Wednesday, July 20, 2011

How to win my blog giveaways

I do check to make sure entries are legit.

I know all this sounds intimidating and complicated but its really not. The better you understand it, the better chance you have to score some really awesome prizes!
I will go through the most complicated things for newbies now.


The first thing you need to know in order to enter is how to leave a comment on a post. To enter you will need to make a comment on the giveaway post. Scroll down to the bottom of the post describing the giveaway and look for the spot where it says "Post a comment".  There should be a big blank box for you to type in.  Once you've typed out what you needed to say for your entry click on "post comment".
This is what I mean by comment box. Type your comment/entry in here.
And by the way I love comments on my non-giveaway posts too!  
If you are on the front page and not on the specific page for the post that box at the bottom won't be there.  Instead you can scroll down to the bottom of the post and at the very end, just to the right of the time stamp it will say "# comments" (eg. 25 comments, or 0 comments).  If you put your mouse over that text you'll find it is a link and clicking on it brings you directly to the comments section of that particular post.  If there are bunches of comments, as there normally are on a giveaway, you'll still need to scroll to the bottom to find the Comment Box.
Okay, so now you've figured out how to leave a comment, what should the comment say?  Well most of my giveaways have multiple ways to enter.  You can do any or all of them.  You can enter just one time, or many. It's up to you.  Sometimes one of the entry types will be specified as the Mandatory Entry, in which case be sure to do that one first. Then you can go on to do as many of the optional or bonus entries as you desire.  I'll break down each way you can enter and exactly what you need to do. (you do not have to do all) But instead-- you can always pick and choose any entries you choose to use. or none. You might choose #3 and #8. But if it says "Mandatory" you must do that one thing, first.

  You must be a public GFC follower to win.

What is GFC?   
 Google Friend Connect. It says "Join this Site"






Next...
 You will need to read (and more importantly) FOLLOW the directions and read the entire post.






Then,
 Do what the task says. If it says "Tweet this giveaway by cutting and pasting"  You do just that. Cut & Paste the tweet, and then you will need to prove you did this. 


How will you prove it?
 You will need to cut and paste the URL of the TIMESTAMP.



 Like so.. above.. where it says 24minutes ago...
Click it and it will take you to a page with a PERSONAL DEDICATED URL  


Like so!  Then you will need to cut and paste the url of that post....


What/Where is the URL?

 Share the url on facebook.


Again, you will need to prove this by using the time-stamp. You cannot just say you did it.


If it says
Follow on Twitter or "Like" On Facebook.. you cannot just say you did it, you have to leave the display name of Facebook as well as claim you did it, so it can be proven by checking their "likes" or follows..
If you follow on twitter, you need to leave your Twitter username. Mine is @1caseycolette (in that fashion)

Lastly..
  Everyone has different rules for their giveaways.
Most everyone knows that you need to leave your email address in order to be contacted in case you win.
Most blogs require you leave it in every comment
I think thats over the top and silly.
You can do so if you wish, or you can leave it in one comment.
A lot of people leave their email with space in between the @ and. com
like so! :

blahblahblah at yahoo dot com

That way you don't get spammed by Spambots. (To find out what spambots are, click the word!)

^^^   Funny pic, ... Huh???   ^^^
If you don't want to leave your email on the comments (I don't blame you! I HARDLY ever leave mine when I enter!) Then, just be sure your public blogger profile has a public email listed. That way when your comment number wins.. and I click your name.. it shows me your email address.
This is what it should NOT look like.




That profile is empty.




How do you fix it?
 Easy! I'll show you in pictures! 
First go to blogger.com . 
You might think you don't have a blogger Account. You do! If you have a google acct.
So go there. (to blogger.com)


Now,
  (Now that you've clicked it..) Fix it!


OK! ALL DONE!


This is correct:






































GOOD LUCK GUYS!
If you have any questions please feel free to ask me!





12 comments:

corabeth said...

Love this!

Unknown said...

Great tutorial. I think sometimes when one comes to enter giveaways they often over look the main entry form! This will help those just starting out how to understand the whole entering process! Thanks for stopping by my blog, liking you on fb now as well.

Jammie
http://www.theneatthingsinlife.com

Unknown said...

It is always nice to have someone put this up. There always seams to be one person that is new go giveaways and don't know what to do. I am stopping by and showing some love. Good luck with lowering you Alexa!!!

Damaris said...

lol. I like how you explained everything. Especially your Spambot. Just wanted to return the love - stopping by from http://lifeaccordingtodamaris.com. :)

Style, Decor & More said...

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. I'm already a follower! Tried to enter your contest, but it didn't let me do an RSS email feed only a google reader feed for the home page. Tried two different ways. Sorry!
Have a great day!
nancy

Mme Wright said...

Wow! this is so incredibly thorough!

Thanks for visiting my blog (via Alexa) and sharing the love.

You have some great giveaways - going to spend some more time exploring your blog now :)

Kristen said...

Returning the visit and comment from the Alexa Hop!

I should really make a post like this, it's crazy how many people don't know how to enter giveaways!

Kristen from http://wishfulthinking247.blogspot.com/

Dawn - Blogging Mom of 4 said...

Hi Casey! I'm following you back! Thanks for stopping by http://www.slopswap.com! I love this post - it's a great tutorial! :)

About a Mom said...

Hi! Great tutorial! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today and leaving a nice note. I agree with you that too many bloggers are linking up for blog hops and not returning the favor.

Terri. said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope you will stop by now and then to say hi. I am following you back via GFC and Facebook.

Rhonda Martin said...

I wish I had come across this when I first started blogging lol I had no teacher and it was all trial and error (with a lot of errors). This would of been so helpful and I must say you explain it step by step so easy. Not confusing like most things are to me. Thank goodness that there were some friendly bloggers out there that took the time to answer some of my questions when I first started. I'm going to bookmark this page because I have a few friends that would love to start blogging and I'm sending them to read this post~!!!!

Shannon's Tales of Motherhood said...

Hey girl!
I just fixed my blog so now the GFC box should work.I like your tutorial,you give good directions!
I'm off to enter your giveaway,I took a break from entering so now I'm ready to start back.Fingers are crossed! :)

Post a Comment

Wait! If you are entering my giveaway, please make sure you are following my blog through Google Friend Connect. It is NOT mandatory -However, karma begs that you do! Here's why; the more followers this blog has, the more great things I can continue to bring you. Remember in order to win on Locomotion of Expressions, all you have to do is place one comment stating that you want to win.