How to Use a Flash Contest to Boost Donations to Your TapKat Sweepstakes
Want to give your TapKat sweepstakes a big boost, resulting in a spike of donations and excitement? Try incorporating a flash contest!
Here at TapKat, we love flash contests because they:
Trigger a spike of new donations to your sweepstakes,
Are incredibly fun for your donors, who will enter the sweepstakes more than once because they want to participate in the flash contest,
Raise your average donation amount because people want to win the extra prize you’re offering.
Today we’re going to look at what a flash contest is, why it is such an effective tool, and how to implement flash contests during your sweepstakes fundraiser.
What is a TapKat Sweepstakes Flash Contest?
A flash contest is essentially a sweepstakes inside of a sweepstakes. When you set one up, you’re giving your donors an opportunity to win a special bonus prize if they enter the sweepstakes within a certain time period.
The best flash contest prizes tie into your grand prize in some way. Say you’re giving away a new dirtbike and you want to do a flash contest. The flash contest prize may be a cool motorcycle jacket that compliments your grand prize, and that appeals to the people who love dirtbikes (aka your sweepstakes donors).
Here’s a real-life example. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has tremendous success with flash contests during the course of their sweepstakes for a new Corvette. So, for the flash contests, they’ve given away things like a neon sign with the Corvette logo — the kind of thing you’d hang in a garage or man cave. A perfect prize for their Corvette-loving demographic!
Why do Flash Contests Help You Raise More Money with a Sweepstakes Fundraiser?
Flash contests work for a very simple reason: people get excited and want to win the prize.
Your donors understand that purchasing more entries means they have a greater chance of winning the sweepstakes grand prize as well as the flash contest prize, and that’s fun!
When you offer a flash contest prize that really speaks to your greater demographic, you’ll see the best results. Typically, about 25% of TapKat donors will enter a given sweepstakes more than once. Running a flash contest during your sweepstakes fundraiser encourages people who have already donated to enter the sweepstakes again.
Flash contests are a great way to build momentum, as well. If your sweepstakes donations have slowed down a bit, tossing in a bonus flash contest prize will excite your base all over again, which is exactly what you want.
Key Tips for Running a Flash Contest for Your TapKat Sweepstakes
Tip #1: Flash Contests are Time Sensitive
Remember: the whole purpose of the flash contest is to generate buzz and give your sweepstakes more momentum while inspiring an influx of cash. It only works if you put a time limit on the contest, meaning that entrants will only be eligible to win the flash contest prize if they buy entries to the sweepstakes during a certain period of time.
A flash contest should run for two to three weeks. Once the time to enter expires, you choose the winner from the pool of people who entered during that time frame. Once you’ve chosen a winner, post their name and winning entry number on your social media to prime your donor base for the next flash contest.
Of course, all flash contest entrants and even the flash contest winner are still eligible to win the grand prize at the very end of your sweepstakes!
Tip #2: Determine Your Flash Contest Prize
You might offer a single prize, like The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame’s Corvette neon sign, or you might say that everyone who enters the sweepstakes at a certain level will receive a prize. The Shelby American Collection ran a flash contest that gave away posters for everyone who donated at least $100 during the given time frame. If you do this, be ready for a lot of entries — The Shelby American Collection was rolling and mailing posters for days (and they were happy to, because the flash contest raised so much money)!
Some ideas for flash contest prizes include…
Posters
Jackets
Prize-related gift baskets
Tickets to events
Model cars or airplanes
Gift certificates
Signed memorabilia
Tip #3: Promote Your Flash Contest
Send at least two emails to your donor list throughout the duration of your flash contest to make sure everyone knows that it’s happening. In each email, include a promo code — though it’s not necessary to enter a promo code in order to win the flash contest, the promo code is really important for you to track how much money comes in from the flash contest, and to understand how people are learning about the contest.
You can also use the “promotional banner” feature to promote your flash contest on your TapKat sweepstakes website. Once you’re logged in to your TapKat dashboard under “Sweepstakes Site”, you will see the option to put this very effective tool to work.
Don’t worry about sending an email to let your donors know who won the flash contest — you can easily post that on your sweepstakes site using the promotional banner and on your social media for all to see.
Here’s an example of an email promotion for a flash contest
Flash Contests Yield Great Results in TapKat Sweepstakes
At TapKat, we highly encourage you to take full advantage of the flash contest option! We have seen fantastic results when nonprofits put this tool to work because it’s such a fun way to re-engage your sweepstakes donors and encourage them to donate again.
Click here to get started with your TapKat sweepstakes today!
