Giveaway Series: Keeping It Organized With Diigolet

Its another giveaway series post! Today we are going to talk about keeping up with all those giveaway entries you make. Remembering a giveaway to check back on a giveaway you entered or even one that you can enter in daily or weekly can be overwhelming for some who do not have a organizational method to
keep tabs on what's going on. This is true for both hardcore entrants and those who just enter a couple a day/week. On different platforms there are great tools to help you stay on top of things. Today we are going to keep it simple and talk about one tool in particular called Diigolet.

I found out about Diigo a year or so ago on a blog post that listed it as a must have application for your web usage. It is a application you can have in your browser that allows you to keep all your bookmarks in one place for specific pages. The best feature of the web application is that it allows you to make notes and annotations on the actual page. You can make groups of bookmarks as well as add tags for easy locating.

Here is an example of how I used this app to manage the 100+ giveaways/sweepstakes I would enter in daily. It would all start by entering in giveaways. I would save the giveaway as a bookmark and put in the description when the giveaway ended. Then I would save the bookmark in a specific custom made category (daily entry, one time entry, instant win etc.). I would end by making an annotation on the webpage the date I entered as well as the time if applicable. I would then move on to my next giveaway and do the same thing. It may sound like a lot of extra steps but its super quick and easy.

I would then come back the next day and log into my Diigo account and visit each giveaway link and get my daily entry. I would then only change the annotation to that days date. Using this application and method I am able to not only keep track of all the giveaways I have entered, I also am keeping track of when it ends, what type of giveaway it is (which is important so I won't disqualify myself from a giveaway by let's say entering into a once weekly giveaway twice by mistake). I know when to check giveaways to see if I won or not. I also can keep my browser giveaway clear of clutter and confusion. This method helps to keep track if I decide not to do any entries for a couple days.

I say try it out for yourself if you seem to be overwhelmed with keeping track of your giveaways. This web application is obviously handy for other situations as well. I am sure there are other applications out there that do something similar to this. Pick one and win some!

Next time on the Giveaway Series I will share how I keep track of my YouTube giveaway entries. Get daily giveaway & Freebie updates by following with Twitter & Facebook.

Giveaway Series: Social Media

                This week we will discuss Social Media and giveaways. Knowing what your social media sharing comfort level is will also help you weed through giveaways that make it mandatory for you to follow the or subscribe to a certain platform.

Let's begin with Rafflecopter and blog giveaways. Most of the time they have Mandatory entries mostly being to leave a comment about something dealing with the giveaway and sometimes they also make it mandatory for you to add them and friends or sponsors on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. If you are not comfortable with this or are not apart of the required platform then you may want to pass on that giveaway all together.

The other option is to create profiles specifically for entering into giveaways and having a friend circle dedicated to that niche. Yes sometimes it can be a little annoying to have to log out of your personal profile just to log back in on your other one but there are apps to help with that. They allow you to be logged into several accounts and easily switch between the two. There are many ways to get around having your two worlds collide if that is a concern of yours.

Now of course I only reccomend following blogs you are actually interested in BC their feed will be on your timeline. Yes you could hide it but why not take advantage of the articles and info they post. Following a blog strictly for a giveaway and then un-following them after the giveaway is over is not the best way to go. On YouTube a
Of the time if they notice you do that then you will be banned from future giveaways.

Now speaking on big name brand giveaways usually on Facebook or website,They are usually less invasive and would just request you like their Facebook page or subscribe to their newsletters. With this you could make a free email account strictly for newsletters so you can sift through them when you get time instead of being forced to.

In My October giveaway I will be using the rafflecopter form. I will have social media entries, but as an option. There will also be the option to tweet daily for more entries. That is the plus side of using social media as entries, they are usually as simple as a click and if its not a big deal for you it can be easier.

Figuring out your comfort level to sharing can help you become prepared in advance. Weather it be creating accounts or being able to save time by noticing the options of entry available. If you only use twitter and prefer not to add them on facebook then I would compensate by using the tweet daily option. Little things like that can help boost your odds instead of not entering at all.

Giveaway Series: Odds

              This week we will talk about Odds. How to improve them, which have the best chances of a win, and how much time are you willing to put in to achieve your chances. 

I have had success in all platforms of giveaways. I have won big and small. I have done little to a lot of work and seen success with both. I have had the best luck in winning personally with YouTube and IWG. Reason being is for YouTube there are so many giveaways and so little people are hip to them being out there. I usually win with giveaways where there were 2,000 or less entrants on any platform. With IWG I win smaller prizes frequently if I enter in daily. 

Last weeks post was long but this one will be short and informative. 

Why knowing The Odds Are Important

•If you plan to take a serious approach to actually winning a giveaway then knowing the odds can help you plan accordingly

•Have a realistic mindset on if winning this is mostly probable or just shy of a miracle.

•The obvious one is to spend more time entering into higher chance giveaways.

5 Ways to increase chances

•Enter into giveaways that have a short entry period. Flash giveaways are the best. This being BC not many people will have found out about it if it lasts 3 days versus 3 weeks.

•Enter Daily if the rules allow it. Your name will come up more times which equals better chances.

• Search the web for giveaways just starting out(we will learn how to find giveaways later) . If you can start entering on day 1 and continue to get your daily entries in then you will have more entries than someone entering for the first time a week after giveaway started.

•Share,Share,Share. At the end of entering into a giveaway a lot of the time you can earn extra entries for sharing the giveaway on a social media platform or via email. Have a list of emails of people who would love to hear about giveaways so you can share with them and in return they are more likely to share with you. Win/Win.

•Enter into a bunch of giveaways. You can't win if you don't enter. I used to enter into 100 giveaways daily (easier than you think) and I would average one win a week. This was through YouTube. When I used to do big brand giveaways I would average a win every two weeks and most of the time through IWG.

5 Higher Odds Giveaways

•YouTube (with less than 2000 entries)
•Blogs with low subscribers
•IWG with thousands of prizes to giveaway
•Contest ( not as many people will put in the time to actually make an item or video)
•Mail-In (While it is still a common way to enter into giveaways, due to technology and convenience the number of Snail Mail entries have lowered over the years.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Keep coming back the next few weeks and you will see how all these points will help you enter into giveaways more effectively and realistically. There are people who have nothing else to do but enter into giveaways and then those who work and have kids that just don't have that luxury. Please don't fret, You could enter in once and still win. Just make sure to make that effort to enter. 

                                                             *Please Read*
 Do Not disobey giveaway rules. If they state to only enter in once a week then stick to that. Do not make multiple accounts to try to increase your odds. In the rules a lot of the time they say it is and will be treated as an act of Fraud. Stay honest and do not falsify information in hopes to have a better chance of winning or acceptance. 

Giveaway Series: Types of Giveaways

         

        

     

   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.