Oprah’s “favorite things” episode aired this November 19th to the delighted squeals of many a 40-something American woman. Cashmere blankets, diamond jewelry, 3D flat screen televisions, and the yet-to-be-unveiled 2012 VW beetle were some of the gifts Oprah showered upon her grateful audience. Those in the audience on the day of the episode did the most squealing, obviously, but the internet has been buzzing about the extravagance of Oprah’s final “favorite things” episode ever since. Nobody can resist the draw of free stuff, and you don’t have to be Oprah to make this marketing tactic work for you. If you are a blog owner, giveaways are a great way to boost traffic and engagement, and build rapport with advertisers.

Make your readers love you

Every time Oprah hosts one of her yearly “favorite things” shows, the entire studio audience is gifted with every featured item. Most likely, each audience member shares their experience with all of their friends and they all become lifelong Oprah fans and loyal watchers. The audience at home gets to see an entire episode dedicated to their favorite talk show host’s favorite things and swoon over the expensive gifts. They also have to visit her website to find out how to get tickets to the taping of her next show. The media goes crazy every time Oprah loses a pound or recommends a book, so the favorite things event is nothing short of a melee.

Your blog may not have Oprah’s massive worldwide audience, but you don’t need it to make this marketing strategy work for you. What bloggers have in common with Oprah is a platform for personal interaction and an interested audience. Hosting giveaways will keep your audience engaged and bring in new readers. Choose products that you like and that would appeal to your readership. It’s a good idea to start by finding smaller businesses to feature in giveaways. Each time you host a giveaway, explain the rules carefully and create a nice profile of the company that makes the product. Most bloggers require giveaway entrants to leave a comment on that post and simply choose a random number for the winner, but it’s your blog so you can make up whatever rules you like.

 Entice advertisers with quality exposure

Not only does Oprah get devoted fans when she showers her audience with gifts, she gets devoted advertisers. Oprah has the kind of fans that listen to her and buy the products she recommends. Every item on Oprah’s favorite things list is a guaranteed bestseller. Oprah doesn’t buy the gifts she gives to her audience, she selects products she likes and gives the companies the opportunity to give their product away to her fans. Why would any company want to give their products away? Simple: it’s cheaper and more effective than regular advertising, especially if Oprah is the one schilling for them.

If you have a blog that people read, you can build the kind of engaged and interested audience that will be receptive to your product suggestions. Most companies have to spend a lot of money to find willing buyers, and for certain companies you can probably take a lot of the guesswork out of building trust and appealing to their audience. Plus,  for the cost of one item, they get to put their product in the hands of a grateful and enthusiastic customer that will tell their friends about their big “win” and ultimately improve their business. Bloggers have the unique ability to build trust with their readers because they can interact with them directly. As your blog grows, you will probably have offers for sponsorship and product giveaways left and right. Keep your audience in mind every time you accept one of these offers. It may even be a good idea to reach out to companies that you know you love, so you can give sincere praise for their products.