Got your eye on a specific prize? Wanna try your luck on bigger wins? Well then I recommend entering into giveaways. In this six part series I will post some weekly posts with info on how to enter into giveaways. We will finish off with a Blog giveaway to put some of the info to use. I know a lot of people already know how to enter into giveaways but there is also that many who do not.
I decided a while ago that I wanted to enter in giveaways seriously. The thing that gave me hope was that SOMEONE HAS TO WIN and YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T ENTER. Keep that in mind when you are entering into a giveaway no matter how big the prize or #of entries. The first topic I would like to talk about in this series are the different types of Giveaways/sweepstakes that are out there to enter and why it is important to keep these types in mind before you search for giveaways.
TYPES
•One Time Entries
-These are GA that you can only enter in once during the promotional period.
-Pro of this is that you are at an even playing field since everyone has a 1 out of however many entries there are chance.
-Con would be that there usually are not any way to up your odds by other entry means.
•Weekly and Daily entries
-They are self explanatory. You can either enter in weekly or daily to up your chances. These extra entries usually are not mandatory. Sometimes though there are giveaways that run new prizes weekly or daily. In that case it would be a good idea to enter as such.
-Entries could be a full form entry or a social media entry like a daily twitter retweet or a weekly Facebook post share.
-Pro would be that if you are diligent you can up your chances to win.
-Con would be that if you just do not have the time or interest in entering many times during the duration of the promotion as others then your odds would be lowered.
-Please remember that even if you have 12/12 entries, someone with 1/12 entries could win as well.
•Blog giveaway
- A blog giveaway is when someone like myself decides to host one on their blog for their readers.
-Sometimes the prize is an item the blog owner has purchased/Created themselves and other times the prize is from a sponsor( Usually a company who sends out a product to a blog owner to review on their site and also sends out an extra item for the blog owner to giveaway) . This may be of importance to some people who are entering into giveaways from a trusted blog owner who you value their suggestions and are leery as to if they would have purchased the product if not offered. (My opinion: In my experiences with sponsored blog giveaways I have always encountered honest bloggers who will tell you the pros and con's of the products and some who out right dislike the product but still offer it as a GA B/c they understand what they do not like about it others are OK with.)
-Blog giveaways usually either run on a platform like rafflecopter or with a list of instructions. I will talk more about the social media aspect of GA later.
-Pro would be that on blogs there are better odds to win than bigger giveaways from well known Brands
-Con would be that sometimes these blogs will ask you to add many other non related blogs to your social media platforms for a good amount of entries. ( like my 10 friends Facebook pages) .
•Youtube
-Youtube is similar to blog GA just on a video platform. The video vlog owner would make a video announcing a giveaway and letting you know the rules and showing you the prize.
-Like with blogs there is a better chance to win one of these giveaways especially from a not so well known channel.
-Pro would be sometimes you get to show your creativity with your entry by making a video entry.
-Con would be that unlike with rafflecopter where extra entries are an option, the YouTube giveaways have specific rules you MUST follow to be able to win. ( You must follow on Facebook or leave a video or follow on Pinterest etc.)
•Big Brands/small companies
-These are the giveaways you see mostly shared on Facebook or promoted on tv or product package. Let's say Nestle was hosting three giveaways. One would be on there actual .com site, another on Facebook and another on twitter.
- Pros would be that they are usually well known trusted brands with bigger and better prizes. These giveaways usually only asks that you like the on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter and subscribe to their email list. Some of the GA have games you can play or funny videos to watch.
-Cons would be the obvious that with bigger brands comes more entry which leads to a lower in odds. The promotional periods are sometimes very long like over 6 months which means if it is a giveaway that sends out prizes after the promo period then you have a long time to wait to receive it. You usually can check this info in the Rules section which I will mention later in the series.
•Instant win Giveaways (my fav)
- usually seen with big brands and sweepstakes are when you could win a smaller prize instantly after entry while still gaining and entry for the bigger prize.
- A lot of these usually work by having a predetermined win time in the system so who ever enters on that time or next nearest wins that prize. Unfortunately there is no way to find out that time. Some are completely random. Usually you play a game like spinning a wheel and hope for it to land on a prize.
- With IWG you can usually enter daily or weekly. You can also sometimes gain extra entries or tries if you share or follow the the company on a social media platform.
-You can usually check the rules section to see how many IW prizes there are to win. The more there are the more chance you have to win. Sometims it's a shirt or free product coupon and sometimes a camera or gift card or even a game system.
-Pro would be that you instantly know if you won something or not and you can try daily to win a prize. You also get a chance to win the bigger prize.
-Con would be how addicting and discouraging it is when you have entered in 2 weeks in a row and won nothing but I recommend to enter at different times daily. IWG are also very saturated with entries.
•Contest
- I dont like mentioning contest in the giveaway list but you still win a prize sometimes just for participating. That is something I would read in the rules. In contest you compete against other entrants to win a prize. That could be making something or posting a video or who comes up with the best "blank".
-Pro would be this would definitely be something to enter in if you are creative or confident in your entry. You hold some say into what your entry potential would be. I also like that you could win just for participation instead of judged.
-Con would be that they usually have specific rules or ask you to have something that unfortunately you do not have or the means to get. Like make a video but you have no camera capable of such.
•Social media
- Lots of social media sites have users who host their own giveaways. Some of the popular ones....Facebook.. Twitter.... Instagram....Pinterest. Etc.
- Pro would be you could find a lesser known users giveaway and have amazing odds and get to follow people of similar interest to you.
-Con would be that unfortunately lots of people post fake giveaways just to gain followers and have no intention of sending out a prize and some not even choosing a winner. I will explain later about how to avoid these.
There are even more options and giveaways out there than listed but I wanted to list the main and most popular ones. In this series I will explain how to find these giveaways and how to keep track of them. As we talk more about giveaways you will see why knowing the different types of giveaways out there can help you save time and determine your path of focus.
The kind of giveaway I will host at the end of this series will be a blog giveaway with rafflecopter and purchased by me. More details to come. Hope you enjoyed this post and please feel free to leave your own thoughts and questions. I am not all knowing and would love to learn from others as well.
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