The How-To's of Blogging Series - {Part Six}

Today we continue with Part 6 of "The How-To's of Blogging Series". I am hosting this awesome series with Melissa over at The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife so make sure and visit her over there blog as well. This entire week will be filled with posts on how to make you a "better" blogger, so make sure to come back because there will be a new topic everyday. You can find out who will be posting this week by clicking here.

If you missed the posts from earlier this week you can find them below:
Part 1- Blogging Tips
Part 2- Guest Posting 
Part 3- How to Select who you Sponsor 
Part 4- Tips for Managing Blog Sponsorships
Part 5- Blog Beautification 

Giveitaway, Giveitaway, Giveitaway now!

Hi everyone! I'm Kristine and I blog over at The Foley Fam {unedited}.

So thrilled to be here to share a bit about what I've learned in regards to hosting a GROUP giveaway!

You can say I've been around the block a few times (wink wink). 

I just celebrated my 1 year Bloggy Birthday!

Please note: I am in no way claiming I am an expert on hosting a giveaway, just sharing some of my experiences and what I've learned along the way.

When I started blogging a year ago, hosting a giveaway never even crossed my mind. I even had the nerve to think "I will never host a giveaway on my blog!" Shesh, never say never. I totally jumped the gun on that one, ha! 

Don't knock it, till you try rock it!

I didn't realize how cool these babies are!! I've come to find out that Giveaways are a great way to show off and meet fabulous people, who WANT to show off their fabulous-ness! Seriously WIN-WIN for everyone!

I get that it might rub you the wrong way that you're asking people to "like" you or follow you in some way, but hey! Don't you want one of your friends who support you to win? Yes! So I will reiterate again, WIN-WIN for everyone!

Giveaway Lessons I've learned

#1 Use RAFFLECOPTER

When hosting a group giveaway I HIGHLY recommend using this tool! My sweet and talented friend Amanda just wrote up a post on how to use it to it's max potential! Thanks for letting me share Amanda! Great tips, and a good read so check it out.

#2 Realize that hosting a giveaway is A LOT of work!

 Whether you're hosting for one person, or multiple peeps, lots goes into running a successful giveaway.

#3 Set Guidelines

Decide ahead of time the minimum amount each Sponsor needs to meet. I do a minimum, because (I believe) it makes it fair for the Sponsors involved. If some give more that's totally fine for me. Also decide ahead of time how many links each sponsor gets, again this keeps things fair and also controls the amount of entries.

A few Examples for Guidelines I set for my Birthday Blog-iversary:

$10 minimum

Three links for each Sponsor

Sponsor got to choose the one mandatory entry, either Facebook or Twitter

#4 Give Yourself + Sponsors enough time to gather all info needed

I have a form that Sponsors fill out, and if it's a person's first time participating in a giveaway it could take awhile to get all the info back, so keep this in mind. The form helps me stay organized, and I tweak it depending on the giveaway details.

#5 Organization and Communication is KEY

Keep everything for a specific giveaway in ONE folder in your inbox. Everything regarding that giveaway stays in that folder. If YOU (the host) make any changes in regards to your Giveaway you need to let your Sponsor(s) know. Even if you think it's something small, it's not only common courtesy, but remember they're in it for the same reason you are so having everyone on the same page is beneficial for everyone.

#6 Promote, Promote, Promote

You are the Host!

In order for it to be successful you need to actively be "out there" getting the word out. Hosting is taking on this responsibility. A great way to do this is to offer an entry for Sharing the giveaway on different social medias, AND having this entry count more so people are more likely to do it. Also shoot the link out once it's live to your Sponsors! The more the merrier!

#7 Pimp Your Celebration Out

Love an Etsy shop? Adore a blog? Get out there and make connections. They could say no, BUT better yet they could say yes!

#8 Just Do It

There is no right or wrong way in how you Host YOUR giveaways on YOUR blog. The most important thing is to remember the goal and reason why you are hosting it in the first place, and then go from there.

I hope these suggestions have helped you!

If you have further questions, feel free to comment below or email me at jandmseyecandy@hotmail.com.

Remember my Bloggy Birthday I mentioned above?

It's happening now, so come on over and meet some of my generous talented friends, and maybe even win the AMAZING swag they're giving away!

#shameless plug

Hope to see you over at our place sooner than later!

GIVEAWAY WILL BE WEDNESDAY! Dana from Wonder Forest has been so kind to offer all of you a FREE copy of her very own e-book for bloggers "Blog Wonderful". Stayed tuned for the giveaway at the end of the series!!