It’s easy to get carried away when you are excited about the possibility of winning a prize.
Not only that, but there’s generally a stack of rules, terms and conditions that you need to follow and keep in mind for every competition or sweepstake that you enter.
Here are my top 5 mistakes that people make when entering Competitions, Contests and Sweepstakes of all sorts.
1 – Being an ineligible Entrant – This can be because they live in the wrong state, are the wrong age, or may have won from a company previously for example. You always need to read eligibility requirements thoroughly.
2 – Forgetting to Enter - I have done this so many times, hoarded away an entry with good intentions of entering, only to remember the day after the close date. You can’t win if your entry is still sitting there with good intentions, so get those entries in as soon as you can.
3 – Lying - It can be tempting to stretch the truth about eligibility, address details, age or any other number of terms and conditions if you are really eager to win a prize. Those who have tried to do this and failed will surely tell you it’s not worth the risk. These days promoters are much more thorough when checking eligibility. Just stick to the truth and you’ll be fine.
4 – Not keeping Proof Of Purchase - This is quite a big mistake and a common one, many people don’t realise that they are required to keep proof of purchase for most competitions that require a product or service as a qualifier to enter. Find a filing system for all your receipts and other goodies that is easiest for you and stick to it. It would be horrible to lose a major prize for lack of receipts.
5 – Not following entry requirements – It can be as high as 50% of entries are disqualified for not following entry requirement instructions. Don’t let that be you! If a competition says to buy a certain product, keep or send in receipts, use a certain size envelope, then it’s important that you do it! The more determined you are to win, the closer attention you should pay to terms and conditions. Making a small mistake could cost you a big prize!!
