Do I share the giveaway with my existing newsletter subscribers?

No, because this will create double sign ups and you already have their e-mail addresses. The goal of giveaways is to reach new audiences and get new e-mail addresses.

Keeping Organized:

1) Create a new folder on your desktop called Giveaways. Inside that, create a separate folder for each giveaway you do. (There’s more info at the end of this page about why it’s so important to keep these organized, clearly labeled and easily located).

2) In it, keep everything related to the giveaway, including Facebook Ad Images, Social Media Stats, the Giveaway Page Link and an image Copy of the Landing Page Authorization that I provide to the group.  

How do I promote my giveaway?

1) Targeted Facebook ad: each author does a targeted Facebook ad for part of the giveaway length (I’ll provide an instructional video).
You don’t need to wait to do the ad, it can be pre-scheduled to start at any time. So feel free to get started early on the tutorial if you want to. Once you know what date you’re scheduled to do the ad (the group decides on this in the group chat), you can set it in advance to start and end on those dates. This is also covered in the video tutorial.  

2) Social Media Posting: post the link on all your channels; Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also do LinkedIn if you want. Repost it once a week until the drawing is held. 

3) Pin the giveaway post: Pin to the top of Twitter and your Facebook author page:
How to pin to Twitter: write your tweet, post it, then refresh your page until you see the tweet. Click on the dropdown arrow top right on the tweet, and click “Pin to your profile page.”
How to pin to your Facebook author page: publish your post, then refresh the page and click on the three dots top right on the post, click on “Pin to top of page.”

4) Hashtags: I will provide some relevant hashtags, and also use any relevant ones you can find. Hashtags are essential to getting seen. 
Specific to the event, and also general, for example #bookgiveaway #giveaway #amwriting #amreading #writerslife #reading etc. Try to use only about five or six hashtags.
The most important hashtag is the one related to the event, example: for International Women’s Day 2019, the topic and assigned hashtag was #BalanceforBetter, #IWD2019 and #InternationalWomensDay. For Mother’s Day it is #mothersday and so on. 

Tying your book marketing to an event is a great opportunity, because all those eyes and the attention the event gets can be turned onto your book.

How do I know if it’s working?

1) I will give updates on the number of sign ups via the Facebook group chat.  

2) At the start of the giveaway, fill out in the Google Docs form how many Twitter and Instagram followers you have, and how many Facebook likes your author page has.
I have structured the landing page to funnel through to each author’s social media for more chances to win, after people sign up. 

Website Traffic Tracking:

If you have Google Analytics or other tracking software on your website, you can see how much traffic the giveaway is driving, because the source will be from www.UniversalByDesign.com where the giveaway is hosted. 

Why do I need to keep a copy of the Giveaway Link as well as an image copy of the giveaway page?

You will need this if asked to provide proof that your subscribers opted in or consented to join your mailing list. Proof of consent is sometimes required when importing mailing lists into MailerLite, MailChimp etc.

This is essential to keep in your Giveaways folder. Clearly label it Giveaway (Month and year) Proof of Consent. If you do not have proof of consent, you may not be able to send newsletters and use your subscriber list. 

Tips for after the winner has been selected:

I will let everyone know who the winner is, and once you’ve sent them your book, try and make friends with them on social media; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
Ask them if they can take a picture of themselves with all the books and post it on their channels and tag you. Try to get as much follow up publicity as possible from the giveaway.

The goal is always to get super fans.

What else do I need to do?

Have fun! And shout the giveaway from the roof tops!