Using giveaways explained

OldManTenno

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Previous thread got closed, and it may be best to to start this new so people can understand it better.

Per YouTube rules, you cannot force someone to subscribe for an entry. This is something I can agree with. What's the use of having a subscriber that doesn't want to be there?

But you can incentivize people to subscribe, and this is perfectly legal. This is what makes Gleam successful. People can enter contests without having to do anything, but they can get bonus entries for different actions. This is what I used, but it is still just part of the equation .

I engrained in a community and contributed. I would be considered an expert, and would give people advice and actively help then out in game. I also do giveaways for in game items or currency. I later bumped that up to an item that everyone could want.

All in the meantime I was still creating content for the game, and getting positive feedback. All of this matters not if you have nothing to stand on.

There is more to it, but I wanted to show that done right, giveaways can be a huge boost to your channel. In fact, I'm going to do another one starting today. I hope this helps. :)
 

GameVestment

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Well.. according to longzijun (I believe he/she is a respected Gold Product Expert with a lot of experience) he/she clearly states and I quote:

"Their procedures appear to violate YouTube's ToS about harvesting user info. and the contest guidelines. I would recommend NOT using that service."

Source:
productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/youtube/NR-IurOqCvM;context-place=topicsearchin/youtube/giveaway$20questions

According to Gleam.io and I quote:

"We adhere to the YouTube API policies, so you shouldn't have an issue provided you also follow their T&C."

Source: Email reply from Gleam Support

2 contradictory statements, smh, who to believe?
 
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OldManTenno

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There is an option to require subscription, and that may be what they are talking about. I don't use it, I want people to choose to subscribe.

I don't think having the incentivized choice is violation, since people have been using this tactic a long time, even outside of Gleam. Even running the "subscribe to Pewdiepie" campaign would be worse, since the subscriber has absolutely nothing to gain.

I believe where the problems lie is those requiring subscription, and people running false campaigns. I can see where harvesting info could be a problem, but I think a lot are like me and only want a reliable way to contact the winner.

Will also say this... I got approved after I'd already been using it, talking about in videos, and providing the links in description. They reviewed my content, and thought it was good to go... took almost 5 weeks. I think I've been doing it right, but I agree with you that some users probably abused it.
 
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UserU

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In my own opinion, I don't find giveaways a form of direct violation as long as they're legit and do not involve payment(s) or simply demanding requests (subscribe with 3 additional accounts, or make my channel grow from 10K to 25K and I'll start one).

Plus if the YouTuber is feeling generous, why not reward his or her subscribers for the support? After all, that's what I'm doing right now. I do make videos and if I feel like it, just hold a simple giveaway.
 

GameVestment

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There is an option to require subscription, and that may be what they are talking about. I don't use it, I want people to choose to subscribe.
I understand your point but it's still a little bit confusing...

In your video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 you said get everyone involved including pets to subscribe, makes me think that you need to be subscribed to enter the giveaway. For obvious reasons I cannot longer see the campaign but I'm going to assume you didn't make a requirement to subscribe,,, is that true?

Maybe that's the best way to go,,, although I wouldn't even make it optional to subscribe because of this:
"You and any third party may not manipulate metrics on the YouTube service, including numbers of views, likes, dislikes, or subscribers, such that those metrics fail to reflect genuine user engagement with the YouTube service."

I really like gleam.io I think is the best way to run a give-away. I did run a campaign but I deleted the video 2 days after because I don't want to get reviewed and have any problems. Also, my mistake was to require them to subscribe which didn't help at all because people participating in the giveaway are already subscribed but the amount of followers I got from Twitter and Twitch is absolutely amazing even thou the video was only seen 2K+ times. This probably also breaks TOS from Instagram, Twitch, Twitter etc but I'm not too concerned about those platforms.

I still would like some kind of "protection" and official evidence from someone saying it's totally fine you can use gleam.io unless you make it a requirement for people to subscribe, I'm more interested to grow in other platforms tbh. I might try to dig deeper in Google Support Forum. Thank you so much for your help!
 
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OldManTenno

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I don't think the language is very clear, and I agree with that.

As for my video, you can probably tell that I joke a lot. I always make subscribing a choice, as I believe it should be. From what I interpret on YouTube, as long as it is an option for a giveaway, you're in the clear. If you think about it, it's not really different from telling people to "like and subscribe" at the end of videos. Though I don't really do it, it is an acceptable tactic that even YouTube suggests.

I really like Gleam too, just upgraded yesterday so I can add collab links as well. I do think the language should be clearer on both ends. Just make sure to never "require" someone to subscribe. :)
 
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