We all have probably heard of many contests that seek to harm more than to help. There are safe contests, however, that many companies use to boost their visibility online.

When done correctly, by following all the legal rules, and with the intent to help, a promotion can be a win-win all the way around. There are many examples of this online and off.

Coupons given away by a company to help consumers try a new product for free are one example. Oreo cookie used such a promotion. They offered a coupon for a free package of Oreo cookies for anyone who visited one of their social media sites. The result was a huge influx of new people who were interested not only in the coupon, but also to know more about the Oreo cookie industry.

Facebook allows businesses with fan pages to run contests as long as they adhere to the strict guidelines set up by the FTC. When used to help consumers, a promotion or contest walks out of the gambling venue and into marketing.

How can running a promotion help you sell more books? First of all, anything that expands your brand, which is your name, and brings new readership is a marketing success. By patterning after some of the big brands, we can utilize their success in this area without having to experience the failures.

Here is one way to build your social media platforms even if you are new at it.

If you are on Twitter and you want to start building your following and likes on Facebook, then offer a gift certificate to a product that would be interesting to people who would be your ideal readers. If you also have a business, hobby, or craft you can also offer a discount to your own work. You offer these to anyone who will go and like your Facebook page.

When done correctly, you will build a new audience who is looking for the kind of writing you do, thereby creating more opportunities to sell your books.

If you have an eCommerce site, you can offer a free gift contest to help others find your online store. This scenario is similar to the one above, in that you want to pick a product or service to give away that your ideal customer is already looking for.

One word of caution, don’t give away one of your services or use a discount on your products as the incentive for the promotion. This is not very interesting to most people.

When you research products that are used or wanted by your ideal reader or customer, you will have a promotion that helps them, adds fun to their social media experience, and adds brand awareness for you.





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