How to Write Engaging Text for Your TapKat Sweepstakes Site
You’ve got a great prize for your TapKat sweepstakes, and now it’s time to create your sweepstakes website. This is the site that you’ll share with the world via email and social media, and where donors will make donations. It’s the homepage where your sweepstakes “lives,” and it should contain everything a donor needs to know about your sweepstakes, the prize, and your nonprofit.
In short, it should be engaging, exciting, and enthusiastic — no pressure!
This blog post will share some best practices to help you craft interesting and informational text to go on your sweepstakes website. Let’s dig in.
Writing a TapKat Sweepstakes Headline
Your headline should be relatively short and very catchy to grab the attention of your donors. Be direct and tell them exactly what they could win if they enter the sweepstakes, and if there is one stand-out feature to your prize, you can highlight it here.
Remember, this text will appear above the image slider at the top of the site.
Here are some examples of great headlines:
Win this 2022 Limited Edition IMSA GTLM Championship Corvette C8.R plus $25,000!
Win a 2022 Custom Built Avalon Catalina Quad Lounge Pontoon!
Win the The Ultimate World War II Fighter Experience Sweepstakes!
Notice how all these headlines are very clear and specific about the prize? We highly recommend modeling your sweepstakes headline text after the examples above.
If we had to break it down to a formula, a great headline is essentially this:
Win this [INSERT NAME OF PRIZE + DESCRIPTOR WORDS]!
Writing Your Sweepstakes Slider Captions
When you upload the images that will go on your sweepstakes site, you’ll have an opportunity to add a short description to each image. This is the slide caption, and a great chance to briefly share details about the image. Great captions for your slides are important because many donors will decide to donate based only on the images and what they read in the captions. It’s fine to use a lot of the same text about the prize that you’ll have in your Sweepstakes Text.
(If you’re wondering how to choose images that pop, check out this blog post about how to select effective images of your prize.)
Each slide caption should refer to the image in an informative way that also encourages the reader to imagine the fun adventures the prize could create for them. Here are some examples of great slider images and accompanying captions:
Writing the TapKat Sweepstakes Text
Next, you’ll write two or three paragraphs for the sweepstakes description. This section appears below the main image slider, and here, we recommend crafting two to three paragraphs of text about the sweepstakes prize.
Begin with a headline in bold that encourages the reader to enter. Something like, “Enter Today and You Could Win this Awesome 2022 Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition and $25,000 Cash!” It’s okay if this line of text repeats some of the information that’s in your sweepstakes headline.
For the most impact, write at least a paragraph or two describing the prize in positive terms. This is where you can point out special features of the prize, or important details. For instance, if your prize is a trip to Cancun, what does the prize package include? Airfare, hotel, meals? A special trip to an award-winning beach? Snorkel gear for four? All those juicy details should go into the description.
Here are some tips to make your text easy to read and eye-catching:
Use bullet points. Bullet points make text easier to read and digest quickly, which is especially important these days when many people have gotten in the habit of skimming when they read.
Break up your paragraphs. Rather than writing one long paragraph, try breaking it up into smaller paragraphs of 2-3 sentences. Much longer than that and the text is more likely to get skipped by the reader.
Include emotional words to describe your prize. Make the prize more alluring by using emotionally evocative words. For example: rare, stunning, one-of-a-kind, luxury, comfort, ultimate, perfect. Choose words that apply to your prize.
DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPS. If you enter your text in all caps, that is how it will appear on your sweepstakes site — and to potential donors, it will feel like you’re shouting at them. Take your time, and use good grammar, spelling, and punctuation in all your text.
A good source for this kind of information is your prize provider. If you choose to copy/paste text directly, be sure to get permission from the prize provider before doing so; in most cases, they will be glad that you are making sure you have accurate information about the prize.
Finally, your last paragraph in the description should include a quick note saying, “All proceeds from this sweepstakes will support [INSERT NAME OF YOUR NONPROFIT].” Remember that there’s another section at the bottom of the sweepstakes site to share more information about your nonprofit, so there’s no need to include a lengthy description here.
TapKat Sweepstakes Prize Details Text
The prize details section is optional. We recommend using it if you have a lot of text to include about your prize, or if there are specific limitations or rules about your prize (“the fine print”) that the donors need to know.
If there are technical specifications associated with your prize, say, if it’s a sports car, be sure to include those specs in the prize details section. Your sweepstakes fans will enjoy salivating over those details!
This section will be initially hidden on your sweepstakes site. When a donor clicks the “prize details” button on your sweepstakes site, the text will expand. We recommend using this section if you have additional details that won’t comfortably fit into the initial description section.
About Your Nonprofit Text
The last section is a description of your nonprofit. You may have already filled this out when setting up your account, but now it’s worth taking another look at the text you provided. This section will be most effective when you:
Start with a clear mission statement. Most people want to understand quickly what it is that you do. This is your opportunity to make an impression right off the bat.
Describe your nonprofit in two short paragraphs. Under the mission statement, start a new paragraph and briefly share an overview of your nonprofit, including:
Who you help, and
The difference you make in the world.
We recommend that you carefully consider this section and think about how it will be read by a potential donor. If you already have a blurb you can copy and paste from your website, great! Just remember, the more succinct, the better. Help the reader feel great about entering your sweepstakes by impressing upon them the good that your organization does in the world.
Make Your TapKat Sweepstakes Text Stand Out
As you write, focus on being clear, concise, and energized about the prize. We strongly recommend sending your text to at least two other trusted readers for feedback before publishing. Try reading it out loud, too; this is a great way to easily find typos and grammatical errors.
Keep in mind that you can update your TapKat sweepstakes text at any time. If you discover a typo once the site is published, or you are able to get more information about your prize, making an update is as simple as logging into your TapKat dashboard and making the change.
Writing your text will be easier than you think! When you follow these guidelines and infuse your text with enthusiasm for the sweepstakes, your donors will respond positively and you’ll have the chance to maximize your fundraising efforts!
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About TapKat Solutions
TapKat is an online sweepstakes fundraising platform for nonprofits. With TapKat’s cutting-edge technology, nonprofits can easily create, manage, and run online sweepstakes designed to help increase donations and grow your donor base. TapKat is committed to helping nonprofits with innovative fundraising tools that are simple for nonprofits and fun for donors!
Learn more about how TapKat works and how we can help your nonprofit with sweepstakes fundraising on our Features Page.
