How to Get More Giveaway Entries (Without Attracting Fake Ones)
To get more giveaway entries, offer a prize your audience actually wants, make the first step quick, and give people reasons to come back and share: daily entries, a referral link and a few extra ways to earn entries. Then put the giveaway everywhere your audience already is, and remind them before it ends.
Here are nine changes that make the biggest difference, roughly in order.
More entries or more entrants?
It helps to know which one you need.
- More entrants means more people. You get that from the prize, an easy first step, promotion and referrals.
- More entries per person means people do more actions or come back. You get that from bonus actions, daily entries and leaderboards.
Most giveaways need both. But if 50 people each have 20 entries, you have an engagement win and a reach problem.
1. Offer a prize people want, and say it in the title
The prize is the main reason anyone enters. Put it in the title in plain words (“Win our winter skincare bundle”), add a clear photo, and say how many winners there will be.
Pick something your ideal customer wants. A generic big prize brings more entries, but most of them are prize hunters who leave when the giveaway ends.
2. Make the first step quick
People decide in a few seconds. To enter a SweepWidget giveaway, they only need a name and email. Keep it that way:
- Use three to five entry methods. That’s usually plenty. A long list of required steps makes people give up.
- Make only one or two steps mandatory. Make the rest optional, for extra entries.
- Unlock harder actions later. With Unlock After # Of Entries, an action only appears after someone has earned a few entries.
- Be careful with “after all entry methods are completed”. In that mode, people who skip a step get no entries at all. Use it only when you really need every action.
3. Give people extra ways to earn entries
Optional actions let keen entrants earn more. Mix easy ones (visit a page, claim a bonus entry) with valuable ones (join your newsletter, subscribe on YouTube, join your Discord).
Make the valuable actions worth more entries. People notice “+5 entries” next to an action, and it steers them toward what helps you most.
4. Let people come back every day
Daily entries give people a reason to return, and every visit is another chance to share. Tick Allow daily re-entry on an action, then choose how often: from once an hour up to once a day, or once a day at midnight in the entrant’s time zone.
Good actions to repeat:
- Bonus entry. One click on Claim Bonus Entry. If the giveaway is embedded on your site, each return is a site visit too.
- Secret code. Hide a code on your website, in a video or in your emails, and change it now and then.
5. Add a referral link
Each entrant gets their own link, and earns entries when a friend enters through it. This is how one person’s entry turns into several. Put the share link at the top so people see it right after they enter. (Our guide to running a referral contest covers prizes for top referrers and fraud checks.)
6. Show progress with a leaderboard or rewards
On Business and above, a leaderboard shows entrants where they rank, and milestone rewards unlock a prize or coupon when someone reaches a set number of entries. Both give people a goal, which keeps them doing one more action. Say in the leaderboard description how winners are chosen, so nobody assumes the top spot wins if it doesn’t.
7. Put the giveaway everywhere your audience already is
Every giveaway gets a hosted landing page, so you can share one link anywhere. Then:
- Embed it on your website, on a page people already visit, or as a popup.
- Email your list. Your subscribers already like you, so they’re the easiest entries you’ll get.
- Post it on every social channel, pin it, and put the link in your bio.
- Print the QR code for your counter, packaging, receipts or event booth.
- Partner with a brand or creator your audience trusts, and promote it from both accounts.
- Get listed in SweepWidget’s giveaway directory (Pro plan and above).
8. Remind people before it ends
Most people need to see a giveaway more than once before they enter. Post when it launches, again around the middle, and once more on the last day. “Ends tonight” is a real reason to act, not a gimmick.
9. Check what’s working and adjust
Open your giveaway’s Analytics tab while it’s running. Look at:
- Conversion rate, the share of visitors who entered. If people visit but don’t enter, your first step or your prize is the problem.
- Entry methods, to see which actions people actually complete.
- Daily visits, to see which days brought people in. Match the spikes to your posts and emails, and do more of what worked.
You can edit a giveaway while it’s running, so fix what isn’t working.
Don’t chase fake entries
A big entry count full of bots helps nobody. Keep the security level at Standard or higher and block VPNs (Pro plan and up). When you pick a winner, you can set a minimum number of entries, so only people who completed several actions can win. You can also set a maximum, so nobody with a huge entry count dominates the draw.
Want people coming back every day? See how to turn on daily entries. Leaderboards and milestone rewards are on the Business plan and up, so compare plans to see what each one includes.
FAQ
Three to five is usually enough. More than that, especially if they’re mandatory, makes people give up before they finish.
They give people a reason to return, and each return adds entries and another chance to share. They work best for giveaways that run for a week or longer.
One to two weeks suits most giveaways. That’s long enough for sharing and reminders to work, and short enough that people don’t lose interest.
Yes, as long as your rules explain it. Extra entries improve someone’s odds, but the draw is still random.
Usually the prize isn’t appealing enough, or the first step asks for too much. Check your conversion rate in Analytics, cut mandatory steps, and make the prize clearer in the title.
