Many blogs offer giveaways at one point or another. With all the bonus entries and such, some may be confused and just decide it’s not worth it to enter. Actually, you have a better chance at winning a blog-hosted giveaway with a couple hundred entrants versus a sweepstakes at the mall for a car or Hawaiian vacation. I hope these answers help a bit:
What is a mandatory/main/required entry?
This is the one thing you HAVE to do to enter. Most of the time, you have to leave a comment to a specific prompt. Do not comment with anything like, “I want to win this!” or “Pick me!”
What are bonus entries?
These may give you better chances at winning. The more entries, the more likely your comment/entry is randomly chosen. Be sure to follow the mandatory entry carefully or all your extra entries will be disqualified.
- GFC: Stands for Google Friend Connect.
- Twitter: Be sure to include your Twitter handle (@____ ).
- Tweet: Leave a comment here with your a link to your tweet.
- Facebook: In addition to ‘liking’ that person or page, leaving a comment on their or the sponsor’s wall is always optional.
- Subscribe by email: Be sure to click the activation link in your email.
How are winners chosen?
Usually randomly. A website or plug-in scans the comments (or the number of comments) and then randomly picks one. Make sure you leave your email address so the blogger has a way to contact you if you win.
If I win, how long will it take to receive my item?
That depends. Normally the sponsoring company will ship it directly to the winner; so it is dependent on them. Allow at least four to six weeks.
What if I have a problem with the item or don’t receive it?
Do NOT contact the company directly. Contact the blog that hosted the giveaway (be nice, it’s not their fault) and let them sort it out for you.
What do the blogger and sponsoring company get out of it?
The blog may or may not receive compensation for all the work they put into the post 
and hosting the giveaway (quality review bloggers put hours of thought and effort into their posts). They also hope for more web site traffic and new followers. By offering a giveaway, a company can introduce their name and products to a wide audience who, if they don’t win, may later decide to purchase the item(s) featured.
Anything else?
While not required, it’s always nice to say ‘thank you’ to the blogger and maybe let them know when you receive your prize. I’ve been on both ends and we can all use a nice note of appreciation here and there.
16 comments
This is a great post. Before I did giveaways, I didn’t fully understand how giveaways worked either. This seems like a post that should turn into a permanent page on your blog.
Good idea. I’ll have to work on that.
Great post!
Thanks!
great explanation
Thank you.
Great post! I think a lot of people will find your post very helpful.
Thank you. I hope that is the case.
Great post. I know when I started entering giveaways I had to stumble my way through to figure it all out.
I did to. It’s assumed that everyone knows these basics but when you are new, it can be a bit confusing.
You’re doing such a great job, TerriAnn! Thanks for the advice!
Thank you, Sonia – you’re one of my biggest fans! Hope this bit of info was helpful to you.
Very good idea for a post. I remember first starting to look at blog contests and sometimes being confused at all the methods of entries. Newbies should find this very useful!
I think this type of post would be beneficial on every blog featuring giveaways.
I’ll never forget entering my first giveaway.. I didn’t leave any information but thankfully I had a link to my blog. Leaving email and a contact is crucial!!
Oh, so true. I should make sure to add that!
Comments are closed.