What makes a good sweepstakes?

I get asked that question all the time….it goes something like this “Hey Sweepy, how do I know which sweepstakes are good and which are scams?”  These days, its tougher and tougher to answer that question, so you really have to do your research.

Here’s what I do before getting into a new sweepstakes.  Now, you don’t have to do this, its more of a ritual for me as I am involved in blogging and writing about the industry.  **Disclaimer – remember, these things are supposed to FUN!  What i’m about to show you is not fun, haha, so lets not loose sight of why we play lotto or sweeps, we are trying to have fun!

Lets start with 3 rules today and then later this week I’ll give you the last 3 rules which are really the ones to focus on.  Sorry for the cliffhanger, but we have to pay the bills here too!

  1. Site – check the site, look around, are the links all active, are there any broken links or pages? Do you see 404 redirect pages, or outdated material?  That’s usually a good sign that you may want to poke around a bit more.
  2. Rules – by law, every sweepstakes must have a long-form rules page explaining how winners are picked, how many, when, and what your odds of winning are (more on this later).  You don’t have to get into the weed here, you can usually get your answers just by poking around the first 4 paragraphs.
  3. Location, Location, Location – I do not play sweeps from outside the US.  Strike that, I actually have played Canadian sweeps and once played a Mexican sweepstakes. OK, but the idea is that you should focus on U.S. competitions as they are regulated far more then other countries.  Or at least in terms of the regulations we are familiar with.

As always, don’t forget to signup for our newsletter and unlock the most amazing sweepstakes available online.  Stay lucky!

Introducing the Prize Wheel!!

Hey guys, sorry about the hiatus, its been a busy month working with the guys at IgiveAwayPrizes to launch their new exciting Prize Wheel!!. After weeks of testing, we are finally ready to give you a spin! In full disclosure, as I mentioned in my previous posts, I am consulting for our friends at iGiveAwayPrizes.com and what’s really cool about that is i’ll be able to lift the curtain and offer my readers a glimpse into the sweepstakes sausage making process! Its not always pretty when these sweeps being developed, but its certainly pretty to look at when they are completed.

So why the Prize Wheel!!? Well, we want to engage you, we want you to have fun playing our sweeps and we want you to come back for the entertainment aspect, along with the chance to win. At the end of the day, its the process we all enjoy when it comes to sweepstakes, its the feeling of a chance to win, and of course the ultimate high is when you get that email or call with those words you are waiting to hear “you are the winner!”

So what are you waiting for, give that baby a SPIN and see what you can unlock. Will you unlock freebies, exclusive coupons, or Cash Sweepstakes

Remember to signup for our newsletter below to unlock exclusive sweepstakes that ONLY our newsletter subscribers are invited to join. These sweepstakes tend to have less entrants, which means a greater chance for you to be a winner.

Until next time, Good Luck!

10 Tips to Help You Win More Sweepstakes

Lets start off simple here and go through some of the basic rules to the sweepstakes game.  Remember, this is a game at the end of the day, but if played right it could also be quite rewarding.  After 30 years of experience, here are some basics to get you going.  Remember, it’s a numbers game, but if you don’t follow the rules carefully you could be just wasting your time!  Here are our top 10 tips to help you win more sweepstakes:

Enter in as many sweepstakes as possible — consistently.

The more you enter, the better your chances, right?  If you carve some time out every day for entering sweepstakes, you’ll make sure your name is always in the running for one prize or other.  It can be as little as twenty minutes a day.  The key is consistency.

If you enter a daily sweepstakes, make sure you enter daily.

Most people who enter daily sweepstakes only enter once or twice.  Naturally, people forget, or move on, or lose interest.  If you make sure to enter every day, you dramatically improve your chances of winning.  Set a daily reminder on your phone to make sure you get your entries in.

Don’t be afraid to share the wealth.

Sometimes, you can be tempted to keep a good sweepstakes to yourself, hoping to increase your chances of winning.  But lots of sweepstakes these days give you extra entries for referring others to the sweepstakes.  Share the wealth, and watch your chances increase!

Read (and follow!) the rules before you enter.

It would be the worst thing ever if you won a sweepstakes with a great prize, only to find out you can’t receive the prize because you didn’t follow the rules.  Some of the rules can be confusing, but you should make sure to read them carefully anyway.  For example, One Entry Per Person and One Entry Per Email might sound like they’re the same thing, but one allows you to enter only once, while the other allows you to enter a potentially-infinite number of times.  It pays to follow the rules!

Don’t get disqualified.

Did you win a sweepstakes, only to be disqualified because you live in Hawaii?  That’s probably because the sweepstakes only allowed entries from people living in the “contiguous” United States, which means the 48 states that share borders with each other.  Alaska and Hawaii are excluded from that definition.  Make sure to read the fine print, and look up words you don’t know so you don’t end up wasting time you could have used on entering sweepstakes you’re qualified for.

Check your email every day.

So many sponsors communicate solely by email these days.  You don’t want to miss out on your prize simply because you went a week without checking your email, right?

Organize your sweepstakes entries.

Keep a running entry on an Excel sheet with the name of the sweepstakes, the date the sweepstakes is over, the number of entries you’re allowed to submit, and the prize.  That way, you have an idea of all the sweepstakes you’re entered in, and an easy way to know if and when you need to submit more entries.

Claim your prize quickly.

Many sponsors have a window in which you’re allowed to claim your prize after they notify you, before moving down the list of potential winners.  Make sure you respond in time!  And if you have to send anything by mail, make sure you request a return receipt so you have proof that you sent it.

Keep a record of your wins.

This is mostly important because, when you have to file your taxes at year’s end, you’re legally required to report your winnings to the IRS.  You don’t want to be hit with a hefty fine or worse just because you forgot to report your win!

Don’t get discouraged.

You’ll have dry spells where you won’t win anything – it’s part of the sweepstakes game.  That doesn’t mean you should give up, though.  You might not win that great prize you had your eye on, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other great prizes out there.  Don’t give up, and you WILL win!