Those of you Brookfielders who know my husband Derek and me know about a little hobby that we have-entering sweepstakes, or as we say, “sweeping.” We have been sweeping since mid-2004 and have won more than $60,000 in cash and prizes.
Among my favorite prizes that I personally have won (aside from the cash, of course) are several trips to New York (one was complete with a visit to the set of the ESPN show “Cold Pizza”), a $1,000 shopping spree and a Hermes cell phone case (valued at $700, and I’ve never owned anything that extravagant before).
Of course, there are prizes that are somewhat less exciting too. I have won more T-shirts and hats than anything. Those get donated, sold on eBay, or put in our “prize closet.”
When we build up enough good stuff in the prize closet, we let visitors take a peek and see if there’s anything they’d like. Before you ask me, though, the prize closet is currently empty.
But Derek really has been carrying the load for us lately, having won two trips to Los Angeles and a trip to Canada this year alone. And we were able to enjoy a trip to Paris and the French Open last year, thanks to his efforts.
And we have what will be a truly unforgettable trip coming up next year.
Derek was out watching football with a friend one Sunday afternoon, when his cell phone rang. Not recognizing the number, he let it go to voicemail. But no message was left. When another call came through from that same number later that afternoon, he decided to go ahead and answer it.
“She said I’d won first prize in a Winchester contest, and that I could choose a ‘dream sports trip,'” he said. “I was pretty excited and happy.”
After mulling over options such as the World Series, the Final Four and several NASCAR races, he decided on the 2009 Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
“Mostly, I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii, but the Pro Bowl will be fun,” Derek said.
So in laying out “rules” for new sweepers, the first one would come from a lesson learned that day:
Always answer your phone. A lot of times it will be telemarketers or market researchers, but it only takes the one time to get a bona fide prize. And many sweepstakes sponsors don’t leave messages. Some will only call you a limited number of times, before moving on to award your prize to somebody else.
Always read your mail and e-mail, even if it looks like junk. One question that I often get asked is if I get a lot of junk mail. And the answer is: absolutely.
To me, it’s a small price to pay though. Many companies offer opt-outs or opt-ins to get you out of being inundated, but I often miss those in my sweeping frenzies. And yes, prize notifications do go into your junk e-mail folders.
Use a sweepstakes website and enter local sweeps. I can’t stress enough how that combination has helped us. The odds are often better on local sweepstakes, because entries are limited to certain areas. Using a sweepstakes website gives you access to bigger national prizes.
For local sweeps, look at radio and TV station websites in your area. For sweepstakes websites, there are many choices such as sweepsadvantage.com, online-sweepstakes.com and onlinesweeps.com. There are also several newsletters you can subscribe to, such as sweepswire.com.
Don’t get frustrated. There are often long spells of not winning anything. But along with those come streaks where you win every week. Sweeping should be fun, and should never be a job or chore. If it’s not fun, it doesn’t hurt to take a break until you find you can enjoy it again. This can keep you from giving up entirely.
Along with that is Derek’s advice: “Be persistent.”
Good luck and happy sweeping!
Have you got any ideas for a future column idea? Please contact me at lindazid@yahoo.com. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.