Decide what you are trying to accomplish

Do you want to get people interested in your product? Do you want to get them into the store or increase Web traffic? Do you want to increase sales? And, what message does the theme convey to contest participants? How will a contest or sweepstakes tie into your marketing and advertising strategy?

I recommend: Motivation Show and HomeBizWomen.com have advice on setting some of these high-level goals.

Set up the structure

Figure out what kind of contest it will be; you can do a random drawing or have a set number of winners for each prize category, for instance. Determine the prize or prizes, establish a timeline, think about your target audience, develop the rules and pick an entry method.

I recommend: Peachpit has a host of suggestions for structuring a contest or sweepstakes.

Know the law

There are many state and federal regulations dictating how companies can engage in these kinds of promotional activities. In particular, don't solicit a payment for entering the contest – that makes it a lottery and only federal and state governments can run those.

I recommend: Santella & Associates offers an in-depth perspective about the legal issues you may encounter. An overview of some of the differences between a lottery and a sweepstakes can be found in Oz Magazine.

Run it from your PC

Software can organize an entire contest or sweepstakes campaign for you.

I recommend: enectSweeps is a do-it-yourself, Web-based tool that lets you manage an email list and promotional site for your contest while watching the audience results in real-time. You pay the vendor ten cents for each sweepstakes response

Hire a pro

Specialized firms can take on all the marketing and operation of your contest.

I recommend: Try Marketing Resources and Extra Mile.