staffing Site Giveaways and Prizes

[Xander756 5]

I am wondering if anybody does giveaways with real life prizes on their sites? I've been doing that on mine for 10 years but in all that time have never come across any other RPGs that do it. I was wondering if there are anybody here that does and if not, why not consider it? You could give away something that's like $20 or so and it makes a huge difference to your members and sets your site apart from others.

[Elena 546]

I used to do it.  Mostly mp3 music with custom-made covers, which people could download from e-mails and burn the cd, and e-books from Project Gutenberg. And graphics too.

[Huskerdust 625]

I tried to but most people do not want to give out their information like address and stuff. So I just send stuff to my friends for bdays and stuff. Usually small things but I think it brightens their day to know I was thinking of them. ♥️ 

[Xander756 5]

20 hours ago, Elena said:

I used to do it.  Mostly mp3 music with custom-made covers, which people could download from e-mails and burn the cd, and e-books from Project Gutenberg. And graphics too.

 

Yeah that's a pretty good idea. Also gets around the address problem.

[Sage 289]

I haven't done it personally, but I was a member on a site that did giveaways of vouchers and gift cards. That way they were just emailed instead of physically mailed. I won like a $10 amazon giftcard once.

[Huskerdust 625]

That's actually a really good idea. I'll have to keep it in mind for the future!

[xexes 108]

I tried to do them but found that they just didn't make a difference. People didn't join because of a prize or if they did, they wandered away after. They didn't play for a prize or if they did their behavior returned to normal.

 

In the end it was just me spending money that really did not need to be spent.

 

I always did things that can be transferred digitally like Steam games or Amazon gift cards.

[Seneca 16]

I used to be on a site that, for donators, gave away t-shirts with the roleplay's name/logo on it. They also sometimes gave it out to competition winners.

 

It wasn't hugely popular and died out in recent years.

[Pinkykins 13]

I like the idea. I don't think it's something I could personally finance often but it'd be a nice way to celebrate site milestones, like an anniversary. I doubt it would attract many new members in itself because people are understandably wary about handing out their personal information like their name or address, but maybe more long-term members might be more trusting. A digital gift voucher or code for steam is a really good compromise in those circumstances.

I'd like to try this out myself someday!

[c.widow 123]

I actually find this super interesting. At one site we gave away already paid commission slots for graphics which is the closest we ever got to giving away money in a sense (for the reason most are not comfortable with giving away personal information). 

 

However an alternative for a real life gift compared to money transfered or gift cards etc. that’d be pretty cool. Whoever wins can decide if they want the gift that is delivered or the one that can be downloaded or similar.

 

This is actually super cool and I’d be interested in hearing more of the things you’ve given away. Not everyone can afford to do this for their members but those that can and wish to do so awesome sauce!