So I posted my first ever giveaway on my blog earlier this month, hoping to get some more followers and more exposure to my blog. It didn't quite go as I'd expected. (Though it is still open for another 40 hours, if you'd like to enter to win the complete Disgraceful Dukes trilogy by Lenora Bell!) I'll admit that I was super disappointed in participation until I reached out to the author of the books I'm giving a way to share with her about how excited I was to share her books with more people. She gave me a signal boost and said some really sweet things (I love Lenora Bell!) which helped me get more jazzed up about it.
However, the whole experience got me thinking. What do you think of giveaways on blogs? I used Rafflecopter, but a friend later told me that some people don't like using Rafflecopter to sign up for giveaways. If you're one of these people, can you share why you don't like it? If you're a blogger who hosts giveaways, are there other platforms you prefer?
Also, I made several different options for making more entries, like following my blog, following in Twitter, leaving a comment, adding me on Goodreads... What do you think about giveaways that have hoops to jump through for more entries? Do you prefer the opportunity to "earn" more entries, or do you prefer to see giveaways with just one entry per person, no strings attached?
Personally, I like to see giveaways, but I feel like I see a LOT of them where there are ways to earn up to 20 different entries, and I don't ever see who won!! I want to see the name of who won, even if I have no idea who that person is. What about you? I am for sure going to share here on my blog the name of who wins my giveaway!! If I don't see a post letting me know someone won, it makes me wonder... did anyone actually win, or was this just a grab for blog hits and follows?
So let me know in the comments! What do you think of giveaways on blogs? Are they a fun way to interact (and maybe get some free stuff!) or are they a desperate bid for hits and follows?
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Hi, Elly! Let me be honest with you. Giveaways don't really gain you a lot of follows TBH. I tried that and it never did bump up my readership that I decided to not do giveaways at all. The only giveaways I have on my blog are blog tour/blog hop related. It also depends on what book you are giving away and I have noticed that there are more YA readers that love to join giveaways as compared to romance bloggers. Also YA bloggers are more active than adult romance bloggers. Makes sense? I think Rafflecopter is the easiest giveaway tool that you can have because it has a lot of options even if it's free.
ReplyDeleteIf you do want to increase your readership and subscribers, here is what I did: I created more content on my blog, more discussion as well. I also comment on blogs that are similar to mine and interact with them, chances are, they will follow you. I also read an article talking about not increasing your readership thru giveaways and such because they mostly don't interact with your blog.
Good luck with increasing your blog! 😉
Wow, thanks for your really insightful comments, Zeee. :) That totally makes sense about YA bloggers being more active - I sure do see a LOT of YA reviews! How do you find your blog tours/blog hops, and decide which ones to participate in? So far most of the ones I've stumbled across have been super wide netted and not even bookish focused, let alone romance focused, haha.
DeleteI'm still excited about my giveaway because I do love spreading the gospel of Lenora Bell. It's exciting to start reading an author when they've got just their first book out, and follow along as their career grows. :)
Hi, Elley! Try Xpresso Book Tours, Rockstar Book Tours, and Pure Textuality Book Tours.. there are a bunch out there but these 3 have romances. There are a lot of YA book tour companies, though
ReplyDeleteI think Rafflecopter is the way to go with giveaways. If you're looking to increase followers or readership, you might want to start with a broader giveaway for better results. Something that allows the winner a choice in what they win always tends to get better results. Maybe join in on Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight's monthly New Release giveaway once or twice and see if that works for you. Since you enjoy romance, you could give romance releases as your examples but allow readers to choose any new release they want (even if it's not one you featured).
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, as Zeee already mentioned, blog tours are always great because you don't have to supply the prize. :-)
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I don't personally like the multiple entries giveaway since that becomes less of a chance thing and more of a who-can-do-more-thing-to-get-more-entries thing and somehow the host seems a bit selfish in that aspect (sometimes...) This annoys me all the more when the name of the winner isn't announced :D The single entries seem more genuine to me because everyone gets a fair chance at that. Though, I've participated in both sorts of giveaways so won't say much because I'll sound like a hypocrite LOL.
ReplyDelete