Back to Tangible FreebiesSweepstakes, Contests, Prizes
Sweepstakes and Contests are possible ways of getting tangible freebies. Unlike other freebie methods that are listed on this site, they aren't traditionally thought of as consistent resources for getting freebies since only 1-3 winners out of thousands of contestants can win in any given sweeps or contest. However, there are ways to increase the chances of winning; and those who use extreme strategies win sweepstakes on a regular basis.
Are sweepstakes and contests real?
Yes, they are real. Companies use them as a form of advertising. The sweepstakes and contests themselves are types of promotions, and the submitted materials can be used in future promotions. Why pay an advertising agency a lot of money when thousands of contestants will do it for less? When a company offers a prize for a sweepstakes or contest it is actually very serious business. They have to follow laws for every state and they cannot keep the prize for themselves. They hire an independent, third-party company to handle the drawing and distribution of the prize.
Difference between a sweepstakes and a contest.
Though sweepstakes and contests both offer prizes, they are not the same. They are both similar to a lottery which is their predecessor. A lottery requires an entry fee and the winner is chosen by luck of the draw. A sweepstakes does not require an entry fee and the winner is still chosen by luck of the draw. A contest may require an entry fee, and the winner is chosen by skill, which is determined by a group of judges who select what they think is the best entry. Therefore, a contest can require a proof of purchase but a sweepstakes cannot. A sweepstakes may ask for a proof of purchase, but if it is a sweepstakes then they have to offer an equal opportunity to win without a proof of purchase. No special skills are required to win a sweepstakes, but skills are required to win a contest. In a sweepstakes, every submission which follows the rules will have an equal chance of winning. In a contest, the submissions which appeal to the judges the most will have the best chances of winning.
A lot of scholarships are offered the same way as a sweepstakes or contest. Another specialized contest is a game show on television. Game shows usually don't require an admission fees, though each show has a different process for selecting their contestants.
How to win a sweepstakes
The single best way to win a sweepstakes is to follow the rules. Those who don't follow the rules get disqualified. Not following the rules is the reason why 25-90% of people who enter sweepstakes don't win. If the rules say to use a blank index card, then don't use an index card with lines. If they say to use a piece of paper then don't use an index card. If they say "print" then don't write in cursive. Follow the rules to letter to avoid being disqualified. This means reading all the fine print and doing exactly what it says.
Common reasons why people get disqualified include:
- They don't follow the rules
- They live in a state that doesn't allow the sweepstakes. (Watch for the phrase "void where prohibited by law.") The rules usually say which states are not eligible.
- Rules specify "continental U.S." and they live in Alaska or Hawaii.
- They have a family member that works for the company offering the prize.
How to improve your chances of winning sweepstakes:
- Follow the rules
- If the rules allow it, then submit more than one entry form. The rules usually do allow this, however you must submit each entry separately. This means you have to pay for a separate stamp for each mailed entry.
- If they offer more than one way to enter, then use every method. The
five ways to enter a sweepstakes are in store, by phone, by mail, online
and texting.
- Sweepstakes with mail-in entries only may be easier to win than in the past since less and less people are using mail compared to other sweepstakes with electronic entries.
- If the rules specify more than one address, send entry forms to both addresses (or all addresses).
- If the winner is selected by a drawing (meaning a person draws it out of a bag or bin), then spread out the entries over time. If your entry forms are spread out through the piles of entry forms then it is more likely to be picked than if all your entries are bunched up together.
- Also for hand-drawings, submit some entries just before the deadline. Sometimes the most recent entries remain at the top of the drawing pile.
- Be proactive at finding out who the winners are. You might be the winner and the notification got lost in the mail. Write a letter to the company holding the sweepstakes to ask for the names of the winners. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
- For mail-in entries, do not photocopy the entry form unless the rules say you can.
- Also for mail-in entries, use a #10 envelope
- It is best not to wait until the last day to mail your entry, but if you do, mail it before noon be sure it is postmarked that day.
- Enter multiple sweepstakes. Those who win sweepstakes on a regular basis, (at least those on the cable TV show High Stakes Sweepers on TLC) enter about 300 sweepstakes or more a day and spend a few hours a day entering. The first man they showed on the pilot episode made sweeping his full-time career, either entering sweeps or selling his winnings online from 9-5, Monday to Friday. He claimed to make $70,000 to $80,000 a year.
- Enter one-day internet sweepstakes on a Saturday or Sunday when internet traffic is low. If less people enter then your chances of winning are higher.
- Locally printed newspapers and magazines also have fewer entries and therefore a higher chance of winning.
How to win a contest.
Follow the rules to the letter to avoid being disqualified. Also many of the ways to improve chances of winning a sweepstakes mentioned above apply to contests.
Remember, contests are games of skill. Pick the contests that match your skills. If you're good at writing essays, jingles, or ad campaigns then you'll want to pick these contests instead of trying to make a new recipe, or vice versa.
Also remember that the judges decide who wins. Therefore, you must appeal to them. Even if your entry is the most eloquent, it has to appeal to the judges. Its not about what you like. Its about what they like.
Tips for word contests (examples of word contests include: write a rhyme, jingle, slogan, caption or essay)
- Be sincere
- Be simple
- Be original
- Presentation is just as important as content. You must have something to say, and you must say it with style (try to use one of the word plays listed below).
- It helps if you have used the product you are writing about.
- Don't make general statements about why it is good to use products like their product. Make specific statements about why that specific product is the best. Make a list of sales points for that product and incorporate them into your entry.
- Use reference books. Mostly you'll need a good dictionary and thesaurus. Other good references include: The Oxford English Dictionary (which places words in context), a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms, an encyclopedia, a rhyming dictionary, and a book of quotations.
- Practice, practice, practice
Types of Word Plays:
- Judges like puns. Puns are words with double meaning. There are two types: implied puns and variations of a word. Implied puns are harder. A biotechnology company might like the slogan "we make life better." This can be interpreted as "our products improve the quality of life" and "our products are better than the competition's". A pun which uses a variation of a word could be something like the title of the movie "Knight and Day" which uses the word "knight" instead of "night."
- Comparisons: similes and metaphors. Similes use the terms "like" or "as". (ex. The insult was like a dagger stabbing her in the heart.) Metaphors compare without using "like" or "as" and are more powerful comparisons. Metaphors often say one thing "is" or "was" another thing. (The insult was a dagger stabbing her in the heart).
- Personification is a metaphor that gives an object life-like qualities or human-like qualities.
- Alliteration is when many of the words in a sentence start with the same letter. (Super Shoppers Save!) Try not to do much more than three. There is a line between clever and annoying.
- Use a typo on purpose. Example: if the product uses a dinosaur mascot, you could say it's "Rexilicious". Or if the product/company name is "Hale", you could say they give people a "Hale of a time." Of course, you should avoid typos as mistakes.
- Rhymes. (If I had a dime for every time I used "time" for a rhyme.)
- Grouping. (ex: Larry, Curly and Moe.)
- Chiasm. This uses an AB then BA pattern. (ex: "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first" or "If you doubt your abilities, your greatest ability is doubt.")
Tips for recipe contests
- Be original, be simple
- Presentation is just as important as content. Write a recipe that makes their mouths water to read it. Make the dish colorful and rich in texture.
- Do not copy recipes directly from cook books. You can use a cook book for ideas, but be original.
- Use ingredients that the company sells, or use the ingredient for which the contest was created (an absolute must). Highlight this ingredient in the instructions.
- Read winning recipes frequently to get an idea of the ingredients that most judges like.
- Make sure the ingredients are not expensive and that they are easily accessible.
- The recipe should be easy to make. Is it something people can make after coming home from a long day at work?
- Use "ready to serve" ingredients whenever possible. For example: use canned chicken instead of asking them to boil and shred the chicken.
Tips for writing the recipe- Give clear instructions
- Give exact measurements
- Make it neat
- Highlight the contest sponsor's product
- Make the name of the recipe appropriate for the contest. If it is for children, don't call it "Banana Ecstasy" call it something like "Banana Surprise".
- 16 Secret Supermarket Ingredients Chefs Love.
Where to find sweepstakes and contests:
What happens when you win.
If you win, you might be contacted by a private detective agency. Remember, companies hire third-parties to handle the administration of the sweepstakes or contest. They have to be sure that you have completed all the rules. The detective agency will ask you to sign an affidavit which basically says you followed the rules. If you refuse then you'll be disqualified and you won't get the prize. If you like, you can request to have a lawyer present. (Some sweepstakes and contests aren't this complicated, they just mail the prize to you depending on how valuable the prize is).
You might be the center of attention for a while. TV and news reporters might visit you. You'll get phone calls from people you haven't talked to since high school. You might get people asking to take your photograph. You'll get charities contacting you and asking for donations. You might get letters from people you don't even know asking for money.
Your contest material can be used in future promotions. Your secret recipe will be out. The jingle you wrote might be on the radio or television and you might not get credit for it.
If you've worked really hard to win, you might feel depressed that it is all over. But hopefully the the prize makes any depression short-lived. You can also continue to try to keep winning.
Other points you should know about sweepstakes and contests:
The IRS recognizes prize winnings as a legitimate source of income. Therefore, if a prize is won, then the winner has to pay taxes on it, sometimes as high as 70%. Can you afford to pay taxes on a sports car? Maybe you could sell it, but maybe you can't; and if you can't then you're stuck with it. Do you want to pay taxes on a couch that isn't your style? If the prize is a trip to Hawaii for a weekend when you can't get off work then you still pay taxes on it. Vacation prizes (especially ones that include plane tickets) are usually non-transferable, so you can't even give the trip to someone else. Often trips don't include air fair. So you have to pay taxes on the prize and air-fair just to enjoy the trip.
If the prize is cash then go for it. If it is anything other than cash, make sure you want it. You have to declare the fair market value of any merchandise on your income. The fair market value is somewhere between wholesale and retail prices, or its the value at which you might be able to sell it. If its so ugly you can't sell it, or if you can't claim the full value of it, like a vacation, then contact an IRS agent to help you determine the fair market value. Think about the prize before you enter. Because even if you don't want it, you still have to pay taxes on it.
On your taxes, you can't claim a loss if you are unable to sell the merchandise for its value. But you can deduct whatever you used to win the sweepstakes or contest. This might include paper, stamps, envelopes, pens and pencils, the dictionary and other reference books, the ingredients for the recipe, and maybe even the computer you used to write the essay. You cannot claim these as deductions unless you actually win a prize.
Pay attention to privacy policies since they indicate how your personal information will be used once you enter a sweepstakes or contest.
There are more cases of fraud in local newspapers and magazines, though this shouldn't discourage you from entering because the chances of winning are higher in smaller sweepstakes and contests. Therefore, learn to recognize bogus offers.
You should never have to pay to enter a sweepstakes. A contest may require an entry fee and/or proof of purchase.
Sources:
More information related to this page: