All Internet marketers are informed that Giveaways are sure to build lists. In fact, some emails of a promotional nature even mention things like 5000 or 10000 new leads!

Is this true? Are they all they are cracked up to be?

Firstly, in order to build a list, a gift is submitted to be downloaded by members. In return for the gift they complete a form providing their name and email address. Everyone is happy. The member has got the download they wanted and the person putting the gift forward has had an email address sent to the auto responder.

The next step is for the auto responder to send a number of offers to the member. This should not be a problem as this was part of the agreement when the download was requested and received.

With the dawning of more and more Giveaways, the rules have been tightened somewhat. Before the need to recruit more and more members was not a big deal in any way, and if you managed to do this all was well and good.

The present rules, however make it completely essential that members or contributors are recruited by every marketer who wants to offer a gift. But how easy is this to do without a list?

A marketer wants to build a list so he joins a Giveaway and submits the gift but he has to take on new members prior to his gift being shown. This means if you do not have a list, you will not acquire one from a Giveaway event, because without recruiting more people, your gift will be deleted. Isn't this what we have always called a catch 22?

Some Giveaways are set up in a way to help the developing marketer, by offering an option to upgrade. The contributor's gift will then be there for all to see or ranking points will be allocated.

At least, in this way the gift will have a chance of being seen and even though money has to change hands before this happens, as a rule the cost is not excessive.

Quite a few Giveaways take the gifts off after a set period of time if the contributor has not recruited members in sufficient numbers.

So what can you do about this? Well, one answer is to ensure the Giveaway permits an upgrade allowing the gifts to remain on show.

Although the tide may well be turning, the beginners are not completely shut out. In an event running until the end of 2008, beginner list builders are catered for with an upgrade option, an option for a fully customized gift, a sign up and download page and hosting is included.

The best advice you could be given is to shop around and fins the Giveaway Events which can still help you to build a list.