New Update: Boost Social Proof with Reviews & Automation
Introducing RafflePress's new leave-a-review giveaway actions. Boost customer engagement and build trust effortlessly by incentivizing reviews in WordPress.
New Update: Boost Social Proof with Reviews & Automation
Stacey Corrin
Stacey Corrin
John Turner
John Turner
Ever thought about running a giveaway for your Etsy shop, only to hesitate, worried you’ll hear… crickets? You’ve probably seen the forum posts from sellers whose giveaways were “super unsuccessful” with only one or two entries. It’s a common fear, but it doesn’t have to be your story.
The truth is, a successful Etsy giveaway takes more than just a “like and share” post. But with the right strategy and tools, you can run a contest that builds real buzz, attracts your ideal customers, and grows your small business, without the stress.
In this guide, I’ll show you the modern, step-by-step plan for running a successful giveaway for your Etsy shop using RafflePress. We’ll turn those fears of a failed giveaway into a reliable plan for growth.
How to Do A Giveaway on Etsy:
A quick search in Etsy seller communities reveals a common story: disappointment. Many giveaways fall flat for a few predictable reasons:
“My first giveaway was a game-changer. I used it to grow my email list before a holiday launch. It brought in over 300 new subscribers, and I made 5 sales directly from my follow-up email to the participants! It’s about more than the prize; it’s about building a community.” – Jessica, owner of a handmade candle shop
This guide is specifically designed to help you avoid these pitfalls. By following the steps below, you’ll have a strategic framework that turns your giveaway from a gamble into a reliable marketing tool.
Running a giveaway is one of the easiest ways to get more eyes on your Etsy shop, especially if you’re just starting out or want to boost engagement without spending a ton on ads.
Here’s why Etsy giveaways work so well:
The best part? With the right tools, you don’t need tech skills or a huge budget to get started. You just need a clear goal and a prize your audience cares about.
Etsy doesn’t allow you to host giveaways directly on its platform. That means you can’t list a product for $0 or use Etsy’s tools to run a sweepstakes or contest.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t promote your Etsy shop with a giveaway. You just need to host it elsewhere, like on your own website or landing page.
The safest and easiest way to run a legal Etsy giveaway is to create it on your WordPress site using a tool like RafflePress. Then you can drive traffic to your Etsy store with entry actions like “Visit a product page” or “Join our email list.”
Before you launch, make sure your contest follows Etsy’s legal guidelines and your local laws. Most regions require that giveaways be free to enter and not require a purchase.
You might find old forum threads from 2012 or 2016 suggesting different methods, but social media platform rules and contest laws have changed significantly since then. Running a giveaway on your own website with a dedicated tool is the safest and most effective method today to ensure you follow all current guidelines.
So while Etsy doesn’t provide giveaway tools itself, you can still use a well-run contest to attract more shoppers, boost engagement, and grow your store off-platform.
If you’re wondering how to run a giveaway for your Etsy shop, the easiest way is by using a tool like RafflePress. It lets you create a legal, high-converting giveaway outside of Etsy, right on your WordPress site.
In the steps below, I’ll show you exactly how to set up your Etsy giveaway from start to finish, using RafflePress to manage everything from the prize details to the winner selection.
RafflePress is one of the best WordPress giveaway plugins, allowing you to run contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes easily from your WordPress website. It comes with pre-made giveaway templates, a drag-and-drop builder, and countless ways for your target audience to enter for the chance to win.
These are called entry actions, allowing you to require entrants to:
Completing those actions grants users a chance to win your grand prize. You can also use it to manage giveaway entries, display your giveaway rules, and draw random winners right from your WordPress site.
So if you’re ready to dive in, follow the steps below to run your first giveaway for your Etsy business with RafflePress.
Setting clear and specific goals is essential in planning a successful Etsy giveaway. They help you define what you want to achieve and guide your decisions around the prize, promotion, and timing.
First, think about what you hope to achieve with the giveaway. Do you want to increase your social media following, generate more sales, or promote your eCommerce store? Once you have a clear idea of your goal, you can start to think about how to achieve it.
One approach to setting goals for an Etsy giveaway is to use the SMART framework. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
To use the SMART framework, start by identifying a specific goal that you want to achieve. For example, you might set a goal of increasing your Instagram following by 500 followers.
Next, think about how you’ll measure your progress toward this goal. You might track the number of new followers you gain during the giveaway period.
Then, consider whether this goal is achievable, given your resources and timeframe. If you only have a small budget or a short timeframe, it might be more realistic to aim for a smaller increase in followers.
Ensure the goal is relevant to your business objectives, such as driving more traffic to your Etsy shop or increasing brand awareness. Finally, set a timeframe for achieving the goal, such as running the giveaway for two weeks.
Using the SMART framework, you can set clear, well-defined goals for your Etsy giveaway that align with your business objectives and are achievable, given your resources and timeframe.
Not sure what to aim for? These small business giveaway ideas can help spark inspiration.
Once you have your goals in place, you’re ready to pick a prize to give away to your audience. This is a crucial part of your marketing strategy, and making the right choice is essential to ensure you get the best results.
Here are some hacks to help you choose the best prize for your giveaway:
Simply put, choosing a prize for your giveaway requires considering your goals, audience, budget, and the prize’s value. By following these tips, you can select a prize that will attract the right audience, generate excitement, and help you achieve your objectives.
After planning your giveaway goals and prize, you’ll need to start setting it up on your chosen platform. As we mentioned earlier, this guide will show you how to do a giveaway on Etsy from your WordPress website using RafflePress.
If you don’t already have one, business owners can follow this guide on how to set up a WordPress website step-by-step. Otherwise, let’s get to it.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the RafflePress WordPress giveaway plugin. If it’s your first time doing this, you can follow this tutorial on installing a WordPress plugin.
Note: You can use the free version of RafflePress to do a simple giveaway. However, we’ll be using RafflePress Pro for its advanced features.
Once you activate the plugin, head over to the RafflePress » Settings page from your WordPress admin, and paste your license key.
This information is easy to find in the downloads section of your account on the RafflePress website. Now click the Verify Key button.
With your license active, you can start adding a new giveaway. So go to RafflePress » Add New, to launch the RafflePress giveaway builder.
After doing that, you’ll see several pre-made giveaway templates for different giveaway goals, like growing your email list, Instagram followers, and more.
First, enter a giveaway name, hover over the template you want, and click the Use This Template button.
Afterward, you’ll see the drag-and-drop builder, where you can enter your giveaway details.
On this page, you’ll first want to tell entrants what they could win, so click on the ‘My Awesome Prize’ heading and type the name of your Etsy giveaway prize.
Next, enter some details about the giveaway to encourage your audience to enter. For example, you could add more information about the giveaway and upload a prize image to show what you can win.
To do this, simply click the Select Image button and choose an image from your computer or WordPress media library. From there, click the Done Editing button to save your changes.
On the same page, you can also enter the giveaway duration, including the start and end date, times, and timezone.
Remember to click the Save button in the top-right corner periodically to save your progress.
Next, click on the Actions tab in the left-hand sidebar.
On this screen, you’ll see various ways for visitors to enter your giveaway, such as:
That said, choosing giveaway actions that align with your goals is important.
For example, if you want to drive traffic to a specific product page on Etsy, you’d use the ‘Visit a Page’ action. Or, if you want to boost brand awareness, the Refer-a-Friend action is an ideal choice.
Click any action to add it automatically to your giveaway, and then you can configure its settings in the left-hand panel.
Each action has several customization options, including making the action mandatory. This is handy if you want to offer multiple entry methods but also ensure users complete certain tasks.
Typically, every action is worth 1 entry, but you can change the value to make specific actions worth more. Consequently, users will prioritize more valuable actions, even if they can choose multiple ways to enter.
Aside from these settings, you may also see some action-specific options. For example, in the Visit a Page action, you’ll need to enter the page’s URL, so users can visit it.
You can add as many giveaway entry options as you like, but putting the most important one first is best. For example, if your goal is to drive Etsy Sales, you’ll want to put an action to visit your Etsy page at the top.
You can do that by hovering over an action, clicking the dotted button, and dragging the action to its new place.
Now click the Design tab, where you’ll see several options for customizing your giveaway’s look and feel.
Here, you can change your giveaway fonts, button color, background color, and more. You can also use custom CSS to add your own specific customizations, but it isn’t required.
Tweak these settings until you’re happy with how your giveaway looks, then click the Save button to save your changes.
You can also use these tips to create eye-catching giveaway images for free.
For the next step, you’ll need to click the Settings tab, where you can adjust how your giveaway runs. For example, the General section lets you change basic settings, like showing the contest winners, hiding the total entries, and limiting sign-ups.
One of the most important settings to configure is your Giveaway Rules. In this tab, you can enter information about your giveaway and allow RafflePress to generate some rules automatically.
Need help writing your contest rules? Here’s a full guide on how to write giveaway rules like a pro.
A few other settings to consider include:
You can check out our Giveaway Settings documentation to learn more about these features.
With your giveaway set up and your settings configured, you’re ready to publish your Etsy giveaway on your WordPress site.
There are 3 ways to do this with RafflePress, which are as follows:
The easiest and most effective way to publish your Etsy giveaway is on a landing page because they’re ideal for sharing across different online platforms. For example, you can add your giveaway page link to an Etsy product listing, share it in your Instagram bio, and post it on 𝕏 using popular hashtags to boost its reach.
More importantly, landing pages are free from distractions, making visitors more likely to enter.
To create a giveaway landing page, simply click the Publish tab from the giveaway editor, and choose the Giveaway Landing Page option.
From there, select the “Click here” link, which takes you to the General Settings page.
Here, find the ‘Page Permalink’ heading, enter a URL for your giveaway page, and click Save.
RafflePress will now publish your Etsy giveaway on a high-quality landing page. To see it live on your website, click the View button.
After publishing your Etsy giveaway, it’s a bright idea to tell people about it so they can enter. You can even start promoting your campaign before it goes live, so your audience is excited to join before it launches.
Additionally, you can use email marketing campaigns to tell your email subscribers, post about the giveaway on your social media accounts, or promote it on forums relevant to your brand.
Plus, if there’s room in your budget, you can run Etsy ads linking to your giveaway page for an extra boost in visits and entries.
For even more helpful marketing tips, check out these proven contest promotion ideas.
When your giveaway ends, and you’re ready to draw the winner, you can use RafflePress to choose the winner randomly.
First, go to the RafflePress page in your WordPress dashboard, then click on the “Needs Winners” link. You’ll see all the people who entered the giveaway and how many entries they have on this page.
From there, find the “Winner Selection” panel and type the number of winners you want to pick. Then, click on the “Choose Winners Now” button.
RafflePress will instantly draw a random winner and show you their name at the top of the list of participants.
The final step is to announce the winner to let them know they won your Etsy giveaway.
I’ve barely scratched the surface in this guide of what it takes to run a truly successful giveaway. For more tips, check out the following resources:
There you have it! Now you know how to do a giveaway on Etsy the smart way, with clear goals, the right tools, and a step-by-step plan.
If you’re ready to promote your shop and grow your audience, get started with RafflePress today. You can launch your first Etsy giveaway in just a few clicks, no code or stress required.
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How to purchase a product like Rafflepress ? That last update was months ago with almost nothing new related to new features and big changes?
Competitors have much more features… looks like the plugin was discontinued, can you confirm for all users that watch this blog and also like me are thinking in purchase a license?
When a BIG new update will be released?