From The Contest Queen

I couldn’t be the Contest Queen without holding a contest to attend my own seminar on How To Win Cash, Cars, Trips & More! in Ottawa ON on Saturday October 3rd!!

So, if you live in the Ottawa Region, are willing to drive to Ottawa, or have air miles just screaming to be cashed in, then enter to win a Full-Day Seminar Pass plus a Contestor Starter Kit which includes a copy of my book You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter ($99 value).

Already paid to attend the seminar? Enter anyway! I will refund your registration fee if you are selected as the lucky winner.

The contest is open to all residents of Canada and the U.S., and runs from Monday August 31st, until 11:59pm ET on Sunday September 13th. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Travel, accommodations and any additional expenses are not included.)

There are several ways to gain entries.

For your first entry (required):
1. check out the seminar overview and leave a comment (on this post) why you would like to attend. (NOTE: If you are not a blogger or if your email address is not publicly available when you comment, please post it in your entry so that I may contact you if you win.)

For extra entries, do the following, then come back to this blog post and comment that you did it:
(NOTE: If you already do any of the following, leave a comment saying you do so.)
2. follow this blog either by RSS feed or email,
3. subcribe to The Winning EDGE,
4. check out my online radio show, With The Contest Queen, which episode did you like?
5. connect with me on LinkedIn,
6. be friends with me on Facebook,
7. follow me on Twitter,
8. tweet about this contest.

SAMPLE TWEET: I entered to join the @ContestQueen in #Ottawa at the How To #WIN Cash, Cars, Trips & More Seminar! http://bit.ly/vzJy1

Winner will have 48 hours to respond to an email notification.  If no response is received, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!!

Twitter Support sent me an email with a link to the following post: I can’t find myself in Twitter search! They suggested I follow the guidelines outlined to keep myself searchable, which would make me less searchable based on my tweeting pattern (see Twitter Thinks Contests are SPAM), AND they may close my account based on those tweets!

I quote:

We suggest that you stay away from:
* Posting duplicate content (links or tweets)
* Misuse of hashtags (words followed by the ‘#’ sign)
* Sending automated tweets or replies
* Using bots or applications to post similar messages based on keywords
* Posting  similar messages over several accounts
* Abusing trending topics
* Aggressively following and un-following people (a common spam tactic)
* Re-posting public content without attribution to the author

Twitter may automatically remove accounts engaging in these behaviors from search in order to ensure the best experience for everyone.

I will continue to talk to Twitter Support and see if this issue can’t be resolved, as it doesn’t just affect me. If it is affecting you too, please put in support request.  The more of us that do it may prompt Twitter to resolve the problem that much sooner.

As I stated in my last blog post, I am currently “invisible” on Twitter.  So, why am I not to be found in searches.

The answer seems to lie with Twitter’s own rules.  They specifically state that; If your updates consist mainly of links, and not personal updates; your account could be suspended because it is considered SPAM.

So, what do I tweet that could be considered “spammy”?  My tweets consist of contesting tips and tricks, with links to various parts of my website, such as:

5 easy steps to start finding, entering & winning #contests & #sweepstakes http://bit.ly/4M4CI #win

Automatically be entered into my bi-weekly #contest – subscribe to The Winning EDGE http://bit.ly/cpMfP #win #sweepstakes

or promotion of various events I am a part of, such as:

Join me on Oct 3 in #Ottawa – How To Win Cash, Cars, Trips & More! http://bit.ly/Fkl0Y beginners, contestors & marketers welcome

Did you know there was an annual sweepstakes convention? The 21st one will be held in Bloomington MN SEP 1-5, 2010 http://bit.ly/SzgG1

or retweets (RT) of contests and sweepstakes posted by people and companies I follow, such as:

RT @FeistyFrugal Book giveaway 5 copies http://bit.ly/3933NH Trying to get pregnant?

RT @ContestsGuide Today’s new sweeps are up, with a chance at a Camaro, a $20,000 scholarship, and more: http://bit.ly/7coU1

or my own Twitter contest entries, such as:

#WIN an iPod Touch (tweet) or Macbook Pro (pic contest) by putting #rummikubiphone in your tweet. http://bit.ly/576I8 Read full rules.

NEW iPhone 3GS Giveaway contest. #WIN by following @WeekinRewind and RETWEET often. http://xr.com/nq4 He follows back everyone! GOOD LUCK!

and “yogurt” tweets, such as:

having tea with a friend @starbucks, nice to have adult conversation

off to get the Prize Princess from day camp, tweet more later!

What I find very curious is, if you go to Twitter and type in the word sweepstakes or contest in the search field on the home page of the same terms in the Find People field, my Twitter account will not appear, yet dozens of other people and companies doing exactly what I am doing are listed.

More amazing is the fact 57% of the tweets by Fortune 100 companies are contests!

I recently discovered I was “invisible” on Twitter.  It began when I did a few searches on myself.

When I did a search for Carolyn Wilman, I only found the personal account I set up originally and have since deleted.  I then did a search for Contest Queen, and I was not found at all.

I then performed hashtag searches.  If I tweeted something with a # (hashtag) and then did a search on that hashtag, such as #WIN, #contest or #sweepstakes, my tweet does not appear.

Now, this issue is important because, if you are on Twitter, and are entering Twitter-based contests, ensure you do these searches for yourself, because if you too are “invisible”, depending on how the contest is setup, your hashtag entries will not appear or be counted/entered.

If you discover you are “invisible”, you must file your issue with Twitter Support to get it resolved. It may take several weeks.

If you are following me on Twitter (@ContestQueen) please be kind enough to retweet (RT) a few of my tweets, so more people are aware of me. Thank you.

One of the main four objections marketers must overcome when persuading people to enter their contest is: “I don’t enter because they are scams.”

So why do people think contests are scams?  Companies in the United States spent over $2 billion last year running legitimate promotions giving away hundreds of millions of dollars away in prizes.

People think contests are scams because when famous business people, like Gene Simmons (@genesimmons), hold a contest and then do not award the prize, it seems like a scam.

Last April, KISS announced a contest. Fans would vote and the North American cities with the most votes would have a KISS concert held in their city. (Prelude to a KISS concert.)  The city of Oshawa ON came out on top and won the contest by having the most votes (14,569).

Today, KISS announced their “First Ever Fan-Routed Tour” concert schedule. Oshawa wasn’t on the list. What?!  It seems that the band has not chosen to honor their own contest. Instead, they selected more “traditional” cities and venues. (Oshawa’s KISS good-bye.)

The rock icon could not be reached for comment but a band spokesman said “a few situations” required placing shows in neighbouring market concert venues.

“This was necessary to make sure that all regional fans get a chance to see KISS with the band’s full stage production,” said spokesman Erik Stein.

In other words, KISS can’t make as much money on Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie as they can in major markets, such as Toronto.

So, what was the point of holding the contest, when they never had any intention of awarding the prize?

Every marketer can now thank Gene Simmons for making their job, just that much harder.

NOTE: One hour after I blogged about the lack of a concert, KISS announced it would play in Oshawa after all.  I find it interesting they had to receive international negative publicity before they fulfilled their prize commitment.

A few weeks ago @delaney_55 tweeted she had won a Ferrari.  WOW!  Then she credited me for helping her take her hobby to the next level.  (Delaney’s winning story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

That got me thinking.  I get emails every day from people thanking me for helping them either; begin to win, or win more than they every have.  Plus, I had helped Wendy win a house, Sandra and Michael win a trip to outer space (scroll down to You’re a Winner!), Aprile win a trip to Jamaica, etc.  So, I did the math.  I was amazed to discover I have helped others win over $1,000,000 in prizes!!

Therefore, I have decided to take my teaching to the next level.  I am holding my first one-day seminar How To Win Cash, Cars, Trips & More! in Ottawa ON on Saturday October 3rd at the Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch.

Topics covered will include:

• Promotion Types
• Rules and Regulations
• 5 Ways to Enter
• Tools of the Trade
• Increasing Your Odds
• The Contesting Community
• How to Avoid the Hazards of Being Online
• How to Spot a Scam
• Release Forms
• Attracting Luck

And, you will have the opportunity to:

• learn the ins and out of contesting as a hobby
• enter a mail-in contest
• enter an online contest (laptop & library card required)
• enter a text contest (cellphone required)
• create a Vision Board
• meet fellow contestors
• shop the Contest Queen store in person
• win door prizes!

For more details and to register, visit the seminar website.

See you in Ottawa!

Joyce Schwarz (@joycecom), author of The Vision Board, gave out so many great sweepstakes tips during our interview (What is Your Winning Vision?) that I wanted to share a few of them with you here.  Some are specific to entering and winning sweepstakes.  Some are specific to attracting luck and the Law of Attraction.  Make sure you listen to the show to get all her wonderful tips, tricks and great ideas.

Do Google searches with the day’s date and National Day and see what type of contests and sweepstakes appear. Very fun!

Tell the Universe, “I am ready to receive all that is good!” See what appears.

Make your vision board a map of what you would like to accept into your life.

Create a vision board for differeant areas of your life: career, romance, travel, winning, etc.

When visualizing, immerse yourself into the environment.

Write THANK YOU on all your checks.

If you want to win the lottery, put a sticky note with the amount you want to win right on the ticket.

Spend 15 minutes visualizising spending your lottery winnings and write it down.

Read a FREE chapter of The Vision Board.

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

I am on the main volunteer convention organization committee for the 21st Annual National Sweepstakes Convention (taking place in Bloomington, MN from September 1-5, 2010).

We are seeking sponsors, speakers, and prize donations from individuals, judging agencies, marketing companies and corporations.  If you are interested in participating in any capacity, please email me.

Registration is open, not just for sweepstakes enthusiasts, but promotional professionals and corporate marketers.  Registration will close once attendance reaches 1000 or August 1st 2010, whichever comes first.

Hope to see you there!

Good question. Why do companies run sweepstakes and contests?

As I discussed in my blog post Where Do “Sweepers” Come From?, companies find them to be a great marketing tool. Sponsoring sweepstakes and contests has gone from being a $15,000 annual industry to almost a $2 billion industry in 100 years.  No wonder more and more people are partaking in the hobby.

We know what we get out of it. Prizes! So what do the companies get for all their promotional marketing dollars?  Many things, including:

• attracting attention to the brand, product or service;
• increased sales;
• maintain or increase customer loyalty;
• increase their customer and prospect databases;
• and to begin permission marketing.

It is important to support the sponsors in all ways.  Buy their products, visit their websites, sign-up for their newsletters and tell your friends about them.  When companies deem their promotions to be successful, they will run more.

It’s a win-win situation, and who doesn’t like that?!