3 Mother's Day promotions to please your advertisers (and your Mom!)

Mother's Day is not only one of the most popular holidays, but it also represents one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year. In fact, the average American spends $170 on their mom. With more than 85 million moms in the U.S., that's a lot of spending on a single day.

This makes it an ideal opportunity to target advertisers like jewelry stores, spas, retail or home & garden centers. Plus, these promotions are all aimed at a desirable demographic that advertisers want to reach, decision-making-mothers, so you can be sure you're presenting them with a valuable opportunity.

Here are 3 promotions that will be a sure-fire win this Mother's Day.

1. PHOTO CONTESTS

Photo contests are a perfect promotion to run for Mother's Day. These contests are popular and have a tendency to go viral on social media – people are passionate about their families and are invested in campaigning for votes.

Generating high numbers of pageviews, photo contests can be leveraged into higher sponsorship investments as they will showcase their branding and lead to lots of exposure for your advertisers.

To maximize the amount of entries, include a great prize for your winners. The better the prize, the higher the participation. Additionally, email all entrants a bounce-back coupon highlighting a product or service of the advertisers to drive foot traffic to their business.

2. SWEEPSTAKES

Mother's Day has become a major gift-giving holiday with total spending to reach $21 billion this year. Giveaways with prizes like spa days, house cleaning services or jewelry are all ideal for Mother's Day promotions. Just remember, the bigger the prize, the higher the number of entries.

Sweepstakes are the best way to grow your email database and your advertiser's email database as well. On the registration page, be sure to include a carefully crafted email opt-in for both you and the advertiser. Plus, to drive foot traffic, email out a bounceback coupon to all entrants that highlights a product or service of the advertiser.

3. QUIZZES

If you want to engage a wide audience, quizzes can be a great option. And when it comes to creating quizzes around Mother's Day, there are lots of great ideas.

• "Who's Your TV Mom?"
• "What Should You Get Your Mom for Mother's Day?"
• "Can You Name These Celebrity Mothers?"
• "Which Local Restaurant Should You Take Mom To?"
• "Who Said These Famous Motherhood Quotes?"

Customize the quiz to feature your advertiser's branding throughout. Plus, on the outcome page, work with your advertiser to develop an offer that can feature the advertiser's products or services – like a discount off a jewelry purchase or a coupon for a spa service.

Maximize your revenue opportunity by creating a Mother's Day quiz bundle. Bundling a set of 3-5 themed quizzes streamlines your sales process by needing to find only one sponsor instead of many. Additionally, providing a longer shelf-life for your advertiser's branding means you can expect a higher sponsorship investment.

Be ready to take full advantage of the Mother's Day holiday this year by running a photo contest, sweepstakes, quizzes – or maximize your opportunity by running a combination of all three.

Matt Coen is the president and co-founder of Second Street, a leading provider of private-label online promotions platforms and partner success services for media companies based in St. Louis, Mo. He can be reached at (314) 880-4902 or matt@secondstreet.com.