I’m A JV Giveaway Dinosaur - Part 2
[You can read part 1 here]
Today, I was confronted with the fact that I really need to change my view on the entire JV Giveaway-concept once again.
I’ve been using JV Giveaways to build my lists ánd business for almost 3 years now. I’ve started out like everyone else: with my gift at the end of the gift list. In time, my own lists (and biz) have grown, and my gift(s) moved up the gift list - quite regularly it ended on the first gifts page.
This morning I was checking out the gift list inside a giveaway event that’ s about to open its doors for members. It took me a while to find my own gift, but there it was: in 40th place. I hurried over to my profile page to check on the number of JV partners I had referred… I agree, 12 is not such a huge number, but a quick look at the referral leader board told me this number had put me into 3rd place - right after both giveaway managers…
It appears the impact of ‘upgraded JV partner-ships’ is a lot bigger than I thought…
By upgrading their account, JV partners usually get a certain number of free credits, so their gift ranks higher in the list. They also get to submit multiple gifts. This causes the gifts of ‘free’ JV partners to move down the list twice or three times as fast. I don’t even want to think about where my gift will be on launch day, when all 26 upgraded contributors have contributed their 5 gifts…
(I know not all 26 will actually add 5 gifts, but I hope you get my point).
But it is not my gift rank that really concerns me…
Upgraded partners don’t háve to refer anyone, ‘cos next to their free credits and multiple gifts, they also get ‘immunity’ - their free credits will make sure their gifts aren’t removed during the event.
Since more and more partners will be upgrading their account (apparently you just have to, if you want to play the game), the number of people actually inviting others will become even smaller than it already is…
How do we expect to drive traffic to our events if we work like this…?
If I need to refer only 12 other contributors to be the the top referrer - 4 days before the site launches - it tells me there is something terribly wrong.
So, once again, it appears I’m a JV giveaway dinosaur, who really needs to re-think its ways.
I’ve always enjoyed JV Giveaway events - the concept, the competition 
- but now I don’t even know if I think it’s fun anymore… (I know it’s all about making money, not fun - but I do like to have some fun in the things I do)
Greetz!!
(I’ve decided to postpone The Niche Giveaway 3. I need to give this some more thought first)
Hi Mieke,
Despite using that very mechanism with upgrades to raise ranking in my own recent giveaways, I do sympathize with your thoughts.
Lately I have been giving much thought to the way giveaways work these days and reflecting on the results I have gotten as a contributor and as a host or co-host of giveaways.
I feel more attracted to the type of giveaways that do not need contributors to upgrade, and which raise the bar of quality, such as the recent Platinum Giveaway and the Golden Week giveaway.
When working on my next giveaways I will be making more changes to raise the bar of quality myself, making it easier to be a contributor and generally improving the giveaway experience for everyone.
I am certainly not done with thinking and experimenting with giveaways, and I encourage you to give it much thought yourself before putting on the next one.
Your friend,
Odinn Sorensen
Hi Mieke!
I appreciate this post, as I have found myself in the same position.
I enjoy the giveaways, and now feel like a dinosaur, though only barely 1 year into them as a contributor!
I’ll wait for your notice on the Niche Giveaway 3. I am not sure what to do about all the upgrades either. Time will tell…
Pauls last blog post..The Twitter Report – Check It Out Today
Hey Mieke,
I have to agree with what you said. The giveaways seem to be more about the money now days and less about building a list. The people in those top spots that bought their way in (some of which have the most people on their list) have no incentive to even mail anything to their list, which leaves everyone else out in the cold.
With so many giveaways going at any one time (most all of them with the same gifts in them), it’s no wonder no-one can build much of a list. I haven’t even participated in any giveaways in the last month or so, and probably won’t for a while either, until something changes.
Most giveaways that I have seen recently barely get 500 members signed up. One of the things that irks me the most is when someone sets up a giveaway and doesn’t even bother changing the default e-mail templates saying that I am going to possibly get 100,000 subscribers added to my list if I participate. I’m sure we all know which ones I am talking about.
Even more frustrating are the the marketers who keep sending those e-mails to their list trying to get partners to sign up under them, knowing full well that the giveaway probably won’t even get 1,000 subscribers. And these aren’t people who just don’t know any better. Most of them are people running their own giveaways or people who have been participating in JV giveaways for quite some time.
Brad Smith was right in that if we don’t do something to change this (and quick) that the JV giveaways will become extinct.
Although in my personal opinion, Brad and Guido have definitely sped this process up themselves by selling their new giveaway software to anyone willing to pay for it. (Nothing against them personally, but with 10 - 20 giveaways all running at the same time with the same gifts, what did anyone expect).
BTW: I know that I am rambling (sometimes aimlessly), but I just wanted to let you know that I think you were one of the first ones to try and get away from what everyone else was doing and focus on a specific niche. Keep up the great work and if there is anything I can do to assist, let me know.
Brett McEllhiney
[...] So if you want to read part 2 of my ‘I’m a JV giveaway Dinosaur’-post, you’ll have to head over to the other site. You can do so by clicking here) [...]
Hi Mieke,
I first became involved in the Internet Marketing arena through Brad & Guido’s Easter JV event this past March. I have since joined only a few giveaways since then. I wasn’t so much concerned about how many giveaways I joined but rather the quality and ranking of my gift(s). My list wasn’t big, but when you start with “0″, even 100 subscribers is a lot.
You say you feel like a dinosaur in this field. Well… alligators and crocodiles are still considered as living dinosaurs. It’s the huge dinosaurs that went extinct. Smaller and more specialized niches can not only make you a success in the IM field, it can help you dominate it.
No, my VideoListProfits giveaway event, ending Sept. 7th, is no huge rocking success. This was my first experience at running my own giveaway after joining only about 8 or 9 other giveaways in the past 6 months. It gave me practice and honed my skills. To me, I was a success. The numbers were good for a beginner to grasp without being overwhelmed with support issues, technical problems, & gift/OTO approvals. Joining a giveaway as a contributor/member is a lot different than running your own. It is a lot; I repeat - it is a lot of work.
I understand the dilemma of contributors, because I am on both sides of the fence, as is Odinn Sorrensen. He understands. But he is also a seasoned marketer. Troubles building a list within a “Giveaway” setting are more for those still trying to make a start.
This all depends on what settings the giveaway hosts use for their event.
With that said, I would like everyone to know that Guido Nussbaum has decided to JV with me on a new giveaway focusing on a new theme no body has done yet. What I like about this event is that regular contributors who do not upgrade only have to refer a few people throughout the entire event.
So…contributors can join, set up a gift and only have to refer I think, a maximum of 5 people. Now come on…we are spending a lot of money (software, site graphics, banners, etc.) and a lot of time getting this off the ground. A free contributor comes in and sets up a gift, displays it to build their list and walk away. What happens? They still complain. I know they complain, because I do the support for my own giveaway.
One guy said he was crippled and can’t afford an upgrade but still wanted to build a massive list so he can grow his business AT MY EXPENSE! He didn’t want to promote, because he said it was MY job.
He didn’t want to invest in himself. He thought I would invest in him instead.
Guess what? After I explained to him the reality of the situation, he ended up paying $30 extra for the inner upgrade.
Conclusion - Giveaways are not the problem. How they are set up or rather NOT set up is the problem. You need to know who is running it; how they are running it, and what their focus is.
Our new giveaway, to be announced soon, will hopefully address many of those problems.
Joe Nykoluk
Hi Mieke,
I like your posts and also the survey you did for giveaway, it gain me lot informations and how’s the progress of giveaway events, especially what the readers are thinking…
Well, i did like to support giveaway events, but now it seems too many in a month, it makes the “urgency” not there anymore, and people will think to check out later & time consuming to go through all events. I hope not to see that happens..
However, giveaway is one of the way to build lists, i have posted “How to build your list using giveaway events”in my blog for newbies and who want to learn & build their squeeze page. Can check here too http://startinternetbusinesses.com/giveaway-events/
Last, I’ll wait for your notice on the Niche Giveaway 3 soon !
Best Regards!!!
Although I’ve only been doing giveaway events for 5 months now, I have noticed the sharp decrease in number of subscribers which coincides with the massive amount of events each month.
I do sign-up to most giveaway events but do not always contribute a gift. I’m unlike most marketers as I always try to include an original gift (or reworked PLR) and try not to have the same gift in multiple events. It has gotten to the point that I don’t have time to prepare a fresh gift for each event so even though I maybe signed up as a contributor, some never see a gift from me.
The other issue is that I don’t want to bombard my lists with endless invites to giveaway events. I have built a rapport with my list and they know that when I mail them something, its probably pretty good. I don’t want to ruin that relationship by promoting 20 or so events every month. I keep a list of current giveaways for my subscribers and include a link to that page in all of my e-mails so that they can have access to them, if they choose.
Why sign-up to all of them? I have a joint venture website and many of my members there rely on me to provide them with the information, so I feel it a necessity to sign up for as many as possible. There have been some that I haven’t signed up for and just included it on the list with another marketers link. I may be doing more of that in the future…
The truth is, I am getting more subscribers these days through article marketing and web 2.0 sites than through giveaway events (even ones that I purchased the upgrade for)…Even “crap” advertising methods (traffic exchanges, safelists, etc..) are working better for me than giveaways right now.
When you start getting more subscribers from traffic exchanges than a giveaway event put on by a prominent marketer, you have to stop and wonder where the giveaway events are headed. The market has become diluted and until something changes, giveaway events will not be great list building events or profit makers for anyone but the promoter (and many times not even for him or her)…
That being said, I have to get back to work submitting my gifts for the deluge of events opening this holiday weekend….LOL
[...] Janssens just posted ‘I’m a Giveaway Dinosaur’ to her blog and I felt compelled to leave the following comment with my take on [...]
Excellent posts everyone!
I think there could be a solution to this, simply remove the “immunity” portion, and force members back into opting in. Members should be reading everything they can to learn and grow, so a little extra mail from some of the pro’s could only do them good… imho
Nuff said, … thanks a lot for the decent posts folks… now go look at my giveaway list
You can google giveaway list I should still be at #1 on there.. if not…
http://rodgerhyatt.com/jvgiveawaylist.html
Rodger
I’ve just gotten to giveaways. I hope I’m not getting in too late; I love making free products to bring traffic to my websites. I’m getting most of my traffic from articles right now and just started to see people getting in from giveaways.
I’ll keep going with this and create a few gifts for the market.
Dennis
Dennis Franciss last blog post..The magic of long tail keywords…
Hi there I like your post “17;m A JV Giveaway Dinosaur - Part 2″ so well that I like to ask you whether I should translate into German and linking back. Answer welcome. Greetings Schlauchboot
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