Having your posts go viral isn't an easy task. Sometimes it happens by chance, other times it happens by lots of hard work and effort. The other day I announced my new course website + gave away my new e-course for bloggers: Quit Your Job to Blog.
For some reason, more than any other giveaway I've hosted before this seemed to perform the best. So far, it's been shared 153 times on Twitter, 136 on Pinterest, 101 on Facebook. This is a lot! And it not only helped me gain more followers, it helped introduce me to new bloggers and encourage my current readers to join in.
I'm a fan of giveaways. For one, I like them. And second, this is the best way I find possible to reward the people that read my blog.
So I wanted to show you how to make your giveaways go viral:
1. Make them SUPER easy to enter.
I use Rafflecopter as a platform (it's free!) and super easy to install. You just need to copy and paste a little HTML. You can easily edit this and make changes if you need. There is a paid for version but I'm totally happy with the free site (at least for now.)
Need help on HTML? Check out my post HTML tips every blogger needs to know.
2. Have a goal in mind.
I knew I wanted people to enter and share the giveaway but I'd also like them to follow me. Since Bloglovin is the number one way I get blog traffic besides Google (this is the people who read my blog day in and day out) I wanted to grow here the most. So I did two things:
This was HUGE because when your post gets likes on Bloglovin it moves it to the popular page. When your post is on the popular page people that never see your blog before will see it, click, and… follow you! Hello, that's awesome.
To do this, copy the link of your post inside Bloglovin. To find that link go to Bloglovin, go to your blog and click on the time your post was published (kind of like if you're going to embed a tweet!). Then use that link in the Rafflecopter widget. Here's how it looks:
3. Make the giveaway ULTRA clear.
Don't giveaway 20 different things. The giveaway gets messy and people lose interest. Focus on giving away one (or two) great things. Entrants will have a clear understanding of what you're giving away and how it can benefit them.
4. Make the follow options simple and don't overwhelm people.
What I mean by this is for your giveaway don't make people follow you 100 different ways. Just make it a few key ways to follow you. This encourages your followers to enter in ALL the options and it won't turn people off that think: this is just way too much. I had 5 ways to enter and this seemed like a good number.
5. Include a social share.
You need to have a social share. Think of all the potential readers you'll miss out on if you don't include a social share! The one that's easiest is twitter. People don't mind tweeting and they don't have to even think to do it, simply click and share. This helps get eyes on you from potentially 1,000s of new people.
6. Make the post interesting.
I see so many posts with a giveaway and that's it. Or it's a post that isn't very interesting in general. Write a post geared towards those that will want to enter the giveaway. For example, I included info about my new course site. Whether or not you wanted to enter the giveaway, you might want to see the new course site. Well hey, now that you're on the page, might as well enter the giveaway, right?! Right! At least that's how it plays out in my head.
Want to enter for your chance to quit your job to blog? Do it here!
It's the best time of the year! The time to get out those blanket scarves, pour yourself a steaming hot cup of coffee, and pull on your riding boots. Because you need to instagram the hell out of that look.
I've teamed up with 7 other wonderful bloggers to give you a $200 Target Shopping Spree! Because you'd look really good with some new fall booties, blanket scarf, and well everything else that Target has to offer. Enter in the Rafflecopter below.
