Lisa Rodgers of Indie Beauty Network member Cactus and Ivy contacted me earlier this week about a fun, easy way she's using to increase subscribers to her newsletter and expose more people to her products. It combines all of the elements that make running a small and independent business enjoyable: it's fun, it's easy and it produces results. Lisa is hosting a Natural Goodness Giveaway to give away $150 of her products to one lucky winner.
The products in the prize (not all pictured here) include goodies like Lisa's Lemon Razz Reed Diffuser, Key Lime Cactus Body Wash and Spearcalyptus Body Soap. I asked Lisa to share a little about how she put this program together.
dM: What was your inspiration for this new campaign?
Lisa: August is my birthday month and I’ve always believed that it’s better to give than to receive, so I decided to give away $150 worth of goodies in honor of my birthday.
dM: What do people have to do to enter?
Lisa: Just enter, that's it. Of course I need names and email addresses to make sure no one enters twice and to be able to contact the winner. But I do not require that anyone subscribe to my newsletter as a condition of entry. However, about 90% of entrants have opted to receive the newsletter.
Since I launched the campaign on July 31, an additional 1,481 people have subscribed.
The giveaway runs through August 31 so I expect that number to rise significantly. Another benefit is that, through Woopra Tracking and Analytics, I have been able to track that the campaign has been picked up by websites all over the United States and Canada. I knew I'd enjoy additional exposure, but I didn't expect anything like this. I'm very pleased.
dM: Can you offer any tips for others who may wish to host a similar campaign?
Lisa: Yes, I highly recommend making sure that all submissions are collected in a database file at your website so you can easily upload them to Random.org (or a comparable drawing service).
Because I didn't do this from the start, I will have to manually input about 450 entries. Be sure to do this from the beginning to avoid this.
dM: What other benefits have you enjoyed as a result of this campaign?
Lisa: Because half of the online business battle is getting people to visit your website, I have learned a great new way to make that happen. After the contest, I will offer special incentives and discounts to newsletter subscribers so I can convert more of them into buyers.
The sudden increase in newsletter subscribers required me to reconsider my newsletter publishing company. I ended up switching from a pay-per-month service to a service that delivers to more subscribers before upgrade and increased costs are required. I now use ArcLab's mail service.
Question: What do you think of Lisa's experience? Are you able to put any of her tips to good use in your business? (Oh, and Happy Birthday, Lisa!)
