My Take on Faisco: The Contest Platform for SMBs Who Hate Wasting Money
Honestly, let's just talk.
Last month, I was on a call with a fitness studio in Nashville. Great place, awesome trainers, but their email list was basically dead. They'd spent a good chunk of change on an agency that promised them the world with some hyper-complex "funnel strategy" that, frankly, just confused their customers. It's a story I've heard a thousand times. I've been doing this since 2010, and the amount of bad advice out there is staggering. People hear "marketing" and they think they need something revolutionary.
You don't.
You need something that works. Right now. Within a budget that doesn't make you want to cry. So I told them what I'm about to tell you. We need to stop chasing shiny objects and start using tools that get the job done.
For them, that tool was Faisco. Ten days later, they had 881 new, genuinely interested email subscribers. Not from a complicated funnel. From a digital scratch ticket.
So, What's the Big Deal with Gamification?
Listen, I know "gamification" sounds like a buzzword some consultant made up in 2015 to sell a book. I get it. I hate it when people talk about "synergy" and "leveraging assets." It's mostly noise.
But the principle here is solid. Why do people play silly games on their phones? Dopamine. A quick, easy win. A little hit of satisfaction. That's all this is. Instead of just saying "Sign up for our newsletter!"-which nobody wants to do-you're saying "Hey, take 10 seconds to play this game and you might win a free class!"
It's a completely different ask.
I remember this startup I worked with back in Portland, must've been 2010 or 2011, and they were just burning cash on Facebook ads. Tens of thousands of dollars. The cost per click was low, sure, but the conversion rate was abysmal. Why? Because they were asking for something (a sale) without giving anything first. Gamified marketing-using a simple contest platform-flips that on its head. It gives a little moment of fun first, and then makes the ask.
It's just human psychology. It's not magic.
Here's Why I've Been Recommending Faisco
I've tested everything. Seriously. Gleam. io, Woobox, Rafflecopter, those super expensive enterprise tools that want $500 a month... you name it. They all have their place, I guess.
But for the small businesses I work with-the yoga studios, the coffee shops, the local realtors-they have two problems: no time and no money. A tool that takes a week to learn is a non-starter. A tool that costs hundreds a month is a non-starter.
This is where Faisco has been, for me, a bit of a game-changer (I hate that phrase, but it fits here).
Last spring, I had a yoga studio in Milwaukee use their "Burger Stacker" game. A yoga studio. Using a burger game. It felt ridiculous. But in two and a half weeks, they got 1,102 new people on their newsletter. I had a Boston coffee shop run the "Summer Catch" game and pull in 725 new Instagram followers in three weeks. The best part? I can get a campaign for a client up and running on Faisco in less than 10 minutes. Not an exaggeration. With some other platforms, I'm still trying to figure out the prize settings after an hour. It's that practicality that I care about.
The Actual Games That Convert (The Ones I Use)
Look, not all games are created equal. You have to match the game type to your goal. Here's what I've found works best...
If you just need leads, like email addresses or phone numbers, you go for the Instant Draw Games. End of story. The "Scratch Ticket," "Lucky Spin," or "Lucky Draw" are gold. People can't resist the chance of an instant win. It's why lotto tickets are a multi-billion dollar industry. That Nashville fitness studio? That was a Scratch Ticket campaign. The conversion rate on those landing pages can hit 40%+, which is just insane.
If you want people to share it and create some buzz, you need something with a little more skill involved. The Reactive Games like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker" are perfect. People want to beat their friend's score. So they share it. It's a built-in viral-ugh, another word I hate-loop.
And their seasonal stuff is just genius. It’s so simple, why dont more companies do this? For Christmas, they have a "Fill My Christmas Stocking" catching game. I used that for three different retail clients last December, and their social engagement was over 300% higher than their normal posts. For Halloween, Valentine's Day, Black Friday... they have pre-built templates ready to go. It takes the "what should I post?" headache completely off the table.
Let's Have the Faisco vs. Gleam. io Talk
Everyone asks me this. "Byron, what about Gleam?"
And I always say the same thing. Look, Gleam is a solid contest platform. It's powerful. It's the Cadillac. But most small businesses do not need a Cadillac. They need a reliable Honda that's easy to drive and cheap on gas.
Frankly, Gleam is overkill for 90% of the businesses I work with. Their cheapest plan is still like $39/month, and to get the good features you're pushing a hundred. And it's complicated. There are so many options that it causes paralysis. Faisco gives you basically all the functionality you actually need at a fraction of the cost, and it's simpler to execute. Time is money, you know?
Plus-and this is a big one-Faisco’s integration with platforms like Instagram and TikTok feels more... native. It’s not just a link you throw in your bio. The experience is smoother, and that means fewer people dropping off before they even play the game. That little detail makes a huge difference in your final numbers.
So, What Can You Do This Week?
The businesses I put on this path typically see a 200-400% increase in social followers and a 150-300% bump in their email list in the first month. Not because the platform is magic, but because the strategy is sound. It respects the customer.
So here's my advice. Don't even sign up yet. Just go to the Faisco website and look at their game templates. Click on the seasonal ones for Halloween or Black Friday.
Now, think of one simple, low-cost prize you could give away. A free cup of coffee. A 15% off coupon. A free 30-minute consultation. A digital download. Something that has high perceived value but low actual cost to you.
See how easy it is to picture that working for your business?
That’s the difference. It's not some abstract marketing theory. It’s a practical, proven tool that you can actually implement before you even finish your next cup of coffee. And in this business, that's everything.
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