Amazon Prime Day will be here in a few short weeks. This is one of the biggest shopping days of the year for the e-commerce giant outside of Cyber Monday and the busy holiday shopping season — and, if sales continue their upward trajectory, this year is sure to be no exception. The added traffic boost of shoppers looking for great deals represents a wonderful opportunity for sellers to use giveaways to drive product awareness and generate some extra sales.
This guide will give you a breakdown of how Amazon Prime Day Giveaways work, as well as some key points to keep in mind as you plan your sales strategies.
What are Amazon Giveaways?
Amazon launched its Giveaway program in 2015. At its core, the Giveaway program serves as yet another way for sellers to promote their brands by offering free products to participating buyers. Sellers can also offer product discounts to buyers who don’t win the prize(s). Every week, there are giveaways hosted for thousands of products.
Sellers can launch their own Amazon giveaways using plenty of creative control. As a seller, you can customize:
- the product(s)
- the number of giveaways
- the details of the giveaway page
Amazon Giveaway allows sellers to run promotions and contests to generate brand awareness, get more reviews, and engage with customers to promote brand loyalty. The benefits aren’t solely for the seller, though; customers can enter to win free products, and everyone loves free stuff! It’s a win-win.
Screenshot via Amazon
How to Set Up an Amazon Giveaway
To set up a giveaway, log in to Seller Central and navigate to the ‘Set up an Amazon Giveaway’ section towards the bottom of the page. Then, enter the details such as the number of prizes you’re offering, and click ‘Next.’
On the next page, you’ll get to preview your giveaway to confirm details, and click ‘Proceed to Checkout,’ where you’ll pay for the cost of the product upfront as the giveaway host, including estimated shipping and taxes, although actual sales tax and shipping costs are calculated when the item is shipped to the winner. You can even set up giveaways for products that you don’t sell, an option often used by bloggers and other digital marketers.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day, despite its name, actually runs for roughly three days in the middle of the summer. Last year’s event took place for 36 hours in mid-July, and while Amazon is keeping the details of the 2019 event under wraps, it’s likely that the company will announce something similar.
In the past, Amazon Prime Day has boasted some of the largest discounts of the year across many product categories. Prime Day has been happening since 2015. Amazon always takes this opportunity to offer strong deals on its own products. If you are a seller on the platform, the “holiday” also serves a great opportunity for you to run your own unique promotions and capitalize on the additional traffic.
Screenshot via Amazon
How Do Giveaways Help Sellers?
There are two main benefits that sellers can get from running giveaways. First — and perhaps most important — is brand awareness. With the Amazon Giveaway program so visible to buyers, there are always a large number of visitors searching through and signing up for the chance to win the freebies.
This type of exposure and outreach can help you, very efficiently, build a targeted list of potential buyers. Clearly, an Amazon customer who has signed up for your product giveaway probably has at least some interest in it. Getting a list of giveaway participants gives you a great chance to engage directly with potential buyers. You can also add a call to action for all entrants. This can include asking them to watch a marketing video or sharing your product or promotion on social media.
Why Should You Consider Prime Day Giveaways?
Amazon Prime Day Giveaways can be especially useful for a new brand launch or to promote a new product offering. It offers you some added visibility as a launch platform. Also, it gives you the chance to get your product in front of an expanded customer base. The Prime Day Giveaways can also be helpful in boosting sales for a product or for gaining traction for a smaller seller.
Screenshot via Amazon
What Can You do to Launch an Effective Amazon Prime Day Giveaway?
If you do choose to run a giveaway, the first consideration is to make sure you set a clear expectation. Think through how many items you’ll give away. Then, look at other similar offerings to gain a broader perspective and identify ways to make your promotions are better than your competitors’ giveaways.
You should also strongly consider adding a video or other media for participants to interact with as part of the giveaway. It can add that little bit of brand awareness and investment on the participants’ part which will — hopefully — mean higher conversions.
The Bottom Line on Amazon Prime Day Giveaways
Everyone knows that Amazon Prime Day is a huge event in the e-commerce universe. As a seller, you can either give your business a boost or get lost in the crowd. You always have the options of targeted advertising, discounts, and promotion on other platforms to help drive sales.
Utilizing giveaways may not make sense for all brands. If you’re selling fitness equipment that costs thousands per unit, for instance, a giveaway might not be in the budget. However, you could consider giving away a less costly, complementary product. For those using giveaways strategically, it can provide a brand recognition boost or create buzz for a new product launch.
The post What are Amazon Prime Day Giveaways? A Seller’s Guide appeared first on Learn from Teikametrics.