Do giveaway events really work

Every week there seems to be a new giveaway event launching  with promises of thousands of free gifts and the potential to add thousands of people to your list. 

SO how true are all these statements?

I have been a contributor in quite a few giveaways and I admit I have my favorites.

The current EasterJV2008 giveaway is in it’s third successful year. In the four days that it has been live, I managed to gain 200 members to my list. Impressive, not really, worthwhile, you bet.

If you joined every giveaway event as a contributor, you could gain 100-200 listmembers per event, times the 20 or 30 events that take place each year, and with very little effort have a list of 2000 - 3000 - 5000 in one year.

 For someone with thousands and thousands of list members this may not seem like much but for someone without a list and no way to start one, this is a great way to get off the ground.

 My other favorites are the Summer Giveaway, Thanksgiving Giveaway and the 30 days of Christmas.

 I will always contribute to those because I know they will draw big numbers so there is good potential.

Now getting away from the list building, you also have a chance to give away a viral product, report, ebook, etc. with links back to your site or products and with giveaway rights, these could wind up on membership sites where your exposure multiplies.

So do giveaway events really work. My answer is YES with very little effort on your part. Just promote it to your list and give a great gift away then sit back and reap the rewards.