The Dos and Dont’s of Giveaways

DO – Set aside some time periodically to find and review websites which regularly host giveaways. Many blogs include links to weekly giveaway sites, and many more sponsor Giveaway Linkies each week where people all over the web can list their special giveaways.   Make a list of your favorite giveaway sites, the days they usually promote new products, and the typical entry methods required by each one. Depending on how committed you are to winning free stuff, you should probably update this list weekly, monthly, or every few months at the very least.

DON’T – Forget to include a valid e-mail address and/or other contact information with EVERY giveaway entry you submit.  In today’s climate of spammers, identify theft, and computer viruses, it can be intimidating to list your personal e-mail address, but this is often the only way giveaway sites are able to contact you if one of your comments is the lucky winner.  Most sites will send giveaway winners an e-mail within 24 hours of announcing an event close, and then you have a mere 48 hours to respond before your winning product is given to someone else. If you plan to enter many giveaways, it may be a good idea to create an e-mail address, facebook page, and twitter account just for your giveaway submissions, that way you can be sure to be available to accept your prize without clogging up your personal e-mail address and social networking sites with unwanted newsletters and spam. There are literally dozens of sites which offer free e-mail services including Yahoo!, Hotmail, Google – just to name a few.  In addition, most sites will allow you to enter your e-mail in the spam free version, fore example: couponmomma2010[at]hotmail[dot]com.

DON’T –Blindly trust all giveaway sites. Unfortunately there are malicious programs and people out there that would love to reap havoc on your computer and your life. Whenever you are surfing the web you should always run an updated and reputable anti-virus program and you should never ignore a warning about a potential virus or malicious ad or pop-up. In addition, you should never provide any giveaway site with your personal credit card information. Remember, these items are supposed to be free – there is never any reason for any of these sites to need your financial information.