Build Free Traffic With A Contest Or Challenge

"And the winner is . . . !" People thrill at that statement, and just about everyone loves to win. How many times have you given your name, telephone number, and maybe even your email address away just to enter some drawing? Sure you figured someone would probably call and try to sell you something, but you probably took that chance anyway, didn't you? Contests and challenges are a great way to build the contact or email list for your business, as well as a great way to build excitement about your product or service. This post will discuss a few ideas about how a contest or challenge could be a great promotional tool for your business.

Obviously, you're going to need some way to contact the winner of your contest. Everyone knows that, so there isn't going to be much of a problem about asking for an email address or phone number. Those who don't want to give out their information simply won't enter your contest. The same applies for a challenge as well; if someone wants the prize for winning the challenge they'll have to be contacted. This makes holding a contest or a challenge a perfect way to build your list, but it doesn't stop there.

Everyone who enters a contest or challenge wants to see who the competition is. Even something as simple as a coloring contest can drive us to size up the competition. "My entry is better than that" or "That entry looks like trouble" are common to the competitive spirit in many people. So why is it a good idea to stir up all the rating and ranking? Some people will visit your site to see the competition and others will visit just to see what was entered. People are likely to tell their friends about the contest, either to check out their own entry or to get their friends to enter too.

But if you want all that traffic to translate into increased sales of your product or service, you're going to want it to be as targeted as possible. Promote your contest or challenge at a site related specifically to your topic. If the contest requires a little talent or expertise in your subject in order to win, then your traffic will be even more targeted. Even if you only have a few entries, there could be many others who want to see the entries.

Are exhibitors the only people who look at entries in the county fair? No, there are many others who just like looking. Holding your own contest will not only bring exhibitors but others as well. Either way, all that looking around translates into traffic for your site.