Many companies make the mistake when running promotions of giving customers things that they will not actually want - that is, giving them “throwaway items” - but if you want to get customers into your store with your promotion, you will need to make sure you are giving them something they will actually want; think of yourself when you are running a promotion, and make sure you are only giving away something that you yourself would actually want to receive from a store!
Another thing you should realize is that the things you give away in a promotion do not necessarily have to be from you or your store; one of the best ways to make a promotion work is to give away a large gift card to a website lots of people use, such as Amazon or iTunes, as this will give everyone a product they are familiar with, and will in turn give them the drive they need to take part in the promotion.
And one of the big things when you are running a promotion for your business will be that you pay close attention to what is working and what is not working; as the promotion moves along, be willing to always tweak your approach - enhancing the things that are working well, and getting rid of the aspects of the promotion that are not working at all.
As you run more promotions with your business, you will become better at knowing how to run promotions that work - but as you get started with these tips in mind, you will be well on your way to having a successful promotion!