With more and more people turning to the Internet to read their news, many newspapers are struggling to find new and creative ways to retain subscribers and readers. Here at BestBingoPromo.com, we’ve discovered that adding a little friendly competition with the chance to win a handsome prize can boost subscription numbers, increase and single-copy sales, and also bring a community together while they play a friendly game of Bingo.Are you interested in running a Bingo promotion in your newspaper? Make sure to check out our eight tips for running a successful Bingo promotion below:
1. Sponsors! Sponsors! Sponsors!
A sponsor will usually cover most, if not all, of the costs of the Bingo game. You also get the added bonus of ad revenue along with the boost in newspaper sales the promotion will be providing. When you get a local company to sponsor your bingo Bingo promotion, you both win! Package the deal to include pre-promotional publicity, advertising on the Bingo cards, plus the posting of the call numbers.
Sweeten the pot by giving the sponsor the option to award the winners.
2. Prizes galore
When you offer one grand prize along with a handful of smaller prizes, it will incentivize more people to play with an increased chance to win. The smaller prizes, awarded when someone wins an easier cover (like first vertical cover, for example), will keep people coming back to their Bingo card on a daily basis instead of letting their card get lost in their junk mail pile.
3. Choose wisely
To make sure your Bingo cards reach a high amount of people, make sure the cards are inserted into the daily paper with the highest circulation. Most newspapers find Sunday’s edition has the highest number of readers (and single-copy sales). This ensures maximum distribution and participation.
4. Involve your sponsor
Offer extra Bingo cards to your sponsor to help build foot traffic. If the sponsor’s place of business is handing out extra Bingo cards to patrons, chances are more people will walk through their doors – which could very well increase the business’ revenue while the Bingo promotion is running. Most businesses would jump at the opportunity to bring more customers through the door, which in turn adds more value to the advertising package.
5. Eight Weeks Long
Publish the call numbers frequently enough to make the Bingo promotion last around eight weeks. When playing Blackout (or Coverall) Bingo, it usually takes 50 to 60 call numbers before a win. If you have a weekly publication, you will have to publish more than one call number per paper or else the promotion will last too long. If a promotion lasts too long, people could lose their Bingo cards, or unfortunately, lose interest in the game.
6. Publicize
This should be a no-brainer, but here it is anyway: publicize the Bingo promotion before the start date. Give your readers something to look forward to! If the community is unaware that a Bingo game is about to begin, or if they don’t know that Bingo cards will appear in a certain paper, they may not learn about it until it’s too late.
7. Ruling the Bingo
The rules of the Bingo promotion should be posted somewhere people can find easily. The rules need to explain exactly how the game will run and which prizes the players have the chance to win. The rules can be printed directly on the cards, somewhere easily accessible online or in the newspaper (ideally, the rules would be available in multiple places). The guidelines need to be clear and concise, especially when explaining when the Bingo cards will be available, how to play, and especially how to win!
8. Forms for everyone
Provide Bingo players with the option to fill out forms and mail them into your newspaper’s headquarters. The forms could request any information you choose, like suggestions for improving future Bingo promotions or a simple Q&A. Forms are a great idea because they provide the newspaper with so many options. You can offer free subscriptions (which will grow your marketing database), give out consolation prizes, or even offer an extra Bingo card in exchange for mailing in a completed form.
Who doesn’t like free things? Running a Bingo promotion with BestBingoPromo.com is fun and easy. Bingo games can help expand your readership, increase your single-copy sales and bring the community together as friends, family members and neighbors partake in an entertaining game of Bingo together. But in order to get the most bang for your buck, make sure to follow the eight tips listed above!
If you’re ready to use these tips to run a successful Bingo game in your newspaper, contact us for more
details today.