 | Quote: |  | | |  |
Originally Posted by honeyflip |  | | | | | | | | | Has anyone on here ever tried marketing your t-shirts via running contests? People tend to like free stuff, and I figure that contests might not be a bad way to draw attention (and build up the email list). Are there any legalities associated with contests (other than things like not allowing family members to participate, etc.)? | |  | |  | |
I think as long as you understand that the contest is not going to give you a lot of "sales" necessarily, but it will work towards getting your name out there and building your brand awareness.
People tend to like the "Free" part of the contest and not so much "where" the free is coming from.
But, if done correctly, you can use contests to build up your opt-in newsletter. Make sure the contest entrants specifically ask to be added to a newsletter by giving them a box to check (and leaving it unchecked by default). But because it's a freebie, you may not be building a super targeted list, since a lot of people will be only interested in freebies, and not necessarily buying any of your products.
There are a lot of rules and laws about contests. I did some googling for sweepstakes laws when I was trying to run a contest and found some good information there. If it's going to be really big, you may even want to contact a lawyer or sweepstakes consultant.