Sweepstakes Series Part Two – Types of Sweeps

Today I want to discuss the types of sweeps you can enter and also give you a few links to some of each type that are going on now. I also won my first “real” prize yesterday since I started this hobby back up again! I’ll share the details on that, too.

If you’re totally lost and have no idea what I’m doing here, you might want to go back and read part one.

Instant Wins

This is probably my favorite type of sweepstakes to enter because you don’t have to wait to see if you win something. Most of the time you have to fill in your details like usual, and then you get to play a fun little game or spin a virtual wheel or something (if you don’t feel like playing the game, spinning the wheel, etc. sometimes you can click a link at the bottom – if it’s there – that says “Can’t see game,” and that will skip you through it and let you see the results.) Not all instant wins have a game — some just let you know if you won or not after you enter.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that the little game has absolutely no impact on whether or not you win. Instant wins are completely random. Even if you lose the little game, you could still win the prize. They are all set to go off at certain times during the day and if you just happen to enter at that “magical” time, you win. So don’t worry about how you do on the game.

Many instant wins will also require a game code to enter. If you’re signed up at Online-Sweepstakes, you can read through the notes underneath each sweep listed and most of the time, someone will have posted a code there you can use or at the very least told you how to get a code. Some codes are reusable, some are not. And not all instant wins require codes.

And finally, instant wins are usually for lots of prizes, so you might win a variety of different things.

Here are a few instant wins you can try your luck at now:

• Boar’s Head Bold Flavor Sweepstakes - Chance to win a trip & daily instant $25 cash prizes!
• KFC – Fully Maxed Sweepstakes - Try using this code in the code box - 58825582
• Food Should Taste Good Let’s Summer Sweeps (tons of summery prizes) – use code 2F26B13 in the box where it says to put the entry #.

Ongoing Sweeps

These are sweepstakes that never really end. A prize may be drawn weekly or monthly, and then it is started over again.

• Omaha Steaks ($1000 in Omaha Steaks) Given away quarterly. Note – you will get their newsletter if you enter.
• Dooney & Bourke (handbag) Given away monthly.

Blogs

I’m going to do an entire post on blog giveaways soon because I have a lot to say about them. But basically they are hosted on blogs and in order to enter, most of the time you have to do something like leave a comment, visit another site, like a Facebook page, etc. Many now are done with something called Rafflecopter embedded on the page, which makes it pretty easy to do all those things and keep track of your entries. Most of the time the prizes are on the smaller side with these blog giveaways. Many are on “mom blogs” but there are a handful that aren’t.

• The “Mommy Living the Life of Riley” blog has a lot of giveaways going on if you want to try some.
• So does “Mommy Kat and Kids”

Creative Presentation

You’ll see a lot of sweepstakes that are listed as “Creative Presentation.” Your chances of winning are very low with these because it’s where a lot of companies are all advertising the same prize. For example, many popular magazines have these listed. When the prize is awarded, only one company will actually award it and if you didn’t enter on that person’s page, your entry won’t count.

Creative presentations also usually go on for a long time, sometimes a full year, and I have even seen where they get extended for additional years after they were supposed to end. Many, many sweepers just bypass these altogether because the chances of winning are so unlikely and the way they are presented isn’t too straightforward.

If my explanation has confused you, there is another one here you can read.

Contests

People often say “contest” when they really mean “sweepstakes” and “sweepstakes” when they really mean “contest.” But actually the difference is that sweepstakes are based totally on luck, whereas contests are more based on skill. You might be asked to contribute a recipe, essay, photo, video, etc. and then that entry will be judged.

• Here’s a list of all the different contests you can enter at Online-Sweepstakes

Facebook Sweeps

A lot of major companies are now hosting their giveaways directly on Facebook. This is something a little new … when I did this before, I didn’t ever see this. But Facebook is huge and so many people use it that it provides an excellent avenue for these brands to connect with potential customers. They can require that their Facebook page is “liked” before you can enter, at which point the entry form will come up.

Be careful with these if you use Facebook. Sometimes you’ll be asked to approve an app before you can enter that will want to access some of your information. Most of the time it will just want your basic info (stuff you may have to provide anyway if you’re going to enter like your name, email, etc.) but I’ve seen a few that are downright invasive, wanting to access not only your info but also your friend’s info, etc. I even saw one the other day (not for a sweepstakes but for something else) that wanted me to let it access my Facebook messages! So just watch those before you approve them and see what they are wanting to access.

• Here’s one from Ladie’s Home Journal for a $2500 check that is hosted on Facebook
• Idaho Spuds hosted on Facebook giving away several prizes (this one is also instant win)

That pretty much sums up the types of sweeps.

Did I win something this week? Yes!

Fed Ex left this at my door yesterday morning. What a pleasant surprise! It was from the Anderson Cooper show. You can read the details on what I won here.

A note came with the prize asking me to tweet that I won. Carrie Ann Inaba replied to my tweet from her personal Twitter profile. Wow!

@RealWaystoEarn @anderson @andersoncooper congratulation!!! I hope you enjoy the goodies!

— Carrie Ann Inaba (@carrieanninaba) June 7, 2012

Want to start winning yourself? If you haven’t already, read part one in my sweepstakes series. Part three will be coming next week.