Structuring a giveaway to actually grow an email list
I've been sitting on a small print giveaway idea for months now, overthinking every angle of it. The goal is simple: use it as a lead magnet to build my email list. But the structure is where I keep stalling.
Do you gate the entry behind an email signup and leave it at that, or do you layer in sharing mechanics to get more reach? I've seen photographers do both, and honestly the ones that add too many steps seem to lose people before they finish. But a bare bones "drop your email" approach feels like it might not generate enough momentum on its own.
Also curious about what you actually give away. A single print? A small collection? Something else entirely that I'm not thinking of?
Would appreciate hearing what's worked for anyone who's tried this, especially what you'd do differently the second time around.
In my experience, simpler is almost always better here. I stalled on something similar for a while and what finally worked was just a clean exchange: sign up, get entered. No extra hoops. Every added step seemed to lose people before they finished. For the prize itself, I went with something low cost but tangible, like a small print or even branded items, rather than a big ticket piece. The part I wish I'd done from the start was the follow up. Once the giveaway ended, I emailed everyone who didn't win, congratulated the winner, and offered a short window discount, something like 20% off for 48 hours. That second touch converted way more people than I expected. The giveaway gets the email, but that consolation offer is where the real momentum comes from.