In this new case study, we’re excited to reveal how Shawn McCarthy used UpViral to run a 30-day giveaway that allowed him to build a massive email list for a company that sells massage chairs.
Shawn’s success proves that even a simple campaign can help any brand bring in a ton of leads in less time as long as it offers the right incentive and leverages the right traffic strategies.
Here’s a screenshot of his results from his UpViral dashboard:
You can see that Shawn collected a total of 10,631 leads. Of those leads, 9,256 were direct leads and 1,375 were referred leads.
So far, this giveaway made $7,000 in sales after one customer bought two chairs. What’s more interesting is that the purchase was made during summer — a time in which massage chairs aren’t normally in demand (because sales usually happen in the holiday season). 😮
If you’re interested in learning more, we invite you to watch the full video interview (less than 1 hour) with Shawn and read this written case study until the end for more insights!
Who is Shawn McCarthy? Why Did He Choose UpViral?
Shawn McCarthy is a PPC manager and lead strategist at a marketing agency called Vital Design where he handles their paid traffic team. Shawn has 10 years of experience working with e-commerce companies and during this period, he was able to develop methods for running giveaways.
That said, Shawn is no stranger to giveaways as a marketing strategy. Thanks to his vast experience, he was able to pull off a brilliant campaign for the agency’s client Massage Chair Store. This case study focuses on Massage Chair Store’s success.
Shawn chose UpViral because, according to him, it had all the capabilities he needed to run the kind of giveaway that he envisioned for Massage Chair Store.
We asked him what his favorite features of UpViral were. Here’s what he said:
What Was Massage Chair Store’s Problem? (And Previous Strategies Used)
Shawn told us that they were trying to build a massive email list for their client. More specifically, they were looking to get Massage Chair Store’s audience from being passive social media followers to engaged subscribers. Even better, to get these prospects on a consultation call.
“This was a difficult bridge to cross, which a giveaway would help with,” said Shawn.
Prior to running a giveaway for email list growth, they did a paid traffic campaign (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) that took people from a social media ad to a consultation page.
Shawn believed that adding giveaways to their marketing arsenal would allow Massage Chair Store to get more out of their ads.
The Campaign Duration and Giveaway Prize
Massage Chair Store’s campaign lasted for 30 days in the summer. Shawn gave away their very own product, which was a luxury massage chair that normally cost $1,599. This item had premium features, including a full spine massage coverage and a leather armchair.
Figuring out the best incentive was a no-brainer. Since Massage Chair Store sells something, it makes perfect sense to use one of their products as the prize. This is because it attracts their ideal customer instead of random freebie seekers.
💡Pro Tip:
If you’re selling products, then offer them as your incentive. Otherwise, think about something that’s still focused on your niche or industry.
For instance, our UpViral user Siddharth Pal is a marketing expert targeting aspiring online business owners. Since he didn’t have his own product, he gave away incentives that his audience was interested in, such as software tools. You can read Siddharth’s full case study here.
Another important tip to keep in mind is that you don’t always have to go for high-priced products. The secret is to offer something that solves a problem in your audience.
Helpful resources:
- Creative and Small Prize Ideas for Different Industries
- How to Choose a Contest Prize That Attracts Qualified Leads
The Giveaway Opt-In Page
Shawn built the giveaway opt-in page on the client’s WordPress site instead of using a full UpViral landing page. (Note that when setting up an opt-in page in UpViral, you have the option to choose between a landing page or a widget integrated into your existing website.)
Now, let’s dive into the winning elements of this opt-in page:
1. Branding
It’s important for people to know the company behind the giveaway. On the upper left part of the page, they could easily see Massage Chair Store’s brand logo.
2. Call-to-Action buttons
Notice that there are multiple CTA buttons across the page:
- On the upper right corner is an invitation to “Speak to an Expert” just in case prospects decide to hop on a call to inquire about the massage chairs.
- Notice two CTA buttons asking people to enter the giveaway to win a massage chair:
- “Don’t Wait – Enter Now”
- “Enter to Win a Riage CS”
- There are also two CTA buttons asking people to engage with Massage Chair Store on social media:
- Post and follow us on Instagram
- Post and like us on Facebook
3. Headline
The headline “Massage Chair Store Giveaway” is straightforward. It mentions the brand name and the fact that people are invited into a giveaway. We liked how Shawn grabbed attention with a headline that’s easy to scan.
4. Subheadline
Right beneath the headline, you’ll see the subheadline that asks the audience, “Want to Win an Infinity Massage Chair?” This gets people scrolling to learn more about the prize.
5. The rest of the copy
Shawn added two useful sections on the page that educated participants about the giveaway:
- The section “What’s My Prize?” explained how the winner would be able to enjoy the Riage CS massage chair — by adding it to their home or office space. Furthermore, it mentioned the monetary value of the chair ($1,599 price tag) and a list of specific features that people would appreciate.
- Below that, you’ll find a section on “Rules & Requirements” which explained the start and end dates of the giveaway, eligibility requirements, and how the winner will be chosen and notified.
Related resource: How Writing Good Copy Can Boost Your Giveaway
The Giveaway Share Page
After someone submits their name and email address, they’re taken to a share page where they can complete more actions to boost their chances of winning.
Let’s take a closer look at the elements on this share page:
1. Unique invite link
UpViral gives you a unique invite link for your own campaign. You can copy and paste this link anywhere (for example, on social media, in a chat, or a text message) and then anyone who clicks it can enter the giveaway.
2. Page copy
Above the unique invite link, Shawn wrote an instruction on referring friends and family into the campaign to be able to earn 10 additional entries.
Then, he encourages people to complete more actions for extra entries such as sharing the campaign on social media or liking Massage Chair Store’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
3. Social sharing buttons and custom actions
For the social sharing buttons, participants can earn 5 points by simply sharing the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, and Messenger.
To entice them with higher points, Shawn included two Custom Actions (a special UpViral feature) where they can like Massage Chair Store’s Facebook page and follow them on Instagram in exchange for 10 points. Learn more about Custom Actions here.
💡Pro Tip:
You can increase participation and motivation on your share page by including elements like a leaderboard, an explainer video, or customer testimonials on your product (if you have them). These things are totally optional but they do wonders for your campaign outcome.
🔥 Want to build amazing campaigns like this one? Explore UpViral’s full features and try it today for only $1.
Keeping Everyone Engaged and Driving Traffic to the Giveaway
We asked Shawn how they kept the participants engaged throughout the 30-day giveaway. He told us that they got people excited mainly through emailing them and posting on the client’s social media channels.
They talked about the giveaway (for example, asking them to keep sharing to increase their chances of winning) and also sent out some branded content where they introduced different products from Massage Chair Store.
As for driving traffic and awareness to the giveaway, Shawn ran Facebook ads. He spent about $0.37 per lead (cost per lead or CPL).
He also shared a template that he uses repeatedly in every campaign that he does because it worked well for him. Here’s a screenshot of that template (note that this was done for another client and not Massage Chair Store):
Notice that this particular ad had a high reach and generated lots of engagement (reactions, comments, and shares).
Shawn told us that he pays attention to ad results. “I tend to look at the number of people that an ad reaches and the subscribers gained.”
Here’s the actual ad used for the massage chair giveaway:
Shawn recommends these tips when it comes to running FB ads for a giveaway:
- Be straightforward with the details of your giveaway. Make sure that people know what they can win, what they should do to win it, and the giveaway deadline. He adds that mentioning the deadline can make the ad more effective especially as the end date draws nearer.
- Avoid doing ad testing. Testing ads will help, but Shawn prefers not doing it to ensure that all comments and shares end up on just one ad. This helps increase social proof. The more engagement an ad has, the more likely people are going to engage with it.
- Use images for ads. Instead of leveraging video ads, Shawn sticks with image-based ads for two reasons — they work and they’re easy to create.
Announcing the Winner
“We had an email that went out which announced the winner,” said Shawn. According to him, they made sure to send two very important emails:
- The first email confirming a person’s entry into the giveaway
- The last email announcing the winner
Shawn finds that these emails have high open rates, making them great opportunities to talk more about a brand and even offer promotions.
💡Pro Tip:
If you’re going to do a giveaway soon, know that there are other ways to announce your winners. For example, you can create a social media post and tag the winner, publish a short article on your blog, or do a livestream (like in David Fraser’s case study and Gabe Schillinger’s case study.)
Related resource: How to Do a Giveaway Winner Announcement That Gets Results
A Sneak Peek of Shawn’s Current Giveaway
During the time of our interview, Shawn mentioned running another giveaway for Massage Chair Store. While he basically used the same strategies in this giveaway, he changed one aspect on the opt-in page:
Instead of asking for a person’s name and email address, Shawn included a third field which asked for their phone number. ☎️
Shawn assumed that because the number of fields increased, conversion rates are going to drop (since people are usually hesitant to fill out more fields). But as it turned out, the opposite thing happened — a lot of people still signed up!
Final Thoughts
The UpViral team is totally pleased with the results of Shawn’s campaign for Massage Chair Store. He recommends UpViral to anyone running a business. It doesn’t matter if it’s an online or offline business, or the offer that they have.
At the end of the day, giveaways are going to help increase your number of leads and may even drive sales right now or down the road as you nurture those leads. ❤️
Regarding the campaign’s impact on sales, Massage Chair Store earned $7,000 after one person bought two chairs. This makes the campaign profitable considering the lifetime ad budget which was $4,000 and more importantly, the fact that they’re still going to nurture their newly acquired 10,631 leads.
We hope that this success story inspires you to start your own referral campaigns. If Shawn McCarthy did it, so can you.
Bring in new leads, increase brand awareness, and grow your business with UpViral today. Feel free to try our $1 offer for a full limited-time access.
