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I've seen this model work well with charity fundraising. Usually the prizes on offer are 'money can't buy' type prizes, lunch with a well known person, a trip

by helen842000 15y ago

I've seen this model work well with charity fundraising. Usually the prizes on offer are 'money can't buy' type prizes, lunch with a well known person, a trip to hangout at a famous location etc. That way it's easier for the prize-givers to offer repeatedly and it's a unique experience for the winner. If it was on behalf of for-profit companies, you need to examine the motivation of prize givers. Why would they want to give away those prizes? Alternatively you could flip the idea on it's head and instead of expecting sponsor companies to donate prizes, just set up a really solid referral system, This process is pretty tricky using existing methods. So a company that wants users starts a campaign. Your site generates a unique url for each promoter so that they can tweet/share. The company then tracks the signups through your leaderboard and rewards each promoter per sale, perhaps with a bonus for the top performer. Nothing motivates like helping others to earn money. I guess it's similar to how Clickbank works in a way.

marcamillion 15y ago
This is interesting...the motivation for the prize givers, I was thinking, is simply to fit into their 'brand awareness' budget. Specifically, I was thinking of targeting companies that have new product launches and such (e.g. publishers with a new book, or Amazon with a new version of it's Kindle, or Apple with a new version of it's iOS devices, etc.). As for the referral system, that seems a bit scammy to me. It's what existing affiliate networks to do - which is what I was trying to get away from...if that makes sense. Btw, I agree about the charity fundraising...that's kinda where I got the idea, but was trying to find a way it could work for for-profits.
- helen842000 15y ago
  Yea, the affiliate industry always comes across as scammy and spammy, but it's still huge business. Maybe it needs a fresh new open and legit take on it. People want to earn money, companies want new users. If you're trying to move away from it sounding scammy, then 'Win a Free Ipad' won't project the right image. I think your idea could work if it's given the right kind of branding. Think bit.ly meets kiip.me (so short urls for sharing and promoting results in user signups = real world rewards)
  - marcamillion 15y ago
    You definitely are right about the 'Win a Free iPad'. That's a good point - which kinda cuts to the heart of the current incarnation of the idea. Will have to re-consider everything. The short urls definitely make sense.

marcamillion 15y ago

This is interesting...the motivation for the prize givers, I was thinking, is simply to fit into their 'brand awareness' budget. Specifically, I was thinking of targeting companies that have new product launches and such (e.g. publishers with a new book, or Amazon with a new version of it's Kindle, or Apple with a new version of it's iOS devices, etc.). As for the referral system, that seems a bit scammy to me. It's what existing affiliate networks to do - which is what I was trying to get away from...if that makes sense. Btw, I agree about the charity fundraising...that's kinda where I got the idea, but was trying to find a way it could work for for-profits.

helen842000 15y ago
Yea, the affiliate industry always comes across as scammy and spammy, but it's still huge business. Maybe it needs a fresh new open and legit take on it. People want to earn money, companies want new users. If you're trying to move away from it sounding scammy, then 'Win a Free Ipad' won't project the right image. I think your idea could work if it's given the right kind of branding. Think bit.ly meets kiip.me (so short urls for sharing and promoting results in user signups = real world rewards)
- marcamillion 15y ago
  You definitely are right about the 'Win a Free iPad'. That's a good point - which kinda cuts to the heart of the current incarnation of the idea. Will have to re-consider everything. The short urls definitely make sense.