Our Views on Product Reviews and Giveaways: Part 2

In part one we looked at the advantages and disadvantages of reviews on blogs for Sellers, Bloggers, and Readers (We have experience with being all three things so thought it would be interesting to look at this from all sides). This time we are looking at the advantages and Disadvantages of blog giveaways from all three perspectives.

SELLERS

Advantages of a Sponsoring a Giveaway
The advantage of giveaways is the possibility of traffic to your online store. ( Going to the store and making a post about a specific question is usually a mandatory entry on most giveaways)
The reason that we recommend both a review and a giveaway for maximum product exposure is that the review and giveaway work together to help sellers make a sale. At STM, we love helping sellers (especially small or just starting sellers, or companies we love) of great products.
The review gives people a real person’s opinion of the product. If you have a great product, you’ll already have a blogger saying great things in their review. The giveaway, gets interested people (readers are interested in your product or they wouldn’t be entering the giveaway in the first place) to go to your online store and gets them thinking about owning your product. So basically, your potential customers have heard a personal experience with your product and then come to your online store where you have the potential to make a sale or show your other items or get newsletter sign ups. (I know that I have purchased items after not winning a giveaway that I entered)

Disadvantage of a Sponsoring a Giveaway
There is no guarantee that your giveaway will get lots of entries. It costs you a product to giveaway. You usually have to pay the shipping to get the product to the winner.


BLOGGERS


Advantage of a Hosting a Giveaway
Traffic. Giveaways generally get traffic to your site, especially if you carefully select the items that are of interest to the readers that you want to discover your blog. This is an advantage to you (you can potentially increase your followers) and an advantage to the sellers because your readers are likely to love the items of the seller that sponsors the giveaway. Another advantage is that they make winning readers happy!

Disadvantage of a Hosting a Giveaway
Giveaways are a lot of work and take up a lot time. Setting up the giveaway with a sponsor, and then promoting, promoting, promoting. However, the traffic to your blog, we think offsets the work that you put into it.

READERS

Advantage of Giveaways for Readers
For readers, giveaways are a chance to learn about new products and a chance to win something (Who doesn’t love winning something!?!?)
Advantage for Readers (or Disadvantage depending on how you look at it)

You come across a lot of cool things that you want to buy.


Examples from our Personal Experience

• Jennette won an item in a giveaway and gave it as a gift to a relative (We won’t say which item or which relative just to keep her family guessing). She was then contacted by another relative wanting to know where she could buy one.
• Kelly won a book mark in a giveaway and then bought two more (and wrote a review on them on our blog - This is an example of far reaching publicity of a giveaway. Not only does the sponsor have the post on the host blog, but they also now have a post on STM)
• From a seller’s standpoint, Jennette has first hand experience with seeing her traffic and sales increase with sponsoring giveaways. She has recently redesigned her online store and will be sponsoring giveaways soon so keep an eye out for those on STM and other great blogs.

This is our view on the advantages or disadvantages of Giveaways. Do you agree? Disagree? We’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings. Please leave us a comment.








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