9 YouTube Giveaway Ideas To Grow Your Channel

Whether you're a budding content creator or using YouTube as a way to promote your product or service, giveaways are one of the most effective tools available today.

With so many established channels, newer videos often struggle to get noticed. That’s where giveaways come in — they’re a tried-and-true way to increase brand awareness, boost views, and drive real growth. Let’s dive into smart ideas for running a contest that fuels your audience and expands your reach potential, giveaways make your channel stand out and attract more attention in a crowded space.

Let's take a look at some of the most effective types of giveaways you can run.

An effective way to run a YouTube giveaway is by encouraging viewers to engage directly on your videos in order to be in for the chance to win a prize.

Ask users to leave a comment on a specific video, and you can either pick a winner at random or choose based on the most insightful, funny, or helpful comment.

This is a fun and easy way to increase engagement and gives you valuable feedback on what resonates with your target audience — perfect for building community and informing your marketing campaign.

A sweepstakes is a type of YouTube giveaway where participants complete various actions to earn entries. The more actions they complete, the better their chances of winning — it's an ideal format for running a contest that builds excitement and participation.

This is perfect for increasing engagement and encouraging actions that support your growth goals — like growing your email list, driving traffic to your landing page, and expanding your reach on social media platforms.

With Gleam, you can create flexible, verified entry actions such as:

• Subscribing to your channel
• Sharing the giveaway with friends
• Liking or commenting on your videos
• Visiting your social media pages
• Unlocking bonus entries for completing all actions

Gleam’s business growth platform makes it easy to set up and manage all of this, while you focus on creating content and building your brand. Entry actions are fully customizable, and Gleam automatically handles entry verification and contest rules compliance.

A fantastic way to boost views and engage both loyal fans and newcomers is with a YouTube Scavenger Hunt.

This template makes it super easy to keep viewers watching closely, as they’ll need to spot secret codes hidden within your videos to enter for a chance to win.

Simply reveal entry codes throughout your content, and viewers can unlock entries by finding and submitting them.

You can even add new codes as you release more videos, keeping fans coming back for more chances to win and creating a super interactive experience.

A great way to run a successful YouTube giveaway is through a video submission contest. It’s an interactive method that not only encourages creativity but also generates user-generated content that can help promote your brand.

Invite viewers to create a short video for a chance to win — it could be a review of your product or service, a response to one of your videos, or a challenge entry. This boosts your visibility across social networks and adds authenticity to your marketing campaign.

With Gleam, you can set up this type of contest easily using a customizable template. Participants can enter by submitting their videos from YouTube or other social media platforms, making the process smooth and accessible.

This format works particularly well for growing a community and increasing engagement while creating a library of authentic content that reflects your brand.

A brilliant way to reach a wider audience and build engagement is by running your YouTube giveaway through Linktree. It’s a clean and mobile-friendly option that works great with video descriptions or your YouTube bio.

Just direct viewers to your Linktree, and from there they can enter your contest, follow you on other social media platforms, visit your site, or explore your content — all from one place.

This setup is perfect for creators who want to promote their giveaway across multiple social networks while keeping the experience simple and user-friendly.

Gleam's Linktree-compatible template makes it easy to manage everything while boosting visibility and increasing engagement.

A trivia giveaway is a great way to boost interaction and run a fun, engaging YouTube giveaway that gets your audience thinking. It’s simple to set up and perfect for increasing engagement while keeping things light and interactive.

Ask a trivia question in your video and encourage viewers to comment with the correct answer to enter your contest. You can then randomly pick a winner or feature correct answers in your next video.

This is a great tactic to build community, especially when paired with a relevant product or service as the prize. It encourages participation while also creating anticipation for future content.

Trivia formats also work well across your other social media platforms — consider teasing the question on Instagram or Twitter to promote your giveaway across multiple channels.

A Q&A comment contest is a fantastic way to create content your audience actually wants — while also increasing your engagement. Post a video asking viewers to drop questions in the comments, and later feature your favorites in a follow-up Q&A.

This method helps you generate relevant, audience-driven content while rewarding loyal fans with a shoutout or even a prize. It’s an interactive way to run a meaningful YouTube giveaway that fuels both creativity and retention.

You can even pair this with other social media platforms by promoting your Q&A across Instagram Stories or Twitter to pull in more questions.

Hosting a live stream? Turn it into a YouTube giveaway event by letting your audience participate in real time. Ask questions, run challenges, or simply draw a winner live during the broadcast.

This creates excitement and builds urgency. Plus, when you announce the winner during the stream, it adds transparency and energy to your giveaway.

You can pick a winner using Gleam’s Quick Draws tool, which gives you a public-facing interface — perfect for live events.

One powerful way to run YouTube giveaways is by teaming up with another brand. You can give away one of their products or offer a prize bundle featuring your product or service alongside theirs.

This works brilliantly for review, unboxing, or haul-style videos where you can show off everything included in the giveaway. Not only does it add value for your viewers, but it also helps both brands increase brand awareness and reach new target audiences.

These kinds of collaborations are great for running a contest with a high-value prize — and for building relationships in your niche.

Running a recurring giveaway — like a monthly or seasonal draw — is a smart way to build ongoing engagement and run a successful long-term campaign. It keeps your audience excited and consistently interacting with your content.

By using Gleam’s recurring giveaway setup, you can automate entries for actions like subscribing, visiting a page, or sharing your videos. This helps drive repeat behavior and keeps your YouTube giveaways top of mind.

Recurring campaigns also help you grow your email list, build habits around your content, and reward loyal followers who stick with you month after month.

While giveaways are powerful tools for growth, there are a few types you should avoid to stay in line with YouTube’s contest rules and terms and conditions.

False Engagement

Avoid giveaways that require users to like, share, or subscribe as a condition of entry. These actions violate YouTube’s platform rules.

Prohibited Prizes

Stay away from giveaways that include restricted or illegal prizes like alcohol, firearms, or tobacco.

Pay-to-Enter Lotteries

Requiring payment to enter is considered a lottery and can create legal issues. Always offer a free entry method.

Following the right approach ensures your giveaway supports business growth, builds trust with your audience, and avoids compliance issues.