Redacted.

Yeah - while you're at it, I got a bridge in Brooklyn up for sale too. "No obligations, of course" - [just $2 to pay apple of which I willreceive 70%. Mwah ha ha ha] Just throw out some free codes if you want ratings; I don't believe it's proper etiquette to post a $25 gift card contest with strings like buying things. Peace & love - but better posting next time GW

Tell me more about this bridge.

It's very fancy. And at night it's all lit up like a Christmas tree.

Interesting points: Nicholas have you thought of keyword optimization? I did a little test over the holidays and even though it's not a Buzztouch app (but could be a plugin pending <wink>) I tried a strategic move that was also mentioned on Elaine's blog http://thechocolatelabapps.com/how-to-improve-your-ios-app-keywords My app is now ranking Top 5 in over 5 countries in Catalogs. -within 2 weeks time http://bit.ly/1eAXHsW It's a bit crazy but I foresee services for search optimization for itunes. My theory is that you change your keywords in your apps then you will get more downloads. Working for me but then again I am still testing :) Looking Forward to some more Great Creations! Sheri

Hey Sheri! Thanks for the productive/constructive feedback. I've ran a similar contest previously and it worked quite well. My app is doing well for a niche app, I was just hoping to convert on more app ratings and reviews, more so than actual downloads. That being said, I've been looking into App Store Optimization through keywords, I just wasn't sure where to go about it! This does provide something to think about. That being said, which keyword search ranking tool do you use? I'd love to get an idea of the power behind my keywords! Thanks again for sharing! Nicholas :)

Ratings and reviews DO count so if the contest works still go for it! My thoughts is Apple is always changing like Google. They tend to frown on "encouraged reviews" lately. Google of course https://adwords.google.com/keywordtool Social Media sites are my favorite but for educational apps I go straight to Amazon. Weird as that sounds but yup Amazon. Where do students mostly go to get "guides"? Amazon Spendy bag of tricks but worth it: https://www.merchantwords.com/ Free Sites (see what market is doing mostly) www.applyzer.com ---- they have a hourly feature I like but it's paid www.sensortower.com www.appshopper.com There are more and more popping up every day. I have also noticed as mentioned here on the forum social media sites Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook are generating traffic as well. (combining the contest there would work awesome) Hope it helps :) Thanks for all you do! Sheri

Thanks again for another solid response, Sheri! I'm using SensorTower at the moment - keyword optimization is a tricky thing. ;) Have a great start to the week and thanks for all that YOU do! :) Nicholas

Hey Nick, just for the protection of our community members and yourself, I've consulted clients before on what you are offering. I agree with aquila198, you may have well intentions in offering $25 and support from fellow members, but at first glance, it didn't make sense. Here's why your offering of a contest/giveaway is wrongly categorized. Part 1. Purchase & Review TGfU Games PE ($1.99) I presume it's an App you own and not for a client. To Enter to have a chance in 1 and how many? And the prize is a $25 iTunes Gift Card. Part 2. With the purchase of ($1.99) only the first 20 will receive your ($.99) Ice Breaker Game coming out on Jan 18th (no screenshot or description of why I would want to save $.99, also only the first 20 get this. Part 3. "No Obligations, of course" - this is wrongly stated, saying this at the end of your offer, makes me think, ok, I'll take a look, the App is not worth the $1.99, why? Because unless I'm in the target market your App is designed for why would I spend money or even offer a review, if not to support a friend. ----------------------------------------- My Breakdown Part 1. Your offer is not a contest/giveaway its a Lottery/Sweepstakes. (A Lottery is a prize drawing where people must pay money to buy a chance to win. Lotteries are highly regulated and should not be run without consulting with legal counsel.) Not sure what the laws are in Canada, but since it's the Internet you have a multitude of Laws to contend with. !! I'll write in detailed more about Part 1. in a separate post labeled Could my giveaway be an Illegal Lottery?) + (Sweepstakes are prize giveaways where the winners are chosen by the luck of the draw. Prizes can be almost anything a blogger can think of from handmade cards to an all expenses-paid trip.) Part 2. Only offering discounts for the first 20 that make that impulse buy, I think you are banking on that there will be enough friends/developers on BT that jump on board. Like aquila198 said you make 70% of that revenue, but in order to qualify you also have to post a review. Will the purchasers have unbiased reviews? When I see offers like yours it would be like paying people to download and give positive reviews so that your App can gain ranking in the App Store. That's not ethical, in my opinion. Part 3. No Obligations or No Purchase Necessary? Check my second post for more clarification. ------------------------------------------ Trust me, I'm not hating on you or your post, but my knowledge of all things online may be more extensive then yours. So consider my responses as something to take note of and like aquila198 said, better posting next time. From my own experience, I wouldn't want you to jeopardize yourself or your brand and also protecting the BT Community. -Ed @aquila198 hey I went to school at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, which bridge? Manhattan, Williamsburg, Manhattan or Brooklyn LOL

(My Archived Notes from Researching Contest/Giveaways/Sweepstakes/Lotteries/Network Marketing for a client last year) --------------------------------------------------- More and more I’m seeing giveaways that may not be fully compliant with federal or state laws governing giveaways. Whether online or off, there are a host of laws that every contest holder must follow or risk significant fines or, in some states, criminal prosecution. Giveaway laws in the US cover sweepstakes, contests, and lotteries. Sweepstakes and contests have been used by marketers for decades to create awareness for their product or service. Bloggers are getting into the promotion business, not only for themselves but also for brands of all sizes. While brands often have legal counsel to advise them on the intricacies of running a contest that complies with all laws, that information is not usually passed down to bloggers. As such, bloggers are left to their own accord. This has resulted in a number of different tactics being used. Unfortunately, many bloggers are not compliant with the various laws exposing them to potential liability. What are Sweepstakes, Contests and Lotteries? Sweepstakes are prize giveaways where the winners are chosen by the luck of the draw. Prizes can be almost anything a blogger can think of from handmade cards to an all expenses-paid trip. Contests choose a winner based on some merit. The winner is chosen based on some criteria such as best photo, funniest parenting tip, etc. A Lottery is a prize drawing where people must pay money to buy a chance to win. Lotteries are highly regulated and should not be run without consulting with legal counsel. While many bloggers use the term contest, unless there is some criteria for choosing the winner their giveaway is most likely a sweepstakes. In addition, I’ve seen that most bloggers will use some form of random selection process to choose the winner of their giveaway item, thus making their giveaway a sweepstakes and not, in fact, a contest. What laws govern? In the United States, sweepstakes promotions are regulated by numerous federal and state laws as well as overseen by various federal agencies. Federal agencies with jurisdiction to regulate sweepstakes promotions include the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), the United States Postal Service (“USPS”), and the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Sweepstakes promotions may also be regulated by state laws. And let’s not forget that sweepstakes promotions may be the subject of a private lawsuit brought directly by a consumer with a beef as to how the promotion was handled. If a sweepstakes promotion allows nationwide participation, the promotion must comply not only with federal regulations, but also the regulations of each state. For example, in California, the Business and Professions Code governs the promotion of the sweepstakes while the Penal Code (criminal law) sets forth the definition of a lottery. In New York, if the value of the prize offered is more than $5,000.00 the law requires that consumer sweepstakes be registered and bonded 30 days before the commencement of the sweepstakes. The state of Florida also has bonding requirements for sweepstakes. Could my giveaway be an Illegal Lottery? A lottery has three things: Prize, Chance and Consideration. Prize – without a prize your giveaway would be lame and no one would enter it, so there’s always a prize! Chance – pure luck! You could get around this by having some skill requirement but that is often difficult to manage or greatly limits the number of people who will enter. Consideration – something of value. Often it’s money, but it doesn’t have to be. Depending on what you require entrants to do, you could be pushing the envelope on this element. Each state may have their own particular definition making it very difficult to manage. When it comes to bloggers, there are few things more valuable than followers. As such, requiring someone to ‘like’ you or ‘follow you’ could be construed as consideration. Even more important, asking an entrant to go to a third-party site, navigate to find a product or services and then report back to your site is even more likely to be deemed consideration and thus placing your giveaway into the classification of illegal lottery. Time is exceedingly valuable! While online promotions seem to be everywhere, the laws pertaining to this realm have not been as quick to develop as the internet itself. As such, even by providing an easy and simple means of entering but providing additional entries conditioned upon doing certain things may result in your giveaway not complying with necessary laws. Who can enter my giveaway? You will often see that a contest or sweepstakes is only open to those 18 years of age or older. This is because the laws relating to minors adds a layer of complexity that many are not willing to manage. Because blogs often have readers from all over the world, can you just let anyone enter? The short answer is yes, if you are willing to comply with the laws of every jurisdiction (including those of foreign countries). In Canada, for example, the winner can not be chosen by luck, but rather some element of skill must be involved. And if you do wish to open your giveaway to residents of Canada, you must go one step further and either exclude Quebec or add in the various additional rules that province requires. While bloggers definitely don’t want to leave their Canadian readers out in the cold, it’s a harsh reality of administering a giveaway through a sweepstakes that residents of Canada must be excluded. It’s the same reason readers under the age of 18 are often excluded. It becomes cumbersome to administer the promotion if more laws must be followed. Checklist for your giveaway: If your giveaway winner will be chosen at random you are hosting a sweepstakes and thus you should comply with the laws regarding sweepstakes. 1. Identify the prize – provide as much detail as necessary to both identify it and make it attractive to your readers 2. Who can enter - detail who is allowed to enter, as well as those excluded 3. Duration – clearly set out when the giveaway (sweepstakes) will begin and end, and follow through 4. How to enter – let the reader know what they need to do to enter your sweepstakes, keeping in mind that element of consideration that could vault your sweepstakes into illegal lottery territory. Ultimately, the best bet is to keep entry as simple as possible. 5. How Winner Is Chosen – describe how you will choose your winner, especially since you are likely choosing randomly 6. Technical Issues - since we all know there could be technical problems, let people know how they will be handled. For example, will you delete duplicate entries? If your site goes down, what will you do? Group of Bloggers Come Together For Giveaways Recently I’ve noticed that a group of bloggers will get together and offer several prizes. This is a new phenomenon that presents unique concerns. While it is uncharted territory, the legal ramifications can be far-reaching. Consideration needs to be given to the total value of the prizes given away because it could require either filing for and obtaining bonds in states that require them, or declaring their promotion void in those states. Because the giveaway is often billed as a cross-blog promotion and involving many prizes, it would be advisable for the bloggers involved to ensure they are compliant to avoid potential civil and/or criminal violations. Tax Implications While this will not apply to all, bloggers need to be aware that any giveaway with a value of $600 or more must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Knowing that, the blogger should not only make entrants aware of the value of the prize but also that they will need to complete a prize validation as well as are responsible for any taxes that may result from winning. Conclusion In summary, running a legally compliant giveaway involves a lot more than throwing up a post. Bloggers need to adhere to a variety of federal and state laws, as well as ensure compliance with federal agencies if that is the case. And while blogger do not want to exclude any of their readers, sometimes it is necessary. Finally, if your giveaway is over $5,000.00 there will be other state laws and bonding requirements that will need to be met.

Thanks for the info, Ed! Nicholas

I had a client do this type of promotion on her website and facebook, I was called in to do damage control, cause she just didn't know. Best -Ed

Once again Ed....INCREDIBLE Contribution! Bookmarked Sheri

All good, Ed, hope you didn't read too much into my short reply... just in case you might have read it as something else! ;) I appreciate your detailed contribution regarding all things contest, lottery, sweepstake, and giveaway related. Nicholas

No worries, there's a learning curve to everything. looking out for everyone here. "Knowledge empowers us all to do great things. " As an educator you are well on your way. Ed