What are Sweepstakes in Affiliate Marketing? 

You may have heard of sweepstakes, but you might be wondering what that means in affiliate marketing. Well, we’re here to explain! 

Sweepstakes offers, also known as sweeps, give visitors the chance to win awesome prizes and all they have to do is fill out an online form.  Prizes can be anything from an iPhone or a TV, to cars, gift vouchers, holidays, and sometimes even houses. 

There are a few different types of affiliate sweepstakes offers, and they vary based on the information required to generate the conversion.  The two main types of affiliate sweepstakes offers are Email Submit and Credit Card Submit.

Email Submit Sweepstakes Offers

Email Submit offers are split into two main types: Single Opt-In and Double Opt-In. 

Single Opt-In - SOI

Single Opt-In or SOI asks visitors to submit their email address and physical address, along with their first and last name. That is simple enough.

Double Opt-In - DOI

Double Opt-In or DOI asks visitors to follow the same procedure as used in SOI, but with the additional requirement that they verify their email address by clicking a verification link that is sent to them. You’ve probably seen DOI verifications before when using sign-up sheets on for newsletters. They are usually very straightforward and just say something like ‘click the verification link in the email to get started.

Most sweepstakes offers are used by advertisers for lead-generation or lead gen for short. 

Leadgen allows advertisers to compile lists of customers who they can target in the future.  

The page where users are asked to give their email addresses might have some additional requirements, but this is limited based on local privacy laws like the EU’s GDPR or California’s Consumer Privacy Act. So if you’re asked about being added to a mailing list, for example, it should be opt-in. 

The default position should not be an automatic addition to a mailing list or newsletter. Opt-in, not opt-out. 

It’s worth checking each target location’s data privacy rules. If you are not compliant you risk being blacklisted or even fined. 

Another common attribute of sweepstakes is co-registration or co-reg for short. Co-reg offers visitors the option of signing up for multiple offers which they might find interesting.

Co-reg can be very effective, especially if it doesn’t impact the flow of visitors and presents them with relevant offers. However, some sweepstakes make visitors click through 10 or more pages of irrelevant sign-ups before they get to the final sweepstakes offer they came for. This can be extremely frustrating and will put a lot of people off. The best way to avoid this is to keep it simple. Tell people what they could win, and how to win it. Then all that they need to do is to sign up!

Credit Card Submits

Credit card submits are split into two main types: payment and free trial. Again, it’s all in the name. For this type of submission, visitors need to submit their credit card details. They will be charged a small amount directly after submission and then, after a week or two, the full amount is charged. 

Free Trial Offers 

In a free trial, visitors are asked to submit their credit card info to get access to a service for a limited time. If during that time they do not opt-out of the subscription before the end of the trial period, then the full subscription amount will be charged.  There is no split in the charges like there is in the payment scenario. Credit card submit sweepstakes offers typically have higher payouts per conversion than email submissions. It’s not because advertisers can make a quick buck, but because they tend to lead towards free trial periods. These trial periods can range anywhere from 2-14 days, or even a full month. After the set period of time, the user is billed and those who stay on with the full version let advertisers make a profit. 

CC Payment Offers 

Credit Card Payment offers usually ask for a small fee of around $1 to ensure that the card details being entered are correct and that the lead is legitimate. Websites asking for your credit card details can seem very suspicious, and a lot of people will be skeptical. But as long as there’s no Nigerian prince who desperately needs $100,000, the credit card submits aren’t as scammy as you might think. It’s actually a good way for advertisers to do some quality control. That being said, it’s important to work with trusted affiliate networks to avoid scam offers. When users submit their credit card details and pay a small fee, advertisers are able to check the legitimacy of the card. They can find out if people are using stolen, fake, or prepaid credit cards and then blacklist them. Many advertisers even pay this money back to the user when they know the card is legitimate. The reason for this is simple: Advertisers want quality leads, affiliates want quality payouts and networks want both sides to come out happy. You might be wondering if anyone actually wins prizes. The answer is yes, they do. All those terms and conditions aren’t just window dressings. However, to make sure the offers you are running are legitimate, make sure you only work with offers from networks that have a trusted affiliate program. 

Which Type of Sweepstakes Offer is Best? 

Now that we know the different types of sweepstakes offer, which is better? The answer will largely depend on your level of experience. There are pros and cons to each type of sweeps offer. Email submit offers are a good place to start for beginner affiliate marketers. While they have lower payouts, they require less of a budget for testing and scaling, and it’s easier to direct the flow of traffic. Industry veterans might not want to work with lower payouts, but if you’re just getting started in affiliate marketing, then it’s a good idea to focus on low-cost, low-loss campaigns, which is where email submits shine! CC submit offers are better for industry veterans. They’re more aggressive and more difficult to work with, but higher costs and bigger risks can generate higher rewards. You can generate some serious profits if you’re an experienced affiliate who knows every detail of their campaigns and can follow data to optimize accordingly. Sweepstakes offers can attract high-quality, high-converting traffic and some serious profits! Once you decide what type of submitting an offer you want, running sweepstakes offers is pretty straightforward. You just need to choose your traffic source, pick up some high-converting sweepstakes offers from your affiliate network and start testing. Want to start monetizing your traffic with some awesome affiliate sweepstakes offers? Sign up with Flow Network today and we’ll help you get started! 

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