| Type |
Description |
Advantages/Disadvantages |
| Email Prize Draw |
User sends an email to enter a competition |
Quick and easy to set up but open to abuse and should be avoided at all costs. |
| Web Prize Draw |
User completes an online form to enter a competition |
Attracts traffic to your site. If used with CAPTCHA should avoid automated entry problems. |
| Registration |
User has to register for your site to enter the competition |
Easy to set up and you're getting people signed up to your site! |
| Mailing List |
To enter a user has to join your newsletter |
Easy to set up and a good way to develop a mailing list. |
| Caption |
User has to send in a funny caption for a picture. |
Tends to attract fewer entries than a prize draw. Requires judging but can be fun and generates content! |
| Tiebreaker |
User has to complete a sentence in x number of words. |
Needs fair judging and attracts fewer entries! Can be time consuming. |
| Trivia Quiz |
To enter the competition all questions need to be answered. |
Can be time consuming to set up and answers may be shared around the web |
| Photo/Video |
A user has to upload a photo or movie in order to enter. |
Will attract limited entries of varying standards. Requires Judging! |
| Refer Friends |
A user has to tell their friends or post links to gain entries. |
A good way to attract more users, but can be seen as spammy and difficult to manage. |
| Surveys |
Entrants need to complete questions about a subject or your site. |
Useful for getting feedback or user data but make sure entrants are regular visitors! |
| Treasure Hunt |
User has to locate items around your site in order to enter the draw. |
Time consuming to set up. Your hard work may be lost if answers are posted online. |
| Blog |
User has to post a comment on your blog to enter! |
Tends to attract less entries as users have to register to take part |
| Game |
User plays a game to enter the competition. They may have to get a high score. |
Expense required for the game, plus it's open to cheating if not checked. Can attract viral traffic if done properly. |
| Purchase |
Customer has to buy an item to be entered into a prize draw |
May attract limited entry levels but can be an effective promotional tool. Check NPN rules! |
| Twitter |
User has to tweet a message or follow you! |
Watch for multiple accounts/entries. People just follow you whilst you give stuff away. |
| Facebook |
Entrants have to like your page or enter competition via FB interface. |
There are rules about competitions on Facebook so you should check these first. |
| Vote for Me |
Users submit an entry (e.g. video or photo) and other people are asked to vote for them |
Can attract cheats galore and can result in a lot of bad publicity for you. Avoid if possible. |
| Reviews |
Entrants need to post a product review to enter the competition. |
Limited entries and you may get varied quality. Entries may need to be screened and judged for competition to be fair. |
