Entering Sweepstakes? Avoid These Common Mistakes

Entering a sweepstake is a lot of fun. Winning a prize by giving nothing but a little bit of time – sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it? The only problem is that everyone knows how good of a deal that is, so everyone wants a piece. But if this is your first time entering one, here are a few mistakes that you should look out for to improve your odds.

Not Reading the Rules

Think back to all of the times you bought games, movies, software, or anything else. Did you ever read the terms and conditions? Of course not! Nobody does that. However, when it comes to entering a sweepstake, not reading the rules is a very common mistake. Make sure that you read through the rules so that your entry can make it all the way to the end. Most pros say that close to a quarter of all entries don’t make it to the final count because they don’t follow the rules.

Not Making a Separate Email for Sweepstakes

Unfortunately, far too many people make this mistake. When you are entering two or three new sweepstakes every day with your casual email or your work email, a lot of clutter goes into a single email. So now, you may have to fish for your friend’s wedding email or a new job offer through mountains of emails that could be better in a completely different email. Keep all of your sweepstakes emails in one place, so you can access them easily.

Skipping a Sweepstake If You Have To Go Through a Quiz or Survey

Another common mistake that most rookie sweepers make is that they skip giveaways that require a survey or a longer form. Finding a sweepstake like this means you just struck gold. Since most people will skip through these sweepstakes as they take too long to fill, you have a significantly higher chance of winning. Even if it takes a minute or two, be sure you fill in that extra information, sweepstakes like these can pay off in the long run.

Focusing On National Sweepstakes Rather Than Local Ones

Playing sweepstakes for the fun of filling out forms is the same as going to a club to have deep and introspective conversations; that isn’t the place, chief. So if you sign up for national sweepstakes because of the better prizes, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, you shouldn’t overlook local sweepstakes for it. While national sweepstakes have better prizes, they last much longer and often require multiple entries. In contrast, local sweepstakes are often much shorter and have a single entry, so you have a statistically larger chance of winning local ones since not a lot of people know about them.

Although winning a sweepstake is primarily based on luck, you will also have to be smart about it. Just by avoiding the common mistakes we listed here, you will be doing a lot better than most.