Entering Blog Giveaways

One of the couponing/computer time management rules I have for myself is that I don't generally enter sweepstakes.  To me, even the short time spent entering is not worth it for the small chance I have of winning a large sweepstakes.  However, I do enter blog giveaways.

I guess I first discovered such giveaways by seeing Money Saving Mom's giveaway roundup each week, and figured that I would enter a few.  Imagine my surprise when I won one shortly after I started entering them!

So far I have won two product prize packs (Yoplait Delights Yogurt and Banana Cheerios), which both included free coupons for the product, as well as a few other items; a big box of organic snack bars; a pricey cloth diaper; and a $50 Safeway gift card!

The important difference for me between blog giveaways and sweepstakes is that the blog giveaways have far fewer entries, so there is a much greater chance of winning.  The giveaways I usually enter have anywhere from 40 or 50 to 1,000 or 1,500 entries.  That is a lot fewer than the tens of thousands with big sweepstakes! 

Also, the prizes offered in blog giveaways are not necessarily of huge monetary value, unlike the scholarship or trip that some big company might be offering.  However, the blog giveaway prizes are often items that are useful to me as a mom or even something I could sell on Ebay if I don't use.  Getting a free box of cheerios or some snack bars is just another small way I can stretch our budget.

In general, my system for entering these contests is to check out a big giveaway roundup list, like Money Saving Mom's or My Four Monkey's Monkey Mondays (she also includes links to roundups on other days).  I go down the list of giveaways and cllick on the ones with a prize that I could use.  I have limited time to do this, so I don't usually waste time on something I don't think would be useful to me.  I normally enter each giveaway only once, although many giveaways have multiple options to enter.  However, these options usually involve somehow subscribing to the blog or somehow spreading the word about the giveaway, and I honestly just can't take the time to do that.  (Thank you  to those who have done this for my giveaways, however!)

That's it!  I don't do this every week; sometimes I don't enter any giveaways for a while.  But when I have time, it's kind of fun and only takes as long as I want it to.  Then it's just a nice suprise when once of a while I get an email entitled, "You've won!" 

Do you enter blog giveaways or other types of contests?

Check out Frugal Fridays over at Life as Mom and Mrs. Moneysaver.