A well-run online contest turns your guests into your marketing team—they create the photos, tag their friends, and hand you a stack of content and email addresses you can use all season. For an RV park or campground, the goal is not vanity likes. It is filling slow midweek and shoulder-season dates, growing your email list, and collecting real photos you can reuse on your website and booking pages. Done right, a single photo contest can cost you one comped weekend and return dozens of qualified leads.
Key takeaways
- Tie every contest to a measurable goal—new email signups, off-peak bookings, or usable guest photos—not just engagement.
- Make entry require an email address so the contest builds a list you own, not just a social following.
- Pick prizes that attract real campers (a free midweek stay) and skip generic gift cards that draw prize hunters.
- Reuse the winning entries for months: website galleries, social posts, and your reservation pages.
Start with one goal and one metric
Decide what the contest is actually for before you design it, because the goal changes everything else. A contest built to grow your email list looks different from one built to fill October weekends. Pick a single primary goal and one number you will check afterward.
- Grow the email list: require an email to enter; success = net new subscribers (aim for 100–300 from a mid-sized park’s audience).
- Fill off-peak dates: make the prize a midweek or shoulder-season stay and offer every entrant a small discount code; success = bookings on those dates.
- Build a photo library: run a “best campsite photo” contest; success = the number of usable, high-resolution images you collect.
Choose a prize that filters for real campers
The prize decides who enters. A $200 Amazon gift card brings out professional sweepstakes enterers who will never visit your park. A two-night midweek stay brings out people who actually want to camp—your future guests. Match the prize to the camper, and use the off-season to your advantage.
- Best prize: a free two-night stay valid Sunday–Thursday or in your slow months—it costs you little when sites would sit empty.
- Good runner-up prizes: a firewood-and-s’mores bundle, a logo’d camp chair or mug, or a 15% off code for a future booking.
- Give everyone a consolation prize: email all entrants a “thanks for playing” booking discount so even non-winners convert.
Keep the rules and entry simple and legal
Friction kills entries, and vague rules invite disputes. Keep the entry to a single step, state the rules in plain language, and follow the platform’s promotion guidelines so your post does not get removed. A clear “Best Campsite Photo” theme beats an open-ended ask every time because people know exactly what to submit.
- Write the basics in the post: who can enter, the deadline, how the winner is picked, and the prize value.
- State that you may reuse submitted photos in your marketing—this is how you legally build your photo library.
- Pick a winner by judge’s choice, not most likes, so the result is not a popularity contest among entrants’ friends.
- If you collect emails, use a simple form (a free tool or your website) rather than asking people to comment.
Promote it where your guests already are
A contest only works if people see it, and your warmest audience is the one that has already stayed with you. Lead with your email list and past guests, then layer on social and your website. Repeat the post several times—most people miss the first one.
- Email your past-guest list first; they have the photos and the goodwill to enter.
- Post on Facebook and Instagram with one strong photo, and pin it for the contest’s duration.
- Add a banner or pop-up on your homepage and booking page so site visitors see it too.
- Announce the winner publicly with their photo—the recognition fuels entries for your next contest.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a campground run an online contest?
Two to four times a year is plenty for most parks. Run them at moments when you have a real goal—before booking season opens to build buzz, or heading into your slow months to drive off-peak stays. Running contests constantly trains your audience to expect freebies and wears out the novelty.
Do I need a special app or tool to run one?
No. A photo contest can run with a simple email signup form and a social post. Paid contest apps add features like automated random draws and entry tracking, but they are optional. The one thing worth doing properly is capturing entrant emails through a form so the list lives in your own marketing system, not just in social comments.
How do I know if the contest actually worked?
Check the one metric you set at the start. If the goal was email growth, count net new subscribers. If it was off-peak bookings, track how many entrants redeemed the discount code on slow dates. Likes and shares are nice, but the real measure is new contacts and bookings you can trace back to the contest.
If you want contests that feel on-brand and actually feed your bookings, Outdoor Web Solutions can help you plan the theme, prizes, and promotion as part of building a consistent story for your park. Learn how our brand and content services turn one-off campaigns into a steady stream of guest photos, emails, and repeat stays.
