Running a competition is a brilliant way to boost engagement, attract new customers, or grow your audience – but what if your marketing budget is more shoestring than splurge? Don’t worry, you don’t need to splash loads of cash to run a successful competition. In fact, with a little creativity and some clever planning, you can pull off a fantastic comp without breaking the bank.
Whether you’re a small business, a one-person show, or just looking to get the most out of a limited budget, this guide will take you through the steps to run a competition that delivers results – without draining your wallet. So, let’s grab a cuppa and dig into how you can make the most of what you’ve got!
Table of Contents
1. Get clear on your goals
Before you even think about the prizes or how to promote your competition, you need to get crystal clear on your goals. What are you hoping to achieve? Defining your goals from the start will help you focus your efforts and make sure you’re spending wisely.
Here are a few common goals businesses have when running a competition:
- Increase social media followers: Great for growing your brand’s online presence.
- Collect email addresses: Perfect if you want to build your mailing list for future promotions.
- Drive website traffic: Brilliant if you’re launching a new product or service and want to get people over to your site.
- Boost engagement: If you want to create a buzz around your business, a competition can get people talking, liking, and sharing.
Once you’ve nailed down what you want to achieve, you can shape your competition around that goal. Keeping your focus sharp will stop you from wasting money on unnecessary extras.
2. Choose a budget-friendly prize
Here’s the good news: you don’t need a mega-expensive prize to run a successful competition. In fact, the key is to offer something that’s relevant to your audience, rather than just splashing out on a generic big-ticket item. A well-chosen, affordable prize can be just as effective – if not more so – than an expensive one.
Think about your target audience and what would appeal to them. For example:
- Product bundle: If you sell physical products, why not create a bundle of your bestsellers? It’s a great way to showcase what you offer without spending extra cash.
- Discount vouchers: Offering a discount or gift voucher for your own products or services can be a win-win – it encourages entries while also bringing customers back to your business.
- Collaborations: Partner with another small business to offer a joint prize. This way, you both get exposure without doubling the cost.
Remember, it’s all about the value to your audience. A prize that’s personal and thoughtful will always go further than something generic like a £50 gift card to a random shop.
3. Keep it simple
The simpler your competition, the better – especially when you’re working with a limited budget. The more complex the entry process or the prize structure, the more time (and potentially money) you’ll need to manage it.
Here’s how to keep things simple:
- Clear entry requirements: Stick to one or two entry methods – like following your social media account and leaving a comment, or signing up for your newsletter. Avoid overcomplicating it with multiple steps.
- Straightforward prize draw: Rather than creating a competition where winners are chosen based on skill (like writing a slogan or submitting a photo), keep it simple with a random prize draw. It’s easier to manage and takes less time to organise.
Simple competitions are quicker for people to enter, which can help boost participation – and that’s exactly what you want!
4. Use free tools to promote your competition
When it comes to promoting your competition, you don’t need to spend a fortune on advertising. There are plenty of free tools and platforms that can help you get the word out. Here are some budget-friendly ways to spread the word:
a) Social media
Social media is a no-brainer for promoting your competition. Whether you’re on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, these platforms give you a free way to reach your audience.
- Post regularly: Don’t just mention the competition once – remind people throughout the entry period. Share behind-the-scenes content, countdowns, or posts highlighting the prize.
- Use relevant hashtags: Hashtags like #giveaway, #competition, #win, and #prizedraw can help your competition reach a wider audience.
- Engage with participants: Reply to comments, thank people for entering, and keep the conversation going. The more engaged your audience is, the better your competition will perform.
b) Email marketing
If you’ve already got a mailing list, use it to your advantage. Send out an email announcing the competition and encourage your subscribers to enter. Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your audience – and it doesn’t cost anything if you’re already paying for an email platform.
- Highlight the prize: Make the email visually appealing, with images of the prize and a clear call to action.
- Remind people: Send a follow-up email closer to the competition deadline to nudge any stragglers into entering.
c) Leverage your website
If you have a website, make sure your competition is front and centre. Add a banner to your homepage or create a dedicated competition page where people can enter. It’s an easy way to drive traffic to your site while promoting the competition at the same time.
5. Collaborate with influencers or other businesses
If you’re working with a tight budget, teaming up with others can be a brilliant way to maximise your reach without spending a lot. Collaborating with influencers or partnering with other small businesses can help you reach a wider audience while splitting the workload (and sometimes the cost).
a) Partner with influencers
Working with influencers – especially micro-influencers in your niche – can help spread the word about your competition to a highly engaged audience. You don’t need to go after the big names with massive followings (that can get pricey). Micro-influencers tend to be more affordable, and their followers are often more invested in what they have to say.
- Offer a free product: Instead of paying an influencer, you could offer them one of your products in exchange for promoting your competition. It’s a budget-friendly way to get exposure.
- Ask for a shout-out: Many influencers are happy to promote competitions in exchange for a shout-out or cross-promotion. It’s a low-cost way to get your comp in front of a wider audience.
b) Partner with another business
Teaming up with another business in your niche can help you reach their audience as well as your own. For example, if you run a bakery, you could partner with a local coffee shop to offer a prize bundle of cakes and coffee vouchers. Both businesses get exposure, and you’re only footing part of the bill for the prize.
6. Use free design tools to create visuals
Eye-catching visuals are a must for promoting your competition – but you don’t need to hire a professional designer or spend loads on fancy software. There are plenty of free design tools out there that can help you create professional-looking graphics for your social media posts, emails, or website.
- Canva: Canva is a fantastic free tool for creating everything from social media posts to email headers. It’s easy to use, and there are loads of templates to help you get started.
- Unsplash: If you need high-quality images for your posts, Unsplash offers free stock photos that you can use in your designs.
With these tools, you can create polished, professional-looking promotional materials without spending a penny.
7. Offer a special incentive for sharing
If you really want to stretch your budget, encourage people to share your competition with their friends and followers. By adding a sharing incentive, you can get more eyes on your competition without having to spend extra on advertising.
For example:
- Bonus entry for sharing: Offer participants an extra entry into the draw if they share the competition on their social media or tag a friend. This helps spread the word organically and brings in new entrants.
- Referral incentives: If your goal is to grow your email list, consider offering a small reward (like a discount or freebie) for participants who refer friends to sign up.
People love the chance to win, and they’re more likely to share a competition if they know it’ll increase their own chances of winning.
8. Keep your competition timeline short
When you’re running a competition on a budget, it’s a good idea to keep the entry period relatively short – somewhere between one to two weeks. A shorter timeline helps build urgency and excitement, while also reducing the amount of time you need to spend promoting the competition.
It also prevents your competition from dragging on and losing momentum. The longer the entry period, the more effort you’ll need to put into keeping it fresh and engaging. A quick, punchy competition is more likely to keep people interested and actively entering.
9. Track the results
Once your competition is over and the winner has been announced, take some time to track the results. Did you hit your goals? Whether it was gaining new followers, growing your mailing list, or driving traffic to your site, measuring the success of your competition will help you plan for future ones.
Here’s what to look at:
- Social media engagement: Did your follower count grow? Did your posts get more likes, shares, and comments? Compare your pre-competition engagement to your numbers after the comp to see the impact.
- Website traffic: If your goal was to drive people to your website, check your analytics to see if there was a spike in visitors during the competition period.
- Email sign-ups: If you were aiming to grow your mailing list, how many new subscribers did you get? Make sure you track the number of new sign-ups so you can see if the comp delivered.
- Conversions: Did anyone make a purchase as a result of the competition? Sometimes, competitions not only bring in new followers but also convert them into paying customers.
Tracking your results helps you understand what worked, what didn’t, and where you can improve for next time. It also shows you whether your budget-friendly approach delivered the results you were after!
Wrapping it up
Running a successful competition on a budget doesn’t have to be tricky – with the right planning, a bit of creativity, and a clear goal in mind, you can pull off a fantastic comp without spending a fortune. Whether it’s using free tools, partnering with other businesses, or keeping things simple, there are plenty of ways to stretch your budget and still deliver a competition that gets results.
So, there’s no need to wait until you’ve got a massive marketing budget to run a competition. Get started with what you’ve got, use these tips to make the most of your resources, and watch the entries roll in. Who knows? Your next competition might just be the game-changer your business needs!