How to Promote JV Giveaways Without a List
In my last blog post I discussed how to build your list using JV Giveaway Events but one of the problems new marketers have is promoting the giveaway to avoid getting their own membership downgraded.
While JV Giveaways are a great way to build your list, one of the stipulations is you must promote it and attract new members to the website otherwise you could have your own gift removed.
If you don’t have a list, one way to avoid this problem is to pay to upgrade your own membership to the giveaway but I can appreciate that is not always possible for some people starting out.
One solution came to my attention when I co-hosted a list building webinar with Paul Teague recently and he introduced me to a useful online tool called Widgetbox.
This online application enables you to build your own “widget” online, using point and click and include your own affiliate links to the latest giveaways you are promoting.
You can then embed this widget into your blog, Facebook profile and any other social media platforms you may have such as Tumblr, Ning etc.
If someone clicks through the links in your widget and then signs up to the giveaway themselves, you get get full credit as a referrer and won’t run the risk of your own membership being downgraded.
Plus, there is the chance for you to earn affiliate commissions if the person you refer upgrades their own membership!
I think Widgetbox is a great tool and I have used it myself on my JV Giveaway Events page on this blog and also on my dedicated JV Giveaways website where you can find a daily updated list of giveaway events!
I want you to use this tool as well so I have created a short training video for you below!
What do you think about Widgetbox?
Leave me a comment below and add a link to the page where you have put your new widget!
As you will see in the video, you are not limited to promoting just giveaways in your widget, so I look forward to seeing how creative you can be!
Adrienne Lee (1)
Lesley "Wes" Wils... (1)
Mark Geisler (1)
Mike Bell (1)
Russ Davis (1)
© 2010
18 comments… read them below or add one
I found this article of interest but was unable to watch your video. It did not work when I clicked play and i tried it a couple of times. I am interested in this little gadget as I think it can help me ad value for my readers.
Brenda´s last blog ..Personal Branding: Why All the Noise?
Hi Brenda,
Not sure why you are having problems with viewing the video. Make sure the latest version of Flash is installed. I use Firfefox rather than Internet Explorer and have no problems.
David
Hi David,
Great video. Very easy to follow and cannot wait to get one up on my blog.I too haven’t heard about Widget Box until now so thanks for the heads up.
One question I do have is what happens to the widget link through to the free gifts once the Giveaway event has ended?
Cheers
Mark Hughes
Mark´s last blog ..Supercharge Your Online Business – 10 Backlink Traffic Pullers!
Hi Mark,
Great point – you can log into your Widgetbox admin area and replace the RSS feeds with that of brand new giveaways. If you leave the old links in, they will most likely direct you to a page which says the event has ended.
Once you have updated the links within your admin area, they will automatically update all of the installed instances of your Widgetbox, so you don’t have to cut and paste the code back into your pages, it’s all done automatically.
David
Hey David,
Thanks for getting back to me pronto.
Now I’m all geared for my first Widgetbox experience.
Could you recommend any other Giveaway sites for future reference?
Cheers
Mark
Mark´s last blog ..Supercharge Your Online Business – 10 Backlink Traffic Pullers!
Hi Mark,
Are you serious? I have a JV Giveaway Events page on this very blog which links to my new JV Giveaways website.
Is a daily updated list of the latest available giveaways with recommendations on whether or not to take the paid upgrade enough for you?
David
P.S. There’s an email notification list option on the website. If you sign up for that you won’t miss another giveaway. Ever.
Hi David
Another great post mate!!
I almost always upgrade my membership as being downgraded is really frustrating. Paul Teague had an event running recently which had no downgrades for not promoting and that did really well for me!!
Also like the idea of Widgetbox – might have have to start using that!
Regards
James
James Stewart´s last blog ..How To Install Google Analytics Into WordPress
Hi James,
I can fully appreciate how frustrating being downgraded can be, it used to happen to me too when I was first trying to grow my list and had limited options for promotion.
I think Widgetbox will prove useful for relatively new marketers to promote the latest giveaways because almost everyone interested in IM has a blog, Facebook page etc. to help them spread the word!
David
Thanks for another informative post. I will certainly look at incorporating Widgetbox into my blog.
Chris Slinger´s last blog ..Law of Attraction Lesson 1
Hi David,
Great post! I forgot that I had a Widgetbox account. I signed up a while ago and never made use of it. Your post gave me the push I needed. I’ve just started using JV Giveaway events and this was a great lesson on promoting without a list. I just tried to build my first Widget but the button to add a new tab keeps taking me to an ad to demo the pro account when I click no thanks it just takes me back to my widget editor without adding another tab? Are they not allowing multiple tabs in the basic account?
Rhonnie Rapoza´s last blog ..Blog Marketing Is An Advertising Plan That Is Cheap, Quick, and Effective
Hi Rhonnie,
I think the Basic (i.e. free) account only allows a single tab.
It’s fine if you want to play around with Widgetbox and get a feel for it but if you are serious about using it then I recommend you upgrade to the pro version.
David
I use Widgetbox widgets to add interest and stickiness to sites that I build. I have a Pro membership, and it is one of the best investments I’ve made, and I have a lot of fun with it.
But I never thought of creating a widget to build lists and sell affiliate products.
Thank you so much for this *great* idea!
Kathleen Gresham´s last blog ..Welcome to Expert Word Press!
Hi David,
Thank-you so much for putting this video together. You explained it so clearly that I feel even I can put Widgets on my blog. I’m off to join Widgetbox.com and see what it leads to.
Cheers Isabel
Great post David. One of my biggest problems was how to get involved with JV ventures without a subscriber list. Very informative video and as you point out Wigetbox is also flexible, never thought of using it to promote a Blog or website.
Regards,
Bob
David,
Have you ever tried (or know anyone who’s tried) using twitter for JV event promotion?
It’s a lot quicker to build a following on twitter than get blog traffic/followers. Even a crude tool like blastfollow will allow you to follow a number of people interested in internet marketing and many will follow you back.
Never tried it myself, as there are no giveaways in my niche (maybe I should start one). And I’m sure twitter followers are less responsive than blog readers or email subscribers. But it’s better than nothing if you don’t have a list already.
Ian
Ian Brodie´s last blog ..Do You Hate Cold Calling? Here’s a Way to Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection
Theres something new all the time – Can you give any stats to roughly guage how many memebers this pulled in?
Peter Davies´s last blog ..Internet Marketing Or Internet Selling?
Hi David
Thanks for sharing this info. I’ve bought the pro account and started to play with the widget.
Estani
Estani Chapel´s last blog ..Download Free Internet Marketing Products
You know it funny really.
You can build your list using jv giveaways. But, the problem is, you have to produce traffic to the event. I can understand that, but how can you do that? Because 1) The event is only for a few weeks, and 2) What if you don’t blog? How else can you get traffic?
I don’t blog, never have done, and never will. The reason i won’t bore you with. Looks like i am going to be paying then doesn’t it. Writing isn’t my cup of tea. PPC is too expensive.
Looks like i’m going elsewhere then.