How do online sweepstakes work

For example, have you ever wondered if you could improve your chances of winning sweepstakes by entering at a specific time of the day? Or whether decorating envelopes can raise your odds of being picked as a mail-in winner? The answers depend on the method of drawing winners that the sponsor uses. Once you know that, you can tailor your entries to give you a better chance to be picked as the giveaway's winner.

Here are some of the most common giveaway drawing methods and how they work. When sweepstakes accept entries by mail, a simple way to draw the winner is to simply pick a name by hand. As envelopes for mail-in sweepstakes arrive, they are sorted into bags. When it's time to pick the giveaway winner's name, a mailbag is chosen at random.

A person designated by the sponsor then reaches into that bag, pulls out an envelope, and opens it. The person whose envelope was picked is then the potential winner subject to verification. Giveaways where you drop an entry blank into a box work in a similar way. The winner is drawn by having an employee of the sponsoring company reach blindly into a box and pick an entry form at random. When the giveaway winner is chosen by manually picking an envelope or an entry form, you can't tweak your odds of winning by picking a specific time of day to enter.

You have no way of knowing which mailbag your entry will be placed into or which will be chosen to draw the winner. There are some tricks that you can use to help you get an edge over the competition, however. Some mail-in sweepers swear by decorating the envelopes of their entry forms.

The idea is that someone glancing into the mailbag might be attracted to an envelope that is brightly colored, has a cute or funny picture on it, or is flattering to the company sponsoring the giveaway.

Another strategy is to make your envelope or entry form stand out by feeling different when a person is reaching into a bag to draw the winner. You can do this by adding texture to your envelope or by crumpling or folding your entry form into accordion pleats. This is the most common way to pick giveaway winners. Those who participate in sweepstakes enjoy the thrill of entering and savor the possibility of winning.

While offline sweepstakes are offered at specific business locations, online sweepstakes are offered on a particular website; this website will have a page that announces the sweepstakes, the rules and the attractive prizes.

Sweepstakes should not be confused with events that require skills: such events are contests, not sweepstakes. In sweepstakes, the winner is decided through a process of random selection i.

Participants enjoy the process of signing up for sweepstakes, making advertising more effective. The sweepstakes embodies an ideal means for a company to create product awareness. In many ways, the payoff for the company in offering cash or prizes compliments brand messages delivered through advertising media.

This is because advertising is the medium, while the sweepstakes can become the message. Running a sweepstakes is a process that must be conducted ethically and legally.

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The Lowdown on the Good Housekeeping Sweepstakes. All About Living Trust Idaho. Abbreviation for Revocable Trust - Explained. Learn more You've just won ten million dollars! How about, "Congratulations! You've just won ten pairs of socks! If you like getting something for nothing, maybe it's time you won sweepstakes. Of course, sweepstakes winners are chosen at random like a lottery, so there's no way to increase your chance of winning.

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Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Follow blogs and websites that offer free sweepstakes listings. There are tons of free sweepstakes being offered all the time—companies often use them as a way to raise awareness about their brands. However, searching them out individually can be really time-consuming, and it can sometimes be hard to tell which sweepstakes are trustworthy.

To make the search easier, bookmark a few popular sweepstakes websites, and check back regularly to see what's new. Subscribe to a sweeps newsletter to get listings in your inbox. If you'd prefer to have sweepstakes listings sent directly to you, sign up for email newsletters from sweepstakes directories.

They'll sort through any active sweepstakes, highlighting the best ones in their emails. Most of these sites offer a free version of their newsletter, but they typically will also offer a premium membership where you'll get exclusive access to certain listings. Follow sweepstakes pages and groups on social media.

Many companies use contests and sweepstakes to help boost their followers on social media. While you may sometimes come across promotions being offered by the brands you already follow, you'll be more likely to come across contests if you follow social media pages or join groups that aggregate sweepstakes.

Similar to a website or a newsletter, these pages will post new sweepstakes, along with reminders to re-enter daily contests. Use the radio and social media to find local contests. If you can find a contest that's only eligible to people who live near you, be sure to enter it!