Build a Vote-to-Enter Sweepstakes Campaign in 12 Steps

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2 Build a Vote-to-Enter Sweepstakes Campaign in 12 Steps ShortStack offers templates that make it easy to create beautiful Campaigns you can use to engage with people and collect leads. In this Quick Start Guide we ll take you through the 12 steps it takes to set up a basic vote-to-enter sweepstakes Campaign. A sweepstakes refers to a giveaway in which winners are chosen at random. (By the way, a contest is another kind of giveaway but it requires entrants to submit something a photo, video, essay, etc. and a winner is chosen by a judge or by votes. Click here to learn how to build a photo vote contest in 12 easy steps.) It should take you about 20 minutes to build your first sweepstakes Campaign. When you re ready to build Campaigns with more advanced features, we ve got the resources to help listed on the last page of this document.

3 STEP 1 Log into your ShortStack account and click New Campaign. When asked How would you like to start?, click the Start with Template button.

4 STEP 2 Choose the Vote to Enter Sweepstakes template and then click the blue Use this Template button.

5 STEP 3 Choose a theme. In the upper left corner of the Campaign Builder, select a theme by clicking on the gray paintbrush icon. Click Save when you ve found the theme you like.

6 STEP 4 Replace the header image. You ll see a Header Image widget at the top of the Campaign. Hover over the image in the Preview panel. Click the pencil icon in the top left corner to edit this widget. Click the Select Image button. An Image Selector window appears. From here, add your header image or build your own graphic with Canva (more on this below). We suggest you feature a picture of your prize!

7 STEP 4a To jazz up your header image with some pretty graphics, use ShortStack s Canva integration. Within the Image Widget s Image Selector, click on the blue Design a graphic button.

8 STEP 4b You will be taken to a Canva interface within ShortStack where you can design your header image. Click Publish in the upper right-hand corner when you re done designing.

9 STEP 4c Once you re done uploading your header image or designing it in Canva, within the Image Selector, select your image. Click Select when you re done. You are now within the Setup tab of the Image Widget. Click Save & Exit to view your new header image. Note: When you upload your image in the Image Widget, the size of the image may readjust so it fits in the widget.

10 STEP 5 Add a Background Image. To add a background image to your Campaign, go to Campaign Settings by clicking on the gray gear icon. Shortcut: Click the Background Image link on the left side of your ruler. Next, click on the Desktop tab. Within the tab, click on Select Background Image to add a background image. Click Select and then Save when you re done. Important note: Make sure the image you choose is at least 1024x768 pixels, otherwise the image will be too small to be featured in the background.

11 STEP 6 Edit your Campaign s text by clicking the section you want to edit. When you hover over each text section, it will highlight itself in the Campaign, as well as in the left-hand column. Once highlighted, click on the gray pencil icon that appears in the left-hand corner. Edit your text and click Save & Exit.

12 STEP 7 Add entries for your visitors to vote on. First find the Preview Controls Panel on the right side of your window. Click both the Test Mode and Live Entry Mode icons to the On position. Click the Entry Restrictions icon to the Off position. When Live Entry On is on, you are able to add entries to your Campaign using the form at the bottom of the Campaign. Note: You may need to refresh your Campaign to see each new entry you create.

13 To edit or delete one of the entries you created, click on the View Entries icon within the Edit Widgets Panel. In ShortStack s Forms/Entries manager, you can view, edit and/or delete the voting entries you have created. Click on Builder to go back to customizing your Campaign.

14 STEP 8 To edit your entry form the form your Campaign entrants will see after they vote click on the gray pencil icon next to the form name in the Form Widget labeled ENTER HERE. You will then be directed to ShortStack s Form Designer. In the Form Designer, edit your form to include the information fields you want to collect from your Campaign users. Note: It s a best practice to only ask for a few key pieces of information, like name and address, because the more fields you require, the higher your Campaign s abandon rate will be.

15 To reward your Campaign users for sharing their information with you, use ShortStack s Points Per Field Feature to assign a point value to each field of your form. Hover over a field in the form preview and click the pencil icon to edit the field. Find the Extra Points section and then enter a number in the Extra Point Value field. When you re happy with your form, click Save Form to be directed back to the Campaign Builder.

16 STEP 9 To edit your sweepstakes rules, click on the gray pencil icon of the Rich Text Widget labeled Promotion Rules. Within the Rich Text Widget s Setup tab, edit your sweepstake s rules. If you need some help writing your rules, read our blog post, Best Practices for Writing Facebook Contest Rules: 10 Tips. When you re done editing your sweepstakes rules, click Save & Exit.

17 STEP 10 To customize the message your users see when they click on one of your Campaign s social media icons, click the Share Widget s pencil icon located in the Edit Widgets Panel. A pop-up box will appear. In the Platforms tab, select the social icons you want to be displayed on your Campaign. Next, in the Setup tab, fill in the Default Title and Default Description entry fields, and upload a default image.

18 The template is already set up with the Share Widget connected to both your Pop-up entry form and Voting Widget. To edit these settings, open either widget s dialog. The sharing setup for the Form Widget is in the main Setup Tab. In the Voting Widget, you ll need to click the Sharing tab. Build a Vote-to-Enter Sweepstakes Campaign in 12 Steps

19 STEP 11 The final step before you publish your Campaign is to go through and use it as a user would. Vote and enter information in your pop-up forms, test all your Campaign links, etc. To test your Campaign as a user, find the Preview Controls Panel on the right side of your window. Click the Test Mode icon to the On position. Be sure to click the Live Entry Mode icon to the Off position before you enter a test submission. A test submission will not display a live entry on your published Campaign. Turn your Entry Restrictions off to test multiple entries.

20 STEP 12 To prepare to publish your Campaign, start by deleting the Instructions widget. Click to highlight the widget, then in the top right corner click on the gray trashcan icon. Now that you ve deleted the instructions, you re ready to publish your Campaign.

21 Yippee, you re done! It s time to publish your Campaign! Click on the big orange Publish Campaign button in the middle above your ruler. Make sure to copy the Campaign URL to promote your Campaign. If you would like to publish to Facebook or further customize, you may do so by clicking the options below your link.

22 Advanced Features, Help & Resources Were you able to make it through all these steps successfully? If not and you have questions, shoot us a message at theteam@shortstacklab.com. You can also check out the following resources: ShortStack Help Documents ShortStack Resources Youtube Channel