Today, I want to talk about giveaways for a bit. Yes, I am serious ;)
Over the last few months I have won several awesome prizes, including a pair of Sorel boots and a pair of Blowfish heels, simply by entering a few giveaways here and there. Don't worry, I do not spend hours and hours entering giveaways, (who has that kind of time anyway) and maybe I was just lucky these few times, but I still wanted to share my experiences today. Plus, there is a little surprise coming at the end of this post so keep reading, I'd really appreciate your support :)
Giveaways are funny things sometimes because some of them draw great attention and hundreds or thousands of entries, while others don't get much recognition at all.
That is certainly due to the prizes that are being offered, as well as the readership and reach of the hosting site.
I have hosted a few of my own giveaways here on this blog of mine and some of them have been quite successful, while others just seemed to get lost somewhere in cyberspace. That is a bummer for me but especially for the blogger or business who is graciously sponsoring the giveaway.
But here is the thing, getting the word out about your giveaway is the hardest thing. Social media helps and if your giveaway sponsor is willing to promote that is a great plus as well. I have also found several giveaway link-ups on some larger couponing/deals oriented blogs. They never really brought anyone to my giveaways though, probably because it was next to impossible to even find the linkup list on these blogs. Sometimes it was quite the information overload that was posted there. Sometimes, no matter how hard we as bloggers work to promote it, a giveaway (though quite awesome) does not get the attention aka entries it deserves :(
I understand that some of you are out there in bloggy land to read post and look at pretty pictures and not to enter giveaways, so if you feel bothered by this sort of post, I understand that. Some might find it too much to have to follow a blog in order to enter a giveaway or they don't feel like they have a chance at winning anyway. Just remember that bloggers and sponsors are putting in a lot of time and effort to make these things happen!
There are certain giveaways that get blown up so big, your chances of winning become incredibly small and it's very discouraging to even enter them. However, there are also so many smaller blogs out there that are hosting giveaways for amazing things, that don't get much attention at all.
That is such a shame because your chances of winning are so much better there.
So, after thinking about it for weeks now and even though I am hesitant because I am a pessimist and always fear for the worst, like you guys thinking this is ridiculous and never coming back here...
Yeah, you see I am just a little crazy.
Long story short, this week marks the very first
Friday Giveaway Link-Up.
This will be the place for all of you giveaway hosting bloggers (big and small) to link up and most of all enter each others giveaways! Enter a couple each week and I promise you, you will not only start winning but you will also find new blogs and friends along the way. Remember, you can't win the lottery if you never buy a ticket ;)
Now bear with me as I figure out this linky business since I've never done it before.
I would also love to hear your feedback on this. Yay! or Stupid?
Should I spend the money and have a linky list hat includes images? Any feedback is welcome!
Thank you all so much for linking up and I would LOVE you even more if you shared this new link-up on your blogs or social media :)
GIVEAWAY LINK-UP 1
Please only link up giveaways that you are hosting on your own site or that you are sponsoring on another blog.
Link up as many as you'd like from the current week.
Come back next Friday to link up again.
Giveaways only please!
Please, please, please link back to me from your giveaway post or sidebar, or share in some other way.
Enter a few giveaways :)
Thank you!
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Disclaimer: The Forge is not responsible for content linked in this widget or prize distribution. This link-up is simply a collection of third party giveaways which are not in any way affiliated with or sponsored by The Forge.
