According to recent research published on Marketing Sherpa, 4 out of 7 possible ways to grow your email lists are connected to incentives. Just like Jeff Bullas does here on the right-hand side of this page, where he offers an eBook in exchange for your email address! (Tip: it's worth it!)

These small bribes might also take the form of coupons, or a chance to win something within a sweepstakes or contest or a guaranteed gift.

Some facts and figures to consider

Here are the most important stats from the infographic that place some perspective and highlight some important elements you need to consider for Facebook contests.

• 78% use Facebook from mobile, but apps can't be opened on mobile by default, so make sure that your app has a mobile compatible version. (Source.)
• 77% of Facebook marketers' top goal is to drive brand awareness. Contests are perfect for this as typically friends of fans are invited to vote. (Source.)
• 42% of Facebook marketers think discounts and special offers, which require fans to share and interact with their networks, are effective. (Source.)

Viral spread

This last number refers to viral spread… And this is why bigger bribes – contests and sweepstakes – are effective. They have inbuilt sharing incentives.

For example, lets say that you run a photo contest; you can draw 3 prizes among the top most popular entries. Entrants will want to get in among the top 10, so will ask friends to vote on their image. This is how contests are perfectly constructed for reaching the friends of the fans.

If you have a draw then people can earn bonus entry points by inviting their friends. (Without this incentive, there wouldn't be much sense to share the sweepstakes, as the subscriber decreases his or her own chance of winning.) The more points one collects, the better their chance of winning.

As co-founder of Antavo, a contest and activation platform I see a lot of good examples. We have collected some Facebook contest ideas on how you can use these promotions to grow your email list throughout the year.

There is one idea for every month. Have a look!