Everyone loves the chance to win something for nothing. Contests, raffles and lotteries have enormous appeal because most consumers are very hopeful that this time their ship will come in. As the New York State Lottery Commissions motto so aptly, puts it, Hey, you never know.

As an online retailer you can take advantage of this psychology to bring people to your site but more importantly,to bring people back to your site.

Contests extract value in return

Think about running a simple contest where the visitor or customer has to enter to win. But make the entry count. Make newsletter subscription the trigger to enter the contest. Or ask for a survey to be filled out to enter a contest. Or for every product page visited and a question about the product answered,the visitor gets another entry into the contest. Wow just think of all the valuable information you have just obtained in return for your $100 prepaid Visa card prize or your free shopping spree.

Find the hidden something contests

Here is another way to get visitors to go through your site. Make your contest a find the hidden ear buds contest for your electronics site or find the hidden fish for your sporting goods site. Place the hidden whatever among the pages and ask contestants to submit the page title with their entry. You can even go so far as to hide multiples of the item.

Submit idea contes
ts

How about a naming contest? Or best caption for a picture? Best joke about fitness videos? Or best photo of your product decked out for the holidays? Envision your coffeemaker with an elves cap, filled with cocoa and sitting in the snow. You can add more involvement by putting up the entries and having visitors vote on the winners.

Think about prizes

Make the prizes fit the situation and the market.Crafters may like a craft prize but do not choose something that every self-respecting crafter already has; choose something new or unusual. Maybe you use your products as prizes. Money is certainly always good but it can be hard to know what amount will move people to participate.

Publicize your efforts

Contests are news - treat them that way. Send out a press release announcing your contest. Announce it through Twitter and on your Facebook page and My Space page. Then do it again to announce the winners.

There are also contest sites where you can list your contest for those folks who may not necessarily be your primary target market but, as the New York Lottery says, Hey, you never know You may attract new customers from among the avid contest followers.

Legal issues

Be sure you cover the bases legally. Be sure that your contest is fair, everyone has the opportunity to participate and that you do indeed run the contest fairly on your end. If you say you will choose the winner randomly at midnight, be sure that you follow your own conditions.