How to win online contests

As budgets continue to be tightened and tweaked in economic hard times, money for such things as concert tickets or vacations can be sacrificed in favour of paying the rent. These are often just the kind of prizes offered by a growing number of online contests.

"I don't earn my living by entering contests," says Carolyn Wilman, of Oshawa, Ontario, the self-described Contest Queen. "My winnings are the extra things I haven't got in my budget, such as a trip to England, or things money can't buy, such as the chance I had to meet Sting."

Contesting has changed, Wilman says, from the days when entrants, she calls them contestors, typically mailed in a ballot. Often, it included some skill-related requirement like an essay, poem or recipe that would then be judged by a panel of so-called experts.

Today, contests are a form of marketing for companies wanting to expand their profile or test a new product, and entering can be as easy as filling out a form online and hitting the send button. Wilman says that "Promotion" magazine data from 2007 indicated US$200 million was spent by companies in the U.S. on online contest promotions; it's estimated that in Canada, there are approximately five million online entries annually.

The allure of winning

The allure of winning, especially at no cost except the time it takes to enter, is that much sweeter when there's a win. And there's nothing like a big win to get you hooked.

Toronto resident Susan Crammond entered her first contest at a book fair where she met Wilman, who was promoting her book, "You Can't Win If You Don't Enter."

Crammond thought that was true, so she filled out a ballot at the fair. "The next month, I won a $20 gift certificate for a department store, and then in the following month, I entered a contest for a MacBook (worth $2,500), never dreaming I would win."

But win she did. "And that kind of sucked me in for the next two years," Crammond says.

Since then, her contest-entering activity has diminished from an hour daily to half that now. "Life's just gotten busier," she says. And while she hasn't had another big score, she's continued with consistent small wins such as theatre tickets, books, DVDs, even seeds for her garden.

"I don't enter for things I don't want to win, and I don't try to win with the expectation that I will. It's just a lot of fun, and there's that element of surprise; anything can happen, you never know. Someone has to win, and it might me be."

Read the fine print

Crammond follows some of Wilman's rules for winning: Keep organized, use a separate e-mail address and enter as often as the contest allows.

"My number one tip: Read the rules and regulations," says Wilman. "This is where you find out how to enter, and if you can enter more than once. If you can enter once each day and there are two months left before the contest deadline, enter 60 times."

To facilitate this, it's essential to have your contests organized in bookmarks or special software so you know each day which ones to enter.

Next, it's a good idea to use form-filler software, such as Roboform, that stores your basic entry information (name, address, e-mail, etc.) in order to save time.

The contest rules will also tell you if a cash prize can be substituted for the one advertised. "I entered a kitchen makeover contest worth $25,000 for my sister who lives in a rented apartment and couldn't have used the prize. However the rules said that the winner could take the prize in cash, and who doesn't want $25,000?" says Wilman, especially considering that contest prizes are tax-free in Canada.

The art of negotiation

Wilman also advises that companies are often willing to negotiate substitutions, especially those that don't involve a cost to them. "One woman I know of had entered a contest to win a washer/dryer. Before she learned she had won, she'd gone out and bought a new (laundry) set. When she told the company this, they offered to give her a new fridge and stove instead," says Wilman.

She adds that when undertaking any such substitutions, "it's better not to demand. That's not a smart strategy. You'll get more flies with honey."

One of the fears people have about entering contests is being taken in by a scam or deluged with unwanted e-mails.

Crammond says this hasn't been her experience. Often, the entry form will ask if the entrant wants to receive a company or product newsletter. "Sometimes I say yes because I actually don't mind the information they send," she says. "And newsletters and lists offer an unsubscribe option, so I can always do that if I don't want to receive them after a time."

As for the scamming concern, it's a good idea to use reputable contest listing sites and make sure you're entering contests run by well-known companies or those whose legitimacy you can research.

Stay positive

Wilman says people get too easily discouraged if they enter a contest and don't win. That's less likely to happen, she says, if you do your homework upfront. "You need patience at the beginning. You can't expect to be successful if you don't put in the work."

Also, you need to enter, and enter often. "Like the title of my book says, you can't win if you don't enter. Some people enter 10 contests and complain because they didn't win anything. I enter hundreds every day, and I don't spend all my time tied to my computer with an umbilical cord."

Wilman advises people to enter contests for things they want to win. And this year she's taking her own advice. "I've set myself a goal to win a car this year." It goes without saying that she'll be entering often.

Diana McLaren is a writer living in Toronto.

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