1. Be sure you have a way the sponsor of the Contest or Giveaway can contact you. Sadly, many people enter contests but their settings are at a "no reply" level, and they can't be contacted if they win. If you are uncertain, leave your email address in the comment. If you have a blogger account, to check your settings:
b) click on Blogger Settings
c) be sure the box for "Show my email address" is checked.
d) click Save Profile
{below} example of a no reply blogger that left a comment, where they could also be entered to win a prize via one of my giveaways.
Sad that Brenda didn't have her settings to allow me to reply to her, if she wins a prize! While I appreciate her leaving a comment (and voting for her favorite nominees in the Golden Quilter Awards) the fact that she can't be contacted typically will disqualify someone from winning a contest or giveaway hosted by any blogger.
If in doubt, remember to leave an email address or insight on how you can be contacted when you post a comment on a blog to enter a giveaway or contest.
2. Read the rules unique to the blogger. Not every contest or giveaway has the same rules. Follow the rules as posted. For example, don't just post a comment about blah, blah, blah if the rules show that you are to post insights about lah, lah, lah. Some bloggers use random number generators to select winners, yet other bloggers select people that leave creative comments and appropriate respond to questions that the blogger asked participants to answer, in order to qualify for entering.
3. Enter. LOL! Very obvious, if you don't enter you can't win!
3. Enter. LOL! Very obvious, if you don't enter you can't win!
4. Many blogs will require that you have some form of a google account to leave a comment. You can go to http://www.google.com/ and create an account for free. I actually prefer to use a google email account when posting on the internet, while retaining my house email (e.g. roadrunner) for regular email. I view this helps with spam control, or at least it has helped in my case.
5. Remember that the blogger hosting the giveaway or contest is busy and can receive hundreds of emails daily, as well as comments on their posts. Don't expect to always receive a response to comments you post or emails you send.
6. Frequently bloggers that hold a giveaway, not only have interesting blogs, but may also have other contests. Thus, you may want to consider following these blogs. I like Google/Reader. Very easy tool, far better than tracking via Favorites. Simply go to www.google.com/reader You'll see a button where you can ADD a subscription. You simply need to paste the url to the blog that you want to follow into the add a subsciption box. And, when you visit Google/Reader it will show you a list of blogs that you want to follow that have been updated (have posted since the last time you've read their blog).
7. Some bloggers will contact you win you win their contest or giveaway, where others will not. Thus, following these bloggers via Google/Reader can be helpful. You might actually find out, when you read their blog, that you won one of their giveaways! Another reason to follow a blog.
8. To actually enter, most blogger giveaways or contests will require you to post comments to be able to enter. Be sure to follow their instructions. At the bottom of their post, where they provide insight on their giveaway, there should be a button or hyperlink text that says something like POST A COMMENT.
Click on this to open open a comments box.
Type your comments {what is appropropriate for the giveaway you are entering} inside of the comment box.
Many blogs have a security setting to prohibit spammers leaving comments. If you are prompted for a word verification type in the word displayed into the word verification box.
Typically, the comment box will also require you to choose an identify. This is where you can enter your username and password from your google account (your password is not shared with the bloggger, only used to allow the Google software to validate your account).
There are also other security ID options for google and other blogging software applications. But if you select ANONYMOUS on any of these accounts, remember the blogger has no way of contacting you unless you leave your email and/or other contact info.
Upon typing in all of this required information you will press a button than says something like PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. Frequently, the mouse may pop you back to the top of the screen leaving you thinking your comment was published. But use the scroll bar to scroll back down to verify. Sometimes I've had to press this button, or a similar type of button, 3-4 times before my comments actually were posted to the blog.
Some bloggers will have settings to instantly allow you to see your comments posted on their site, whereas some will not display until the blogger has approved it. In either of these cases you will most likely see a message that reflects that your comments has been accepted.
To those new to leaving comments on blogs, these steps sound time consuming and can appear confusing. But truly, once you get the hang of it they are quite easy. And, definitely offer rewards of winning a wonderful prize from a generous blogger (and maybe their sponsors).
Another aspect to watch is if your login is with WordPress and you are posting comments on a blog hosted by BLOGGER (or reverse). Not all blogs allow both email and Worpress Open ID, thus you may end up leaving comments with a no-reply setting under these conditions. Thus, for safety sake, when entering a contest under these conditions consider leaving a way you can be contacted (e.g. email address or website) in your comment.
I do hope these insights help. They are not perfect and I certainly welcome feedback to help make these insights easier for others to understand.
Also, if you have recommendations that you'd like to share, to increase awareness of how others can win contests and giveaways, feel free to email SewCalGal. I'd be happy to include your insights and recognize you on this page.
No comments:
Post a Comment