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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM
forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM

Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

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The intent of this thread is for users, both new and not-so-new, to ask questions, and help with tips/advice. This is not by any means the "gospel". Please feel free to add your words of wisdom, and if you have questions, just ask! If you have a tip that will make sweeping easier for folks, please feel free to share. This is a community effort. We all will benefit in some way.


The Basic Advice/Tips for the new-to-sweeping folks.
Enter for the items you want/need. If you have no interest in trips, avoid the sweeps where the only prize is a trip. If you know you can't afford the tax on a new vehicle, avoid entering for those.

Set up folders in your bookmark/favorites. Create a separate one for each month, and file any sweeps you are interested in into the folder corresponding with when it ends. Then, if you have a day where you're pressed for time, enter at least the ones ending that day.

Play the instant win games.

Follow the rules! If a sweep is restricted to only females, a certain age group, certain states, etc, make sure you fit the criteria! If you don't, move on to another sweep that you do qualify for. Do not create a bunch of email addresses so you can enter something more than once, or so you can play an Instant win game more. The Sponsors can tell, and will DQ you. You're better off playing by the rules than cheating and getting disqualified and having NO entries.

Don't immediately dismiss essay required sweeps (or recipes, photos, etc)....well, unless you know you don't want to write something. A lot of people pass on them, so you might have a better shot at winning something.

Don't expect this to be lucrative enough to become a job. Yes, a lot of us win, and often, but not nearly enough to quit a job!

Expect things to go slow at first. It takes a while for the wins to roll in. But once they do...look out!

Expect to occasionally hit a dry spell. It happens to ALL of us.

DEFINITELY USE YOUR REAL INFO! If you use a fake phone number, and a sponsor is calling to notify people of wins, you'll never know what you missed out on. I, and many others, have been doing this for a long time, and we have no problems with sales calls. Also, use your real name. If your name is Robert or Catherine, using Bob or Cathy is ok, as they are known acceptable shorter versions of that name. if your name is Matilda, and you go by Fluffy, don't use Fluffy. Looking at your ID to get an affy notarized, they may reject it because the names don't match. The sponsor may also say "Fluffy won, not Matilda". So stick with using your real name, or something close to it.

Most of all, HAVE FUN! And don't be afraid to ask questions. We were all new to this at one time. Any one of us would be happy to answer questions.


For easy form filling, check out Roboform [roboform.com]. Google Tool bar and the autofill feature on IE also work well.

For Mac users, the best form filler is 1Password: http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password (thanks javaFlower!)

FireFox Form Filler browser extensions: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/...ll&cat=all

To set up the autofill feature in IE: Click on Tools, then internet options, then choose 'content'. When that pops up, click on "Autocomplete", and make sure to check the boxes for forms and passwords on forms. This is not a good idea if you are on a shared/public computer!

February 17, 2009, 3:10 am: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

July 12, 2010, 3:23 pm: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
The intent of this thread is for users, both new and not-so-new, to ask questions, and help with tips/advice. This is not by any means the "gospel". Please feel free to add your words of wisdom, and if you have questions, just ask! If you have a tip that will make sweeping easier for folks, please feel free to share. This is a community effort. We all will benefit in some way.


The Basic Advice/Tips for the new-to-sweeping folks.
Enter for the items you want/need. If you have no interest in trips, avoid the sweeps where the only prize is a trip. If you know you can't afford the tax on a new vehicle, avoid entering for those.

Set up folders in your bookmark/favorites. Create a separate one for each month, and file any sweeps you are interested in into the folder corresponding with when it ends. Then, if you have a day where you're pressed for time, enter at least the ones ending that day.

Play the instant win games.

Follow the rules! If a sweep is restricted to only females, a certain age group, certain states, etc, make sure you fit the criteria! If you don't, move on to another sweep that you do qualify for. Do not create a bunch of email addresses so you can enter something more than once, or so you can play an Instant win game more. The Sponsors can tell, and will DQ you. You're better off playing by the rules than cheating and getting disqualified and having NO entries.

Don't immediately dismiss essay required sweeps (or recipes, photos, etc)....well, unless you know you don't want to write something. A lot of people pass on them, so you might have a better shot at winning something.

Don't expect this to be lucrative enough to become a job. Yes, a lot of us win, and often, but not nearly enough to quit a job!

Expect things to go slow at first. It takes a while for the wins to roll in. But once they do...look out!

Expect to occasionally hit a dry spell. It happens to ALL of us.

DEFINITELY USE YOUR REAL INFO! If you use a fake phone number, and a sponsor is calling to notify people of wins, you'll never know what you missed out on. I, and many others, have been doing this for a long time, and we have no problems with sales calls. Also, use your real name. If your name is Robert or Catherine, using Bob or Cathy is ok, as they are known acceptable shorter versions of that name. if your name is Matilda, and you go by Fluffy, don't use Fluffy. Looking at your ID to get an affy notarized, they may reject it because the names don't match. The sponsor may also say "Fluffy won, not Matilda". So stick with using your real name, or something close to it.

Most of all, HAVE FUN! And don't be afraid to ask questions. We were all new to this at one time. Any one of us would be happy to answer questions.


For easy form filling, check out Roboform [roboform.com]. Google Tool bar and the autofill feature on IE also work well.

For Mac users, the best form filler is 1Password: http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password (thanks javaFlower!)

FireFox Form Filler browser extensions: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/...ll&cat=all

To set up the autofill feature in IE: Click on Tools, then internet options, then choose 'content'. When that pops up, click on "Autocomplete", and make sure to check the boxes for forms and passwords on forms. This is not a good idea if you are on a shared/public computer!

February 17, 2009, 3:10 am: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

July 12, 2010, 3:23 pm: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

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May 31, 2012 04:35 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 31, 2012 04:35 PM
118,455 Posts
I'm having all kinds of issues with FBs weeps today majorly timing out on me...
May 31, 2012 07:09 PM
962 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
GoogleMeBihMay 31, 2012 07:09 PM
962 Posts
I recently did a sweepstakes on here that asked where I listened to a local radio station... I gave them an answer i googled.. now I've gotten calls from Cox Media Group..maybe about a win? I can't find what radio contest I've entered on here at all!
May 31, 2012 07:39 PM
2,287 Posts
Joined Aug 2009
kllgMay 31, 2012 07:39 PM
2,287 Posts
When you receive an email about a win, what are some examples of what is in the subject line of the email? I delete hundreds of emails each day and I want to make sure that I don't delete one inadvertently...I still have my fingers crossed for a good win...
Pro
QA
May 31, 2012 07:52 PM
3,567 Posts
Joined Feb 2009
rachaelm
Pro
QA
May 31, 2012 07:52 PM
3,567 Posts
Quote from kllg :
When you receive an email about a win, what are some examples of what is in the subject line of the email? I delete hundreds of emails each day and I want to make sure that I don't delete one inadvertently...I still have my fingers crossed for a good win...
"Big news from the..."
or
"Congratulations! You have won..."
or
"Congratulations on behalf of..."

These are just a few examples of actual subject lines on wins I've received.
May 31, 2012 11:27 PM
1,268 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
melan26May 31, 2012 11:27 PM
1,268 Posts
Has anyone won from ewatches? None of them are returning any of my emails and now I'm asking them to remove my name; ugh, they're such a pain. Any suggestions or route I should take? I just don't want my name listed since they're falsely listing a win when they're not even awarding it.

Thank you.
Jun 01, 2012 07:33 AM
1,998 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
fruitdog69Jun 01, 2012 07:33 AM
1,998 Posts
If there's a Facebook contest that requires you to "like" a page, does the email address on the entry form have to match your Facebook email address? Otherwise how else do they know that you fulfilled your obligation by "liking" them?
Jun 01, 2012 07:52 AM
26,018 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
User1144648Jun 01, 2012 07:52 AM
26,018 Posts
Quote from fruitdog69 :
If there's a Facebook contest that requires you to "like" a page, does the email address on the entry form have to match your Facebook email address? Otherwise how else do they know that you fulfilled your obligation by "liking" them?
It's your Facebook page/profile that is linked to your "liking" a page, not your email address.
However, there are some FB sweeps that state in the rules the email address you use on the entry form must match your FB email address.
So, to be on the safe side, I use the same email address for my FB account that I use on entry forms.

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Jun 01, 2012 08:29 AM
1,998 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
fruitdog69Jun 01, 2012 08:29 AM
1,998 Posts
Quote from MLx3 :
It's your Facebook page/profile that is linked to your "liking" a page, not your email address.
However, there are some FB sweeps that state in the rules the email address you use on the entry form must match your FB email address.
So, to be on the safe side, I use the same email address for my FB account that I use on entry forms.
Awesome, thanks. Good to know I haven't been wasting my time completely. Now I believe!
Jun 01, 2012 09:40 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 01, 2012 09:40 AM
1,844 Posts
*Forgets that it's the first of the month and looks at the Contest and Sweepstakes forum*


look around

EEK!
Jun 03, 2012 02:43 AM
1,089 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
FunkoramaJun 03, 2012 02:43 AM
1,089 Posts
Question: For all the forms that say state, would I use the abbreviation or spell out the full name?
Jun 03, 2012 04:00 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 03, 2012 04:00 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from Funkorama :
Question: For all the forms that say state, would I use the abbreviation or spell out the full name?
Being that I've seen some forms with my state misspelled by companies themselves...tend to spell it out when I can.
Jun 03, 2012 06:21 AM
1,089 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
FunkoramaJun 03, 2012 06:21 AM
1,089 Posts
Thx, also about how many contests/sweepstakes do you have to enter a day or week to start winning stuff?
Jun 03, 2012 08:18 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 03, 2012 08:18 AM
1,844 Posts
Quote from Funkorama :
Thx, also about how many contests/sweepstakes do you have to enter a day or week to start winning stuff?
Basic answer: The more you enter, the higher chance you will win something.

I've won things during times when I just entered a couple of dozen a day and I win things when I enter 200-250 day, which is about how many I currently enter.

There are tons of variables though.
Last edited by Jang June 3, 2012 at 01:22 AM.
Jun 04, 2012 01:23 AM
458 Posts
Joined May 2007
trips4meJun 04, 2012 01:23 AM
458 Posts
Jang,
Can I ask how long it takes you each day to enter that many sweeps. I am a pretty fast typer and roboform is great but I still think it would take the better part of my day to enter that many. What is your secret? Are you a full-time sweeper?

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Jun 04, 2012 01:38 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 04, 2012 01:38 AM
1,844 Posts
I'm not the greatest sweeper, so you'd probably get a better answer from someone with more years doing it than I do.

It takes me a couple of hours. I usually do it in parts...I do my instant wins all at the same time. I currently have about 45 of them. Then I split up my dailies, which I have about 160 of right now.

I just put some youtube videos on in the background, open up the links in groups of 20 or so and go at it. Each day is different. Sometimes I do everything at the same time. Sometimes I take breaks if I'm too bored or don't have time to sit there for that long. I use a laptop so sometimes I do it when I'm eating or laying in bed.
Last edited by Jang June 3, 2012 at 06:49 PM.

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