I recently had a friend tell me that she was confused about how to enter blog giveaways and she asked if I would send her an e-mail with instructions. Well, I figured if she had questions, there are probably others who would like some help as well. So, here is my best attempt at explaining all the various aspects of entering to win.
UPDATE 9/4/2010: Today I gave a presentation at the 21st Annual National Sweepstakes Convention about blog giveaways. Welcome to all you convention attendees checking in here! Much of this information is now updated, but if you have further questions, be sure to leave a comment or contact me by e-mail.
Basic Entry Info:
First of all, there are two basic standard entry methods (there are a few others, but the vast majority fall into one of these categories).
1) The easiest type of entry, which is similar to any other online sweepstakes, is a regular entry form, often a Google form. This is what I use for most Thrifty Jinxy giveaways. You can see an example here. For these forms you just need to fill out the fields with the requested information. Any fields with stars are required and fields without stars are optional. For these forms, your information is ONLY seen by the blog owner so your private info is safe. Also, if you see this type of form MAKE SURE TO FILL IT OUT. Some people mistakenly leave comments on these blog giveaway posts thinking that will enter them into the contest, but it will not.
2) The most common type of entry is "leave a comment". This will almost always be in either WordPress or Blogger format (but other formats will also be similar to these). You can see an example of a WordPress type comment entry at Eighty MPH Mom. For this type of entry type your name in the first box. (Note: The name you enter WILL be displayed on the blog, so enter just your first name and last initial if you are concerned.) Your e-mail address goes in the 2nd box. If you have a blog, enter your blog URL in the 3rd box. This can help to bring new visitors to your blog, especially from blogs that use CommentLuv (which shows the title of your last blog post with your comment). Then leave your actual comment in the comment box.
For Blogger comment entries, the process is a bit different. An example of this type of entry is the Thrifty Jinxy 7-eleven giveaway. To leave your comment you first need to click on the "leave a comment" link. Some bloggers will rename the link with something catchy like "talk to me" or "speak your mind", but it will be in the same location, usually right at the bottom of the post. You then leave your comment in the box, type in the security code displayed if there is one and you will also have to sign in. You can sign in with an Open ID Password (LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad or IM), but the easiest thing to do is sign up for a Google/Blogger ID, if you don't already have one. When you do so, MAKE SURE that your e-mail address is listed in your Blogger profile. (You do this by logging in and clicking on "Edit Profile". Then check the box next to "Show my email address".) If you don't have your e-mail address availble in your Blogger profile, then you will have to leave your e-mail address in the comment itself, which I personally feel is a serious security concern. However, if you decide to go this route, "disguise" your e-mail address from spammers by typing it in an encrypted format. So, if your e-mail address is "myname@hotmail.com", type it out as as myname {at} hotmail dot com or myname_AT_ hotmail _DOT_COM.
What type of comment should you leave? For many of these giveaways, the blogger will specify a particular question that you must answer. This often involves visiting the web site of the giveaway sponsor and selecting an item that you like. Make sure that you always leave the requested comment or your entry will not be valid!
Extra Entries:
One thing that a lot of people find confusing are all the various methods available for gaining extra entries. Sometimes extra entries are given for simple things like answering a second question that is posted, but here are other things that are often requested for extra entries. Some of the extra entries are available only to bloggers, but many can be done by anyone. After you do the requested action, you generally need to go back and add another comment stating what you did. These are just a few of the extra entries sometimes offered:
Sign up for newsletter or RSS Feed - Signing up for a newsletter usually just requires submitting your e-mail address. A confirmation e-mail will usually be sent to you and you need to confirm your subscription by clicking on the link in the e-mail. You can sign up for an RSS feed if you use any type of RSS reader. (Look for that orange button to click and sign up.) I use Google Reader and it is really easy to add new RSS feeds.
Twitter - You can often earn extra entries for either following a blogger or the giveaway sponsor in Twitter and/or tweeting about the contest. To do these, you will first need to register for a Twitter account. After you register, you can follow someone by clicking on their Twitter link to get to their Twitter profile and click the "follow" button at the top of the page. To tweet about a contest, go to your Twitter home page and write something about the contest in the box at the top of the page and include a link to the contest. Sometimes the blogger will provide you with specific text to tweet. If a giveaway asks you to post a comment with a link to your tweet, you can get it by clicking on the words at the end of your posted tweet where it says how long ago you posted it, it will usually say something like "less than 10 seconds ago". After you click on it, you will see your last post and you can copy the URL from the address bar on your browser.
Extra Entries on Your Blog - You can often get extra entries for blogging about a giveaway on your own blog. It's easy to set up your own blog and you can do so for free through Blogger. Besides blogging about giveaways, you can sometimes get extra entries for linking to the blog hosting the giveaway or posting their "button" in your sidebar. (See my side bar where I have the Thrifty Jinxy logo and the words "Grab this Button". You would just copy the code I have there and past it into your side bar.)
Promoting in Other Ways:
There are many other services that some bloggers will request you use to promote their giveaways. Just a few are listed below:
Stumble - To earn extra entries for "stumbling" a post, you will first need to sign up at StumbleUpon. After doing so you will download a special toolbar to your browser. This toolbar will give you a set of buttons to Stumble posts. You can read about how to Stumble here.
Digg - You need to sign up with Digg in order to earn extra entries for digging. You can sign up and get more info here.
Technorati - You can sometimes get extra entries fo adding a blog to your Technorati favorites. To do so you first need to sign up for a Technorati account. To add a blog to your favorites they will usually have a link in the side bar to do so, or else you can go directly to your Technorati account and add them.
A word about extra entries...... Although it takes extra work to do these extra entries, doing them can greatly increase your chances of winning! As an example, if there is a blog giveaway that has 400 entries and you just do the basic entry, your chances of winning are 1 in 400. BUT, if you do the basic entry AND subscribe, follow in Google Friend Connect and follow on Twitter, your chances are then 4 in 400, or 1 in 100 - great odds!
I hope this has been helpful to you. If I forgot anything (and I KNOW I must have forgot several things), please feel free to add it in the comments. Or, if anything I wrote was unclear or you have questions, comment with that and I will try to clear it up! Or, feel free to contact me by e-mail.
Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteVery helpful guide! I wish I had this in front of me when I first started to enter blog giveaways. I believe you've got everything covered. Just wanna stress the need to read and follow the RULES. Even for giveaways hosted on the same blog site, their rules may vary from time to time (esp with regard to bonus entries). This would make administering the giveaways easier and be fair to fellow entrants.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I always wonder--should I be remembering all of these and going back to see if I won? Or do most people email/comment on the winner's blog? A lot of them are on blogs I stumble on, enter, don't remember, never check again unless I love them.
ReplyDeleteVery thorough - I learned some new things!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Finding Normal - - I have found that most bloggers contact their winners by e-mail. I never remember to check back to see if I won either unless it's a blog I regularly read.
ReplyDeleteVery thorough explanation. I have a few giveaways going on at Thrifty Mommy. Thankfully, most people have followed the rules though.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem as "finding normal" above. I enter giveaways and then forget where I have entered. I hope my email was enough (and that I lost). I would hate to think I won and then lost out because I didn't check back.
ReplyDeleteA lot of giveaways have extra entries for people if they become subscribers. If i'm already a subscriber, can I still get a bonus entry for commenting that I'm a subscriber? Or is it only for new subscribers? I'm assuming it's for old subscribers too, but the question nags at me every time I enter. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJennifer - Usually you can get an extra entry if you are already a subscriber. Only a few times have I seen where the blogger specifically states that the extra entries are for new subscribers only.
ReplyDeleteJust stopping back to let you know I posted link on my blog to your great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWhen signing up for a lot of giveaways, is there a way to remember who you signed up with? I've seen on a lot of blogs that they often announce the winner on their blog. What if you don't always read all of their blogs?
ReplyDeleteHi, Chris. See my response to "Finding Normal" above about this question. Also, if you do happen to run across a blog where they say you have to check back (which is rare) you can always save that page to your favorites in your internet browser and then go back and check later.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excellent post on blog entries and thanks to all the ones that posted with additional tips too.
ReplyDeleteJust read the post on entering giveaways - sure wish I had had it when I 1st started rntering! I learned by trial & error - even won a few times and had it "Rubbed in my face" by the blog owner who sent me an e-mail to tell me I had won but was disqualified as I hadn't followed the rules/confirmed an e-mail subscri[tion, etc! I learned from that quickly, believe me!!! I love the giveaways, they're fun and I win now once in awhile ;-))
ReplyDeletethank you
ReplyDeletegreat tips. the giveaways that dont have a form to fill out, do i just leave a comment and that is considered me entering? im new at this :) lol
ReplyDeleteAlexis - Generally the blogger will specify how to enter. If they say "leave a comment..." and don't refer to a form etc., then it would usually just be entering by leaving a comment on the post. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the useful tips, Thrifty Jinkxy! These are really helpful. I've been wondering if leaving comments on the contest entry would be considered "entering" already. Haha thanks for the info.
ReplyDelete