33 Responses to “How To Get Sponsors For Giveaways & Competitions”

1. Adam on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Fantastic article. I work for a climbing company as the Marketing Manager and I prefer requests by email so I can track them. Also remember to explain what THEY will get out of it, so for example; I want to know how many participates there will be, where my logo will be used, if I am the only company of my kind that is sponsoring, media coverage, a website so I can create a click through. All of this effects how much stuff will get sent.

2. Brian Yerkes on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Excellent article. I was just thinking today that I should create my first ever contest / prize giveaway now that I have grown in subscribers…and I was wondering how best to go about getting sponsors. Nice bit of help here Jacob, thanks

3. Preston Lee on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Great article Jacob. Sometimes its good to know people skills are still important.

   I’m still pretty far away from doing things like this on my blog, but i will keep it in mind for the day when I need it.

4. Cristhian Bedon on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   This are great tips to find sponsors online. Doing this will a great attitude will also help.

5. Andrew Kelsall on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Great information there Jacob. I found the example of an Email quite useful, as I sometimes write too much when approaching people online. I’ll use this post for future reference.

6. Raph on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   An interesting Post to read. It’s always interesting to find out what others write in letters like that. A bit like finding out what people put in their cover letters for jobs i suppose.

   One thing I will criticize though is the casual nature of your example email. However, it is really dependent on who you are writing to, as to how formal or informal it is and it is something you need to gauge when you sit down to write it.

   Thanks for sharing.

7. Jacob Cass on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Adam,
   I also prefer email, even if I get things on facebook, twitter, etc I always ask them to send me an email, it is easier to track. Usually I keep the email short at first and then after their first reply you have something else to backup your story… ie. elaborate on what they will receive.

   Brian,
   Well good luck with it

   Preston,
   People skills are definitely important. Good luck for when you start finding sponsors.

   Andrew,
   Yeah I find that long promotional emails I hardly ever read, maybe just the first two paragraphs. If it hasn’t grabbed me by then, well better luck next time.

   Raph,
   Yeah it is always interesting to see how others write their letters. The casual nature I thought was perfect for the nature of the sponsor but like you said, it is dependent on who you are writing too.

8. Steve on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   The whole process was dealt with brilliantly, it maintained an informal friendly feel, and it was always clear everybody was going to benefit. It is very interesting to see how many none blog owners wrote articles. Well done Jacob.

9. Joshua Sciarrino on Nov 25, 2008 said:

   Amazing post, imho.

   I had asked that question myself ‘how did he make 11k for prizes’. Great followup.

10. Jakub on Nov 26, 2008 said:

    Nice story Jacob. I have a football (soccer) website and recently managed to find a sponsor to fund a contest on my site. I simply sent him an email telling him about how important the contest is to the users, and he agreed to fund a shirt and a soccer ball. All I had to do was add the link to his online soccer store for the duration of the contest. Now, however, we have a lasting partnership in which I regularly have sponsored contests by his online soccer store.

    I totally agree with your points. In order to get a sponsor you must
    a) tell him/her why the contest is important to you
    b) tell him/her what they will receive in return
    c) tell them how many people visit your site. It is especially important for your visitors to have an interest in what your sponsor is involved with, as the sponsor may find this as an attractive reason to fund your contest.

    Thanks for your advice

11. Vin Gerard on Dec 12, 2008 said:

    Great suggestions.

    Keep in touch.

12. mxyzplk on Dec 20, 2008 said:

    nice post, it guest I could learn to get a sponsor from this post.

13. debra on Jan 27, 2009 said:

    all the way from barbados…thank you your article was very helpful….came across it by chance but i’m glad i did…ty vm.

14. debra on Jan 27, 2009 said:

    thank you

15. natashaelaine on May 26, 2009 said:

    Hi, Jacob, this is the first time to your blog, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for the straight forward tips on gaining sponsors. Although, I am not looking for any, I have bookmarked your page for the future when I am ready to do a promotion. Keep up the awesome work and I wish you continued success.

16. Jenn aka Future Mama on Jun 9, 2009 said:

    A friend just forwarded this post to me, thanks so much! I’m going to try it out tonight! Wish me luck!

17. CEOmum on Jul 7, 2009 said:

    What do you do if the sponsor doesn’t keep his word?

    Aren’t you concerned with legal issues like your liability to provide the winner with the gift anyway.

18. Jared Thompson on Aug 24, 2009 said:

    This article has been featured here
    http://jaredthompson-design.blogspot.com/2009/08/ultimate-list-of-best-links-from-last.html

    Keep up the good work!

19. Elijah on Oct 13, 2009 said:

    Thank you so much !..

    Cheers
    Elijah

20. Wendy A. on Nov 7, 2009 said:

    Thanks for the great info. This info will be very helpful in the near future, as I will be having a giveaway!

21. Natural Homeschool Mama on Jul 6, 2010 said:

    Great article! These are definitely some tips I will be using for my upcoming blog giveaways. It’s amazing how simple the process is (contact the companies), and yet we sometimes freak out over the prospect of calling (thinking we’ll get turned down). I also agree that traffic has a great deal to do with it being a better bargain for them.

22. Patin MotorSports on Sep 13, 2010 said:

    Great Article!! We are starting the process of finding sponsors and feel lost. This article has helped dramatically!! One question, how do you get the email addresses??

23. Jacob Cass on Sep 15, 2010 said:

    Just go to the person’s contact page and find it there!

24. Ewusi Matthew on Jan 21, 2011 said:

    Hi Jacob cass i am a young man with the aim of organizing a quiz competition for schools in my region but getting sponsorship is my major problem .the quiz will be for junior high school .the selected subject are science,mathematics,I.C.T and English language.the quiz will be held live on a local T.V station in cape coast,central region Ghana.I am a teacher and a first year student of U.C.C offering Education.I need your help.

25. Mrs Carrigan on Feb 24, 2011 said:

    Thank you for the information. I just posted my first blog to ask for sponsors. Wish me luck!!

26. Business Promotional Products on Feb 28, 2011 said:

    I have already tried doing this and its really tough working and dealing with sponsors. A lot of meetings to undergo and papers to sign.

27. corporate gift ideas on Mar 2, 2011 said:

    Going for ex-deals are actually one of the best ways to get some good stuff. Promote the items in your blog entries as ex-deal for their stuff. Talk to their marketing department and ask how they work on those.

28. Wes T. on Mar 15, 2011 said:

    Something else would seem to go without saying, but I’m afraid it needs to be said.
    If you sponsor a contest on social media, there is an underlying implication (read warranty) that you WILL fulfill the promotion, contest, etc.
    I personally have been “burned” four times now (by small businesses, typically) who seemingly are using Twitter just to drum up followers. They have a giveaway or contest and announce that you will win ’such and such,’ and then you never receive anything from the company. No further communications, etc. They don’t ever check their “mentions” and they never follow anyone, so you can’t DM them. If you are lucky enough to find an email address for them, they will not answer you as to what’s up with the contest.
    I think this practice is poor business at the least, and outright fraud at the worst.

29. Computer Anatomy on May 26, 2011 said:

    I was doing some reseacrh on how to get sponsors and give away prizes. This has helped me and even given me some ideas on who to contact and what to offer for a prize.

    I have recently started my own Company and now finally I’m launching my website. For the launch I was thinking of Giving something away.

    thanx for the info.

30. Jogos gratis on Nov 2, 2011 said:

    That’s an excellent idea. I was looking for information on how to get sponsored and your email sample is awesome.

    I have an arcade site where people can play online games with no necessity to install anything and I really want to encourage people to come back. I will be giving away a Zune next month and I hope to get more prizes to giveaway.
    I think giveaway is an awesome way to get more traffic to your website and keep loyal visitors.

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