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Contests for Moms (and how to win them)
By metropolitanmama | November 10, 2007
There’s something dangerously magnetic about contesting. The more you enter, the more you win. The more you win, the more enter. The cycle perpetuates itself. It really is a fun hobby.
Over the past year, I’ve won an all-expenses-paid trip to L.A., a $1,000 shopping spree, an athletic shirt, a t-shirt for my daughter, and a $50 gift card.
My wins, though, are minuscule compared to the winnings of Laura Williams (pictured above), a Tennessee resident and mother of seven (ranging in age from 13 months to 19 years old). “In September, I almost averaged one [win] a day. In October, there were five days that I didn’t win anything, but I had a few days that I won twice…so it averaged out to once a day at least.”
I asked Laura to share some of her brilliant contesting tips with my readers here at Metropolitan Mama.
ME: Approximately how many contests do you enter per day?
LAURA: 10+
ME: What kind of contest do you enter most often - blog contests, regular contests (some task or activity is required, i.e. essay or photo), or sweepstakes?
LAURA: Mainly blog contests. If it requires emailing, leaving a comment, signing up for RSS feed, posting about the contest on my blog, essays, signing up for email, etc.
ME: What type of contest brings you the most success - blog, single entry, daily entry, sweepstakes, photo contests, etc.?
LAURA: Blog contests.
ME: Where do you go to find contests and sweepstakes?
LAURA: The majority of them are contests from blogs that I have in my feed reader, or I may find a link on a blog to another blog with the contest. I have done blogsearch.google.com searches as well (just type in giveaway or contest).
ME: What is your biggest or best win to date?
LAURA: A $250 gift card to Williams-Sonoma was my biggest win, but I’ve also won books, cash (paypal), amazon g.c., toys, gift cards for Starbucks, and various other items.
ME: What tips would you give to a mom who wants to start contesting?
LAURA: You can’t win if you don’t enter. Read the contest details to make sure of the requirements.
If you’re interested in becoming a contester or just entering a contest from time to time, you’re definitely going to want to check out the following sites:
Prizey
Contest Girl
Laura Williams’ Musings
Where do you go to find contests and what have you won? Share your best tips here!
Topics: contests |
November 11th, 2007 at 3:23 am
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks again for interviewing me. I enjoyed it. Good luck in any contests you enter!
November 12th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Great interview!
I’ve been sweeping since I was 17. One of my favorite sites to go to for contests is online-sweepstakes.com. However, I discovered the Blog Google feature and I’ve been hooked ever since! :p
November 13th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Thanks for the tips. I only recently discovered how easy it is to win things. I’ve never taken the time to enter contests in the past because I felt as though it was a waste of time. The odds of winning seemed pretty slim. I discovered Prizey about a month ago and so far I have won 3 giveaways! All 3 were by email entry. I am ADDICTED now!