A Hint For NEW Contest/Freebie Posters *Please Read*

[bcteagirl]

Sadly you are not winning contests because *any* automatic form filler will automatically disqualify you from the vast majority of contests... Check the rules of all contests closely if you really want to use a program...

[macphail8]

One little request when posting contests: Could additional information please be included and not just the link?

Thank you.

[paige]

This is work in progress, so feel free to post suggestions or comments to improve the write-up and I will edit as I go.

Thought I would put together this post, since it is a common question among new folks on the forum. I borrowed from many sources and modified with my own style on top of that. Referenced the site/original poster where relevant.

Topics covered:
- how to search
- how to post new contests
- how to browse
- how to enter
- how to track what you've entered

I. Finding a New contest to post on SC (thanks cndlady!)
So you found a great contest and quickly log in to Smart Canucks to post it. Next thing you know, five other people have posted the same thing. What happened?

1. First, check a link before you post it. This way you will know that the link is still valid.
2. Check to see if it has already been posted. This is important because the more reposts there are the bigger the chance that a person could enter the same contest twice and be disqualified.

• Use the “Super Google” search and try several search terms.

• People make spelling mistakes when posting, so you may not find a duplicate post if you run a search on just one word. An X-Box could be “Xbox” or “Xbox360”.
• When searching for a contest, search by prize, sponsor and contest name before posting. Sometimes you have to do more than one search to find a post.
• Search by individual words instead of phrases. So, “Maytag” and “washer” instead of “Maytag washer”
• Website addresses are a good way to search as well. For example, the Top Dogs X-Box giveaway can be searched using X-box, or topdogsrfun (as in, www.topdogsrfun.com)

II. Posting a new Contest (thanks cndlady!)
Ok, so now you’ve searched and no one else has posted this contest yet. Yippee! Now what?

1. Title of the post should contain the following information:

• The product/sponsor
• The Prize
• The expiry date – so the moderators can remove the post at the end of the contest and keep the section tidy for contesters
• DATE format - please use type out the date in words, meaning September or Sept, instead of "09". It makes it easier for moderators to search/sort posts to clean up a section.

This is important because sometimes there are multiple contests being held where the prize is the same (e.g. Nintendo Wii). Also make it easier for people searching for a contest.
Examples
Energizer - win a psp ends Apr. 30/07
Saputo – win Whirlpool kitchen appliances – expires May 27/07

2. In the Body of the post
· If possible put in if the contest is daily or single entry...most people will check again anyway but it gives contester a quick overview when entering. If it is an instant win, make sure you state that as well.
HINT - AOM = Age Of Majority (18 or 19, depending on the province)
· A link to the contest rules would be useful


3. UPC code or Special answer required.
· Some contests ask for a product bar code (UPC) or there is a puzzle answer (word scramble, identify the symbol, secret word of the day). To protect the hard work SC members do to find these answers, take a moment to put them in a text file (*.txt document) and insert it in the post as an attachment, like this: Attachment 982

Only SC members can open/view attachments, so this stops non-contributing "lurkers" from browsing the site and grabbing the answers.


III. Browsing Contests (thanks Prue!)
When you are on a sections main page (i.e. contest main page) if you click the little + sign next to the posters name it will show you the first post without actually entering the thread. Then if you want to close that box just hit the minus sign.
Boo's thread about this feature: http://www.forum.smartcanucks.ca/sho...83&postcount=1
You actually can tell if a contest is a single or daily entry before clicking on the post - provided the original poster entered that info on their initial post.



IV. Entering a Contest

TYPES of Contests
Single Entry – these are the easiest to enter. Need to keep track of these to make sure you don’t enter more than once or you get disqualified from winning.
Daily Entry – self-explanatory
Weekly – self-explanatory
Monthly - self-explanatory
Instant Win - special category, usually combined with one of the above types. There are randomly assigned prizes, usually based on what time of day you fill in the entry form. The site will tell you right away if you've won a prize. NOTE: you usually need a special code or UPC or have to answer a math skill question.

There are variations of the above contests where you can enter multiple times per UPC code, or there is a maximum number of total times. Always read the Contest Rules carefully for any special conditions. In case of doubt, email their Customer Service to ask – please post their answer to help your fellow SCers, if you contact customer service

Filling in the Entry Form
Many companies hold contests in order to collect personal information for marketing purposes. Here are some ways to protect yourself from spammers or unwanted telemarketing/junk mail:

NAME: Use a first initial or change one letter in your first name (e.g. Janie instead of Jane, or just J.). Keep your last name the same for identification purposes in case of a win.

ADDRESS: Full and complete address – no real way to get around this

PHONE: This is usually a mandatory field. Read the Contest Rules carefully to figure out how they contact the winner.
· If they phone the winner, then you must use your real phone number if you want to win that prize. Otherwise, don’t enter that contest. If you decide to enter your real phone number, keep track of which contest so you don’t get scammed that you won a prize for a contest you never entered.
· If the winner is contacted by email or the prize is mailed out, then go ahead and use a fake phone number. My personal favourite is XXX-555-XXXX. Some people change one digit off their real phone number. I don’t do that, since that is probably a real phone number that belongs to someone else – who is wondering why he is suddenly getting so many telemarketers.

EMAIL: a way to collect email addresses for SPAM. Recommend you open a free email account that you use just for contests and freebies – yahoo, hotmail and gmail all offer free email accounts.

BIRTH DATE - all they really want to know is whether you are old enough to enter the contest. I usually just enter the month and the year, and leave the "day" blank, or just enter "01". I don't like to enter the real date, since that plus your name (if you chose to use your full first name) can be used to dig up all sorts of info - like your credit info.

V. Tracking Contest Entries (some material borrowed from mycontests.net by Susan Francis)

The main thing is to enter and enter consistently. Best results are by keeping to a schedule: daily entry contests I try to enter daily- while you can win a daily entry contest with only one entry, each entry increases your chances.

WEEKLY - try to enter the same day each week, since some contests track the week as a seven-day period (e.g. cutoff is every Tuesday). If you always enter on the same day, you will avoid accidentally entering the contest twice in the same week and disqualifying yourself.

MONTHLY - Many of them end on the same day of the month - too many to tackle by picking one day to enter. Try and split them up and pick two or three designated dates to always enter that batch of contests. It doesn't matter when during the month you enter, just as long as you remember to enter.

Everyone has their own way of tracking contests, depending on their personal style. Here are a few examples of how some of our pros track their contests. Feel free to adapt to your own needs.

1. Spreadsheet
This is convenient because you can order your contests with headings for Contest, End date, web links, special info for the entry (e.g. UPC code) and of course FREQUENCY.

Also makes it easier to search when checking if you have already entered the contest - especially important for single entry contests. The list can be sorted so that the expired contests are removed. Note: the "1X" is used for single entry contests so that they always end up at the top and don't get entered twice. Some may choose to move these on a separate tab altogether to avoid any confusion.



2. Use the "Subscribe Thread" Function

This method works well contests requiring multiple entries (daily, weekly, etc.). When you find a well-written contest entry - done according to the above guidelines, of course - it removes the need to keep a separate spreadsheet. If the contest post is incomplete, I just hit reply and post the missing info (end date, frequency, whatever). Then I subscribe to the thread.



The information is kept on your SC User ID. So you just have to go to User CP, then "List Subscriptions". That will show you all the threads you added and you just click through them one at a time, instead of searching for them on the forum.



When the contest is over, just tick the box and delete the subscription.

3. Use the "Thank you" method.

This is especially useful for SINGLE entry contests.

CAUTION: you need to be careful of REPOSTS, since if the same contest is posted twice you could accidentally enter it more than once and be disqualified.

Easy to do - just enter the contest and hit Reply and say "Thank you" to the poster. Even if you use other methods to track contests, I still recommend posting "Thanks", since it the polite thing to do.

Now that you've posted in the thread, you can see that you've "thanked" the posted when browsing by looking at the little envelope icon next to the thread.


VI. Additional tips (thanks to remarker for finding this site: mycontests.net by Susan Francis)

ALWAYS READ THE CONTEST RULES:
Don't bother filling in the entry form if you didn't read the contest rules. Some contests have specific instructions for eligible entries - if you don't fill in the required form completely, your entry will just get rejected.

CHECK YOUR EMAIL INBOX DAILY:
Many contests have a time limit for the selected winner to respond or else they drop your name and pick another winner.

KEEP GOOD RECORDS OF YOUR WIN AND NOTICES:
It is always a good idea to print out your win notices- that way if the prize doesn’t arrive, (and I have had some that I have never received) you will have proof to use to complain to the site owner if the email has been accidentally deleted. My email is automatically deleted after twenty- seven days by my ISP. The same is true when the notice is mailed to you-make a copy of the notice. For cross border wins, it’s a good idea to have a copy anyway so you can recover any taxes or duties charged by customs. A good answering machine is also a good idea. I missed out on a win because I couldn’t make out the number of the person I was to call to claim my win.

CANADIANS AND CONTESTS FROM OUTSIDE OF CANADA:
I have had dozens of wins from contests not based in Canada. The only country that a win sometimes leads to grief is the United States. Sometimes the sponsor does not label the package "gift" or "sample" or indicate it has no value. When this happens customs inspects the package and will charge you tax and duties. They also randomly inspect parcels, asses value and charge tax and duties, as well as a five dollar inspection fee. However, contest winnings valued at under $65 are not taxable, or covered by duties. What you need to do is: pay the fee at the post office or to the mailman, get a receipt, carefully remove the yellow label that states what you were charged, and fill out the refund form on the back, and mail it into revenue Canada along with a copy of your winning email and/ or congratulatory letter (support documents). You can also request and/or download a copy of the form from the government’s website. It takes about six weeks, but they will mail you a check. I have won contests located in both Great Britain and Australia, and received my winnings fairly quickly without any customs inspection. Since I only enter contests where I can read the rules I don’t enter contests from non-English speaking countries. Japan does run some that available in English, but to date I have not won any of them.

WOW thats alot but thanks

[agobot]

Thanks for all the helpful tips and advice

[cndlady]

Please also remember when Posting a Contest to completely type out the end date and to make sure that you post it in the title
Example: February
when searching for an expiry date Feb or Feb. will not work for the mods.

they work very hard to clear out the expired contests so please help them along

Thanks
Kim

[bcteagirl]

Thanks cndlady!

[bcteagirl]

Ok just did a page by page clean of the contest section.. aside from a few pages at the end (no dates in title, I try to go through a few every time I clean) the section should be squeaky clean, so enjoy your contest hunting!

If you see any expired contests (Up to the date of this post) please report them.

And please remember to put the expiry date (month in full) in the title! This enables me to clean through 7 pages of 'February' contests rather than all 22 pages of contests

[littlebird]

thank you this is very good information
everyone should read it or re-read it

[Chantal444k]

Ok just did a page by page clean of the contest section.. aside from a few pages at the end (no dates in title, I try to go through a few every time I clean) the section should be squeaky clean, so enjoy your contest hunting!

If you see any expired contests (Up to the date of this post) please report them.

And please remember to put the expiry date (month in full) in the title! This enables me to clean through 7 pages of 'February' contests rather than all 22 pages of contests

Just do advice, if it's do-able, as I know nothing about web pages etc
What if it was set up as fields, with drop down menu with the info you require for clean up like, month, day, year - contest freebies or whatever, and any other pertinant info. I'm assuming that this would really speed it up for you??

As I said I have no idea how much work it is to actually put this into action, but it may help you quite a bit.

[jjsma]

Great Info...thank you. I am new to all this and have already made a few boo-boo's...I should have read this first!

[daisygirl]

Thanks so much for all of this great info..now I just need to start using it!

[alajen]

bump!

[kopykatz2001]

Thank you for this need to know post.