My Honest Take on a Free Online Contest Platform That Works

Look, I'm going to tell you a quick story. Last month, I was working with this bakery in Minneapolis. Great people, amazing sourdough, but they were hemorrhaging money on Facebook boosts. You've seen it. "Get 10% off!" on a blurry photo of a croissant. They were getting maybe-maybe-five or six email sign-ups a week for a few hundred bucks. It's the kind of thing that drives me nuts, frankly, because I've been seeing it since I started in this business back in 2010. Small businesses do not need another "revolutionary" strategy. They just need something that actually works.

We swapped out their sad little "10% off" ad for a simple "Lucky Spin" game. We built it on a free online contest platform in about fifteen minutes. The prize? A free loaf of bread. The cost? Basically zero, outside of my time.

In one week they got 450 new emails.

That's the whole point. It’s not about magic or "going viral" (I hate when people say that, as if you can just decide to do it). It's about giving people a reason to actually stop scrolling for two seconds. And I've found that gamification-yeah, I know it sounds like a buzzword from 2015, stick with me-is the most reliable way to do that without a big budget.

So, what the heck is "gamification" anyway?

Here's the thing. When most people hear "gamification," they picture some complicated app development or, I don't know, a full-on video game for their brand. It's not that. It's never been that.

Basically, it’s just stealing the fun parts of games-things like points, instant wins, competition, unlocking things-and applying them to boring marketing tasks like signing up for a newsletter. Nobody wants to give you their email. But will they spin a wheel for a chance to win something? You bet they will. All day long.

I've been focusing on this stuff since around 2015, and I've tested pretty much every tool out there. Gleam. io, Woobox, Rafflecopter, even some of those enterprise-level monsters that cost an arm and a leg. They all have their place, I guess... but for a small business owner who has, like, three hours a week for marketing? They're mostly overkill. Which is why I spend most of my time recommending platforms like Faisco these days. It just solves the core problem: how do you launch something engaging fast without needing an agency or a developer.

The Games I've Seen Actually Convert Customers

Listen, not all games are created equal. Some are just flashy distractions. But I've deployed a few specific types for my clients with Faisco that have produced some frankly shocking results. I mean, these aren't guesses, this is real data from real campaigns.

For instance, I had this small flower shop in Vancouver. We used Faisco's "Star Seeker" game-it's one of those speed games where you have to click the stars as fast as possible. The prize was a $50 bouquet. We pushed it on Pinterest, of all places, and they got 715 new followers in about two and a half weeks. It worked because it was visual and competitive.

Then there was an art gallery in Miami, a client of mine back in March 2023, who needed to get people to RSVP for a new exhibit opening. We used the "Pet Match & Win" game. It's cute, simple, and takes like 10 seconds to play. They got 143 actual event attendees from that one little game in 12 days.

My favorite, though, might be the craft brewery in Atlanta. We used the "Unlock Lucky Words" quiz game. We made the quiz about their brewing process-so it was educational, you know? And we ran it on Instagram Stories. They got 2,660 new story views and a ton of DMs about their beers. People felt smart for getting the answers right.

These are the types of games that I find work best for SMBs:

• Instant Draw Games ("Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket"): These are my go-to for pure lead capture. That immediate dopamine hit of "Did I win?!" is powerful. I've seen landing pages with these hit 40%+ conversion rates, which is just... insane.
• Reactive Games ("Whac-A-Mole," "Find Differences"): These are amazing for engagement and getting people to share. They tap into that "I bet I can beat your score" instinct.
• Quiz Games ("Puzzle Challenge," "Treasure Hunt"): Perfect for any business that needs to educate its customers a little. You're not just getting a lead; you're getting a qualified lead who now knows something about your product.
• Catching Games ("Fill My Christmas Stocking," "Summer Catch"): This is where the seasonal stuff gets brilliant. Faisco has pre-built templates for basically every holiday. I've used their Christmas stocking game for three separate retail clients, and every single one saw their engagement shoot up over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts. It's so much better than just another "Happy Holidays!" graphic.

Let's Be Real: Faisco vs. The Big Guys (like Gleam)

Okay, so people always ask me, "Byron, why not just use Gleam. io?" And my answer is always the same: you can. Gleam is a solid tool. It's powerful. But honestly? It’s too much for 90% of small businesses. Their cheapest plan is like $39 a month, and it can be a real pain to set up if you're not used to it. I've spent an hour or more tweaking a Gleam campaign for a client before.

With a platform like Faisco, I can get a campaign for a client live-I'm not exaggerating-in under 10 minutes. The templates are there, the setup is dead simple, and it has a free tier that's actually useful. For a coffee shop or a local boutique, that's the difference between doing it and not doing it.

And here's the other part where most of these tools completely fall apart: actual social media integration. A lot of platforms say they "integrate" with Instagram, but what they mean is you can post a link. Lame. A good platform lets the game work natively within the ecosystem of Facebook, or TikTok, or wherever your customers are. The behavior on TikTok is wildly different than on LinkedIn, and your campaigns have to reflect that. Faisco actually gets this right.

So, what kind of results should you actually expect?

I do not like making big, crazy promises. Your results depend on your audience, your offer, and how well you promote it. But I can tell you what I see on average. The businesses I work with, the ones who consistently run these types of gamified campaigns, typically see a 200-400% increase in social media followers and a 150-300% growth in their email list within the first month.

And the results for my clients has been consistent. It's not because the tool is a magic wand. It's because you've stopped begging for attention and started earning it by offering a tiny moment of fun. It's a fundamental shift in approach.

Here’s my advice. Don't overthink it. Don't try to build the world's most perfect marketing funnel right out of the gate. Just try one thing. Go find a free online contest platform-Faisco, or another one if you like-and pick one of their pre-made templates for the next upcoming holiday. Halloween. Black Friday. Whatever. Spend 30 minutes on it. Offer a simple, low-cost prize that your customers would actually want. And just run it.

See what happens. I think you'll be surprised.

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