How to Create and Run a Successful Online Competition

What Are Your Goals and Guidelines?

Before you dive in, it’s a great idea to lay out your goals and guidelines.

What are you hoping to achieve with your competition website? What’s its main purpose? Who do you want to reach? Think about the types of competitions you’d like to run and how long you’d want to keep them going, too.

It’s a lot to think about, but asking these questions will help you feel more prepared.

Oh yes, and don’t forget to set a budget for securing prizes and running the competitions. Consider how many tickets you might need to sell to cover your costs and how much profit you’d like to aim for. 

The Requirements of Running a Competition Site

Having a competition site doesn’t mean the competitions will run themselves! No, no. Where is the fun in that? It takes more than just creating a page and waiting for people to join. It takes creativity, as well as some other small considerations.

When it comes to managing your site, you should think about:

• Legal and Compliance Issues. Double-check whether you need a license—if you do, it’s best to get hold of one before you start operating. You should also familiarise yourself with the rules of competition promotion to keep everything legal.

• Costs and Budget. Keeping your finances in check along the way is very important, so plan them out accordingly. Factor in website development costs, hosting, marketing, prize acquisition, among other things. If your prizes are high-value, just make sure the potential Return On Investment (ROI) is worth it. 

• Technical Features. What functionality do you want your website to have? As a competition business, you’ll need to have entry forms, payment gateways, countdown timers, and an automated winner selection. If there’s anything else, note them down, but don’t blow over your budget!

• Prizes. Your target audience’s main attraction. What prizes would they like? Choose something desirable for them. This could be cash, tech bundles, experience packages, a car, collectables… You name it. It needs to be something that excites them, though, and encourages them to enter.

• Marketing. Consider how you’ll drive traffic to your website. There are so many ways: social media, email campaigns, influencer collabs, or paid ads. These all play a role in promoting your competitions. 

Building Your Website

Woohoo! Let’s dive into the exciting part: starting your competition website.

Having a website for your competition business is very important. It’s where your customers can find all the info they need, whether it’s about an upcoming event or your brand. 

Plus, it’s the perfect place to host your competitions. Of course, you can run social media comps too.  Still, there are added benefits to running them on your website, such as: deeper data insights, control over customising customer experience, and brand building.

If your site is easy to navigate and good-looking, your customers are more likely to return. 

How your site looks really matters. With so many players in the game, you’ll want to make a splash and stand out from the competitive crowd. Trust us, it can get quite competitive.

That’s where Zap comes in. We’re a team of web development and design enthusiasts. We’ve got the perfect mix of technical know-how and creative flair, and we’re excited to help you create a website that’s just right for you. 

So, what do you think? Want to turn clicks into conversions, and your one-time visitors into loyal customers? Say no more, just give us a shout. 

How to Create Your First Online Competition

Your first competition is your little baby. You should nurture it and help it thrive. If you’re aiming for it to turn into something special (which you no doubt are!), there are a few steps to follow.

1. Define Your Goals

When planning your first competition, consider what you want to achieve, like boosting brand awareness or attracting new leads. Setting SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound — can help guide your decisions and keep you focused.

Also, don’t forget about your budget! Whether it’s for promotions or prizes, having a clear budget will help you stay on track and avoid overspending.

Btw, just as a reminder: since this is your first competition, try curbing your expectations a little when it comes to profits. It might take some time before you start seeing those returns, and that’s totally fine! Being realistic and playing it safe will help you avoid any big losses right out of the gate. Stay financially safe to stay in the game. Simple as that.

2. Choose Your Competition Type

You’ll also have to think about what kind of competition you want to host. Is it going to be a giveaway? A free draw? An instant win? 

Everything will depend on the type of competition you pick. This includes its ‘hook,’ or the reason why people would want to participate in it. Of course, the prize is often the big draw, but there are plenty of other reasons why folks might want to join in. 

Maybe they appreciate that it’s free to enter, or perhaps they’re excited to show off their creativity. Keep in mind what your audience will find appealing and go from there. Whatever you think the hook is, use it in your marketing to attract more people.

3. Select Your Prize

This one’s a big deal, and it can be hard sometimes to find the perfect prize. Your prize might never be 100% ‘perfect’, but it can come pretty close.

All you need to do is:

• Base your grand prize on your niche. If your brand centres around vintage cameras, then your prize (if it’s financially available to you at this early stage) is likely to be a vintage camera. 
• Choose a prize that is relevant to your audience. If your niche is vintage cameras, your audience might not care much about the newest MacBook. 
• Consider your audience’s demographics, interests, and online behaviour. These might also help you decide what prizes to offer in your first competition.

So, simply put: stick to your budget, but step into your audience’s shoes.

4. Promote Your Competition (And Set Clear Rules)

Also, watch where your audience spends most of their time online. If it’s on social media, which site do they prefer? Are there any other platforms they use? Which ones?

Promote your competition using a combination of paid and organic media. Invest in ads, but also build a following on social media. This will help widen your reach and grow a community around your brand.

By knowing where your ideal players hang out online, you’ll be able to target them better — whether it’s through ads or other forms of interaction. 

It’s important to note that you should set clear rules when you’re promoting your competition, no matter where it is. Make them visible, and use fewer words to make them more digestible.

5. Select and Announce Your Winner/s

Choose your winners fairly and randomly. There are handy tools out there that can help you pick winners without any bias, saving you time and effort. 

When it comes to sharing the news about your winners, you have plenty of options. You could do a live announcement or share a video of them receiving their prize. Pick the method that feels right for you and your audience.

Since this is your very first competition, why not ask your winners for a quick review afterwards? Their testimonial can be very helpful for future customers. Hearing from someone who has had a positive experience with your brand is authentic, and customers crave authenticity. Customer reviews are like friends giving you advice, rather than a business trying to sell itself.

How to Run an Online Competition Business

We have a guide on starting an online competition business, but how do you run one?

1. Planning and Strategy

You know how it goes: before you start, you’re going to need to define your goals and set a budget. That’s a pretty classic, business-y thing. 

You should also choose a niche and identify a specific target audience to base your niche on. Make sure your niche is something specific, but still broad enough to have a large following, like vintage cameras.

Having a niche is essential for a competition business, as the industry is quite saturated now. It’ll also help you develop a brand, find your tone, and develop your personality, which will translate into your messaging.

Oh yes, another thing! You’ll have to familiarise yourself with the legal aspects of running an online competition business. 

2. Building Your Online Presence

You gotta put your competition business out there! The online world is a perfect place to start, especially because it’s an online competition business you’re running. 

So, create a website — we’ve already touched on the fact that we can create it for you. That offer still stands, in case you were wondering.

Then, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and start working on your social media strategy. Trust us, promoting your business on social media will really help boost your business’s visibility. 

Make sure to also engage with your audience and share links to your website — for example, to more info about your newest competition. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your site and get more players involved.

Once you’ve sparked some excitement around your brand, why not start an email newsletter? It’s a great way to share news about upcoming contests, events, customer stories, and any special offers you have in store — pretty much anything you can think of!

If you’re curious about getting started with email marketing, you’d love our KnowledgeBase. It’s packed with helpful tips and step-by-step guides to help you create the best email campaigns for your audience. 

3. Running the Competition

We’ve gone over the basics of running a great competition, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind.

First, consider your entry requirements. Decide how people can enter, set an age limit (remember, it’s important that participants are 18+!), and clarify any other eligibility criteria. Remember to include details about payment, prizes, and the rules — make sure everything is clear and easy to understand.

When promoting your competition on social media, it’s a good idea to check the guidelines first. Platforms like Meta can have specific rules about promoting online competitions, so just be cautious to avoid any hiccups.

4. Striving to Be Better

Adopt a ‘continuous improvement’ mindset. It’s easier said than done, we know, we know. But it’ll help you be the best you can be. 

Take time to jot down any feedback you receive, whether it’s praise or constructive criticism. It’s all valuable. Reflect on what works for you and what doesn’t, and be open to adjusting your strategies and offerings based on those insights. 

Think of it as a fun little adventure, where you focus on growth; this perspective can help make even the toughest feedback a bit easier to handle.

Growing Your Online Competition Business

You’ll be happy to know that there are several ways to grow your competition business nowadays. (Also, can we just say we love your motivation? Work it!)

1. Build a Community 

Community. What a lovely word, eh? 

It’s even lovelier in practice.

Having a community helps make everything better. Just like a community of friends, a community of customers helps take some of the load off your shoulders. It makes acquiring loyal customers and promoting competitions much easier. Sometimes, your community will even promote them for you, just because they love your brand.

Also, if you have a dedicated channel for your community (i.e. Facebook Group, Discord, Instagram Broadcast Channel), it gives you a designated space for all sorts of things. For instance, sharing any exclusive offers, upcoming events, or hosting live Q&As or draws. 

Those in your community are your special customers and should be treated as such. Nurture them, and they’ll keep coming back.

2. Use a Mix of Paid and Organic Media 

Although growing your business organically via social media is great, it’s not wise to only rely on that. The best approach is to use a mix of organic and paid media. Invest in paid advertising once you have the financial means. This will boost your overall brand awareness, allow you to reach new audiences, and keep you top of mind. 

It’s definitely worth a shot! And you can be creative in your approach, too. If traditional ads aren’t your cup of tea, consider partnering with influencers (who are relevant to your brand), who can promote your business to their followers. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Where Do You Grow From Here?

Just an idea. You can grow with us. 

Online competitions are our bread and butter—we excel in everything related to them. You must, no doubt, have loads of questions if you’re looking to start your first competition (which is very exciting! 🎉). We’re here to answer them for you. Reach out to us today.