CommunityCampaignEngagement

Community Challenge: 7-Day Social Hunt for the Best Dry January and Tech Deals

vvaluednetwork

2026-02-13

8 min read

Launch a 7-day community deal hunt for Dry January and CES discounts—verify submissions, run a public leaderboard, and reward top scouts.

Hook: Tired of wading through expired codes, confusing affiliate links, and low-quality coupon aggregators? Run a 7-day community-led deal hunt that turns your audience into verified scouts—finding the best Dry January deals (non-alcoholic beverages and wellness promos) and post-CES tech discounts—while you drive traffic, build trust, and reward participation with a live social leaderboard and prize incentives.

Why this campaign works in 2026

Two trends make this moment perfect for a social deal-hunt: beverage brands have retooled Dry January marketing toward personalized wellness goals (Digiday, Jan 2026), and CES 2026 produced a wave of high-interest gadgets with immediate discount windows and preorders (ZDNET coverage). Social platforms are also evolving—new features on alternative networks (e.g., Bluesky's recent growth and live-sharing features) increase distribution channels for user-generated finds.

"Community-sourced deals beat aggregators when you can verify submissions quickly and reward quality." — Your trusted deals network

What you'll get in 7 days

High-volume, verified user submissions for Dry January deals and CES discounts
A transparent social leaderboard that sparks friendly competition
Sharable social content to drive acquisition and retention
Data on conversion and top-performing merchants for reporting and future partnerships

Campaign Blueprint: Day-by-day plan

Before launch (1–3 days)

Set goals: submissions, verified deals, referral clicks, and new sign-ups. Example KPI targets for 7 days: 300 submissions, 150 verified deals, 5% uplift in referral traffic.
Create a submission form template (short). Required fields: deal title, merchant, product link, price/discount, screenshot, promo code (if any), where/how found, tag (Dry January / CES), and user handle. Include an affidavit checkbox confirming the submitter tried the code or verified price.
Build a lightweight verification workflow: Airtable or Google Sheets for intake, a two-step verification (automated check for link status + human review for screenshots and price), and a status flag (pending, verified, rejected). Consider verification automation for metadata extraction and simple link checks to reduce manual load.
Prize inventory: secure sponsor discounts (brands love product seeding during Dry Jan or CES), platform gift cards, or affiliate bonuses. Tier prizes by leaderboard rank and accuracy. For payouts and prize distribution, consult guides on onboarding wallets and payments.
Prepare legal basics: contest rules, privacy notice, and FTC affiliate disclosure templates for winners and user posts.

Day 1 — Kickoff: Rally your community

Launch announcement with clear rules, timeline, and prize tiers.
Feature example submissions to show quality standards (one Dry January mock post, one CES mock post).
Promote via email, in-app banners, and social (X, Instagram, Bluesky where relevant).

Day 2–3 — Volume and velocity

Incentivize early submissions: bonus points for posts in first 48 hours.
Run a referral multiplier: each friend who submits within 24 hours adds +1 point to the referrer.
Push micro-challenges: e.g., "Best mocktail find" or "Top CES accessory under $100" with small flash prizes to keep momentum.

Publish a daily roundup of verified top 10 deals—email and social cards optimized for shares.
Host a live verification stream or AMA to demonstrate how you vet deals; increases trust and teaches your process.
Highlight merchants offering exclusive coupon codes for community members (partnered promotions).

Day 7 — Final push & winners

Final leaderboard snapshot; announce winners and distribute prizes.
Publish a post-mortem with metrics and case studies for sponsors and future participants.

Keep scoring transparent and simple to trust the leaderboard. Use a points system that rewards both volume and quality.

Sample scoring rubric

Verified deal: +10 points
Original screenshot or receipt: +3 points
Merchant partnership / exclusive promo: +5 points
Community votes (upvotes): +1 per 10 votes (caps apply)
Referral conversion (new user signs and submits): +4 each

Update the leaderboard in near real-time using WebSocket or regular cron updates. If real-time is infeasible, refresh every 15–30 minutes and display last-update timestamp for transparency.

User submissions: templates and moderation

Make it effortless to submit and robust to moderate.

Recommended submission format

Title: Brand + Offer (e.g., "Seedlip 20% Off Dry January 2-Pack")
Category tag: Dry January / CES / Other
Exact discount and T&Cs (expiration date)
Direct link + screenshot of cart or promo page
How you found it: retailer, email, in-store, social

Moderation checklist

Confirm link resolves and price matches submission.
Check promo code validity in a test cart if required.
Verify screenshot metadata or receipt if suspicious — consider tools from deepfake detection reviews to vet short videos and image tampering.
Cross-check for duplicates (dedupe within 24 hours).
Flag submissions that appear to be self-promoting merchants or bots for manual review.

Keep communications fast: automatic emails for status changes (received/verified/rejected) and a short reason for rejections to educate contributors.

Brands running Dry January promos or post-CES discounts will sponsor when you can prove audience alignment and verification processes.

Offer sponsors a co-branded email and one featured spot in the daily roundup.
Negotiate exclusive discount codes for your community—these provide higher conversion and easier verification.
Provide sponsor dashboards with deal performance metrics (clicks, conversions, redemptions).

Mitigating fraud, legal & compliance

Risk management is essential—fraudulent claims, expired coupons, and undisclosed affiliate links erode trust.

Key safeguards

Require screenshots and, when relevant, a short video of the checkout to verify pricing.
Enforce an affidavit on submissions: "I confirm I tested this promo and it worked."
Implement rate limits and CAPTCHA to block bots.
Record affiliate disclosures on the submission and public post: "This post may contain affiliate links." See customer trust signals for disclosure best practices.
Follow FTC endorsement guidelines for contests and affiliate transparency.

Promotion & channels in 2026

Use a multi-channel approach that reflects where deal-hunters spend time in 2026.

Top distribution tactics

Email blasts with the daily top 10 (highest open & share rates historically for deal campaigns)
In-app banners and push notifications for active users
Organic social: X/Bluesky/Instagram Reels/TikTok highlight videos of top submissions
Community platforms: Discord/Slack threads and subreddit AMAs—to capture power users
Paid social ads that promote the leaderboard and user success stories

Note: Bluesky's growth in early 2026 and features for live sharing make it a promising channel for native deal broadcasts. Use platform-native live tools to host verification sessions and announce winners; cross-promote streams using guides like Bluesky & Twitch Live badge playbooks.

Measuring success: KPIs and reporting

Track these KPIs to evaluate performance and justify sponsorships:

Submissions received and verified ratio
Leaderboard interaction (views, shares)
Referral conversions and new user sign-ups
Affiliate / merchant conversion rate and average order value
Social engagement lift and content shares

Case study idea: Quick pilot you can run

Run a 7-day pilot with a tight audience (500–1,000 active users). Offer two tiered prizes: a $500 grand prize and 10 runner-up $25 gift cards. Use sponsor-provided exclusive codes for 30% of submissions to simplify verification. In a similar structured campaign, expect a 10–15% submission rate from active users, with 40–60% of submissions verified after quality checks. Use the pilot to refine scoring and moderation rules before scaling.

Content & community longevity: Beyond day 7

A well-run Social Hunt should feed evergreen content and ongoing engagement.

Turn verified finds into a searchable deals hub tagged "Dry January 2026" and "CES 2026" for SEO value — combine this with the tools you used during the campaign to keep items discoverable.
Create a monthly "community-curated deals" newsletter featuring top contributors (boosts retention).
Offer contributor badges and affiliate dashboards for top submitters to create long-term creator partnerships.

Advanced strategies & predictions for deal hunts in 2026

Here are strategies that will matter most this year:

Micro-incentives over grand prizes: Frequent small wins keep daily activity high—micro-prizes for specific categories (best mocktail, best CES audio accessory under $150).
Verification automation: Use link-check APIs and headless browser scripts to auto-check price and coupon validity before human review.
Creator monetization paths: Offer top contributors the chance to join affiliate programs directly via your platform, with transparent dashboards—turn contributors into long-term partners.
Cross-platform authenticity: Integrate proof via platform-native live or short-form video (TikTok/Instagram/Bluesky/Twitch tools) to reduce fraud and increase trust.
Data monetization—safely: Aggregate anonymized trend reports to show sponsors what categories convert (non-alc beverages, budget earbuds, smart-home bargains) without sharing PII.

Use this template to drive quick shares:

We’re launching a 7-day Community Deal Hunt! Find the best Dry January non-alc beverages or CES discounts, submit them here, and climb our live leaderboard to win daily prizes. Verified deals only — prizes, badges & sponsor exclusives. Ready? Submit now: [link]

Final checklist before you hit publish

Submission form live, legal and privacy copy approved
Verification process documented and staffed
Prize and sponsor commitments secured
Leaderboards set up and tested
Promotion calendar and creative ready

Actionable takeaways

Start small and verify fast: A 7-day pilot with rigorous verification builds trust and repeat participation.
Reward accuracy, not just volume: Points for verified deals and purchaser proof reduce fraud and increase conversions.
Leverage new channels: Use Bluesky-like live features and platform-native tools to amplify authenticity and reach.
Turn the moment into lifespan: Convert verified finds into evergreen content and creator pathways for ongoing community value.

Closing — Join the hunt

Run the 7-day Social Hunt to turn your audience into deal-finding power users. You’ll reduce the noise of expired codes and dubious listings, spotlight high-value Dry January deals and hot CES discounts, and grow engagement with a transparent social leaderboard and meaningful prize incentives. Start with a pilot, refine your verification, and scale the program into a recurring community staple.

Ready to launch? Build your submission form, lock in prizes, and announce Day 1. Want our starter toolkit (submission template, scoring sheet, and moderation checklist)? Click to claim it and recruit your first 100 scouts today.

valuednetwork

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.