Whether you're looking to acquire new customers, increase engagement, or boost sales, a sweepstakes can be a powerful growth tool when executed with the right structure. This guide outlines a proven method using Rivo's loyalty and referral system to power a sweepstakes campaign from end to end.
Successful sweepstakes can significantly enhance brand engagement and customer loyalty. For instance, Ridge's 2024 Sweepstakes offered participants a chance to win a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck or a $140,000 Hennessey Velociraptor, with entries earned through actions like signing up for emails or purchasing products. Similarly, HexClad's "Gordon's Golden Ticket to London" giveaway provided a luxurious trip valued at $125,000, encouraging participation through various entry methods. These campaigns effectively used high-value prizes and strategic entry mechanics to captivate and convert their audiences.
Step 1: Set up entries as loyalty points
Start by configuring your loyalty program in Rivo so that loyalty points function as sweepstakes entries. Instead of redeeming points for discounts or rewards, customers will accumulate them as entries toward a grand prize drawing. Rename the "points" label in your program to "entries" to reflect this.
How to rename the "points" label in your program to "entries"
Head to Loyalty -> Points -> Ways To Earn
Click on your specific Ways To Earn action (Sign up, Place an Order etc.)
Click on Advanced Settings -> Edit
Fill out the Custom Description: {{points_amount}} entries or Earn entries for every $1 spent depending on your Ways To Earn action.
You can assign point values to actions like:
signing up for an account
subscribing to email and SMS
making purchases
referring friends
No redemption step is necessary. At the end of the promotion, entries are tallied to determine winners.
Step 2: Define how customers earn entries
Decide which actions will award entries and how many entries each action will earn. Common examples include:
Account sign-up: Offer a fixed number of free entries when a customer creates an account.
Email/SMS opt-in: Grant entries when customers subscribe to your email or SMS marketing.
Purchases: Award entries based on order value, e.g. 2 entries per $1 spent.
Bonus products or categories: Apply higher entry multipliers to certain items (e.g. 4x entries on limited edition items).
Custom actions: Set up unique entry rewards for social follows, UGC uploads, etc., using Rivo’s custom actions feature.
Use Rivo’s admin to configure point earning rules, or implement product-level multipliers using Shopify tags or metafields plus Liquid logic.
Step 3: Create an on-site experience that drives participation
Make the sweepstakes highly visible and interactive throughout the customer journey.
Key touchpoints to implement:
Site-wide banners: Announce the sweepstakes and link to a dedicated landing page.
Landing page: Explain the prize, entry methods, and timeline. Include email/SMS sign-up forms powered by Klaviyo, Postscript, or Attentive. Ensure entries are credited in Rivo upon submission.
Pop-ups: Offer free entries for first-time visitors who join your newsletter or SMS list.
Product pages: Display how many entries a customer earns with each item. Use metafields or tags to calculate and show per-product entry values.
Cart page: Show customers the total number of entries their cart qualifies for. Add upsell prompts like "Add another accessory to double your entries."
Checkout page: Reinforce the entries earned from the order using Shopify Plus checkout customization.
Order confirmation page: Display a confirmation like “You earned 300 entries with your order.”
Step 4: Encourage account creation and transparency
Require or strongly encourage customers to create an account so you can display their total entries.
With Shopify’s new customer accounts and Rivo, you can:
show customers their current total entries
reinforce multiplier events ("2x entries active")
encourage return visits to check standings or earn more
Use Shopify metafields to store and display the current entry total. Rivo can push this data to a customer metafield, which you can render in the account portal using Shopify's customer account extensions or a Liquid snippet.
Step 5: Activate multiplier events for urgency
Drive spikes in participation with limited-time entry multipliers like:
double entries for 48 hours
5x entries during a launch event
10x entries on specific product collections
In Rivo, you can:
apply global point multipliers temporarily in your loyalty settings
use product tags or metafields with logic to trigger per-product multipliers
Promote these events on your site with banners and timers. Use email and SMS to alert subscribers of live or upcoming multiplier windows.
Step 6: Display progress and entry balances
Make the user experience rewarding by showing entry balances wherever possible. Customers should feel like they’re making progress each time they interact.
Places to surface entry counts:
account dashboard (using metafields or embedded Rivo widgets)
after form submissions (email/SMS sign-up success messages)
after purchases (order confirmation, email receipt)
These moments reinforce engagement and trust.
Step 7: Customize your entry logic
Rivo allows you to create highly customized rules for awarding entries:
differentiate entry rates by product type (e.g. 1x for accessories, 3x for apparel)
use fixed entry rewards for sign-up actions
assign tags to products that trigger unique logic in Liquid
define bonus actions via Rivo’s custom actions or Shopify Flow
These configurations can help you drive focus toward specific collections, categories, or marketing goals.
Step 8: Promote across every channel
Your sweepstakes will only be as effective as your promotion strategy. Use all your marketing channels to drive traffic to your sweepstakes funnel.
Email: Announce the sweepstakes, share progress updates, and remind subscribers of ending deadlines or multiplier events.
SMS: Use time-sensitive blasts for flash multipliers or last-chance alerts.
Social: Drive awareness and clicks to your landing page. Optionally add influencer content or behind-the-scenes creative.
Referral marketing: Set up Rivo’s referral pages to grant entries when a referred customer makes a purchase.
Step 9: Handle manual entries and refunds
If your sweepstakes allows no-purchase entries (mail-in, etc.), you can use Rivo’s admin dashboard to manually credit entries to customer profiles.
Similarly, for refunded orders, set up a system to remove awarded entries. This can be handled manually or through an automated Shopify Flow that adjusts the customer’s points upon refund event.
Step 10: Plan for what happens after the sweepstakes ends
Once the campaign ends:
tally entries via Rivo to randomly select a winner (export)
email all participants with the results and thank them for participating
convert the program into a full loyalty program using the same infrastructure
Consider rewarding non-winners with small thank-you perks, like a discount or loyalty point bonus, to turn one-time entrants into long-term customers.
Resources
Sweepstakes Legal Partner – Marden-Kane