All posts tagged contest

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 2)!

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 2)!

NCPW2013_285x285It’s day 2 of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) and we are having a BLAST! We’ve been highlighting some of the amazing resources available on the web to help you make informed choices as a consumer and business owner. And you also have the opportunity to win some fantastic products in our NCPW contest!

Each day this week, we’ll post a question. Use the NCPW resources we’ve provided to answer the question, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing gift bag full of products from a number of companies in the direct sales industry. We’ve provided some bonus entry options as well.

We’re giving away a bag stuffed full of amazing products each day, so be sure to come back each day to enter!

Prize Details

Today’s winner will receive a gift bag of products, including:

How to Enter

Simply leave a comment answering today’s question: What is the “Buy Back” Policy that all DSA Members agree to? (Find the link to the answer on our NCPW resources page! – Opens in a separate window)

UPDATE: Congratulations to our Tuesday winner, Dawn Mulvey!

Click here to see all of this week’s winners: http://dsef.org/2013/03/09/ncpw-2013-contest-winners/

* Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, ages 18 and older.

Good luck, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 1)!

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 1)!

NCPW2013_285x285It’s one of our favorite weeks of the year…National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)! It’s a time to highlight some of the amazing resources available on the web to help you make informed choices as a consumer and business owner. And since we love this week so much, we decided to make it even MORE fun with a contest!

Each day this week, we’ll post a question. Use the NCPW resources we’ve provided to answer the question, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing gift tote full of products from a number of companies in the direct sales industry. We’ve provided some bonus entry options as well.

We’re giving away a bag stuffed full of amazing products each day, so be sure to come back each day to enter!

Prize Details

Today’s winner will receive a gift bag of products, including:

How to Enter

Simply leave a comment answering today’s question: What’s one way you can protect your computer from hackers? (Find the link to the answer on our NCPW resources page! – Opens in a separate window)

UPDATE: Congratulations to Sue Williams, the winner of our 1st prize bag! Her answer was: “Use a strong password and change it often.”

Click here to see all of this week’s winners: http://dsef.org/2013/03/09/ncpw-2013-contest-winners/

* Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, ages 18 and older.

Good luck, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

How to Run a Great Contest on Facebook

How to Run a Great Contest on Facebook

Running a contest on Facebook is a great idea because it not only engages your community, but it gives you something new to talk about.  Both of these things attract new people to “like” your page and can help bring in new customers and prospects.  However, if not done properly or effectively, a contest can backfire and turn people away from your page or worse; you could lose your page altogether if you don’t abide by Facebook’s terms of serie.  Use the following tips to help you run a successful Facebook contest.

  • Decide on an outcome.  If you have an objective or ultimate goal for your contest, then you will be more equipped to create one that is successful.  For example, your goal may be to build up your mailing list or referrals, to introduce your product line, or to compile customer testimonials to use in future advertising.  Keep your goal in mind when working out the details for how the contest will operate.  This will help you keep it straightforward, user-friendly, and easily shareable.
  • Carefully choose your contest type.  There are a myriad of ways to run a contest including photo or video contests, essay contests, trivia, or sweepstakes.  Once you’ve decided on your desired outcome, make sure the type of contest and the motivating prize you choose will help you achieve your goal.  Consider your target market and what they will be willing to do.  For example, let’s say your target market consists mostly of career-minded professionals in the corporate sector.  If you design your contest in such a way that there is too much work involved to enter, like one that requires a 5-minute viral video, you will be very disappointed with the small number of entries you get, if any.  Ask yourself what your target market will be willing to do for the chosen prize.  In the example above, if the chosen prize is a one-time voucher for 10% off the next purchase, chances are slim that your potential customers will put much time in for a glorified coupon.  A better choice would be a free gift basket of their choice of up to 5 products or one year of unlimited free shipping.  Get creative and think about the kind of contest that you would want to enter.
  • Use a third party app.  Because of Facebook’s Promotional Guidelines, which prohibit the use of any Facebook features (comments, likes) as requirements to enter, third party apps are a requirement for running a contest.  Unfortunately, these apps are not always free to use, but there are some inexpensive ones such as Wildfire or Google Docs that make running your contest easy to do.  Tip:  If you have a blog, consider accepting entries via comments on the blog using a service like Rafflecopter.  Don’t risk losing your Facebook page because you weren’t willing to pay for a 3rd party app.
  • Don’t run the contest for too long.  A contest that runs for a more than a few days to a week will most likely lose its steam long before the end date.  Keeping in mind what people have to do to enter, choose a time frame that is reasonable enough for any necessary preparation, but tight enough to maintain interest.
  • Promote!  The best way to promote your contest is to ask people to share it.  Ask in person, post about it every day on your Facebook page, and/or add a widget on your blog such as a countdown ticker.  Encourage others to click the “share” button to help you get the word out, and explore the use of Facebook ads to attract new people in your target market, as well as engaging your existing community.  The more you ask people to share your contest, the better turnout you will have.

What experiences or ideas have you had for running a successful contest on Facebook?  Please share your tips in the comments section below!

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #6

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #6

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

 A ProPay® Merchant Account is the simplest, most secure way to grow your business. ProPay offers 7 easy ways to accept card payments–online or offline. Rates are very competitive for swipe and keyed transactions. ProPay offers live, toll-free customer support. This prize gives you a 12-month ProPay Merchant Account.

You’ll also receive a ProPay JAK™. A ProPay JAK™ is a mobile phone credit card reader that lets you securely process credit and debit cards in real-time on your iOS or Android phones and devices. With a ProPay Account, all you have to do is download the ProPay Application, attach the card reader, and go! Process credit and debit cards anytime, anywhere you have data coverage. And the ProPay JAK Mobile Card Reader is secure. Your customers’ payment card data is encrypted on its reader head (at swipe) ensuring your customers’ data is protected.

(Winner is responsible for credit card processing fees associated with account.)

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

So answer today’s Treasure Hunt question, and then tell a friend!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 6 winner Jim O’Sullivan! 

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMailVZNSUCCESS magazineTony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.


National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #5

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #5

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

SMS Marketing (aka Texting) is often the best way to reach the next generation of prospects for your business. Text messages are read by 94% of recipients within the first 4 minutes! VZN is offering a 12-month VZN SMS Texting Account. This prize includes 1,000 messages/month and 2 keywords.

Let VZN show you how easy it is to start, manage and track your SMS mobile marketing campaigns.

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

So answer today’s Treasure Hunt question, and then tell a friend!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 5 winner Terry! Check our Facebook Page for a link to today’s Treasure Hunt question.

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMailVZNSUCCESS magazineTony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.


National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #4

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #4

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

 If you could change a few things in your business, change a few things about the way you do your business, and suddenly experience a relief of stress and frustration accompanied by an influx of prospects, bookings, sales, and recruits, wouldn’t you want to?

You can with Tammy Stanley’s Step-By-Step Prospecting and Booking System PLUS How to Leave Messages that Create Value and Get Customers to Call Back.

 A complete guide to prospecting and booking for the direct sales industry. Learn the secrets of master direct sellers, marketing experts, and psychologists and transform the way you operate your business. What you learn in this program can quickly impact your bottom line and save you hours of frustration.

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

So answer today’s Treasure Hunt question, and then tell a friend!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 4 winner Rhoda Kindred! Check our Facebook Page for a link to today’s Treasure Hunt question.

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMailVZNSUCCESS magazineTony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.


National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #3

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #3

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

Today you can win a 12-month GoldMail Business Account.

GoldMail is the easiest way to make powerful multi-media messages. By combining your voice with your content, GoldMail messages stand out and drive higher response rates. GoldMail is remarkably easy to use, so non-technical individuals can quickly and easily transform pictures, powerpoints, PDFs and other content into powerful, personal media.

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

So answer today’s Treasure Hunt question, and then tell a friend!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 3 winner Michelle Cisewski! Check our Facebook Page for a link to today’s Treasure Hunt question.

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMailVZNSUCCESS magazineTony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.


National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #2

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #2

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

Today you can win a collection of books by Tony Jeary, signed by the author.

One of the most prolific business writers in America, Tony Jeary is recognized as one of the world’s great authorities on communication and Presentation Mastery™. He is endorsed by many of the authorities in the marketplace including Ken Blanchard, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohm, Stephen Covey, Tom Hopkins and Mark Victor Hansen. Since 1995 he has authored over 30 titles that cover the entire communication and presentation universe.

His signature book, “Strategic Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed of Life” (published by Vanguard Press 2009), describes his proprietary Strategic Acceleration methodology and shares his theories behind clarity, focus, and execution. Using real world examples and eye-opening exercises, Tony gives his readers exciting insight into getting superior results, faster.

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

So answer today’s Treasure Hunt question, and then tell a friend!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 2 winner Anne Turner! Check our Facebook Page for a link to today’s Treasure Hunt question.

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMailVZNSUCCESS magazineTony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.


National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #1

National Consumer Protection Week Treasure Hunt – Treasure #1

It’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)!

At DSEF, we’re ready to help you discover all the treasures available to help you make better choices as a consumer and business owner. Answer a Treasure Hunt question each day and you could win a fabulous daily prize!

At the end of the week, we’ll award a Kindle Fire to the Grand Prize winner chosen from all the entries. But everyone’s a winner who takes advantage of these free resources designed to help consumers make better choices.

Click here to see our official rules and list of prizes.

About Today’s Prize

Today you can win a 12-month subscription to SUCCESS magazine! The new SUCCESS magazine is your most trusted source for helping you get the competitive advantage in life. In each issue, you’ll get an inside look at the success habits of leading CEOs, Entrepreneurs, and other Achievers — how they manage their time, set goals, stay motivated, inspire their colleagues, stay healthy, balance work and family and more.

It’s What Achievers Read!

Enter to WIN this fabulous prize by answering the questions below. All answers can be found by starting at our NCPW web page. (Click the link to open it in a separate window.)

UPDATE: Congratulations to our day 1 winner Bob Mazak! Check our Facebook Page for a link to today’s Treasure Hunt question.

Bonus Entries:

  1. Like the DSEF on Facebook. Leave a comment telling us you’ve Liked our Page.
  2. Follow the DSEF on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  3. Follow the DSEF on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you follow us.
  4. Share this contest with your friends on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  5. Share this with your friends on Twitter. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.
  6. Pin this on Pinterest. Leave a separate comment telling us you’ve shared.

Each bonus entry will count as an entry into today’s drawing. Many thanks to the DSA Supplier Members that have donated prizes to make this a fabulous contest, including GoldMail, VZN, SUCCESS magazine, Tony Jeary, ProPay and The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery.

Gamification To Increase Business

Gamification To Increase Business

Gamification is a relatively new term that refers to the integration of game dynamics into any aspect of business.  Its main objectives are to drive participation, increase awareness of the business, and draw in new customers.  Here a few ways to get started.

  • Use a service designed to track your customers’ loyalty.  A great place to begin is Badgeville, a “social loyalty platform” that gives businesses the “power to drive and measure user behavior with social game mechanics.”  Badgeville provides a step by step process to help you set an objective, choose which behaviors to track, and create real-time user rewards.  This is similar to the way FourSquare works, except you get to create your own system.  The advantage here is that you can truly tailor your game to the needs and wants of your customer base.
  • Gamify your team’s professional development.  Big businesses, such as Google, are using this with increasing frequency.  In order to motivate employees to spend less than they were allotted for business trips, they created a game in which employees could save up unused amounts to receive cash back, donate to charity, or save up towards a future trip.  (Source)  Small business owners and direct sellers can use this same concept to motivate teams and increase sales.
  • Take to Twitter and Facebook.  Many companies are using gamification to increase awareness of themselves to prospective clients.  A simple way to do this would be to give away a free small sample. For every 20 new Twitter “retweets” or every Facebook “like”, you draw a name from the new likes or people who retweeted for the give-away. Doing so will keep customers coming back to your site, encourage them to seek out what’s new with your business, and drive them to recommend you to their friends.  Think of it as 21st century word of mouth.
  • Invite participation in your blog.  The fast-food chain Wendy’s recently created a short-lived game show on Twitter to promote a series of new items on its menu.  The game show gained a cult following for several reasons, including the mystery surrounding who was hosting it, but also because prizes were being given away for participating in various tasks.  Fellow tweeters were asked to post pictures of themselves in their funniest pair of socks, for example.  Consider using this method in your blog by creating a task and giving each participant one entry into a small giveaway.  Getting creative here will also draw more people to your blog and of course, your business.
  • Other game formats to explore. A scavenger hunt, Motto/Jingle contest, Wheel of fortune like – fill in the blank, and an old fashion riddle of the day contest. As you continue to explore using games and contests to generate engagement please check your social media site’s terms of service before installing a game. Most social media sites have rules you must follow or risk being removed from the site. For example, Facebook requires that you use a third party service like Wildfire to administer any contest on its platform.

When integrating games into your business, keep in mind your objective, audience, and reward systems.  You need not spend exorbitant amounts of money to gamify; start simple with the plethora of free resources found all around the internet and build out from there.  And most importantly, have fun!  That is what gaming is about, after all.  What ideas do you have for gamification? Share them with us in the comments section below!