We’ve already talked about how a great headline can make or break a giveaway. But today we’re going to talk about something that many people neglect to put on their form and something that negatively affects their success: a lack of giveaway images.

The Importance of Images

Even if your giveaway prize is something irresistible, and even if your headline and body copy are incredibly enticing, something will still be missing.

Humans are visual creatures—there’s a reason why Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat have grown so quickly in popularity! Skipping a visual element on your form is a huge missed opportunity.

Even if your form is being hosted on your own page, and you have images of the prize on the page (outside of the form), you’re still doing your giveaway a disservice. Putting giveaway images of your prize close to the headline, descriptive text, and call to action in your giveaways emphasizes the excitement of the giveaway and greatly increases the chance that people will enter.

Not Just Any Giveaway Images Will Do

Some companies opt to make fancy images with graphics and text that describe the marketing campaign the giveaway is a part of. This is a mistake.

A giveaway image with text that says “The Great January Giveaway Bonanza!” and images of snowflakes and skis will never be as effective as simply using an image of the giveaway prize.

Remember too; people may stumble across your giveaway out of context. In that case, “The Great January Giveaway Bonanza” won’t mean anything to them. You’ll get the most people to enter if show them what they can win.

How to Capture an Image of Your Prize

The best option for using giveaway images is the simplest: If you have the prize in hand, you can just arrange it nicely on a plain, non-distracting background in good lighting, and take a picture of it yourself.

A quick Google search for “how to take product photos” yields a treasure trove of tips for making sure your images are exciting and appealing.

Your second option is not quite as straightforward. Technically speaking, you should not be using just any images you find online. However, many companies don’t mind if you use their images as long as you attribute them. For example, if you’re running a giveaway and the prize is a scarf, you might use the image from the scarf maker’s website and write beneath it “(Photo credit: Nancy May Designs).”

If you use their images, companies are still well within their rights to ask you to take them down, but attributing the images is your best chance that they won’t do so.

You’ll also find that there are plenty of sources online for free images that you can use to enhance your giveaway prize image.