Welcome to our review of ShortStack, one of the top contest marketing platforms on the market. As a small business owner, you know the importance of lead generation and creating a buzz around your brand. ShortStack promises to help you do just that, with its feature-rich platform that allows you to create customizable online contests, giveaways, quizzes, pop-up forms, and landing pages.
But with so many options out there, is ShortStack really worth the investment? In this review, we’ll take an in-depth look at all of its features, pricing plans, pros and cons, and more, to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your business. So let’s dive in and explore what ShortStack has to offer.
What is ShortStack?
ShortStack is a contest marketing platform designed to help businesses generate leads and engage with their audience through social media campaigns. It offers a wide range of features that allow you to create interactive and engaging contests, quizzes, and forms to promote your brand and grow your mailing list.
What sets ShortStack apart from other similar platforms is its advanced gamification features, which include instant-win reel spins, virtual scratch cards, puzzles, and quizzes. These features add an element of fun and excitement to your campaigns, making them more attractive to potential participants. Additionally, ShortStack offers some of the most flexible publishing options, allowing you to create high-quality and sophisticated campaigns.
The platform is also built with organizations in mind, offering features such as role-based team access and white-label campaigns. This makes it a great choice for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to larger companies.
What Features Does ShortStack Offer?
Now that we have a general overview of what ShortStack is, let’s take a closer look at its key features and how they can benefit your business.
Campaign Templates
ShortStack offers a wide selection of customizable campaign templates to help you get started quickly and easily. These pre-made templates cover a variety of contest types, such as quizzes, giveaways, sweepstakes, and more. You can also filter the templates by industry or goal, making it easier to find one that matches your specific needs.
Drag and Drop Builder
Creating a campaign on ShortStack is a breeze, thanks to its intuitive drag and drop builder. You don’t need any coding or design skills to create an eye-catching campaign. Simply choose a template and use the drag and drop interface to add elements, customize colors and fonts, and make other changes to fit your brand’s aesthetic.
Publishing Options
One of the standout features of ShortStack is its flexibility when it comes to publishing your campaigns. You can embed them on your website or blog, share them on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, or even use them in email marketing campaigns. Additionally, you can choose to publish your campaigns as landing pages, pop-up forms, or microsites, depending on your specific needs.
Entries & List Management
Managing entries and building your mailing list is made easy with ShortStack’s comprehensive tools. You can set up entry requirements, such as following your social media accounts or subscribing to your email list, to ensure that you are capturing leads and growing your audience. Plus, all entries are automatically added to your ShortStack database, making it easy to manage and export them for future marketing efforts.
Emails
Email marketing is a crucial aspect of any successful online campaign, and ShortStack offers a suite of powerful email tools to help you make the most of it. You can send automated follow-up emails to participants, set up email drip campaigns, and even personalize emails based on the information collected from your entries. This helps you nurture leads and keep your brand top of mind.
Feeds
ShortStack’s feed feature allows you to integrate social media feeds into your campaign, so participants can follow or engage with your brand on various platforms without leaving the campaign page. This helps increase your social media presence and provides a seamless experience for your audience.
Analytics
ShortStack offers detailed analytics to help you track the performance of your campaigns. You can see how many people have viewed your campaigns, the average time spent on each page, and conversion rates. This data is crucial for understanding what works and what doesn’t, helping you improve future campaigns and achieve better results.
How Much Does ShortStack Cost?
Now that we’ve covered all the features that ShortStack has to offer, let’s talk about pricing. ShortStack offers four different pricing plans:
- Basic: $29/month (billed annually), or $49/month (billed monthly)
- Business: $79/month (billed annually), or $99/month (billed monthly)
- Agency: $199/month (billed annually), or $299/month (billed monthly)
- Brand: Custom pricing available upon request
The Basic plan is a good option for small businesses or those just starting out with contest marketing. It includes access to all features except for white-labeling and team access. The Business plan is best suited for growing businesses, as it includes additional features such as A/B testing and advanced analytics. For larger companies or agencies managing multiple clients, the Agency plan offers more robust features like sub-accounts and client management tools. Finally, the Brand plan is ideal for large organizations that require custom solutions tailored to their specific needs.
ShortStack also offers a 10% discount for annual billing and a free 7-day trial for all plans, giving you the opportunity to test out the platform before committing to a paid plan.
ShortStack Pros
After exploring all of its features and pricing options, here are some of the key pros of using ShortStack for your contest marketing needs:
- Extensive feature set: ShortStack offers a wide range of features that allow you to create interactive and engaging campaigns without any coding or design skills.
- Advanced gamification options: With features like instant-win reel spins, virtual scratch cards, and quizzes, ShortStack adds an element of fun and excitement to your campaigns.
- Flexible publishing options: Whether you want to publish your campaign on your website, social media platforms, or through email marketing, ShortStack has got you covered.
- Comprehensive analytics: The platform offers detailed analytics to help you track the success of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
- Affordable pricing: ShortStack’s pricing plans are reasonably priced, making it accessible for small businesses and startups.
- Excellent customer support: ShortStack offers timely and helpful customer support via multiple channels, including live chat and email.
ShortStack Cons
While ShortStack has many great features, there are a few downsides to consider as well:
- Limited white-labeling options: White-labeling is only available on the Agency and Brand plans, which may not be suitable for smaller businesses.
- No free plan: Unlike some other platforms, ShortStack doesn’t offer a free plan. While there is a 7-day free trial, this may not be enough time for some users to fully test out the platform.
- Some features only available on higher-priced plans: Features like A/B testing and advanced analytics are only available on the more expensive plans, which may not be feasible for budget-conscious businesses.
- No built-in social media scheduling: Unlike some other platforms, ShortStack does not offer built-in social media scheduling tools, so you’ll need to use a separate tool for that.
Final Thoughts on ShortStack
In conclusion, ShortStack is a feature-rich and user-friendly contest marketing platform that offers a wide range of tools to help small businesses generate leads and engage with their audience. Its advanced gamification features, flexible publishing options, and affordable pricing make it a great option for businesses of all sizes. While there are some limitations, such as the lack of white-labeling on lower-priced plans, the overall benefits of using ShortStack outweigh these downsides.
If you’re serious about lead generation and want to take your contest marketing to the next level, ShortStack is definitely worth considering. With its extensive feature set and excellent customer support, it’s a reliable choice that can help you grow your business and achieve your marketing goals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ShortStack is a powerful and versatile contest marketing platform that offers a wide range of features to help businesses create engaging campaigns, capture leads, and drive audience engagement. From customizable campaign templates and a user-friendly drag-and-drop builder to comprehensive analytics and email marketing tools, ShortStack provides everything you need to run successful online contests and promotions.
While ShortStack does have some limitations, such as the lack of white-labeling on lower-priced plans and the absence of a free plan, its overall benefits far outweigh these drawbacks. The platform’s affordability, extensive feature set, and excellent customer support make it a top choice for businesses looking to boost their online presence and grow their audience.
Whether you’re a small business just starting out or a large agency managing multiple clients, ShortStack has pricing plans and features to suit your needs. With a free 7-day trial available for all plans, there’s no reason not to give ShortStack a try and see how it can elevate your contest marketing efforts.
In a nutshell, if you’re serious about running successful online contests, generating leads, and engaging with your audience, ShortStack is a reliable and effective tool that can help you achieve your marketing goals. Give it a shot and take your contest marketing to the next level with ShortStack’s innovative features and intuitive interface.