Creating a Giveaway

Let's get started!

From the top navigation menu, select “Dashboard”. Navigate here to begin creating your giveaway!

From within your Dashboard, click the "Create Giveaway" button on the left side.

Step 1: Upload Your Giveaway Image

Once in on our giveaway creation page, you’ll be greeted with a prompt to add an image to your giveaway. Giveaways with carefully curated, high-quality images perform significantly better than those without. 

Click and drag an image from a folder or your desktop directly into the box shown to upload an image! Alternatively, click “Upload Image” and choose your desired image. If your image happens to be hosted elsewhere there is an option to paste the URL.

Step 2: Choose Giveaway Parameters 

The next section to complete is General Info. This includes the giveaway Start/End Date & Time, the Giveaway Title, the Custom Giveaway URL, Shipping Availability, Public or Private and Minimum Required Age.

• Start Time/End Time - Determine when you want your giveaway to start and end. The average length of a giveaway is 30 days but you can choose whatever time you want (the timezone defaults to your local time)!
• Giveaway Title - Creating a clear, buzz-worthy title is key to attracting new viewers to your giveaway. Try thinking of something creative that represents you as a creator and the prize you are giving away.
• Custom Giveaway URL - Surf Giveaways allow you to set a custom vanity URL to personalize your giveaway. This can come in handy if you have multiple giveaways happening at once as you are able to label them through a custom URL. For example; https://giveaways.joinsurf.com/BobTheStreamer/NintendoSwitch.
• Minimum Age - Here you can select the minimum required age of entrants that can enter your giveaways. Hosts should be mindful of mature content or prizes related to their giveaway and adjust the age accordingly. Persons under 13 years of age are prohibited to use PLAYR and full details about users and age considerations can be found in our Terms of Use.
• Tags - Tags can be used to provide users with a quick and easy way to find your giveaway by searching keywords in our search bar. Consider using words that accurately represent your prize as a way to help increase traffic to your giveaway (Tags are maxed at 20).
• Public or Private Listing - For subscribers of some of our paid plans, listing a giveaway as Public allows for your giveaway to be showcased on our site’s browsing page. This helps with exposure which allows more people to enter. However, depending on the nature of the giveaway, you may wish to host a Private giveaway (for subscribers of a channel for instance). If that’s the case, you are able to toggle the giveaway as Private with this option. Free and Starter plan giveaways are not shown on the browse page and are only discoverable via direct access via the giveaway link.
• Analytics Tracking (Enterprise Only) - Feature that allows for Facebook Pixel ID and Google Analytics Tracking ID on your giveaway.
• Shipping (and Entry) Availability - Before launching your giveaway, you’ll need to determine the shipping availability of your giveaway. By default, shipping availability is set to Worldwide so that all visitors to your giveaway can enter. However, you can restrict your giveaway to specific regions as desired/required. 

Note: There are a limited number of regions that are ineligible for entry. More details and a list of those countries can be found here.

Step 3: List Your Prize(s) 

Surf giveaways allow you to have multiple prizes/winners available for a single giveaway. Each prize requires:

1. The name of the prize
2. How many winners are eligible for that prize 

The prize value (retail where available) per item in USD

For example, if my prize was a single winner for a single Nintendo Switch Lite you might use The following:

Prize Title: Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray)

Winners: 1 

Prize Value: $199 USD

You can add more than one prize if you have multiple prizes for one or more winners with the “Add Prize” box underneath. However, if you wish to give a bundle of prizes to one person, you'll tally up the Prize Value of all the items, like so:

If you have an online gift card or codes for items - you can alternatively reward entrants with a digital prize. Simply hit the toggle below in the Prize details ("Digital Prizes with Codes").

Here you can input your code for the digital prize (gift card, etc). And below you can add optional instructions for the winner to be directed as to where they can redeem their digital prize! And when the winner claims their digital prize all the details will be sent over automatically through email!

Step 4: Write a Giveaway Description

A well-crafted giveaway description helps tell your audience what your giveaway is about! You can add further details such as product links, additional information about you, really whatever you want! Giveaways with a description have higher entries than those that don’t.

Note: The description section is not intended to allow for the inclusion of custom rules or regulations. Such inclusions are void.

Step 5: Add Entry Methods

There are literally dozens of ways for participants to enter your giveaway! Clicking on each option expands to show you how you are able to enter through each platform. For example, with Twitter, (shown below) you are able to ask participants to follow your Twitter account, create a tweet, use a hashtag or just retweet a pre-made tweet. 

Each method has an option to change how much each entry is worth (noted by the "ticket" icon). This gives more incentive to fulfil larger entry methods such as subscribing per month to a channel if it is worth 1,000 entries as opposed to following on Twitter being worth 100.

Certain entry methods can be set to "Required" for those methods which you determine to be most important and require mandatory action in order to open up additional "Optional" entry methods. 

It's important to note that not all entry methods are permitted as Required and that marking an entry as Required does not make it mandatory to complete in order for an entrant to win. 

Click “Save as Template” or “Save” to save your giveaway. "Save as Template" will store the current draft in your "Templates" section of the Dashboard side menu for future use. This is helpful when you have a number of giveaways which may utilize the same details, prizes, and/or entry methods. You’ll be redirected to another page where you can Edit Draft, Preview or Publish your new giveaway. 

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Have questions? Reach out to us at success@joinsurf.com!