Giveaways are a popular method for spreading the word about your brand. Visitors are often happy to engage with your site for the chance to win a prize. However, finding the right giveaway tool to help you get the job done can be tricky.
Fortunately, there are a lot of options available. By familiarizing yourself with some of the best plugins and evaluating your needs, you can find the giveaway solution that works for you.
In this article, we’ll cover why you might want to run a giveaway. Then we’ll go over five of the best plugins for the job. Let’s get started!
Why You Might Want to Run a Giveaway
The term ‘giveaway’ can be a bit vague. Typically, it refers to an event where someone offers a prize in exchange for audience interaction. This can look like social media follows, email signups, or video views.
Giveaways offer several benefits. For one thing, a popular event can attract new traffic to your website. You also have an opportunity to grow a regular community through entries. However, you might also find that existing users enjoy the positive engagement.
Receiving a prize can be a powerful thing: 60 percent of adults state that winning a giveaway would encourage them to make a purchase. That number jumps to 75 percent with 18 to 21-year-olds. Therefore, giveaways are a formidable tool if you have a younger audience.
This strategy can also be useful if you run an online store. If you have a new product to launch, for example, you could generate buzz by giving away an early version. Even if you focus on content creation, running a giveaway is a simple method for boosting your site’s traffic.
5 of the Best Giveaway Plugins for WordPress
If you’re looking to run a giveaway, there are plenty of powerful plugins to choose from. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites below.
1. Simple Giveaways
First on our list, Simple Giveaways is a well-rounded raffle solution. Operating it is fairly simple, yet it doesn’t skimp on features. If you’re just beginning with your site, you’ll probably still find it easy to navigate.
This pluginA plugin is a software component that adds specific features and functionality to your WordPress website. Esse... More offers a wide range of features, such as:
- Hosting giveaways on their own dedicated page
- Custom widgetsA widget is a small block of content that performs a specific function and can be added to certain areas of a ... More and shortcodesA shortcode in WordPress is a small piece of code that allows users to perform complex functions or display dy... More for streamlined operation
- A variety of actions per entry to boost several avenues of interaction
Thanks to these options, Simple Giveaways may be a smart choice if you’re new to running giveaways. The interface is easy to understand. Additionally, the ability to grow your following on more than one platform may be appealing. It can also help you learn what social media your audience prefers.
The basic version of Simple Giveaways is free. For more support and features, you can check out the premium version starting at $49.99 per year. You might also consider the Business plan, which integrates with WooCommerce as well for $69.99 per year.
2. Gratisfaction
Gratisfaction is another plugin with a wide focus. However, in this tool’s case, it offers a more holistic marketing solution. Giveaways and contests make up a large portion of its functionality, but they’re far from the only offering.
Here are some features of Gratisfaction that we appreciate:
- Holiday-themed templates to help stylize your events
- An alternate version designed to work with WooCommerce
- A loyalty program to encourage repeat visitors
Given the wide range of functionalities, this plugin is a bit more than a giveaway tool. We recommend trying Gratisfaction out if you’re interested in branching out your marketing. You’ll still have the contest features, but you’ll also get a chance to experiment with other methods such as referrals.
The pricing also makes this an effective way to test new tools. Gratisfaction is free for up to 100 users. The next tier is $19.95 per month for 500 users. The price scales accordingly with the user base, up to an unlimited option for $399.00 per month.
3. Social Boost
Next up, Social Boost is a plugin from the same developers behind Gratisfaction. While there are many similarities, there’s an important difference as well: Social Boost focuses almost exclusively on giveaways. Therefore, it might be a smart choice if you’re not looking for the additional features offered by Gratisfaction.
A few of the unique traits that you can find in Social Boost include:
- The ability to run unlimited campaigns with a variety of entry methods
- A tool specifically designed to work with Shopify
- A referral-focused feature to spread your giveaways even further
All in all, Social Boost is a more specialized plugin. As such, it might be the right pick for you if you’re not looking for extra bells or whistles. Additionally, opting for its lighter functionality might also speed up your website.
Similar to Gratisfaction, Social Boost pricing is based on your users. You can leverage it without any charge for up to 50 users. After that, the next tier is $10 per month for 200 users. Plans continue to scale up in both size and price from there.
4. SeedProd
SeedProd isn’t a giveaway tool in the traditional sense. Its main purpose is to create effective pagesIn WordPress, a page is a content type that is used to create non-dynamic pages on a website. Pages are typica... More. Nevertheless, it offers impressive contest functionality that earns it a place on this list.
Here are a few of the SeedProd traits that caught our eye:
- An intuitive drag-and-drop page builder specifically for landing pages
- Live previews of giveaways before you publish them
- A variety of additional blocks geared towards increasing conversions
As SeedProd isn’t strictly for giveaways, we recommend this solution if you’re looking for a page builder as well. You might find that combining the two tools helps to streamline your creation process. A large selection of templates also makes it more beginner-friendly.
SeedProd does not offer a free version. If you want a basic plan for a single site, pricing starts at $39.59 per year. You can obtain multiple licenses for an additional charge if you’re running more than one website.
5. KingSumo
Last but not least, KingSumo is a contest plugin that focuses specifically on email subscribers. Rather than trying to reach multiple platforms, its features are geared towards building your mailing list. KingSumo also boasts an extremely fast setup process and excellent support.
This plugin delivers a strong selection of functionalities, including:
- The ability to schedule a start and end date for future giveaways
- Full flexibility about what your prize will be
- Optimization for mobile users out of the box
As KingSumo offers these features on a one-time payment basis, this plugin is more of an investment than the others on our list. Fortunately, the developers do offer a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you know you want to focus on growing your email list, KingSumo is well worth considering.
This software has no free option available. There are two premium plans to choose from: a single site license for $190, and an unlimited developer license for $594.
Conclusion
Giveaways can be an effective way to generate interest around your site. However, setting one up is a lot simpler with a tool to do the heavy lifting. By learning more about some of the best competitors on the market, you can choose the right plugin to help you succeed.
In this article, we covered five of the best giveaway plugins available:
- Simple Giveaways, an accessible choice for beginners.
- Gratisfaction, which offers a more complete marketing package.
- SeedProd, a page builder core with built-in giveaway functions.
- Social Boost, a Shopify-centric option that prioritizes contests.
- KingSumo, a premium solution for those looking to invest in email marketing.
Do you have any questions about choosing a giveaway plugin? Let us know in the commentsComments are a feature of WordPress that allow users to engage in discussions about the content of a website. ... More section below!
