From The Contest Queen

Being the Contest Queen, I am a member of every contest and sweepstaking site that is featured on my website (under Resources) as I have been in contact with all the site owners at some point.  Some have daily or weekly sweepstakes e-newsletters as part of what they offer to their members to help them stay on top of new promotions.  For some reason yesterday I opened the one from Look Contests.

Why had I opened it today after receiving it for eons?  (It is not possible for me to check every website and read every newsletter every day as I get so many of them and I would get nothing else done.)  It showed I had entered nothing.  So while I drank my morning tea I headed over to Look Contests to submit a few entries.

I really liked how the site was set up.  It listed contests on the left, the browser upper right and at the bottom it showed the details of the particular promotion I was at.  Then I could click different option on each promotion listing to track if I entered, delete it, set-up a timer to re-enter, etc.  Why did I not remember how wonderfully easy this site was to use when I first looked at it?

Look Contests is a by Invitation Only website, so I contacted Mike (the site owner) to see how I could invite all my contesting buddies to check it out too.  He said the first 500 people to sign-up and use the promo code ContestQueen would be automatically approved.

If you used Sweep or TurboSweeps in the past, you may like this site as I felt it had the same look and feel but you didn’t have to load the promotions in yourself.

Try it today and let me know what you think.

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!

It never ceases to amaze me with over 6 billion people on this plant, how small this world really is.

Several years ago I got an email from Kate asking for a bit of help getting a tardy prize for her daughter.  After I helped her, I realized she signed off with her city; Gibsons, BC.  I wrote her back and told her I was coming out west to visit my in-laws and they only lived 30 minutes up the coast.  Could we get together for coffee?  Well, Kate then arranged a full-out luncheon with seven other fellow contestors from up and down the entire BC coast. What fun we had!  I met some amazing women, one of them being Barb.

Now, a few weeks ago I get and email from my friend Harmony in Vancouver, BC.  (She is a fellow contestor and runs the Vancouver Contest Club.)  She is working for a company that is running a promotion and would like my help.  Of course, I said yes.

A week or so ago, I get contacted by Jordon.  He works for a company in BC that has created a program companies can use to run their own promotions.  He wanted to know if I would consider testing it out.  In his initial email he also mentioned his mother was an avid contestor.  SMALL WORLD CONNECTION #1: He did include his last name, but I did not make the connection to his mother.  Only upon having a phone conversation with him, and he told me his mother was Barb, did make the connection.  Silly me for not catching on right away!

In the second email he sent me, he included the link to a promotion his company was working on that he thought I would be interested in. SMALL WORLD CONNECTION #2 Well, wouldn’t you know it was the same promotion Harmony was working on!

COINCIDENCE?  The same day I got the link to the Give a Better Life promotion, we received news a friend of the family was diagnosed with a form of MS.  It is one of the charities that can be selected to win a $5000 donation.  Of course we entered and selected that option.

Enter today and choose your charity.   It is open to Canada and the US until February 1st.  (BTW, you can also win a very nice prize pack including a coffee maker, coffee grinder and heaps of organic coffee beans!)

What an interesting, fun, “contesty” small world!

Last night I was reading a bedtime story to Nicole. She really likes My Fun With Words children’s dictionary.  She decided that instead of randomly reading pages, we were going to read the lot from beginning to end.

The fifth word was accept.  As I was reading I was struck by the profoundness of the definition:

If someone says, “Would you like this?” and you say , “Yes, thank you,” you accept what he is giving you.  It is always polite to say “Thank you” when you accept something.

I thought to myself, “How many times do I say Thank You when the Universe gives me something, anything, especially when I asked for it?”  “Not enough,” was the answer I came up with.

Would you keep giving gifts to an ungrateful friend?  Be grateful and more gifts will come.  And remember, you have to be Present to receive your present.

THANK YOU for everything!!

Recently I was interviewed on two online business radio shows; Wayne Hurlbert’s Blog Business Success and PR Radio 101.  I talk about the hobby from a sponsor’s and marketer’s perspective and how businesses can use sweepstakes and contests to increase profits.

Listen to me with Wayne here. Read Wayne’s book review here.

Listen to me with Erica Taylor.  Segment 1 Segment 2

ENJOY!

I was only back from Texas one day and I went on a road trip with my contesting buddy Rick.  So on Wednesday Rick and I drove down to Rochester NY to meet Donna DeClemente of DDC Marketing and then attend a Lucky Lilacs club meeting.

We meet Donna at Northfield and had a very interesting conversation about sweeping from both sides of the hobby.  (I’ll be doing a guest blog posting for Donna shortly.  I’ll keep you posted.)  The time passed too quickly and we had to be off to our next meeting.  The conversation had been so interesting that we wished we could have continued and had dinner with her.  Maybe next time.

The Lucky Lilacs meet on a Wednesday evening once per month.  I thought they always met at their local Wegmans, but apparently, the past two meeting were held at local bars.  Each of those meetings moved location because each time a member had won a fantastic prize and they celebrated.

Nine members attended the meeting that evening.  Similar to the DFWinners, they began their meeting with a Roll Call announcing all their winnings since the previous meeting.  What they did differently was, they also pass around a lucky green candle.  When it was their turn, if a member had a win bigger then $500, they blew out the candle and absorbed the winning energy while all the other club members clapped and cheered.  What fun!

We then had draws for: decorated envelopes, regular stamps, postcard stamps, lottery tickets, blank 3×5s and at the end, all the losing tickets were put in to a bin and a name was draw for a Better-Than-Nothing gift bag.  I won the decorated envelopes, WOO HOO!, and since we don’t mail-in much in Canada anymore, I gave them to the member who had the least amount of wins for the past month.  I guess good karma came back around because I then won the Better-Than-Nothing prize.

What a fun night we had!

Rick and I then drove home in the first big snow fall of the year.  I finally crawled into bed at 3am.  The next time I go back, it will definitely be in warmer weather!

If you currently not a member of a sweeping or contesting club, I highly recommend it.  There is no words to describe the energy one receives from being around other winners.  The friends I have made in this hobby far outweigh any wins I have ever had.

Last Sunday I was lucky enough to attend the monthly club meeting of the DFWinners with Helene in tow.  (See if you can spot her in any of the pictures.)  It is held at the Spring Creek BBQ restaurant in Irving TX.  I found their club to be so different from the one I belong to.

My club, The Winner’s Circle, only has 12 members.  We meet once per month at a local restaurant.  We have lunch, chat generally about the hobby and have a scratch lottery ticket trade.

Their club had 29 people in attendance.  I am not sure how many members they have.  They have a formal meeting format.  Before the meeting starts, people line up to participate in the draws: stamped postcards, decorated envelopes, scratch tickets, 50/50 and Better Then Nothing.  The meeting began with a Roll Call.  Each person introduced  themselves and what they had won since the last meeting.  Lots of cheering for each other.  Even if someone’s win were low the past month there were many words of encouragement. They even have a wins board to track how many big wins they have had as a club.

Then I got up and spoke a bit about the hobby and answered questions about how the hobby is so different between Canada and the US. The short list of the differenaces are: the lingo (contestor vs sweeper), the taxes (in Canada we do not pay income tax on winnings of any kind), there are virtually no mail-in contests left in Canada and the number of local contests where participation is required is far greater.

I discovered later that the part of the meeting I spoke was their Educational Session, where they learn something new to increase their odds of winning.  The previous month they had made shaving cream envelopes.

Then they had their draws.  I won the 50/50. WOO HOO!  (I bought my daughter pink cowgirl boots with my winnings.)

After all the winning was done, they discussed club business.  (The business section was very similar to the business section of my Toastmasters club meetings.)  Since it was November they talked about the Christmas party/meeting and the new executive for the following year.  I then realized the four women sitting at the front were the President, Webmaster, Secretary and Treasurer.

At the very end, Helene stood up and offered to host a few members as guests in her home one Sunday in the new year and teach them first hand about attracting in the wins they really want.  They will have a draw for the 5 winners in January.  Everyone was very excited at the prospect of being lucky enough to win an afternoon with Helene!

The two hours went by so fast.  Helene and I had so much fun!!

Helene had told me she stopped entering sweepstakes years ago because she won everything she every wanted.  My winning energy is so contagious that by the time I left we were in the process of winning her a new computer. (I seem to have that effect on people!)  So we agreed once she won, we would all (Craig, Nicole & I) would come down for a visit and Craig would get her all setup.  I plan to ensure our trip coincides with another DFWinners meeting!

So if you are travelling, see which clubs are in the area and attend a meeting if you can.  It’s a great way to be around fellow sweepers in between conventions.

WOO HOO! I am in Texas feeling very lucky. I am here for four days learning heaps from Helene Hadsell!!

(Helene is a bit shy <GRIN>)

If you are not familiar with Helene, she is the author of The Name It & Claim It Game and she won every contest she entered.  She is currently working on a very exciting project with a company in Malaysia.  She requires a few new testimonials.  If you have read her book and have won something using her techniques, please email me your story.  Helene would be most appreciative.

Thank you.

Gratitude is very important.  It’s not only about thanking sponsors for prizes, but the Universe as a whole.  For all the sacrifices others have made.  For all that we are.  For all that we have.  Now.

THANK YOU!

Do you own your own business?  Or know someone that does?  Then enter the What Works for Business Contest and win up to $10,000!

The promotion is open to both Canada (excluding Quebec) and the United States.  They are accepting entries until Wednesday December 3rd.  (Full Rules.)

Even though I own my own business, I am ineligible to enter as I am one of the official contest judges!

Feel free to share this contest and post it to any group, forum or sweepstakes message board.

GOOD LUCK!

“Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been?”
“I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen.”
“Pussycat, Pussycat, what did you do there?”
“I frightened a little mouse under her chair.”

This morning I won a trip to London, England. WOO HOO!

If you listen to my radio show, you may remember my interview on August 4th with Helene Hadsell.  She told me, and my listeners, to focus our energy and only enter for what we really wanted.

After thinking about what she said, I then “put out there” that one of the big things I wanted to win was a romantic trip for two to London.  Craig and I honeymooned there and we had not had an extended trip alone since 2004 so it seemed like the perfect choice.  (Read full show review here.)  Well, Little Miss Impatient (me) gave up after a few weeks and changed it to a romantic trip, anywhere.

This morning when I looked at my email I discovered I was the grand prize winner of the Smart Set “Meet Duffy in London” Contest.  I sure feel like “The Queen” today.

Remember to be specific and patient.  You never know when your goals and dreams will be fulfilled.

Stay tuned, as in early December I will be blogging live from London!