How Many Giveaway Entry Options Should You Use?

Last week, a post was published on our blog regarding Rafflecopter giveaways and the number of entry options you prefer from a giveaway admin perspective as well as an entrant perspective.

Today, we’ll share with you the results of the survey. We’ve included some more in-depth analysis regarding the number of entry options and some advice on how to make the giveaways you run more pleasurable for your entrants.

The Survey: What Was Asked?

Rafflecopter giveaway administrators and entrants alike were asked about the number of entry options they prefer. The survey asked two questions:

• Admins: how many entry options do you use in your giveaways you manage?
• Entrants: how many entry options do you enjoy in the giveaways you enter?

We’ve broken down the results below in two sections of results: administrators who use Rafflecopter to run giveaways and those who interact with Rafflecopter as a giveaway entrant.

Survey Results Part I: Rafflecopter Admins

In the survey, respondents were asked if they run giveaways using Rafflecopter. If answered yes, they were asked if they could characterize themselves as a blogger, a  business, or both.

How Many Entry Options Do You Use In Your Giveaway?

First, let’s look at everyone who has run a giveaway using Rafflecopter as represented by the blue column. Two-thirds of all respondents use a total of 10 entry options or less, while most prefer to run giveaways with between 4 and 10 entry options.

Next, look at those who run giveaways specifically as a blogger as represented by the red column. Bloggers typically use more entry options than businesses would. This could be because bloggers will often run giveaways alongside a brand they are working with and have entry options for both their blog as well as the brand they’ve partnered with. Blogs who use Rafflecopter might run a giveaway as part of a group effort, working with one, two, or a handful of other bloggers.

Finally, look at those who run giveaways specifically for their business as represented by the green column. 80% of businesses using Rafflecopter use less than 10 entry options, with a large majority (46%) of those using between 4 and 6 entry options. When we run a giveaway on the Rafflecopter blog, whether it be our own or a brand showcase, there are usually between 4 and 7 entry options.

7 Quotes From Giveaway Admins

• I don’t like to give people too many options.  If you give people too many options, they don’t act. Here is a great example on the NYT regarding too many choices.
• I find providing too many options is disorienting and detracts from the original purpose, which is to enter the giveaway.
• I like to have as many entries as possible. I always offer entries that once the entrant follows me on a certain network or subscribes to my emails they will always be eligible for that entry. To me this is like giving the readers a bonus for reading my blog and taking the time to try to win a giveaway.
• Short and sweet is supreme.
• After getting feedback from my readers, I found that keeping the total entries fairly minimal is best. I have standard optional entries promoting the company’s social media outlets, my social media outlets, and subscriptions. Then daily tweets. Simple is better.
• I do not care for giveaways that have a lot of entry options so I do not subject my followers to jump through hoops just to win something. I do not want to chase them away.
• As a blogger, we need to be able to include entries for our social network site as well as the prize sponsors sites. If not, then neither of us truly get the benefit we are looking for from the giveaways. If limited on how many entries we can have, many bloggers will be looking for a new way to run our giveaways to ensure that we can still accomplish this goal.

Survey Results Part II: Rafflecopter Entrants

Respondents were asked if they enter giveaways using Rafflecopter, how many entry options do they enjoy? They were asked to check all that apply.

Response: I Enjoy Entering Giveaways With…

An overwhelming majority of entrants enjoy giveaways with less than 10 entry options, while 22% of those had no preference. About 16% of respondents said they enjoy giveaways with more than 10 entry options.

7 Quotes From Giveaway Entrants

• As I stated above, I don’t like spending too much time on a giveaway with tons of entry options either. These type of giveaways make me break away… I think less is more.
• I like to keep it simple. I don’t mind entering a few more, as long as it isn’t some huge list of things to click and do. Then, I won’t even bother!
• I have no preference. When I enter giveaways, I love the choice to enter how I want. The more choices we have the more chances we are likely to have an entry we can actually accomplish and feel as if we do not have the requirements for one, we still have back up.
• I answered no more than 10. I hate giveaways with a ton of entry options!  How much time and patience do they think I have?  
• I like to enter giveaways, but I want to have a fair shot at winning.  I simply don’t have time to enter more than 10 ways in one giveaway.  If others with more time are entering 20 or more ways then I usually don’t even try.  Seems like a waste of time.  
• Anything over 10 entry options is way too much fuss.  My thought at that point is the person running the giveaway is just making the entrant jump through far too many hoops to win a prize.  
• I answered more than 20 entry options & no preference. Does not make a difference to me, but more chances of winning.

Survey Results Aside: The Hard Data

To help us understand how Rafflecopter is being used, we measure how many Rafflecopter giveaways are created along with how many entry options are in each. Below is a graph that charts all giveaways created since March 1st, 2012 along with the number of entry options each giveaway had.

Giveaways Created / Entry Options

Giveaways with 5 to 7 entry options are very popular. About two-thirds of the Rafflecopter giveaways created have 10 or less entry options, while 95% of the giveaways created have less than 25. About 3% of the giveaways created with Rafflecopter since March 1st had greater than 25 entry options.

Administrators Vs. Entrants

Below is a graph that places both the giveaway entrant and administrator on the same page as per the survey responses shared above.

If the above graph tells us one thing, it’s that giveaway entrants would prefer a few entry options less than what giveaway administrators use.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. If you surveyed all grocery stores and their customers, I’m sure that customers would want everything to be free while the stores would like to make more revenue.

What Does This Mean? A Survey Summary

Admins: If you’re running a giveaway, you’re doing it to gain something. It could be increased site engagement, an increased number of followers, or maybe an increased level of happiness of your audience. Speaking for ourselves, we run giveaways to increase readership to our blog and to awareness of new Rafflecopter features as well as brands we support.

Entrants: If you’re a giveaway entrant, you’re trying to gain something, too. The obvious answer is to win the prize. Other reasons to enter a giveaway might be to support or interact with a brand or blog you’re passionate about, or simply for the enjoyment and thrill. Personally, I’m motivated to enter giveaways if there is a brand I enjoy involved or if the prize is something I really want or need like a Macbook, gas money, etc. (disclaimer: I don’t enter Rafflecopter giveaways)

Conclusion: On average, admins want more entry options in their giveaways than entrants would prefer in hopes that more actions are performed per entrant.

Final Thoughts & Some Parting Advice

Admins and entrants are both important parts of the giveaway ecosystem. However, if you’re an admin, remember that you have the upper hand. How the giveaway is set up and administered is under your control and completely up to you.

There is a balance that must be met. So to all admins out there: find the middle ground that not just satisfies your requirements as a blogger, but also makes your readers happy.

Like a fingerprint, each of your blog and brand audiences is unique; only you know them best. Ask your readers what they prefer. Try cutting down on entry options & focus on the social networks that matter most to you and your audience in your giveaways. You might be surprised at the results!

How many entry options do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!

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