Before I started blogging, and before I ever entered blog giveaways, I enjoyed entering contests. Most of the contests I entered online involved filling out a form, answering a skill-testing question (which is common in Canada and is often a mathematical question) and sometimes having to enter a UPC from a related product. Some contests were single entry while others allowed for daily or weekly entry.
When I found blog giveaways, I felt really confused but, at the same time, I felt like I’d found an amazing new way to win cool prizes and read about new products!
I know that some “seasoned” contestors say they don’t like blog giveaways because there are too many steps involved, but I want to give you some tips on how to navigate blog contests and how to make entering easier! There are some amazing benefits to blog giveaways – often the odds are really good and there are some amazing prizes to be won!
Please note: the specific examples I provide are specific to my blog. The first rule of giveaways (just like any other contest) is to READ THE RULES!
So, for the next few weeks, I am going to run some posts to help those who are new to enter blog giveaways!
Question: I want to enter blog giveaways but I don’t know where to start? HELP!
The first key to entering blog giveaways, as I mentioned above, is to read the rules!
Each giveaway has a MANDATORY entry that must be completed in order to enter. Sometimes the entry requires visiting the sponsor’s site while other times you may just have to answer a question (such as the example I’ve included below).
When you want to enter, you go to the bottom of the page and fill in the form (like the example I have included below). You click on “Post Comment” and, viola, you have entered!
Most bloggers offer a way to enter daily – I actually offer two because I know that not everyone has a Twitter account. I have some people who choose not to enter daily, others who enter 1 way daily and some who enter both ways daily — the choice is yours!
If you would like to gain additional entries, you can choose to do a number of different things. NONE OF THESE ARE MANDATORY but it helps both you and the blog owner. You are able to get extra entries into the giveaways and the more readers and followers that a blogger has, the more it helps them to obtain giveaways for you to win! 🙂
Some Tips I Learned from Entering Blog Giveaways:
-if you plan to enter a lot of blog giveaways, I suggest setting up a new free email account for your entries. I found it easier to get the email newsletters from the blogs I followed, as well as the RSS feeds all to one email address. (Personally, I suggest setting up a Gmail account because you can subscribe via RSS on your Google Reader for extra entries and subscribe via email which will appear in that Gmail account).
-set up a blank document where you can post all of your extra entries for different blogs and keep track of them (it also allows you to cut and paste your information which saves you time). For example, I have a document called EXTRA ENTRIES and in that document I have the blogs I follow listed in alphabetical order with each of my extra entries underneath (e.g. “I follow you on Twitter (ReviewCorner) ENTRY 1”, “”I follow you on Twitter (ReviewCorner) ENTRY 2”, “I subscribe via email ENTRY 1” etc).
-if you want to tweet daily, I personally also set up a document for my daily tweet. I list them by date and then include the tweet itself (most blogs will give you an actual tweet so you don’t have to make one up yourself) and the link to the giveaway underneath it. That way as the giveaways end, I am able to take them off my retweet list.
In upcoming weeks, I will talk about how to sign up and use Twitter, Facebook and StumbleUpon.
Does this information help? Do you have any other tips for people just starting to enter blog giveaways? (You have to find a system that works for you – these are tips I’ve found that have helped me but other people may have other great suggestions as well!)
My Little Review Corner 
I’m a seasoned blog enterer but I love winning things. Advice to the giveaway hosters is to make it easy and painless to enter. Entering “I follow by email” 5 separate times makes it extremely teadious and time consuming.
I agree Miranda though once I started the blog I understood better why bloggers (including myself!) do it. With a small blog, as it grows, you want to give people incentive to subscribe etc and offering more entries for doing so. I think it is an ongoing process and something I will be revisiting in the near future so I appreciate your input! 🙂
Great advice! I like when bloggers post how to enter their giveaways! I also like that I am not the only one who has a spreadsheet for all the giveaways I am entered in! It really does streamline the process lol
The agenda between the contestants, blogger and company supplying the prize need to be mutually beneficial – the contestants want to win, the blogger get traffic to his/her site and the company raise awareness (and ultimately sell more) of its products/services.
As someone who works with companies supplying products for giveaways I’ve become very picky with who I work with. A high-traffic site can be attractive for a company but a targeted audience, a well-written review to go along with the giveaway and links to the company’s social media platforms (twitter, facebook, youtube, etc.) are all much more important.
I think your comments are very insightful and you provide a lot of food for thought. I know, personally, that I spend hours working on each review as well as ensuring that the both my readers and the companies for whom I review products and host giveaways receive the maximum exposure possible (both through social media outlets themselves as well as by including social media contact information about products and companies) as well as a comprehensive review.
Good advice!
This is a very helpful article. It can seem overwhelming when you’re just starting out entering blog giveaways. I know it was for me!
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This is an area that I would like to learn more about! Thanks for the above.
That’s a great article for the newer people. Do you happen to have an article on how to HOST a blog contest successfully?
February 20–I am a bit like the person who is assembling a child’s toy-when all else fails, read the directions! I thought it would be helpful to revisit this site and gain more insight into entering blog contests. I believe it helped. el03ro
e.m.roberts@hotmail.com
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May 1-Again I have revisited this post and am learning anew. I think that everytime one reads instructions, you pick up on somethiing missed the last time. I look forward to reading your posts on Twitter and Stumbleupon.-el03ro