# How to host a giveaway
Choose a prize
First you should think about which prizes you want to give away. Which prize you choose is a very individual decision and there are infinite possibilities. It also doesn't need to be expensive to be interesting. We have collected some ideas in our section about
Also make sure it complies with our
Create a video about the giveaway
Create a release video in which you announce the giveaway and hype your audience. Talk about the prizes, in which time period the giveaway runs, and also make sure to disclose any sponsorships (find more info about this in our section about
You can also prepare the giveaway already (see next step) and use the preview mode in return to show off your giveaway in your video without releasing the giveaway already.
We suggest that you don't publish the video yet but upload it as a private video. This allows you to get the link to the video so that you can include it in your giveaway and you can prepare your giveaway in a relaxed manner without time pressure.
Create & publish the giveaway
Prepare the giveaway in return. Be creative with it, you can make it look amazing. You can find inspiration in our section on how to
If you are unsure about the official rules of your giveaway, have a look at our
Before you click publish, you might want to do a final check that everything is set up correctly and you didn't forget anything with our
Then the moment has come, it's time to publish your giveaway! :)
Publish the video about your giveaway
Publish your release video on YouTube to let your subscribers know of your giveaway and create some hype.
Don't forget to add the link to your giveaway in the video description.
Spread the word on your social media channels
Make some noise and ring some whistles. You have created an awesome giveaway and people should know about it. Share the link to the giveaway on your social media channels to invite people to join.
Optional: Create an update video
You can create a video in which you comment on the progress of the giveaway, the number of people who have joined, and some responses you have received. This shows you care about the giveaway and creates additional hype. If people see that your giveaway is popular, they also want to join.
Send the prizes to the winners
Once the giveaway has ended, have a look at the winners. Make sure they are eligible. Take up contact and see if they respond to you.
If your prize is age-restricted (e.g. alcohol), make sure you obtain proper verification from the winner to make sure they are eligible to get the prize. Make sure the prize is allowed to be imported by the country of the winner. If required, you can also ask the winners to sign a declaration and release and/or provide certain information you may additionally require. Any winner that is not eligible can be rerolled to find a fitting winner.
Once you have a list of eligible winners, you can distribute your prizes.
Create an end-of-giveaway video
Create a video about the lucky winners of the giveaway and the journey of the giveaway. Tell a story about how it went and what your thoughts are.
You can ask the winners to share their experience and feelings to allow them to express themselves and give some personality and depth to them. Maybe they are comfortable to share a photo of them with the prize? Also don't forget those people that didn't win and wish them better luck next time.
With this video you can create a feel-good moment for your community, so take the chance. :)
# Pre-publish checklist
Things to check before publishing
- The link to your video was added in the giveaway page.
- Start date & time are correct
- End date & time are correct
- Prize name, quantity, and entry calculation are correct
- Ruleset was added
- If you have a sponsorship: Disclose the sponsorship:
- at the start of the video in both text & speech
- within the first sentences of the video description
- within the giveaway description text
- within the giveaway's official rules
- by setting up the sponsor fields (image & text) in the giveaway
# What are good giveaway occasions?
What are good occasions to host a giveaway?
In general you can host a giveaway at any time.
It can simply be an exciting event to do just for fun and the thrill of it.
Giveaways can also be a way to integrate your followers into your channel and interact with them.
They can also be used as a celebration for reaching a milestone such as a specific subscriber count. For example you could celebrate your step into becoming a full time YouTube creator or an anniversary with a giveaway.
They can be used for the big and the small things, just be creative. You make the rules.
# Choosing a good prize
What are good prizes for my giveaway?
return giveaways are built around rewarding loyalty and can be a good opportunity to show appreciation or thankfulness. The best prizes for these types of giveaways are the ones connecting you and your long term followers. It could be something which revives nostalgia of when you started your channel, an item connected to your content or a chance to meet their idol. But again, you set the limits.
If instead you just want to have some fun and add a new element into your content, you can also give away a cool product you think your audience appreciates or a way to interact with your channel. A prize doesn't have to be expensive to be interesting. Just think about your audience and the wishes and interests they have to find a meaningful prize. To give you some inspiration here are some prize ideas:
- You could personalize (sign, engrave, customize) an object or product and give it away
- You can organize a meet'n greet or integrate the winner in one of your videos
- Channels with merchandise could offer winners to pick one of them
- Music related channels could offer an individual lesson or jam session
- Craftsman channels might give away the final product of their craft
- Gaming channels might give away seats in a subscriber game
- A photographer can give away his favorite model of a camera or a print of one of their images
- A drawing channel could give away a motive of the winners choice
Please also read our
# Writing your official giveaway rules
What are the rules there for?
Your official rules are there to explain how the giveaway will be conducted, manage and minimize the risk of disputes and misunderstandings, and set up the right expectations.
Next to that they are used for disclosures (e.g. sponsorships) and to inform your participants about your privacy policy.
Is it mandatory to have such a ruleset?
Yes. YouTube requires this in their
What do I write in the rules?
There are a few topics that should be covered in your rules. You can find a list of them below. But first we need to make this clear:
Important: The advice below is just general information and should not be construed as legal advice. We have done our best to ensure it is valid information but it might still be incomplete, incorrect, out of date, or in any other way false. We are not providing legal advice!
With that being said, lets get started. Here is an overview of the different sections your rules could contain.
You can click on each entry to reveal more information.
Note: return also provides a
Your rules should state that there is no purchase necessary to enter or win the giveaway.
It should also be stated that a purchase will not improve your chances of winning.
NOTE: This section applies not only if you have a sponsorship with another company. You have to include it in any case. It describes who is conducting the giveaway.
In this section you note who is the sponsor of the giveaway (name & address). This might be yourself / your company or another company with which you have partnered.
In this section you note who is eligible to win. Note any restrictions which might exclude participants from winning. This might include:
- Location - Is the giveaway limited to certain countries or is it international?
- Age - Is there a minimum age someone must have reached to be able to win?
- Time - Does the winner need to be available on a certain date and time?
- Training / License - Does the winner need to have a specific training or license?
- Privacy - Does the winner need to agree to be on camera or have their data published somewhere?
- Affiliation - Are some participants unable to win because they are affiliated with e.g. your sponsor?
In this section you define that by participating in your giveaway, each entrant accepts and agrees to comply with your Official Rules and the decisions of the sponsor (you).
You should also state that the entrant accepts and agrees that all decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding.
Finally you should specify that it is required to comply with the Official Rules in order to be eligible to win a prize.
In this section you explain when the contest starts and when it ends (including the timezone).
You should state that during this time, entries to the giveaway can be submitted and that entries submitted outside of the entry period will be disqualified.
In this section you note which methods you accept to participate in the giveaway.
If you are using return, you can simply note that entering the giveaway by following a given link to the giveaway page and by clicking the 'Join' button.
Next to that you might want to include a text about limitation of entries (e.g. one entry per person) and how bonus entries can be achieved. You can also state that fraudulent methods of entry or circumvention of the rules may result in invalidation of the participant's entries.
In this section you state which prizes can be won in your giveaway.
You may also want to include the estimated retail value of each prize. You should also specify whether the prize can be substituted (by the participant or at your discretion) and whether the prize is transferable.
There should be also be a statement that all prize related expenses, including but not limited to all related taxes, are the responsibility of the winner.
🇺🇸 USA-specific: If your giveaway is conducted in the USA and the prize is valued at or over 600$, the sponsor of the giveaway is responsible for issuing an IRS-1099-Misc. income tax form to the winner and the IRS. To do this you will need to collect the Social Security number or a W-9 IRS form of the winner. You should specify that providing this information is a requirement to be eligible to win the prize (if it applies to your giveaway).
Describe when the drawing of the winners will take place. Also state that it will be a random drawing and that the chance to win depends on the number of entries received.
In this section you describe when and how the winners will be notified of winning.
State how much time a winner has to react to the notification before the prize is forfeited. You might also want to include text that you are not liable if the winner fails to receive the notification (e.g. wrong e-mail address provided, e-mail went to the spam folder, etc.).
Mention under which circumstances and how often you will perform alternate drawings before the prize will remain unawarded.
You should also describe any information the winner might be requested to provide to the sponsor to claim the prize. This can include e.g. a confirmation to the agreement of the Official Rules, providing tax information, signing a Declaration of Compliance, a Liability Waiver, or a Publicity Release (where not prohibited).
In this section you describe which rights a participant grants to you once they enter the giveaway.
These might be the right to use the entrant's name, prize information, likeness, photograph, or other data for commercial, promotional, or other purposes without any further notice, consent or compensation.
In this section you describe your rights to cancel, terminate, modify, extend, or suspend the giveaway should a cause beyond your control (e.g. a virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, ...) affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the giveaway.
You should also note that its at your sole discretion to disqualify any individual that is tampering with the entry process or the operation of the giveaway (e.g. by the use of bots, scripts, ...). Discuss your rights to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law against any person that causes deliberate damage or undermines the legitimate operation of the giveaway.
You should also note that your failure to enforce any term of the Official Rules does not constitute a waiver of that provision.
In this section you define that by participating an entrant agrees to release and hold harmless the giveaway entities (your company, affiliates, employees, etc.) from any liablity for loss, harm, damage, injury, death, etc. which may occur directly or indirectly by participating in the giveaway or by use / misuse of the prize.
Since YouTube states that the rules of a giveaway must require entrants to release YouTube from any liability related to your contest (
In this section you specify how disputes between you and an entrant should be resolved.
You define the country whose law governs the giveaway. You should also describe that any conflicts which can't be resolved should be individually resolved before a court located in your country, without any form of class action. You should also state that the entrant waives all rights to punititive, incidental, or consequential damages. You should also define that the entrant waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
This section applies if you host your giveaway on an external platform (like return).
You describe that the sweepstakes is not sponsored, administered by, endorsed, or associated with the external platform. You also state that by entering the Sweepstakes you accept the privacy policy of the external platform.
YouTube has set out a few requirements regarding the content of your official rules in their
These are the following:
- Your rules must include links to the
YouTube Community Guidelines and indicate entries that don’t comply will be disqualified. - Your rules must state all disclosures required by all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, including U.S. sanctions.
- Your rules must be wholly compliant and consistent with the
YouTube Terms of Service . - Your contest must be conducted, and all prizes awarded as outlined in your Official Rules.
- You're responsible for your rules and all aspects of your contest administration.
- Your rules must clearly state that YouTube is not a sponsor of your contest and require viewers to release YouTube from any liability related to your contest.
- You must include a legally compliant privacy notice in your Official Rules. This notice explains how you'll use any personal data you collect for the contest and adhere to that use.
Therefore in the YouTube disclaimer you provide a link to the YouTube community guidelines and explain that by entering the giveaway the entrant agrees to these guidelines and that entries that don't comply with them will be disqualified. You also describe that the sweepstakes is not sponsored, administered by, endorsed, or associated with YouTube.
In this section you explain how to obtain a winner's list or a copy of the official rules and in which time period such a request must be received.
Do you have a ruleset template?
Yes! We have a ruleset template. You can find it in your
But be advised: This template is just an example! You can use it to get an idea how a ruleset looks like but you should always make sure that it fits your own use case and make changes if necessary.
If you are unsure, we recommend to search help from a lawyer.
Please also be aware of our
# Make your giveaway look amazing and fit your brand
Which tools does return offer for creative giveaway design?
return offers a multitude of different tools to enable you to customize and style your giveaway such as
- Main image upload
- Background image upload / color picker
- Video linking
- Day / night design
- Background blur
- Main prize indication
- Sponsor presentation
These tools allow you to create an aesthetically pleasing and personalized giveaway.
Next to that, they also allow you to match the giveaway design with the style of your channel & brand. This creates a high recognition factor, creates trust, and allows the host to let their brand shine.
The same is true for any sponsor of your giveaway. They will greatly appreciate it if their contribution to the giveaway results in a professional and well-made presentation of their brand.
To give you some inspiration you can find a collection of different giveaway design ideas below:
return also optimizes the different design elements chosen by you for the respective output device. In this way the giveaway is both visually pleasing and well usable on any device your participants may use.
Design ideas and tips
In this section we have gathered a loose collection of general design tips to help you with the creative process.
- Try to match the main and background image to create a harmonious overall picture. You can achieve this by choosing similar color schemes and art styles for both images. Thinking in the opposite direction, you can also create interesting effects with some well placed contrast. For instance, you could choose a greyscale background image and let your main image be colorful and bright. This can help lead the focus to the main image and make it pop.
- It can help to think of a mood that you want to transport with your giveaway or a theme / style to follow, e.g.
- Themes: vibrant, black-and-white, colorful, vintage, abstract, stylized
- Styles: photography, doodle, anime, drawing, cartoon
- Moods: energized, lively, cheerful, happy, cheeky, calm, chill, tranquil, melancholic, bittersweet
- Get inspired by other giveaways or perform a search for the mood / theme you want to create on an image platform, e.g.
Pinterest . You can also ask an AI such asChatGPT to help you in the process and provide some inspiration. - You can hide an easteregg in the giveaway. This might be an inside joke in the giveaway title only your followers can understand, a cheekily placed reference in the giveaway image, or a hidden message / catch phrase in the giveaway description.
- Take the style of your brand into account. How do you usually present yourself? Which symbols do your followers recognize? Is there a specific color associated with your channel? This could be your channel logo, a commonly used video intro, the general theme of your channel, or other recognizable features of your channel. Incorporate them into your design to let visitors feel at home and connect the giveaway with your channel.
- If you write text on your images, try out different fonts. Deviate from the norm to generate an interesting effect. You can also download more fonts online, e.g. from
1001fonts.com . Just be sure that the font license allows you to use the font for your use case. - If you have a sponsor, they might have a CI (corporate identity) or branding guidelines that describe how their logo should be used (and not used). For example, there might be a black and a white logo to choose from for light and dark backgrounds. For example, here is the
guide from YouTube in which they describe how to use their logo. You can also often find press kits that provide high quality logos of a brand. For instance, return also provides such apresskit .
# Disclosing a sponsorship
When is your giveaway considered sponsored?
You have to disclose the relationship with a brand if you get anything of value from that brand to conduct the giveaway. This is not limited to money. If you have any financial, employment, personal, or family relationship with a brand, you have to disclose that.
Examples when the giveaway is sponsored:
- You get paid or compensated to conduct the giveaway
- You get free or discounted products or other perks if you conduct the giveaway
- Your father owns the company that produces the prize you give away
- You are employed in the company that produces the prize you give away
Examples when the giveaway is not sponsored:
- You buy a product with your own money from a company you have no affiliations with and give it away
- You craft a handmade object with your own resources and give it away
How to properly disclose a sponsorship?
If your giveaway is sponsored, you need to disclose this.
In general you do so by stating the fact that the giveaway is sponsored in a clear and conspicuous way. For example like this:
- I've got this [product name] from [company name] for free to use as a prize in this giveaway.
- Thanks to [company name] for providing the prize for this giveaway.
- I've partnered with the company [company name] to do this giveaway. They provide the main prize of this giveaway.
You should do this at various places (all of them, not just one of them):
- Within your announcement video: The disclosure should be in text and speech form so it's noticeable even if the video is muted or you don't look at the screen. Also disclose it early on, don't talk about the giveaway at the start of the video and disclose the sponsorship at the end of the video for example.
- In the description of your announcement video: Put it in the top part of the description so you don't have to click 'Read more' to see it. Putting the disclosure in the description only is not sufficient.
- On the giveaway webpage: You can do this in return by enabling the 'Paid advertisment' option in your giveaway settings.
- Additionally you should add a text in the giveaway description.
- In the official giveaway rules: Add a section in the official giveaway rules that states that the giveaway is sponsored.
The important thing is:
The disclosure must stand out. People should be able to notice it easily. They should not have to look for it. The disclosure should be easily seen or viewed and should basically be unavoidable for the viewer.
Who makes the rules and do they provide guidance?
Countries have agencies that monitor and set out rules for the correct disclosure of advertisments. To help people follow the rules, these agencies often provide guides on how to follow the advertisment rules.
Also be aware of
In there YouTube sets out the rules for disclosure on their website and provides some guidance.
The following list shows the agencies of some countries and their guide on proper disclosure of ads.
- 🇺🇸 USA
- Authority:
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Guide:
Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers - 🇬🇧 UK
- Authority:
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) - Guide:
Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads - 🇩🇪 Germany
- Authority:
die medienanstalten - Guide:
Werbekennzeichnung bei Online-Medien - 🇫🇷 France
- Authority:
Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) - 🇰🇷 South Korea
- Authority:
Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC)
Please be aware of our
# Do's and dont's
Do's
Here we describe which things you should do when hosting a giveaway:
- Do create a sweepstakes / contest. In general this means that you must not require participants to pay money or provide another form of consideration in order to enter the giveaway. If you want more details, check out our guide on
legal terminology . - Do follow the guidelines of the platform you run your giveaway on. You can find the guidelines of return at our
giveaway hosting guidelines . - Do create Official Rules. Your giveaway should have official rules to define the terms on which the giveaway is run and protect you. We have created a
ruleset template that you can use as an example and have written aguide on how to write your official rules . - Do disclose any sponsorship you have. To find out how to do that correctly, read our guide on how to
disclose a sponsorship . - Do ensure your winner is eligible to win the prize. Make sure there are no export restrictions, the winner is of appropriate age to receive the prize, and fulfills any other eligibility requirements you might have set out.
Don'ts
Here we describe which things you should not do when hosting a giveaway:
- Don't create a lottery / raffle. In general this means that you must not require participants to pay money or provide another form of consideration in order to enter the giveaway. If you want more details, check out our guide on
legal terminology . - Don't hide the fact that your giveaway is sponsored. If your giveaway is sponsored, you should make that very clear. Show it openly and without ambiguity. You can find info on how to do that in our section about
disclosing a sponsorship . - Don't give away forbidden prizes. Don't give away prizes forbidden by law or by the giveaway platform. You can find the info about the prizes allowed on return in our
giveaway hosting guidelines . - Don't provide minors with prizes they are not allowed to receive. If you give away prizes which are only suited for adults, make sure that your winner is of appropriate age.
# Legal Terminology
Sweepstakes
In a sweepstakes the winner is decided by pure random chance rather than skill.
The drawing process is completely luck-based. It is also strictly required that:
- no purchase is necessary to enter or win and that
- a purchase will not increase your chances of winning.
This means in a sweepstakes you are prohibited from requiring entrants to make a purchase!
Giveaways that you run on return will usually be sweepstakes.
Lottery & Raffle
A lottery / raffle consists of the three following elements:
- Prizes: There are prizes to win
- Random chance: The winner is decided by pure random chance
- Consideration: The participant must pay money or is required to provide another form of consideration in order to enter. Such a consideration can be the purchase of an entry ticket or a product, but also the investment of time or other resources (e.g. if they have to fill out a lengthy questionnaire).
The main differences between a lottery and a raffle are:
- Raffles always have a winner. In a lottery the prize pool can be carried over to the next drawing (if no one picks the winning combination).
- Raffles can be run by non-profit organizations (e.g. charities, churches, schools). Lotteries can usually only be run by the government. Running a lottery without a lottery license is illegal.
The key takeaway for you here is: Do not create a lottery or raffle if you run a promotional giveaway!
You should stick to sweepstakes and contests.
The difference between a raffle / lottery and a sweepstakes is the consideration required by the participant in case of the raffle / lottery.
In a sweepstakes there must not be a consideration! If you want more information, the keyword to search for is "No purchase necessary laws".
Contest
In a contest the winner is decided based on skill. A jury or other evaluation method chooses the most capable participant to be the winner.
An entry could be for example submitting a photo, video, or a song.
In a contest you might be allowed to ask for a purchase to enter. Be sure to check any applying laws though.
# Disclaimer
Disclaimer
The contents of this page are intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions and should not be construed as, and should not be relied upon for, legal or tax advice in any situation and may not reflect the most current legal developments. No action should be taken in reliance on the information contained in this page and we disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this page to the fullest extent permitted by law. You should always conduct your own research or consult a lawyer.