Picture this – the thrill of entering a contest, the anticipation of a draw, and the exhilaration of claiming a grand prize. Imagine a prize can be yours with just a click of a button. Amazing, right? Who doesn’t like a free gift?
People will participate in contests hoping to catch luck by the tail, regardless of their chances of winning. Make that your weapon!
If you want to be part of this vertical, you can be a winner too.
Buckle up as we embark on an exhilarating journey through the secrets of unlocking big wins in the sweepstakes vertical of affiliate marketing.
Table of Contents
So, what are sweepstakes exactly?
Sweepstakes are a type of offer in which the viewer is requested basic information like email address for example, in exchange for participating in a contest. Prizes vary from surveys, quizzes, and roulettes, to gadgets, gift cards, memberships, and cosmetics… usually something expensive and chosen based on the interest of the audience targeted.
This type of marketing method is very popular since users are engaged easily and their effort to win is very minimal. Sweeps is a versatile vertical, allowing advertisers to increase brand visibility as well as build a loyal customer base, all by generating excitement and understanding the behavior of their audience.
Moreover, they are evergreen no matter the season, which keeps them a top choice, for a seasoned veteran and especially a newbie who is starting their affiliate marketing journey.
Type of Sweepstake offers
Did you know there are different ways of converting sweeps users? For example, while SOI and DOI offers provide quicker data engagement CC Submits and PIN Submits offers offer higher payouts due to building a better credibility among its users. Naturally, the shorter the form is, the easier it is to get a conversion but is this all that it matters?
| SOI (single opt-in) offers | As the name implies, SOI offers require viewers to provide their basic information like their name and email, in exchange for participation in the sweepstakes. This simple, single interaction ultimately provides affiliates with quick and high engagement rates, which in turn are perfect for data collection for further marketing efforts. |
| DOI (double opt-in) offers. | The DOI method is based on a two-step user authentication, requiring an additional confirmation after the initial submission. This extra step is making the offer less converting compared to SOI, but much more profitable in the long run, since users have confirmed their interest in the offer. |
| Credit card submission (CC Submit). | Naturally, this model implies that the user provide his credit card information in exchange for a trial membership or special offer. For this reason, this model is a bit tricky since it’s harder to build user credibility, but nonetheless, earnings are on the high side. |
| PIN Submit (Mobile Carrier) offers. | With PIN Submit offers, in order to enter the sweep, users are this time required to submit their mobile phone number along with a unique PIN code provided by the advertiser, with later charges typically applied to their phone bill, by their mobile carrier. |
Hot audiences
If you’re really new to the game, traffic tiers refer to the level of development or market maturity of countries and this segmentation is pretty useful as a guideline when setting up your ad strategy. Tier 1 countries usually represent highly developed markets with high levels of consumer purchasing power, tier 2 are emerging or developing markets while tier 3 countries are less developed markets.
It’s important to note that each GEO or country is relevant in the right context, and the targeting must be set considering the offer characteristics and how the audience resonates with it.
| Tier 1 | To put it simply, naturally Tier 1 countries pose high competition and higher rates in order to win traffic, however, if the settings are done right, this is the place with the biggest profits. |
| Tier 2 | As we down one tier, there are still growth opportunities but with lower costs since competition has lessened down. If your offer best resonates with these countries, definitely go for it. |
| Tier 3 | And naturally, Tier 3 countries offer potential for expansion into less competitive markets but require careful consideration of local conditions and challenges. |
What does a sweepstake look like?
| Step 1: Naturally, the ad journey starts with an ad creative enticing the user to participate in the sweepstake. | Step 2: Optionally, but very common, is the use of a pre-lander, to engage the user, usually via spinning wheels, quizzes, a game, showcasing the prizes and other gamification elements. | Step 3: The Landing Page on which the user fills out his info.
In cases with no pre-landers, the Landing Page hosts both the game element and the info-collecting fields. |
Do-s & Don’t with your sweepstakes visuals:
– The prizes offered should be highlighted: Clearly showcase the prize or prizes being offered in the sweepstakes. Whether it’s a cash prize, a product, a trip, or an experience, make it clear and visually appealing.
– Include clear instructions about claiming the prize: Provide clear instructions on how to enter the sweepstakes. This could include filling out a form, sharing the ad, tagging friends, or other entry methods. Keep it simple yet visible.
– Use engaging, original visuals: Use eye-catching materials whether static or dynamic that align with your brand but also resonate with the target audience of the sweepstakes prize. Also, be careful to avoid copyrighted materials in your creatives. It’s recommended you get your inspiration from ad spy tools.
– A compelling headline goes a long way! Your headline should grab attention and clearly communicate the benefit or prize of entering the sweepstake. Use compelling language to entice people to participate.
– Add social proof: In many cases, sweeps go well with social proof examples, usually a testimonial, to create a sense of higher credibility in your offer and entice prospects to enter.
– Add a sense of urgency: What makes sweeps so popular and effective is the viewers’ positive response to the FOMO (fear of missing out) effect. Use phrases like “Enter now before it’s too late” or “Limited time offer” to create urgency and drive participation.
– Address viewers directly! Addressing your viewers directly will grab their attention more effectively. When people feel like the message is speaking directly to them, they would feel a sense on connection and would be more compelled to take action and participate in the sweepstake.
– Customize your messages! Remember you are looking to build trust and resonate with your target audience. For this reason, you can think at all aspects to do so. Use local languages in your ad creatives and Landing Pages, resonate with the cultural aspects of your audience, anythink that you think is relevant.
– Make it fun! Sweepstake advertising is engaging, enjoyable, and interactive. At least, it should be. That’s why this vertical is best used with gamification elements that dynamically compel users to perform fun actions, like spinning a wheel, playing a virtual slot machine or scratching cards to win prizes. These interactive elements can also be less in your face, like a progress bar when completing a form or a timer for the offer, however, the intent remains the same, to dynamically engage the user.
– Be trendy! Sweepstakes are indeed versatile, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of seasonality, to boost results. Think ahead about upcoming specific events or be attentive to present trends happening at the moment. You can even profit from the changing of seasons. For example, consider offering sunscreen products as the summer months are approaching.
Sweepstakes are best paired with:
Sweepstakes advertising is subject to various legal restrictions, mostly to prevent deceptive practices or due to variations of data collection policies or even copyright issues. These legal policies vary from country to country and from platform to platform which makes choosing the right traffic source a bit tricky if you haven’t yet done your research.
Restrictions can refer to age, location or online platforms, for example, but misleading practices like exaggerated statements about the prizes or the winning odds are also a no-no. As a general rule, sweepstake advertisements should clearly disclose all participation rules, prizes, entry deadlines and other relevant conditions, if any.
But don’t worry, we know just the right place and the right ad formats to be paired with sweepstakes.
Push notifications:
Whatever push ad format you are choosing, push traffic goes perfectly with sweeps since it addresses directly to the ad viewer directly, making it hard to miss and highly engaging. Classic push traffic is delivered straight to users who have already confirmed their interest, showing the engagement intention while the in-page format is not limited to this, being ideal for wider targeting, especially on mobile.
Native ads:
Native ads create a sense of trustworthiness since they are not intrusive, blending in with the rest of the webpage they are on, which in turn make them super clickable.
Interstitials:
From a visual point of view and thanks to its strategic placement in the centre of the webpage, interstitials are a perfect choice for sweepstake offers. Whether you are targeting desktop or mobile devices, they are really impossible to miss. Moreover, webmasters love interstitials since they take no space on their websites and convert more frequently than other formats due to their direct approach to addressing the viewers.
Campaign best practices:
– Target very granularly: When venturing into new territories, consider starting with broader targeting and experimenting with several GEOs. Any new GEO should be explored in a new campaign, for the best understanding of your performance.
After a few days of data gathering, check out your conversion rate based on browsers and operating systems, and split test again in separate campaigns, and with different bids, if the differences are quite big. Usually, there is a different demand between desktop and mobile or Android and iOS, for example.
– Test, test, test: There are many campaign elements that can make or break a sweepstake offer, from the ad creative, to pre-lander, to targeting, to delivery timing and so on. Make sure you are testing all these elements to discover what are the most-performing segments.
– Optimisations timing: Don’t optimize your campaign too quickly. As a general rule, any campaign should be given a decent amount of time to gather performance data, and sweeps make no exception.
– Track as much data as you can: For extra data on user behaviour regarding your efforts, use our free, built-in event tracker to track views and click actions on your Landing Page or choose from our direct integration with ad trackers. More data = better results.
– Subscription age(if using push): If you’re working on push campaigns, take note of the subscriber age feature to understand more about how users react to your ads by checking the reports for the conversion rate based on the subscriber age.
– Work smart, not hard: We are in the realm of programmatic and this means modern advertising tools are here to help ease up our work and give better results. With this in mind, we highly recommend making your efforts easier with smart automation whether you are choosing to work with our optimization rules or go with dynamic bidding.
Our TargetCPA bidding aims for a particular cost per acquisition using an algorithm that adjusts bids dynamically, based on the probability of conversion, while still using the CPM/CPC model. In the world of affiliate marketing, every penny counts, so this option will help you tremendously to optimize your budget.
Secondly, why not use a performance optimization algorithm to identify the most performing campaign segments automatically, saving you time and money?
– Talk to your account managers: Whether you are working with an ad network like us or with an affiliate network that provides offers, don’t waste this free resource of talking with industry experts, for advice.
Final remarks
To run a successful sweepstakes campaign, it’s essential to make the right choices, from choosing the right prizes, to ad formats, to creatives and so on but also to understand how to optimize your campaign performance.
Luckily, working with an ad network like Mondiad will provide all the right traffic and tools, letting you focus on these big decisions. From granular targeting filters to real-time campaign metrics, cost-effectiveness or our helping hand, rest assured you can be a winner too!
