectations and makes your campaign transparent.
• Campaign Description: Write a brief, engaging description of your sweepstakes. Keep it short and focused on what participants can win.

Step 3: Add Prizes

You can offer up to 10 different prizes.

1. Prize Title: Add a short name for each prize.
2. Prize Description: Write a brief description of each prize, making sure it’s enticing.
3. Add Prize Images: Upload images that represent each prize.
4. Add Multiple Prizes (Optional): If you have more than one prize, click the "Add Prize" button and repeat the steps.

Step 4: Define How to Earn Entries

1. Basic Entry: Participants will automatically get one entry by filling out the form.
2. Bonus Entries: You can incentivize additional actions (e.g., following your social media accounts or referring friends) by assigning more entries. For example, you can assign 20 entries for each friend a participant refers.
3. Add Bonus Entry Challenges:
   • You can add multiple challenges, such as visiting a specific webpage, following on Twitter, or uploading a photo or video.
   • Customize the number of entries awarded for each action.
4. Advanced Settings:
   • You can limit the total number of entries per participant, although it’s recommended to leave this unlimited.
   • Referral Blocking: Prevent duplicate entries from being rewarded.

Step 5: Customize the Winner Selection Frequency

You can make your campaign a one-time event or set it up to automatically repeat daily, weekly, or monthly. For example, if you want an ongoing contest, set it to select a winner every week or month.

Step 6: Set Up Rules and Disclaimers

The platform will automatically generate basic sweepstakes rules for you, based on the details you entered earlier. You can edit these rules if needed.

Step 7: Customize Entry Forms

1. Form Options: Decide if you want participants to sign up with their Facebook account or by manually entering their name and email.
2. Custom Fields: You can ask additional questions (e.g., "When are you planning your next vacation?") to gather more information about your leads.

Step 8: Integrate With Your CRM or Email Service Provider

1. Navigate to List Integration and select your CRM or email provider (e.g., MailChimp).
2. Choose the list to which new contacts will be added.

Step 9: Design the Campaign Page

1. Themes: Browse through various themes, including industry-specific ones like travel. Preview and select the one that fits your brand.
2. Branding: Adjust colors, fonts, and logos to match your company’s brand guidelines.
3. Layout: Choose from multiple layouts, depending on the number of prizes you’re displaying.
4. Background & Elements: Change background images and colors, and drag and drop additional elements like text, icons, and videos onto the page.
5. Leaderboard (Optional): If your campaign includes points or bonuses, you can display a leaderboard.

Step 10: Thank You Screen

Customize the screen that participants will see after they submit their entries. You can also display additional calls to action, such as sharing the campaign with friends.

Step 11: Preview and Launch

Before launching, preview your campaign to ensure everything looks perfect. Once you’re ready:

1. Save and Deploy the campaign.
2. Copy the campaign URL, or generate a QR code for offline promotion.

Step 12: Promote the Campaign

1. Email Templates: Use the pre-generated email template to inform your mailing list about the campaign.
2. Embed Options: Embed the campaign on your website using an iframe, or add a button or popup to attract more participants.
3. Social Sharing: Automatically share the campaign on your social media channels by clicking the appropriate button in the promotion step.

Step 13: Manage Entries and Select Winners

Once the campaign ends, or at each winner selection interval (if recurring), you will receive an email notification to select the winner. You can manage and view all entries in the campaign console.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to create an engaging viral sweepstakes campaign that generates high engagement, leads, and referrals for your brand. If you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to your support team!