Well, not really, but hopefully from this article’s title, you can see the usefulness of contests and giveaways in drawing attention to your web site. You’ve optimized your keywords, you’ve sent out press releases and you’ve rented a plane to fly your web site’s URL over the Super Bowl. If you are still looking for more attention on your site, running a contest or sweepstakes is a perfect way to give added credibility to your site, increase hype and make some users happy. Running a contest or sweepstakes does require some extra planning and some legal research, but the benefits out-weigh all of that if executed well.
The primary key to using a contest or giveaway to bring visitors to your site is a prize that appeals to your market. At my site, UnitedBands.com, musicians and artists looking to grow their careers are my market niche. I wanted to give something to the users of my site and increase excitement. I thought about what would get a response from working musicians and then reflected on the resources I had available.
I had just finished recording a single with my producer, David Ivory, in Philadelphia. He has been nominated for a Grammy among other things and so has the high-powered appeal that would be necessary to elicit interest from a pool of bands scattered across the country. I talked with him about the idea of having a contest where a band from the site would win a week in the studio with him. To my surprise, not only was he into the idea, but he had several suggestions that I had not even thought of that would add to the appeal of the contest. He suggested broadcasting the winners in the studio through the web site using web cams so that the contestants could watch the process and bring added value to entering the contest. From this example you can see that working with someone who cares about the contest as much (or possibly more) than you can add a major boost to the success of the contest before it even gets off the ground.
We soon ironed out the details. Voila! A contest with direct market appeal emerged and found itself on the site. Making this happen had numerous benefits. The existing credibility of my producer lended extra credibility to the web site. In addition, the association of the contest with the web site’s name created a longer imprint in visitor’s minds. It’s much easier to remember a place or web site where you had a feeling of excitement.
Website Promotion 
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