A couple of days ago, a man named @skydiver on Twitter posted a challenge.

Going away for Xmas? annetaintor.com sent me 10 cool luggage tags to give away. Email me a haiku…. 1st 10 gets them.

I jumped into action! He was asking for haiku about HelpAReporter.com, which is an amazing concept that I will blog about another day.

The “tweet” came in at 7:48 a.m. I was on it. At 7:59, I sent these award-worthy lines:

People with knowledge
Writers with questions and quests
HARO brings connections

Yep. Brings a tear to your eye with its beauty, doesn’t it?

At 8:01, @skydiver tweeted again. He has more than 17,000 followers, and in 14 minutes, he had received way more than 10 entries.

I was #11.*

Now that you’ve heard the sad story of my close brush with fame as a haiku composer, let’s ask the bigger question…

Why the hell would I spend 11 minutes of my life writing bad poetry to win a luggage tag?

Therein lies the allure of a giveaway. I don’t need another luggage tag, just like I didn’t need another pair of cycling socks when I raced to enter a drawing for a free pair from @SoCalCycling. I also didn’t need another package of Christmas cards, but that didn’t stop me from jumping to be the first to send @VPG_Printing my holiday wish list.

But I like to win stuff. I like to get free stuff. And I’ll do things I don’t really want to do (give my email, register on a site) to obtain goodies that I perceive have some value.

A giveaway or contest, when done correctly, can generate great leads. I hadn’t heard of Vertical Printing and Graphics or SoCalCycling before I entered (and won!) their contests. And I’ve already told D.J. (the BF cyclist) about the local bike shop, and I may need VPG for some local printing. These groups offered items relevant to their business to a population of people interested in what they do. They’re definitely gaining exposure, buzz and future customers.

I’ve done an experiment with my own giveaway here at Avenue Z. In the right column, I offer new email subscribers a free copy of the 100+ Free and Low-Cost Tools Your Organization Can’t Live Without. That simple incentive has probably tripled my subscription rate.

Written any bad haiku lately? Tried any giveaways with your site? What works for you?

*For the record, a haiku should have some kind of reference to nature. I took a little too long unsuccessfully trying to work a leaf or a tree into the poem. That’s why I didn’t win.