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KingSumo Review 2024 - Best Contest & Giveaway Tool?

Discover how KingSumo can supercharge your email list growth with engaging contests. Detailed review of features, pricing, and real-world effectiveness.

Dave Swift

May 16, 2024 — 7 min read

Introduction [00:00]

Are you looking for an effective way to grow your email list, engage your audience, and boost your online presence? KingSumo, an AppSumo Original, might just be the solution you’ve been searching for. In this comprehensive review, we’ll dive deep into the features, pricing, and overall functionality of KingSumo, the contest and giveaway tool designed to help businesses and content creators alike. We’ll explore how KingSumo streamlines the process of creating and managing giveaways, integrates with popular email marketing platforms, and offers a user-friendly experience for both you and your participants. By the end of this review, you’ll have a clear understanding of whether KingSumo is the right fit for your needs and how it can help you achieve your marketing goals in 2024 and beyond.

Key features of KingSumo:

Unlimited giveaways with the free plan
Customizable branding and advanced integrations with the paid plan
Easy-to-use contest creation wizard
Multiple entry options and bonus actions for participants
Integrations with popular email marketing platforms

Get KingSumo Get Appsumo Plus

(includes KingSumo Pro)

Pricing [00:17]

KingSumo offers two main pricing options: a free plan and a lifetime deal (LTD) priced at $49. The free plan comes with an impressive array of features, including unlimited giveaways, website embedding, multiple prizes, and basic integrations with SendFox and Zapier. However, for those looking to unlock the full potential of KingSumo, the $49 LTD is the way to go.

With the paid plan, you gain access to custom branding, meta pixel tracking, conversion tracking, translation options for 19 languages, custom rules and terms, additional custom fields, advanced integrations (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Klaviyo), and the ability to remove the AppSumo-sponsored entry.

Alternatively, if you’re a frequent AppSumo shopper, consider signing up for AppSumo Plus. This annual subscription, priced at $99, offers a 10% discount on all purchases, a free KingSumo Pro account, a free SendFox Tier 1 account, and $25 vouchers every 90 days. AppSumo Plus is an excellent value for those who plan to make multiple purchases on the platform.

Benefits of the paid plan:

Custom branding to maintain a consistent look and feel
Advanced tracking options for monitoring contest performance
Localization options to reach a global audience
Seamless integration with popular email marketing tools
Removal of AppSumo branding for a more professional appearance

Creating a Giveaway [02:44]

Setting up a giveaway in KingSumo is a straightforward process, thanks to its intuitive contest creation wizard. To begin, click on “New Giveaway” and enter the title and description of your contest. Next, schedule your giveaway by specifying the start and end dates, as well as the prize award date. Choose the number of winners and set your time zone.

Upload eye-catching images of your prize to entice participants. KingSumo allows you to collect additional information from entrants, such as their name and phone number, in addition to their email address (which is required).

Tips for creating an engaging giveaway:

Use a clear and compelling title and description
Select visually appealing images to showcase your prize
Set a reasonable duration for your contest (e.g., one week)
Consider offering multiple prizes to increase participation
Collect only necessary information from participants to reduce friction

Bonus Entries [04:09]

One of KingSumo’s standout features is the ability to offer bonus entries for participants who complete additional actions. This not only increases engagement but also helps you achieve your marketing goals, such as growing your social media following or driving traffic to your content.

Some of the available bonus entry options include:

YouTube subscribe
Facebook like
Instagram follow
Twitter follow
Podcast subscribe
Daily entries
Watching a YouTube video
Providing a phone number

When setting up bonus entries, you can specify the action text and URL (if applicable) and choose the number of additional entries awarded for completing the action.

Strategies for leveraging bonus entries:

Focus on actions that align with your marketing objectives
Offer more entries for high-value actions (e.g., subscribing to your YouTube channel)
Use daily entries to encourage repeat visits and ongoing engagement
Drive traffic to your content by requiring participants to watch a video or visit a specific URL
Consider offering a phone number entry option for SMS marketing purposes

Integrations [04:59]

KingSumo offers integrations with several popular email marketing platforms, allowing you to seamlessly add contest participants to your mailing lists. The available integrations include:

SendFox
Zapier
Mailchimp
ConvertKit
Klaviyo

To set up an integration, navigate to the “Integrations” tab in your account settings and connect your desired platform. Once connected, you can select the specific list you want to add contest entrants to during the giveaway creation process.

Benefits of integrating KingSumo with your email marketing platform:

Automatically grow your email list with engaged subscribers
Segment contest participants for targeted follow-up campaigns
Streamline your marketing efforts by eliminating manual data entry
Leverage the power of email marketing to nurture leads and drive sales

Setting the Rules & Terms [06:01]

KingSumo provides default rules and terms for your giveaways, which you can easily customize to fit your specific requirements. If you need to add any legal language or contest-specific guidelines, simply deselect the “Use default rules” option and edit the document accordingly.

Additionally, you can choose to enable the invisible reCAPTCHA and GDPR consent checkbox to protect your contest from spam entries and ensure compliance with EU data protection regulations.

Important considerations when setting rules and terms:

Consult with a legal professional to ensure your rules comply with applicable laws and regulations
Clearly state any eligibility requirements, such as age or location restrictions
Specify how winners will be selected and notified
Detail any limitations or conditions associated with the prize
Include a disclaimer of liability and release of claims

Giveaway Frontend [06:25]

Once your giveaway is published, KingSumo provides a user-friendly and visually appealing frontend for your participants. The contest page features a slider showcasing the prize images, a countdown timer, and entry options (email or Google sign-in).

After entering, participants are presented with a confirmation message and the available bonus entry options. KingSumo intelligently embeds external content, such as YouTube videos, directly on the giveaway page, ensuring a seamless user experience.

While the contest URL is hosted on the KingSumo domain by default, you can easily embed the giveaway on your own website using the provided embed code.

Tips for optimizing the giveaway frontend:

Use high-quality, engaging images to showcase your prize
Customize the confirmation message to align with your brand voice
Embed the giveaway on your website to keep participants engaged with your content
Share the giveaway URL across your social media channels and email list to drive traffic
Monitor the contest analytics to track performance and adjust your promotion strategy as needed

Settings [07:02]

KingSumo’s account settings allow you to fine-tune various aspects of your giveaway and overall contest management experience. The main settings sections include:

Account: Update your personal information and preferences
Branding: Upload your logo to maintain a consistent brand presence
Tracking: Add your Facebook (Meta) Pixel ID for advanced tracking and analytics
Integrations: Connect your email marketing platforms and manage integrations
API: Access the API documentation and credentials for custom integrations

One notable feature in the branding section is the ability to upload your own logo, which automatically updates across all your live and future giveaways.

Best practices for configuring your KingSumo settings:

Ensure your account information is accurate and up to date
Upload a high-quality logo that aligns with your brand guidelines
Implement tracking pixels to gain valuable insights into contest performance
Double-check your integration settings to ensure proper data syncing
Explore the API documentation if you plan to create custom integrations

Giveaway Problems [09:06]

While KingSumo provides a robust and user-friendly platform for creating and managing giveaways, there are a few potential issues to be aware of:

Participants can potentially game the system by clicking on bonus entry options without completing the required actions (e.g., sharing on Twitter without actually posting the tweet)
Some users may use browser extensions or other tools to bypass certain entry requirements, such as watching a full YouTube video

It’s important to note that these issues are inherent to online giveaways and not specific to KingSumo. The platform does implement measures to mitigate gaming, such as embedding YouTube videos directly on the contest page without player controls.

Strategies for minimizing giveaway problems:

Focus on high-quality, targeted prizes that attract genuine participants
Use a mix of entry options to diversify your participant pool
Monitor contest analytics for any suspicious activity or sudden spikes in entries
Communicate clear rules and guidelines to set expectations for participants
Consider implementing additional verification steps for high-value prizes (e.g., requiring winners to submit proof of completion for certain actions)

Conclusion [10:25]

KingSumo is a powerful, easy-to-use contest and giveaway platform that offers an excellent balance of features and affordability. With its intuitive contest creation process, customizable branding, advanced integrations, and user-friendly frontend, KingSumo is well-suited for businesses and content creators looking to grow their audience and engage their followers.

While no contest platform is entirely foolproof, KingSumo provides a solid foundation for running successful giveaways and mitigating potential issues. The lifetime deal, priced at just $49, offers exceptional value for those seeking a reliable and cost-effective solution for their contest needs.

Overall, KingSumo earns a solid 8.7/10 rating for its comprehensive feature set, ease of use, and time-tested reliability. If you’re in the market for a no-frills contest platform that delivers results, KingSumo is definitely worth considering.