A Give Away App That Doesn't Suck (My Honest Take)

Look, I've been doing this since 2010. And I want to talk about something that drives me crazy. I was with a client just last month-a fantastic little bakery in Minneapolis, amazing sourdough-and she was at her wit's end. She was burning through her tiny marketing budget on Facebook ads that did absolutely nothing. Zero. She said to me, "Byron, I feel like I'm just shouting into a black hole." And honestly? She was. That’s what most marketing feels like for small businesses, just shouting and hoping someone, anyone, hears you.

It took me back to my first gig in Portland with that startup burning through seed money. Same problem, different decade. We're all told to "create engaging content," but nobody tells you what that actually means when you have, like, three hours a week and a budget that wouldn't cover a team lunch at a big agency. It's frankly insulting advice. This is why I've gotten so deep into gamification-not the buzzwordy, corporate kind, but the practical, gets-you-results kind. Because it stops the shouting.

So, Why Are We Even Talking About Games?

Here's the thing. People are tired. They are tired of being sold to 24/7. Their brains are trained to scroll right past a "10% Off!" graphic or another generic "Buy Our Stuff" post. It's just noise. You know it, I know it. But a game... a game is different. It asks for participation, not a purchase. It offers a little hit of dopamine-a chance to win, a moment of fun-and in exchange, people happily give you their attention. And their email address.

Most of my clients find that shifting from a "promotional" mindset to a "let's play" mindset is the single biggest change they can make. You’re not begging for attention; you're earning it by offering a little bit of entertainment. It's a fundamental shift. And it works.

The Give Away App I'm Actually Using Right Now

I've tested everything. Seriously. I've been on Gleam. io since it was the new hotness, I've built campaigns on Woobox, I've even messed around with those super-expensive enterprise platforms that cost more than my first car. They all have their place, I guess. But for the small businesses I work with-the bakeries, the fitness studios, the local bookstores-they're mostly overkill. Too expensive, too complicated... honestly just too much.

For the last couple of years, I've been using a platform called Faisco with most of my clients. And here's why: it's not trying to be everything to everyone. It's a give away app that does one thing really, really well. It lets you create simple, fun, branded games that get results without needing a computer science degree or a massive budget.

And when I say results, I mean real numbers. Not vanity metrics.

• I used their "Star Seeker" game for a fitness studio in Vancouver. In two weeks-14 days!-they got 1,084 new email subscribers. They had been getting maybe 20 a month before that.
• I set up the "Quick Catch" game for a little independent bookstore in Chicago. They wanted more local community engagement on their Facebook page. Three weeks later, they had 1,155 new page likes.
• And for a coffee shop here in my old stomping grounds of Portland, we ran a "Whac-A-Mole" campaign. Three weeks, 681 new Instagram followers. Real, local people who then came in for coffee.

These aren't "viral" numbers, and I hate when people use that word anyway... "just go viral" is the worst advice in marketing. These are solid, tangible results that actually grow a business.

The Games That Actually Convert (My Personal Cheat Sheet)

Look, not all games are created equal. You have to match the game to the goal. Faisco has a bunch, but here are the ones I've found to be the most reliable workhorses.

For pure lead capture? You want instant gratification. The "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," or "Lucky Draw" are gold. People just can't resist finding out if they won right now. I've seen landing pages with these games hit 40%+ conversion rates for email sign-ups. It's wild.

For engagement and shares? You need a little skill involved. The "Whac-A-Mole" or "Find Differences" games are perfect. People play, they get a score, and they immediately want to challenge their friends to beat it. That's how you get organic sharing without begging for it.

For seasonal marketing? This is where Faisco is just... smarter. They have templates for everything. Halloween, Black Friday, Christmas, Valentine's Day. Last December, I ran their "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game for three different retail clients. Each one saw over 300% more engagement on their posts compared to the previous year. You just slap your logo on it, pick your prizes, and you're live. It’s a no-brainer.

And it actually integrates properly with the social platforms. It’s not just a link you throw out there. The mechanics work on Facebook, Insta, TikTok. That’s a bigger deal than it sounds. Most tools get this wrong.

Let's Talk About Gleam. io vs. Faisco

People always ask me this. "Byron, should I just use Gleam?" And my answer is... maybe? If you're a bigger company with a dedicated marketing person who loves tweaking a million settings, Gleam is a solid, powerful tool. But frankly, it's expensive for what most SMBs need (starts at $39/month, but the good version is closer to $100) and it takes time to learn. I can get a Faisco campaign designed and launched for a client in under 10 minutes. The same campaign on Gleam would easily take me an hour, probably more.

Faisco gives you 90% of the useful functionality at a fraction of the price and a tenth of the headache. For a small business owner who is also the CEO, the janitor, and the head of shipping-that time savings is everything. We do not have time to mess around with complicated software. We just need things to work.

My Final, Unsolicited Advice

Listen, the marketing landscape is always changing. There will be a new "revolutionary" strategy next year, and the year after that. There always is. Some of the 2024-2025 trend reports I'm seeing are already talking about AI-driven personalization that sounds great in theory but is completely out of reach for a local plumber or dentist.

But the core of human psychology? That doesn't change. People like to play. People like to win. People like to be entertained.

If you're tired of shouting into the void, stop shouting. Change the game. Literally. Find a simple, effective give away app-whether it's Faisco or something else-and try running one simple campaign. A "Scratch & Win" for a 15% off coupon. A "Lucky Spin" for a free coffee. Don't overthink it. Just give your customers a button to push that's more interesting than the "Buy Now" button.

In my experience, you’ll be surprised at how loud the response is when you finally give them something fun to do.

Transform Your Marketing with Faisco: Gamify, Go Viral, Grow Faster

Tired of seeing great marketing ideas stuck in development limbo? Want to launch interactive campaigns that not only engage but explode organically, driving predictable growth? Meet Faisco, your all-in-one SaaS platform for gamified marketing and lightning-fast viral growth. Design and deploy high-converting contests, engaging quizzes, viral giveaways, and interactive lead-capture forms in minutes – absolutely no coding needed. Faisco provides an unfair advantage for achieving measurable, engagement-driven marketing success.

Launch Instantly with 100+ Proven & Customizable Campaign Templates

Stop starting from scratch. Jumpstart your user acquisition and build lasting customer engagement with our arsenal of over 100 professionally designed, battle-tested gamified templates. Effortlessly launch captivating spin-to-wins, viral giveaways, competitions, leaderboards, and engaging games in mere minutes. Each template is engineered for maximum participation, shares, and high-quality conversion rates, ensuring your campaigns hit the ground running. No technical skills required - just your creativity.

Click to see more exquisite campaign templates.

Unlock Explosive Growth with Our Built-In Viral Marketing Engine

Go beyond basic sharing and truly ignite word-of-mouth. Faisco's integrated viral marketing toolkit is designed to supercharge your organic reach and turn your audience into your most effective advocates:

• Smart Social Sharing: Seamless one-click sharing optimized for today's top social platforms (X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & more).
• Incentivized Referrals & Viral Loops: Motivate users to spread the word with customizable rewards and Points Systems, dramatically boosting your campaign's K-factor (viral coefficient).
• Automated Network Effects: Watch your participant numbers and brand mentions multiply as Faisco's system encourages natural, exponential amplification of your campaign message.

Amplify Your Reach with Seamless Multi-Channel Distribution

Don't limit your campaign's potential. Faisco empowers you to:

• Effortlessly Distribute: Push your interactive campaigns across all major touchpoints – embed directly onto your website or landing pages, share via unique links on social media, include in email newsletters, and more.
• Maximize Social Proof & Brand Consistency: Our optimized sharing framework ensures your campaign looks professional and functions flawlessly everywhere, strengthening vital social proof and maximizing word-of-mouth potential where your customers live online.

Optimize & Scale with Actionable Data-Driven Insights

Stop guessing, start growing strategically. Faisco's comprehensive analytics dashboard translates raw data into your actionable growth plan:

• Real-Time Performance Tracking: Monitor crucial KPIs live, including participant engagement rates, detailed conversion funnels, viral lift (amplification rate), sources of traffic, and campaign ROI.
• Gamification Effectiveness Analysis: Understand which interactive elements and game mechanics truly captivate your audience and drive desired actions.
• Optimize for Virality & ROI: Identify your most influential advocates and most effective sharing channels to continuously refine your approach, ensuring every campaign dollar works harder.

Ready to Experience the Faisco Effect? Launch Your First Viral Campaign in Under 3 Minutes

Seeing is believing. Turn marketing theory into tangible results and witness the power of easy, gamified, viral marketing firsthand. Try Faisco Absolutely Free: Click Here to Start Your Free Trial

• No credit card required to start.
• Experience just how simple it is to build and launch an engaging, professional-grade campaign in minutes.
• It's the perfect, no-risk way to explore our powerful template library and viral marketing tools. Say goodbye to weeks of custom development and hello to instant engagement!

Ready to consistently exceed your marketing goals? Explore our Transparent Pricing Plans and Choose Your Growth Path