From The Contest Queen

Seth Godin wrote a great blog post on why people buy lottery tickets.  It’s the exact same reason people enter contest and sweepstakes.  (Except entering sweepstakes doesn’t cost me money and the odds are far greater!)

One misconception of the hobby is that contestors only enter to win.  They are greedy and are only out to get free stuff.  For me, and many others I have interviewed, we love the whole hobby.  There is so much fun in finding out about a new promotion, dreaming about the prize, filling out the entry form and then, sometimes, the thrill of the win.

There is also a hidden aspect to this hobby; the people.  I love sharing my finds, entry tips and wins with my friends.  I love hearing their stories in return.  I get just as giddy when a friend calls or emails me to tell me about their great luck as when I win.  (I even get the happy butterflies in my stomach.  What joy!)

When I began filling out online entries, alone in my basement, back in 2001, I never could have imagined all the excitment and crazy adventures I would be having, or life long friends I would be making, along the path this hobby has taken me on.

I love the “thrill of the chase” as I never know where this wonderful hobby will take me next!

So, what’s your favourite part?

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

If you were new to the hobby of entering sweepstakes and contests, you may have begun by going my website to learn how to become a winner.  Most likely, the first thing you would click on is the banner that says 10 Easy Steps To Begin Winning.

My #1 tip is: ALWAYS READ THE RULES.

It is my #1 tip because it is the thing people do the least.  If you do not follow the rules, and you are selected as the potential winner, you will automatically be disqualified.

I decided to write about this topic today because yesterday I posted a blog contest.  A very simple contest, with only two written rules:

1. Leave a 2-part comment on my blog,
2. before 11:59pm on Friday October 23rd.

As I was approving the comments this morning (a feature I enable to prevent spam), I noticed many entries did not follow the rules.  They stated why they wanted to attend my seminar, but failed to post which prize they wanted.  This concerned me, because if you are entering my simple blog contest and not following such easy rules, how may prizes are you missing out on, because you failed to read the rules and follow them?!

I get asked all the time, “How can I win more prizes?”  Make sure you are in the game!

When you come to an entry page, even if you got the link from a website that gave you a brief outline of the rules, read the rules.  (Occasionally, I have found an error and would had been disqualified had I followed the entry instructions posted on the online sweepstakes website, group or forum.)  Ensure you are qualified to enter; meet the age requirements, the geographical area of eligibility, etc.  Then ensure you follow all the entry instructions; essay required? photo? quiz? etc.  Keep reading until you are sure you understand exactly what you need to do to win.  Then enter, following those rules you just read, and GOOD LUCK!

Now I want to tell you about what can happen if you don’t read the rules properly.

Several years ago I got a call from The Toronto Sun.  I had entered their Steelback Grand Prix contest.  I had won two Weekend Silver Grandstand Passes.  WOO HOO!  However, I only skimmed the rules.  Somehow I missed the part about sumo wrestling!!  Yes, sumo wrestling.

As I lamented on whether I should claim the prize or not, my husband said to me, “You know, I read in a book somewhere that you should always read the rules.”  I said, “I know. I read the same book!“  So, I sucked it up, claimed the prize and wrestled.  (SPOILER ALERT: I got squashed!)  Scroll down and read the full sumo wrestling story here.

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!

Everyone was so tired with four days of: up early, sessions all day, winning prizes, having fun and then chatting with friends late into the evening.

The Sunday morning session began with a pancake breakfast. Family and friends were also included in the feast. We then heard from This N That Sweepstakes Newsletter, Online-Sweepstakes (OLS), SweepSheet, Sweepstakes Crossing,  The Sweeper Times and SweepsU.

Of course, the talks were followed by; PRIZE DRAWS! Double draws!! As we did both the Saturday night draws and the Sunday morning draws. A lot of hooping and hollering went on that day.

As each volunteer team has two years to prepare, the 2011 convention location was also announced. It will be going to Fort Wayne IN!

The gold ballot drum was then handed off to Bob Mennell, lead volunteer for the 2010 Annual National Sweepstakes Convention and the convention officially ended.

We then headed back to the Vendor Room to hand out the vendor draw prizes.  Unfortunately, with the throngs of people, I missed getting my picture with Mary Ann of Rochester NY who won my Lucky Basket, but I did get my picture with Bonnie of Masa, AZ who won a copy of my book.

It will be a long fourteen months until I see all my sweeping buddies again.  I just may have to do a few road trips over the course of the next year!

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

Day 3, Saturday July 4th was a wonderful day. It had rained off and on since we had arrived in Manchester NH.  The sun decided to grace us and was much needed for the final activity of the day; a full convention, with families, outing to a Fisher Cats baseball game followed by fireworks.

The day began with a great talk by Dave Biron from the USPS.  I wish I had a link to the amazing video shown about the history and statistics of mail in the U.S.  (In Canada, I have not sent in any OEBs – Original Entry Blanks -  for three years now, and have only recently begun to see an upswing in my outgoing sweepstakes mail, but only for NPE – No Purchase Entries.)  It will be interesting to see how this entry method changes over the next few years…

Of course, the talk was followed by; PRIZE DRAWS!

After lunch and an optional session on eBay we began the afternoon session.  We had a wonderful talk and slide show presentation by Valerie of Cherryfield ME. She was the lucky winner of the MasterCard Seven Wonders of the World Sweepstakes. She talked about the first of the four first class trips she won. On this leg she went to India and China to see the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China, with her daughter.  (I was most impressed by how gracious and appreciative winner Valerie is.  I believe you must be to win big.)  And, she has three more trips to go!

Of course, her presentation was followed by; PRIZE DRAWS!

At 6pm we all began to walk over to the Merchantsauto.com Stadium.  I wore my Toronto Blue Jays baseball hat as the Fisher Cats are the double-A affilaite team for the Jays. We had a buffet dinner followed by the game and fireworks.  I missed most of the game as my daughter spent it playing in the Kids Zone.  We did get back in time to see the Fisher Cats win and watch some amazing fireworks.

What a great way to end the day.  It doesn’t get more American on the 4th of July than hot dogs and baseball followed by fireworks. AWESOME!

Due to the location, there were no prize draws at the stadium.  They were saved for Sunday morning!

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

WOW! If you have never attended a convention, you must plan to.  They are so fun, exciting and busy.  This is the first chance I have had to blog in several days.  My days at the convention were filled with; attending sessions, vending and most importantly, connecting with all my sweeping buddies.  (Plus, it took me two days to catch-up upon my return.  So today’s blog post is about Day 2, Friday July 3rd.)

Friday morning’s session began with Eric Freidberg. Eric owns CFA Promo (@cfapromo) and It’s Easy To Win (@itseasytowin). His talk was very interesting and interactive. As he spoke, we played his BINGO game LIVE. (To play online, click here.)

I will share his most important points he covered in he speech here:

1) Always opt-in to receive a sponsor’s information, newsletters and samples.

Companies run sweepstakes to increase consumer interaction, brand awareness, customer loyalty and SALES!  When you opt-in, you help the sponsor reach their goals.  You can always opt-out at anytime.

MY TIP: The best reason to opt-in is, most companies let their subscribers know about new contests sweepstakes first.

2) Only enter for prizes you really want to win.

3) DO NOT brag about being a contestor or sweeper.

He told the story of an older gentleman that won a trip to the set of Sesame Street. Not only did he not have any children or grandchildren, he bragged about how he was a sweeper, how much he won, etc. (I could feel my stomach tighten as I imagined the horror of the sponsor after spending so much time, energy and money running a promotion, only to have it end like that.)

4) Be grateful and support the sponsor.

Always send a thank you note. If it’s a small prize, an email will do.  If the prize is large, hand write a letter to the President or Vice President of Marketing to the sponsoring company(s). Also buy their products or services because when they deem a promotion to be successful, they will run MORE.

When Eric was done, we had prize draws!

If you were not able to attend the convention, you can listen to my interview with Eric here, or check out all the It’s Easy To Win videos on You Tube.

After lunch and an optional Sweepstakes Workshop for Winners, Eric came back and answered all types of sweeps questions followed by prize draws!

That evening we had a 4th of July BBQ buffet (yes, it was the 3rd) followed by more prize draws!

What a great day, and there was still two more days to go!!

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!!

What is viral, or exponential, marketing? Do you remember the old Breck shampoo commercials? (I know, I am dating myself here!) A beautiful blonde model stating she loved the shampoo so much, “I told two friends. And they told two friends. And so on. And so on. And so on.” As the screen kept adding in split screen images showing how many women now loved Breck shampoo. The same thing is happening to sweepstakes. Viral marketing is mainly occurring on blog-based sweepstakes.

Blogs usually run a sweepstakes to increase their readership, so the more people that know about the sweepstakes the better. The standard format for the sweepstakes usually goes like this:

1. the blogger will ask you to post a comment on the sweepstakes page.

You can garner extra entries by doing some or all of the following:

2. sign-up for their RSS feed.
3. follow them on Twitter.
4. tweet the sweepstakes.
5. be friends with them on Facebook or a fan of their group/page.
6. tell your Facebook friends about the sweepstakes.
7. blog about them on your blog.
8. add the bloggers blog widget on your blog or website.
9. viral the sweepstakes in various other ways such as posting to Digg, StumbleUpon, etc…

You usually get those extra entries by going back to the original sweepstakes page and adding another comment for each extra action you took.

Here are some viral marketing blog-based sweepstakes you can enter today:

Metropolitan Mama Mother’s Day Giveaway Extravaganza You can win a laptop.

Look What Mom Found Kolobags Laptop Bag Giveaway.

Look What Mom Found New Balance Giveaway You can win running shoes.

Natural Mommie G Kissr You can win natural lipbalms.

Canadian Contests & Giveaways Our 2nd Giveaway You can win a Webkinz.

Any Lucky Day has a new contest everyday! Today’s Contest

Most prizes given away on blogs, Twitter, and Facebook tend to be smaller prizes as the marketing budgets for individuals and small companies do not compare to Fortune 500 firms.  However, the odds of winning are far greater as fewer people are entering these types of sweepstakes.

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

After receiving a raft of emails regarding entering and winning on Twitter, I thought I should give you a brief  overview.

There are two types of contests and sweepstakes to be found on Twitter:

1) direct links to online contests and sweepstakes posted by websites that already list promotions such as: About.com, Sweepsgoat and Sweepstakes Magazine.

2) or contests run directly on Twitter itself hosted by companies such as: Week in Rewind, Tweet-a-Prize or Twit 2 Win.

If the tweet is just announcing a sweepstakes, there will be a direct link to the promotion itself in the tweet.  You only need to click on the link to be taken to the sweepstakes site.  Enter away!

If the tweet is announcing a contest directly on twitter you need to follow the instructions in the tweet.  You may need to click on the link, be taken to the blog or website of the contest host/sponsor and read the entry instructions.  You may need to follow the host/sponsor.  You may have to retweet (RT) a specific phrase to gain an entry.  Or you may have to participate in trivia or quizzes replying to the host/sponsor (e.g. @ContestQueen) so they can receive your entry.

Remember, like all new entry methods there is a learning curve, so you must be patient. The wins will come.

Learning to “tweet”?  Check out these free resources:

eHow: How To Tweet

cNet: A Newbie’s Guide To Twitter

Lost Art Of Blogging: A Guide To Twitter

My favourite free Twitter tool: Tweet Deck

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was tweeting live from the annual Michigan Wolverines’ spring sweepstakes meeting this past weekend.  What a great weekend filled with heaps of activities, fun and many sweeping friends.

It was a repeat of last year (April 2008 spring meeting blog post). The meeting was held at the same place as last year, The Gazebo, except this year’s theme was Mardi Gras (I forgot and had no costume!) and to leave more time for prizes and fun, it was held from 11am-4pm.

As usual, the Wolverine’s put together a fantastic afternoon.  There were gift boxes upon arrival.  The raffle area was very organized.  It was very smooth getting every one through to submit their entries or to buy tickets.

Once everyone settled down we had a wonderful buffet lunch followed by a specially decorated cake.

Then everyone’s favourite part, PRIZES!!  Al Sayward was the MC again.  He is always cracking very corny jokes, soliciting groans and chuckles from the crowd.

We then had a contest for the best costume. Guess who won?!

The meeting has already been booked for next year; same place, April 17, 2010.  Tickets will be $45 each.  Hope to see you there!!

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!!

While sitting with my friend, Carol McLaughlin (of This N That Sweepstakes Newsletter) in the lobby of the Hampton Inn hotel in Warren MI swapping sweeping tips, I came across the following video:

ENJOY, GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!