How to Create a Giveaway to Grow Your Email List by 150%

Every year, we run a birthday giveaway on WPBeginner and offer prizes in exchange for following us on social media, sharing the competition, or signing up for our email newsletter. Apart from rewarding our readers with free software to grow their businesses, these giveaways have helped us grow our email list and social media followers.

In our opinion, giveaways are one of the fastest ways to grow your email list, increase traffic, and boost sales. They help you reach new audiences and boost user engagement on your website.

Since we’ve been doing them for years now, we know all the best tips and tricks to get the most out of your WordPress giveaways.

And in this article, we will show you how to use a giveaway to grow your email list faster.

Why Use a Giveaway to Grow Your Email List?

Did you know that email marketing sees a 4300% return on investment (ROI) on average for businesses in the US?

People who sign up for your emails are already interested in your products and services, making them very likely to convert into paying customers. However, the hardest part is getting more people to join your email list.

This is where running a contest or giveaway on your WordPress site comes in handy.

It helps you grow your email list while getting more social media subscribers and increasing traffic on your website.

Giveaways give you instant results. They create a sense of urgency, and the fear of missing out encourages people to participate in your contest. Plus, you can reach new audiences using giveaways and get more email subscribers for your WordPress website.

This is why we regularly use giveaways on WPBeginner.

To learn more, you can see our guide on how we ran a viral giveaway on WPBeginner.

That being said, let’s look at how you can get started with your giveaway. Here’s a quick overview of all the steps we will cover in this tutorial. You can click the links below to jump to any section:

Select a Prize for Your Giveaway

Before creating a giveaway, you should choose an attractive prize. A good prize will incentivize your website visitors to participate in the giveaway and subscribe to your email list.

A good place to start is by offering a prize based on your business and target audience. For example, at WPBeginner, we usually reward giveaway winners with free licenses of WordPress plugins and themes.

On the other hand, if you are running an eCommerce store, then you might offer gift cards, free shipping, or free products as prizes. Similarly, you might also give away gadgets like laptops, smartphones, headphones, and more as rewards to attract more participants.

We run monthly giveaways offering new cool gadgets as giveaways to our WPForms subscribers.

That said, let’s find out how you can create a giveaway in WordPress.

Create a Giveaway in WordPress With RafflePress

The easiest way to set up contests in WordPress is by using RafflePress. It’s the best WordPress giveaway plugin that’s beginner-friendly and lets you create giveaways in just a few clicks.

In fact, we use RafflePress to run our own giveaways and love how easy it makes the process. For more details, see our RafflePress review.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the RafflePress plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll see the RafflePress welcome screen in the WordPress dashboard. Next, enter the license key and click the ‘Verify Key’ button. You can find the license key in your RafflePress account area.

After that, you can scroll down and click the ‘Create Your First Giveaway’ button.

This will launch the RafflePress giveaway builder.

On the next screen, you’ll need to enter a name for your giveaway campaign and then select one of the templates.

Since the goal is growing an email list, go ahead and click on the ‘Grow Your Email List’ template.

Now, you can add information about your giveaway under the ‘Details’ section that’s located in the left sidebar.

To start, enter a name and description for your giveaway. When writing your giveaway description, be specific about what participants can win and how to enter. A clear, compelling description increases the number of people who complete the entry process.

You can also add an image, select the giveaway start and end time, and choose a timezone.

In particular, it’s important to be realistic about the timeline. Most successful giveaways run between 7 and 14 days. Anything shorter may not give you enough time to promote it, while longer contests can lose momentum and urgency.

Add Email Newsletter and Social Entry Actions

Next, head over to the ‘Actions’ section. Here, you can select all the ways your users can participate in the giveaway.

RafflePress will add the ‘Join the Email Newsletter’ option by default in the Grow Your Email List template. However, you can choose more actions, like getting users to follow you on Twitter (X) or visiting your YouTube channel.

Keep in mind that the more entry options people have, the better engagement you will get. To keep the focus on growing your email list, you can assign more entry points to the Join Newsletter action and make it a required option.

Simply click on the ‘Join an Email Newsletter’ action in the template to further customize it.

From here, RafflePress lets you choose the number of entries a user will get. You can also edit the title text, automatically add people to the email list when they sign up for the giveaway, and make the action mandatory.

You can assign a higher value to encourage more sign-ups. In our example giveaway, we are assigning a ‘+3’ value so that users get 3 entries when they sign up for the newsletter.

There is also an option to enable opt-in confirmation, which ensures that contestants give permission to add them to your email list. This helps in complying with data regulation laws like GDPR.

Connect RafflePress to Your Email Marketing Service

Next, you’ll need to select an email marketing service from the ‘Integration’ dropdown menu. RafflePress easily integrates with popular services like Mailchimp, Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, Drip, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), and more.

Once you’ve selected an email marketing service, the next step is to connect it with your giveaway.

Next, you can switch to the ‘Design’ section from the menu on your left to customize how your giveaway looks.

RafflePress gives you options for changing the layout, fonts, and button color, adding a page background, editing the background color, and entering custom CSS.

After that, you can go to the ‘Settings’ section from the menu on your left.

Here, you can edit the giveaway’s general settings, such as the name, page permalink, and more.

Once you’ve made the changes, simply click the ‘Save’ button at the top.

Publish Your Giveaway Landing Page

Next, you’ll need to publish your giveaway. To get started, click the ‘Publish’ tab at the top of the screen.

RafflePress allows you to publish your giveaway as a block in a page or post, a widget, or a standalone landing page.

We will choose the ‘Giveaway Landing Page’ option because it’s quick and easy.

A dedicated landing page works best because it removes all other distractions from the page, so visitors can focus entirely on entering your giveaway. This typically results in a higher conversion rate compared to embedding the giveaway widget inside an existing page with other content.

Simply click the ‘View Page’ button to see your live giveaway in action.

Promote Your Giveaway Across Multiple Channels

Once your giveaway is live, you should promote it so more people can participate and join your email list.

There are many ways to spread the word about your contest. You can start by making sure your giveaway can be seen on your website, like putting it on your homepage, in the sidebar, and on your most important pages.

For example, putting a floating bar on your homepage with a link to your giveaway helps more people see your contest. You can also add countdown timers to create a sense of urgency.

Promoting the giveaway on your social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, is also a great way to attract more participants. This helps you get followers onto your email list, even if they haven’t signed up yet.

Another way to generate excitement around your giveaway is to share it in different online communities. You can also promote your giveaway by reaching out to influencers in your industry.

Sending web push notifications can also boost engagement around your contest. You can ask your push notification subscribers to join your email list if they haven’t already or to refer their friends and family members.

Here’s some additional promotion strategies that top brands use to maximize giveaway entries:

• Send an Email Blast to Existing Subscribers: Your current email list is one of your best promotional assets. Ask subscribers to share the giveaway with friends using the referral entry action in RafflePress to earn bonus entries.
• Create a Blog Post Announcement: Write a dedicated blog post about your giveaway and share the details, like the prize and entry instructions. This gives you a shareable URL that can also rank in search engines.
• Partner With Other Brands: Reach out to complementary brands and propose a joint giveaway. This lets both brands tap into each other’s audience and doubles your reach without doubling the cost.
• Partner With Influencers: You can also promote your giveaway by reaching out to leading figures within your industry. When working with influencers, make sure they clearly disclose the partnership. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that sponsored posts and giveaway promotions include proper disclosure to keep things transparent for participants.

Pick a Winner and Follow Up With Participants

Once your giveaway is over, you can go ahead and choose a winner. RafflePress helps you automatically pick a winner at random.

Simply head over to the RafflePress » Giveaways page from your WordPress admin area. Next, click the ‘Needs Winners’ option next to your giveaway.

Next, RafflePress will ask you how many winners you’d like to choose for the giveaway, and if emails that haven’t been confirmed can still be winners.

Once you’ve chosen your settings, click the ‘Choose Winners Now’ button.

Next, RafflePress will randomly select a winner for the giveaway.

You can then email the winner so that they can claim their prize.

After selecting the winner, announce the results publicly on your website and social media profiles. This builds trust with your audience and creates excitement for future giveaways.

Just as importantly, don’t forget about all the participants who didn’t win. You can send a follow-up email thanking them for entering and offer a consolation incentive, such as a discount code or free resource.

This consolation prize strategy helps convert new subscribers into paying customers and keeps them engaged with your brand.

You should also set up a welcome email sequence for the new subscribers you gained during the giveaway. A 3 to 5 email series works well and should include a welcome message and brand introduction, a piece of valuable free content, social proof such as testimonials or case studies, and an introduction to your core products or services with a special offer.

This nurture sequence is critical because it turns giveaway entrants into long-term subscribers and customers rather than letting them go cold after the contest ends.

Giveaway Best Practices to Maximize Email List Growth

Based on our experience running dozens of giveaways on WPBeginner and our other brands, here’s the most important best practices to follow:

• Set Clear Goals Before You Launch: Decide exactly what you want to achieve. Whether it’s 500 new email subscribers, 1,000 social media followers, or a specific traffic target, having a clear goal helps you measure success and plan your promotion budget accordingly.
• Keep Entry Steps Simple: The fewer steps it takes to enter, the more entries you’ll get. If you require too many actions, people will abandon the process. Typically, you should start with the email signup as the primary required action, and keep everything else optional for bonus entries.

• Use a Countdown Timer: Adding a visible countdown timer to your giveaway page creates urgency and motivates people to enter right away instead of bookmarking the page and forgetting about it.
• Leverage Referral Entries: The ‘Refer a Friend’ action in RafflePress turns every participant into a potential promoter. When people share your giveaway to earn extra entries, it creates a viral loop that can dramatically increase your reach without any additional advertising cost.
• Run Your Giveaway for 7 to 14 Days: This is the sweet spot for most giveaways. It gives you enough time to build momentum while keeping the urgency high.
• Follow All Legal Requirements: Every giveaway should have official rules that are easy for participants to find. Include eligibility restrictions (age, location), a ‘no purchase necessary’ statement, the prize details and value, and how the winner will be chosen and contacted. For example, if your prize value exceeds $5,000 and you accept entries from New York residents, you may need to register and bond the sweepstakes. When in doubt, consult a legal professional.
• Track Your Results With Analytics: Use a tool like MonsterInsights to track how much traffic your giveaway page receives, where visitors come from, and what your conversion rate looks like. This data helps you optimize future giveaways for even better results.

FAQs about Using Giveaways to Grow Your Email List

Giveaways are a great way to grow your email list, but it’s normal to have some questions about them. Below, we’ve answered some common questions to help you get the most out of your campaigns.

What kind of prizes work best for giveaways?

Prizes that relate to your business or brand in some way are usually the most effective. For example, at WPBeginner we often use WordPress plugins and themes as prizes because they match what our audience is interested in and needs.

How can I make sure my giveaway follows data protection rules?

You can use tools like RafflePress that let people confirm they want to join your mailing list or similar. We also recommend using a trusted email marketing service to keep participant information safe.

In the United States, make sure your giveaway includes a ‘no purchase necessary’ clause and official rules. If you collect data from visitors in the EU, you need to comply with GDPR by getting clear opt-in consent.

For California residents, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may also apply. If your total prize value exceeds $5,000 and you accept entries from New York, you may need to register with the state.

What’s the best way to tell winners they’ve won?

It’s best to reach out to winners directly through email. Services like Drip can help you send these messages automatically and make them feel more personal.

Can I run a giveaway on my WooCommerce store?

Yes, RafflePress works with any WordPress site, including WooCommerce stores. You can use your own products as prizes, require participants to visit specific product pages for bonus entries, and even offer store discount codes as consolation prizes for non-winners.

What should I do with new subscribers after the giveaway ends?

Send a welcome email sequence to nurture your new subscribers. Start with a thank you message, then deliver valuable free content over the next few emails before introducing your products or services.

This approach prevents new subscribers from immediately unsubscribing and helps convert them into loyal readers and customers.

We hope this article helped you learn how to use a giveaway to grow your email list. You may also want to go through our guide on how to do lead generation in WordPress and see our expert pick of the best giveaway plugins for WordPress.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.