Chance for a Prize

Chance for a Prize

Many businesses run contests such as raffles or sweepstakes to grab the attention of potential customers and to increase their brand recognition. Who doesn't want to win a prize? The thought of winning a prize is an exciting prospect for anyone and most people will gladly sign up for just about anything that is free! Unfortunately, running a contest can be a time consuming and tricky process for a business, especially when they already have their hands full with the day-to-day operations of a new venture.

By hiring a service to run a contest or sweepstakes, the business is relieved of the pressure of running the contest, but still has the opportunity to reap the benefits of name recognition, increased customer interest and, in some cases, the ability to collect contact information on potential customers. Offer businesses a way to easily hold a prize drawing by helping them orchestrate the contest.

The customers can purchase tickets for the contest directly from the business but you will supply the business with the prize and the tickets. You could possibly also offer to record the customer's information gathered into some sort of database for an additional fee. Your main function will be to supply the prize and the tickets to the business. You may also want to draw the random winner name for them to keep the contest fair.

Many businesses who have only an online storefront have found that contests and sweepstakes are an excellent way to draw new traffic to their site so be sure to offer your services to these retailers and business owners as well!

The prizes for these drawings can be just about anything from a weekend vacation cruise to a television, a computer, or DVD collection. By finding retailers who are also interested in a little cross promotion, you could possibly get the prizes at a discounted rate or, with a little negotiation, free of charge! You would want to decide on some sort of prize that would be appropriate to draw in the potential customers of the specific business looking to run the sweepstakes or contest. For instance, you wouldn't want to offer tickets for a senior's single cruise to a business whose largest client demographic is young people.

You will likely want to brainstorm and have several contest ideas in several price ranges to offer each business. Since you will be supplying the tickets and prize, you will need to figure out how much to charge each business so that you will turn a respectable profit. In addition to any funds spent on the actual tickets and prizes, be sure to calculate the time that you will spend picking up and delivering any contest materials, as well as any time spent coordinating or negotiating with clients. You could also charge a percentage of the prize item's total value and/or a per hour fee for running the actual contest.

Here are a few ideas for potential prizes:

- Gym memberships
- Weekend cruises
- Dinner and limousine service
- Concert tickets and transportation
- Gift certificates
- Signed musical instruments
- Stereo systems
- Laptops with specialized software
- Tennis lessons
- Fantasy baseball camp
- Adventure travel packages
- A weekend in a romantic Bed & Breakfast
- Flights and a hotel stay in a foreign country
- Maid service and a chef on hand for a week
- Wardrobe make-overs
- A high end cell phone and service package
- Dinner with a celebrity
- An after-hours shopping spree at a high end store
- Free landscaping services
- Baskets of smaller prizes including the host business's products
- Power tools
- A sports car
- Outdoor or indoor furniture
- Coordinated sets of luggage
- Backstage passes for a concert or live cultural performance
- A dating service membership
- A fishing vacation in Alaska
- A home security system

Resources:

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=24044

http://www.sweepstakes.com/

http://www.sandysrealm.com/

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