LOVE is in the air! It can also be found in grocery stores, newspapers, Facebook, websites and over the airwaves (radio & TV)! Sweepstakes and contests promoting the season of love are all around us at this time of year. Diligent sweepers should be monitoring all of the above sources for the next week or so. Short running, local promotions will be popping up everywhere and you'll have to pay attention to participate in as many as possible. Remember that radio station call-in to win promotions are much easier to win on the weekends when fewer people are listening. The next two weekends should have some nice prizes being offered by radio stations all over the country. So turn that dial frequently and listen to a variety of stations to determine which ones are sponsoring sweepstakes and contests of interest to you!

Remember that SweepsU.com posts local sweepstakes and contests as well as national. Be sure to check our list frequently for promotions in your area. You can find the local sweeps quickly by clicking on the Search icon at the top of the page to open the Custom Search menu. Then click on "by Type" and "Local". You can also eliminate sweeps open to states other than your own by clicking on "by Status" and checking the box next to the words "Hide listings you are ineligible for (by region)".

To find Valentine's Day sweepstakes on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list, do a Custom Search and type one of the following words in the Contest Name field: valentine, romance, love.

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

The John Carter Super Bowl Sweepstakes doesn't start until 6:30pm on Sunday, February 5th, but you will need to get a code shown in the John Carter Super Bowl commercial to enter. Watch for the 30 second promo during the first quarter of this year's Super Bowl game, then go to the website to enter to win a trip to next year's Super Bowl game in New Orleans, LA. You can enter once a day until March 9th, but you must have a code.

Be sure to place this promotion on your SweepsU.com tracker  and I recommend adding it to your Daily Email Notifications  so you won't miss out on a single day of entering!

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

Paramount Pictures Centennial Sweepstakes and the Higher One Deposit Sweepstakes have something in common. You can only enter them once each month. The Paramount Picures Sweepstakes is giving away a trip for two every month in 2012 and the Higher One Deposit Sweepstakes is giving $100 cash to 100 people each month through the end of February.

Both are definitely worth your time to get those once a month entries in, but how do you remember to do it each and every month for the next year? Many sweepers will have totally forgotten about the Paramount Pictures Sweepstakes by the Fall of 2012 which makes it an even better opportunity to win for those who remember to enter. SweepsU.com subscribers have an advantage over other sweepstakers. The SweepsU.com Sweeps Management System (SMS) won't let you forget to enter any sweepstakes that you have added to your tracker. Whether it is monthly, bi-weekly, weekly or daily the SMS keeps track of your entries when you enter by any of the following three methods:

1. Click on an "Enter Contest" icon from the main sweeps list or within your Tracker
2. Use the "Sweeps Unleashed" feature found in your Tracker
3. Click on the "Enter Now" link in your Daily Email Notification

Within your tracker you can view the last date you entered any sweepstakes you are tracking. You can also view the exact date that the next entry is due by viewing the "Due" column in your Tracker. If it is time to enter again it will say "Now". If it is a one time entry and you have already entered it will say "Never". If it is not yet time for another entry, the SMS will provide the date your next entry is due based on the date of the previous entry.

That is not all that your Tracker does for you. It gets even better! When you look at the Sweeps you have moved to your Tracker you will notice that the ones with entries due "Now" are always listed first and once you enter them they go to the back of the list. When you use the "Sweeps Unleashed" feature, the SMS knows which sweepstakes to include and which ones to leave off. So if you entered a weekly or monthly sweepstakes yesterday, it will not be listed today when you run "Sweeps Unleashed". The SMS will not prompt you to enter again for a week or a month whenever the next entry is due. The same rules apply to your daily Email Notifications. A weekly, bi-weekly or monthly sweepstakes may be on your email list today, but once you enter it, the SMS will not include it on the list again for 7 days (weekly), 14 days (bi-weekly) or 30 days (monthly). Daily sweepstakes will appear on both "Sweeps Unleashed" and/or your daily email notifications every day until the promotion ends. At that time the SMS will remove the promotion from your list and place it on the "Expired" sweeps list.

All you have to do is add the sweepstakes you are interested in to your personal tracker and let the SweepsU.com SMS keep track of everything for you. You never need to miss out on another good sweepstakes because you forgot to enter all the way to the end. To learn more about how the SweepsU.com SMS works be sure to watch our tutorial videos (see links below) and read the Quick Start guide in the SweepsU.com Sweeps University library.

Episode 1:  Welcome and Introduction

Episode 2: Your SweepsU.com Dashboard

Episode 3: The Sweeps & Contest List

Episode 4: Searching

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

In the Beauchamp family, one of the biggest benefits of sweepstaking is seen at Christmas each year. Throughout the year as prizes are won, many are hidden away to be used as gifts. This year was no different. I spent a grand total of $25 on Christmas presents. That is no easy feat when you consider that Robert and I have five children, four children-in-law and eight grandchildren (with one more on the way). Having such a large family almost always insures that someone will appreciate each item we have won.

In years past, we have come close to not having anything under the tree as close as one week before Christmas. Thankfully we won a $1,000 American Express gift card from a local radio station that bailed us out quickly that year. One of my favorite Christmas wins was in 1997 when the Grapevine Mills Mall had their Grand Opening and my name was drawn as one of four Grand Prize winners of a $5,000 shopping spree. I bought Christmas presents for my family as well as five other needy families in my church and some children in the Head Start program in my community. Being able to help others in need was the best part of the prize package. Since that Christmas I have always made a point of supplying presents for at least one other family. There is no greater joy at this time each year than giving to others!

I wish each and every one of you a safe, happy holiday spent with family and friends. Merry Christmas! May God be with you all as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Gwen & Robert Beauchamp

Shopping...wrapping...baking...decorating...partying...who has time to enter sweepstakes! But this is the best time to be entering steadily. While other sweepers are too busy, your odds of winning increase drastically. So do your best to allow time for at least a few entries each day. It could add up to some big wins in the New Year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Gwen Beauchamp

Wendy's® Two's the Reason Sweepstakes is offering some excellent gift cards for Southwest Airlines and Best Buy. The promotion starts today (Monday, November 28), but you need a code to enter. Read all the details on how to get them on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list. Be sure to add it to your SweepsU.com daily email notifications so you won't miss a single day of entering!

PetSmart Holiday Gift Grab Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes also starts today and has a grand prize of $10,000 cash as well as some great Instant Win Prizes for your furry friends.

The Eastbay "Win Your Order" Sweepstakes starts and ends today (Monday, November 28) and is giving away up to $1,000 to 100 winners. Be sure to get your entry in before midnight.

Full details and links for all of the above sweepstakes can be found on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list. Click on "Starts" at the top of the list to pull all three of them up or you can do a Custom Search by typing one of the following words in the Contest Name field: reason, holiday, eastbay. To learn more about using the SweepsU.com Sweeps Management System (SMS) be sure to watch our video tutorials (see links below). Only SweepsU.com provides you with these incredible features to organize and speed up your sweepstakes and contest entries.

Episode 1:  Welcome and Introduction

Episode 2: Your SweepsU.com Dashboard

Episode 3: The Sweeps & Contest List

Episode 4: Searching

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

Black Friday is not just the major shopping event of the year. It is an incredible opportunity to enter (and hopefully win) sweepstakes and contests designed to get you to the stores, malls and websites offering them. Marketers know that one of the best ways to get a shopper's attention is to offer prizes on top of some great deals. We have already found dozens of national giveaways (see partial list below) and there will be more popping up daily. All of these can be found on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list by doing a Custom Search (type friday in the Contest name field). If you have never used the Custom Search feature in the SweepsU.com Sweeps Management System (SMS) here is a link to one of our tutorial videos showing you exactly how it is done: Episode 4: Searching.

For those of you living in or near large metropolitan areas and even in the less populated areas, now is the time to be on the lookout for those fabulous local promotions. Radio stations will be teaming up with malls and many will be awarding prizes as early as midnight on Thanksgiving Day. There will be radio remotes at malls and strip shopping centers throughout the holiday weekend and continuing through Christmas Eve. Know where they are, what type prizes they are offering (you may or may not be interested) and which ones can be worked into your schedule. To do this you must listen to a variety of radio and TV stations and read your local newspaper daily, especially the sales ads. In this day and age, radio and TV websites are also an invaluable source of information. On top of checking out the promotions/contest/sweepstakes page you should look for an "Events" page that tells you where that station is holding live remotes. Chances are they will be awarding prizes from the store where it is being held.

In years past, these tips have paid off well for the Beauchamp household. One year in particular, I remember receiving a phone call from my daughter, saying she had just heard that a local radio station was having a live remote at the mall near my office that evening with some great prizes. I called my husband and we agreed it was worth going to. So we decided to have dinner at the food court and try to win some much needed Christmas presents. At the time, we still had 3 children at home and 2 in college. It was a Friday evening just over a week before Christmas and the mall was packed. It took us forever to find the location for the radio station remote and we were shocked that no one else was even paying attention to them. The Grand Prize was a $1,000 American Express Gift Card and the announcers were doing their best to get people to sign up, but everyone was in a rush to get their holiday shopping done. Robert and I each filled out an entry form, put it in the almost empty box and crossed our fingers. We went to have dinner while we waited for the time when the drawing would take place. You did not have to be present to win, but we wanted to know right away so we did a little shopping and came back to the remote at the designated time. We were both holding our breath as they reached in to pull out the name of the winner and it was...BILL TEMPLE!

Did I mention earlier that the radio personnel were so desperate for more names in the box that they had allowed me to enter for my Mom and Dad also. As soon as we got back in the car, I called Dad and told him what he had won. The radio station also called him the following Monday morning and he picked up his prize that same day. Being a good father, he took me shopping to buy gifts for all of my children, leaving just enough to pay the taxes on his prize. It was a wonderful Christmas!

To read more about my Dad and how he came to be a sweepstaker read my 2011 Father's Day Blog, A Sweepstaking Dad

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Gwen Beauchamp

Micro Center Black Friday Gift Card Giveaway Sweepstakes
Lowe's Black Friday Throwdown Sweepstakes
Black Friday Travel Sale Sneak Peek Alerts
Black Friday Travel Sale Daily QR Code Contest
2011 Black-Friday.net Sweepstakes
The Enquirer’s $2,000 Black Friday Visa Gift Card Sweepstakes
Win Big with BlackFriday.info!
IHG’s #GottaGet100 (Black Friday) Twitter Sweepstakes

As more and more people learn about the sweepstakes hobby we see a pattern developing. Unfortunately, it is not a good one. Here is what we've noticed the majority of new sweepstakes enthusiasts doing.

     Discover the world of sweepstakes and contests.

          Enter everything they can find with no plan of action.

               Experience burn out within the first week or month.

                    Blast all sweepstakes and contests as being scams!

To prevent this from happening to you, set some goals with realistic timelines and educate yourself. Very few sweepstakers win a prize within the first month of entering. It usually takes several months before you start to see results. Allow yourself at least six months before throwing in the towel. There are several strategies to help you narrow the odds of winning. Read the articles you will find in the SweepsU.com Sweeps University Library to get the knowledge you need to make good choices about the sweeps you enter.

Next step, SLOW DOWN! You heard me right! While it is true that the more you enter the better your odds of winning, it is also true that anything done in excess will eventually have a negative effect. I would be willing to bet that 90-95% of the sweepstakes newbies burn themselves out within the first month if not sooner. They will then spend the rest of their lives talking about what a waste of time it was. So set a specific amount of time that you will invest in entering sweepstakes and contests each day...then stick to that schedule! Consistency over a period of months is what pays off for most sweepers. Be sure to allow plenty of time for other things in your life. Prioritize...entering sweepstakes should be a hobby, not a lifestyle.

SweepsU.com can be a great help to you when you use our unique programing to organize and expedite the sweepstakes process. There are no other sweepstakes websites offering the Sweeps Management System (SMS) found on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list. This program was written exclusively for SweepsU.com by our Senior Software Engineer, Gerald Anderson. Once you learn to use it correctly it will enable you to enter more sweepstakes in a shorter amount of time. To learn to use this program which can only be found on SweepsU.com, read Gerald's latest blog, SweepsU.com QuickStart - reboot and be sure to click on all four of the video tutorial links.

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

Halloween Sweepstakes & Contests are in full swing with all kinds of prizes being offered. The Scaredy-Cat (and Canine!) Halloween Photo Sweepstakes is giving away $500 cash, but many may not enter because it does require a photo. Don't let that detail "scare" you away. Photos will not be judged! The winner will be selected via a random drawing. So pull out that 2 year old picture of Fido in a tutu and submit your entry. Ryan Seacrest's Party City Halloween Sweepstakes is offering a $1,000 gift card and MyCokeRewards Halloween Horror Nights Sweepstakes is giving away two trips for 4, one to Orlando, FL and one to Hollywood, CA for the Universal Studios "Halloween Horror Nights".

If you DO like skill contests, then start snapping photos of your Halloween decorations and costumes and get them submitted into the many photo contests that mysteriously appear at this time each year. The Krispy Kreme Halloween Family Photo Contest is a good one and you really want to listen to your local radio and TV stations for their Halloween promotions. Remember, locals ALWAYS offer your best opportunities to win.

I recently entered the Walgreens Halloween Ton of Fun Contest which required both an essay and a before & after photo of my Halloween decorations. I made it to the top 3, but Becky from Illinois beat me in the final round which was a voting competition. The Prize? ONE TON of Hershey's Halloween candy will be distributed to the non-profit organizations of her choice. Even though I did not win the candy for my community, I had a blast spending the $300 gift card Walgreens sent me on Halloween decorations. The decorating turned into a great family get-together as my children and grandchildren came over to help. So in the end I was a winner, as I now have all of these great decorations from my local Walgreens and some wonderful family memories. You can view my before and after photos on the Walgreen's Facebook page.

To find all of the Halloween Sweepstakes and Contests mentioned above on the SweepsU.com Sweeps and Contest list, do a Custom Search by typing the word halloween in the Contest Name field. To learn how to use the unique searching features in the SweepsU.com Sweeps Management System (SMS) read Gerald's latest blog, SweepsU.com QuickStart - reboot, with links to the new SweepsU.com tutorial videos on UTube. Pay special attention to Episode 4: Searching for some great ways to find the sweeps you want, quickly & easily every time.

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!

The Kellogg’s™ 2012 Cheer on Team USA Sweepstakes is offering the prize of my dreams...but I won't be entering! The trip for two to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England comes with a hefty $22,000 price tag. OUCH! As much as I would love to be there, I just can't see paying the taxes on that amount of money. You have to think ahead when entering sweepstakes. If you can't afford to give Uncle Sam his due, don't enter or you may end up turning down a really good prize or worse. Always read the rules carefully and see what each prize is valued at.

You should also do a double check on things like trips that must be taken on specific dates and ones that do not include everything.  A trip to the Bahamas sounds great, but what if airfare is not included? Are you a good enough swimmer! Each sweepstakes is totally different, so always read the rules carefully. If the prize of your dreams turns out to be a dud, move on to something that is a better fit for your budget and schedule. Spend your time and entries on something you can really enjoy if you win.

Gwen Beauchamp

Luck is spelled W-O-R-K!