Editors Note: Today Victoria talks about why you should enter giveaways. Until the past year, we had no idea how many giveaways were really happening online. There are literally thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of prizes being given away every single day. While there are countless smaller prizes, there are also some very big ones like houses (check out HGTV’s Dream Home or Smart Home giveaway), $50,000 for home renovations, cars, and most of all vacations. Needless to say, we see value in entering at least a few giveaways.
When I mention to people that we spend time to enter in giveaways, the response I often hear is “I don’t have time to do that” or “I don’t even know how to do that.” What I really want to say to these comments is “bologna” because it is. Today I explain five reasons why people have no excuses to not enter blog giveaways.
1) It is easy
If you know how to get to Young Adult Money’s Friday giveaway post, entering giveaways is simple. Find the giveaway you want to enter in and the form is right on the blog after clicking each link. You can use your email or your Facebook account to login, nothing else. It is only complicated if you make it that way.
2) It can be quick if you want it to be
You can enter as many or as few giveaways as you want. You can even choose certain entries to complete and not complete. Following people on Twitter is usually an entry in a giveaway. To follow them you just have to click follow in the widget. If you have even ten extra minutes in a day, you can easily enter all of the giveaways listed for each day on the Friday giveaway roundup if you did just one entry.
3) No matter what you win, it is worth it to enter it
Even if you don’t want any of the things that specific blogs are giving away, it is still worth your time to enter. Let’s say you don’t have a baby but you enter in a giveaway for a baby product. You can always sell it, or better yet, give it away as a gift to someone you would have otherwise bought a gift for. The best thing about giveaways is that it is FREE. No penalty for entering, you get the product shipped to your house, and if you don’t want it, you can sell it for cash.
4) You have the opportunity to try new things
Many of the things that blogs give away might be products you have never tried before, always wanted to try, or never even heard of. What better way to try new things without spending money on it? Just by entering a simple giveaway, you can experience something in the world that you might not have ever gotten the chance to.
5) A discovery of new blogs is inevitable
As I have been entering giveaways, I have found numerous blogs that I would have otherwise never have found but are worth keeping up on and following. There are millions of blogs online right now and it can be challenging to find ones that are not a waste of time to read. By entering multiple giveaways on a number of blogs, finding great topics to read and learn about can be achieved.
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The above picture is a sample of a giveaway – we are giving away the above pair of Aurorae yoga pants as well as a yoga mat, total value of $137.
What’s the best thing you won in a giveaway?
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Photo by Kevin Krejci
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Entering giveaways has not only brought me some nice weeks of mail (everything from an Apple card worth $1,300 to some free vitamin C supplements), but I decided to start blogging and am now almost done with my business plan. I am hoping to spend 50% of my time on the blog and make a bit of pocket money.
MD Kennedy Wow a $1,300 Apple card! Very cool! It’s also really cool that giveaways led you to blogging!
These are all great reasons to enter giveaways, though I do not necessarily think that not entering them is bologna. ;) Being on the computer usually upwards of 12-14+ hours a day the last thing I want to do in my free time is spend more time to enter giveaways online. That said, I do see the benefit of them…especially if you win. :)
FrugalRules Ouch, 12-14 hours is rough, though I suppose I am on mine about the same amount of time. I usually spend about 10-15 minutes and I’m able to enter about 20-25 in that amount of time. If I’m really busy, I’ll just scan the list and enter one or two big ones that end that day.
We never knew how many giveaways there were online either. It is kind of crazy how much stuff people are giving away. Plus, like you said, you are sure to find new blogs that you like.
Holly at ClubThrifty I’m sure there are thousands of giveaways that we are still not aware of, it’s crazy (in a good way)! Definitely have discovered a lot of good blogs through giveaways.
I love entering giveaways. I’ve been slacking with it lately but I want to pick this back up! And I agree with you, I also love finding new blogs through giveaways.
SenseofCents Haha it happens. My wife keeps me accountable ;) Makes sure I at least get an entry or two in some of the bigger ones.
Have you ever figured out an hourly income from this activity, including any time it takes to sell something you’ve won? I’m curious what that would look like.
momanddadmoney That’s tough because it’s like online poker; you may lose and lose and lose and then all of a sudden win $5,000. I’m not sure how beneficial it would be to calculate something like that unless you had 1,000-2,000 hours of data…even that might not be enough to factor in the variance.
I never win anything but I do make sure to enter once I see the YAM friday giveaway post. I do tend to get pretty selective with what I choose but I think I’ll branch out. Always going for the $50 giftcards or TVs is all fine and good but there are a lot of seemingly cool smaller items too that I never thought of because I didn’t have a baby or didn’t think I’d need a crockpot. LOL
Paulette Mensah Haha well there is nothing wrong with being selective! I know I am. There’s some big giveaways that I will try to get as many entries as possible in, and some smaller ones that I just pass over.
I’ve always used the time thing as an excuse myself. The one I like the least is subscribing, but I guess not all require that you do that, so it’s worth it to give it a shot.
Beachbudget Yeah I do not subscribe unless it is a HUGE giveaway and/or there are only a hundred entries or something like that.
I completely agree with everything you have written Victoria!
I use to avoid them now I use them all the time. I started entering more and more of them. I would love an extra $500 bucks or so. And you are right, I have found so many blogs that I enjoy but otherwise would not have come across.
I’ve started posting a lot of the mommy bloggers giveaways on my site and it has increased my twitter followers and my blog traffic quite nicely as well.
TacklingOurDebt I used to have no idea how many were out there! It’s great to see how it is a win-win for everyone involved. The sponsors benefit greatly (especially if they put in time and effort promoting the giveaway), and obviously those participating have the potential to win some really solid prizes.
I remember a TV show where the guy had a garage full of stuff he had won from giveaways and would participate in dozens every week. What have you guys won so far? Is that the reason behind the garage sale lol?
RFIndependence Haha are you serious?!? I’m surprised they got that much from a few dozen a week, but I suppose over a long period of time that might make sense. We’ve won quite a few things, too many to list or try to think of haha. And actually it’s NOT the reason behind the garage sale, as I think I can get more for that stuff on eBay or Craigslist.