There are two new sweepstakes listed on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list that require an extra step to enter. Win a Picture Perfect Hollywood Getaway Courtesy of Pretzelmaker®  asks for a photo. That will scare off about half of the sweepers who will think it is a skill contest. However if they read the fine print they would know that the winners will be selected via a random drawing. The Memory in Blue: My All-time Best Blueberry Experience asks for a 25 word essay, but it will not be judged. So a large number of people who will not enter a writing contest will miss out on a good sweepstakes.

Because these types of promotions require extra time and effort,  many sweepers will pass them by. That means that those of you who do take the time to enter have a much better chance of winning.

To find the Picture Perfect Hollywood Getaway Courtesy of Pretzelmaker® on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list, do a Custom Search by typing pretzel in the Contest Name field. To find Memory in Blue: My All-time Best Blueberry Experience type the word memory in the Contest Name field.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

Over the years many sweepers have asked Robert and I how we win so much. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the high percentage of wins we have consistently received for over 23 years. The greatest of these is "local sweepstakes". Anytime fewer people are allowed to enter your odds of winning are better. I also look for sweepstakes that are not heavily advertised. Whenever I find a sweepstakes receiving little national exposure that did not make it to many of the sweepstakes newsletters & websites, I know my chances of winning increase and I enter it to the max. Less publicity always equals fewer entries. Short-running sweeps are also a good bet. Less time to enter means fewer people will find out in time to get their entries in.

Next on my list is hard to enter sweepstakes and contests. This would include mail-ins which are only entered by a small percentage of sweepstakers if an online entry is offered as well .  There are still a few sweepstakes around that ask for mail in entries only. I try to send at least a few entries whenever I find these (IF they are offering a prize I would like to win). You would be amazed at the number of people who don't want to fill out entry forms, address envelopes and pay for postage. Skill contests are a biggie for me. They almost always receive a fraction of the entries that are sent to a sweepstakes. Whether it is a recipe, writing, photo, video or any other contest that requires some sort of skill to submit an entry, your odds are much better than with a sweepstakes.

The last factor on my list would be the number of prizes offered in a promotion. If it is a national sweepstakes, heavily advertised with only one prize available, I am not likely to enter it. I may take the time to submit one or two online entries if the prize appeals to me. My time is valuable and I prefer not to squander it on a promotion that is such a long shot. If there are hundreds or thousands of prizes being given away I am much more willing to invest some time in it. This is not to say that these long shots cannot be won. But for every sweeper who wins one of these there are thousands who lose. We have a limited amount of time in which to enter sweepstakes and contests and our strategy has worked well for us for many years.

In all of this, I hope you caught on to the fact that we analyze each and every sweepstakes and contest before we spend any time on them. We never waste time entering promotions offering prizes we do not want or need. We also consider prize values and whether or not we are willing to pay the taxes if we win a really big prize. In short, be selective about what you enter.  Put your time to good use by entering the sweepstakes and contests that provide you with the best odds of winning.

For more information on how to increase your odds of winning read Gwen's posts in the SweepsU.com Forum under Tips or her articles in Sweeps University.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

As sweepstakers we have even more reasons to be thankful than most people. I hope that each of you will take a moment on this national day of thanksgiving to reflect on the many blessings in your life. We have so much to be thankful for that one day just isn't enough. My prayer for my sweepstaking friends would be that you truly appreciate all that you have and give thanks daily for the blessings in your life. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

May God Bless You!

Gwen Beauchamp

This is the best time of year for entering sweepstakes and contests. New promotions to attract shoppers and celebrate the season are showing up everywhere.

You should especially be on the lookout for short-running local sweeps throughout the Holiday season.  Check your newspapers daily and try to listen to several radio stations in your area. Be ready to drive to those live remote broadcasts. Team up with a sweeping buddy and share information so you can cover more territory or join a sweepstakes club. When you share information with other sweepers it almost always comes back to you.

Since the general public and a lot of sweepstakers are busy shopping, wrapping, baking, partying, decorating and getting ready for the holidays, they have very little time for entering sweepstakes.  So try and  budget a little of your time for entering and you will find some excellent opportunities for winning.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

When I first started entering sweepstakes I had five children at home. It didn't take long to figure out that the sweepstakes that were only open to specific age groups of children and teens were the best ones to enter. My children went to Space Camp, Europe, Disney theme parks on two continents and attended many concerts and sporting events thanks to sponsors targeting their age groups. Some required essays and research which I thought was great. What better way to motivate your child to expand his knowledge than to hold up a prize that was a child's dream come true.

Disney® Magic of Healthy Living "The Weekend" Contest is just such an essay contest with a whopping FIFTY (50) trips for four to Disney World in Florida being offered as prizes. You have until December 1st to get your child motivated and working hard on a good entry to submit.

To find the Disney® Magic of Healthy Living "The Weekend" Contest on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list do a Custom Search by typing magic in the Contest Name field. To find other sweepstakes and contests for children, click on "by Eligibility" then clock on "Children (see notes)". To read more about my childrens' winning experiences read my Mother's Day blog, "Sweepstaking Moms are the Best!"

Take care and win BIG!

Gwen Beauchamp

The Gadling and Capital One Venture’s “Most Frustrated Traveler” Sweepstakes and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Room Rescue Sweepstakes both require that you write an essay and the Room Rescue Sweepstakes requires a photo as well. Too much trouble to enter? Thinking about passing on these? THINK AGAIN! These are not writing contests or even photo contests, because your entries will not be judged or voted on. Both promotions will select winners through a random drawing. So if you are willing to put out a little extra effort you may have a slight advantage in these sweepstakes. As most sweepers know, the harder it is to enter, the easier it is to win!

To find the “Most Frustrated Traveler” Sweepstakes on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list do a Custom Search by typing frust in the Contest Name field. To find the Room Rescue Sweepstakes type rescue in the Contest Name field.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

250 entrepreneurs will be attending a conference in both New York and London next February as winners in this writing contest / video contest . If you have a small business that can benefit from a trip overseas, check it out quickly. This skill contest was originally scheduled to end last week, but has been extended to November 11^th. There are currently less than 850 entries which is the probable reason for extending the deadline.  400 finalists will be determined by online voting. However a quick view of the Gallery showed that most of the current entries have only 0-3 votes.

If you have a small business or work for one and are interested in this unique opportunity, start working on your essay or video. Then get your family and friends to vote for you. It won’t take many to make it to the top 400. Your odds may never be better for winning a trip to England and a second overseas destination of your choice. You still want to make your entry a good one as the top 400 will be judged to determine the 250 contest winners.

To find the  British Airways “The Face of Opportunity” Contest on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list do a Custom Search by typing british in the Contest Name field. To find other essay contests and video contests, click on the “by Type” search and select “Essay/Jingle/Writing Contest” or “Video Contest”. For tips on entering writing contests, check out the article in the Sweeps University library by following this path Sweeps University - Library - Contest Tips and Tricks - "I Can't Write..." or you can go directly to the article by clicking here.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

The shorter a sweepstakes lasts, the fewer entries it will receive. ExtraTV is one of the most consistent sources I have found of extremely short sweepstakes. They offer some very nice prizes in their "word of the day" sweeps and your odds get even better because you are required to know  what that word is in order to enter. These sweepstakes last less than 24 hours each except for Fridays which you must enter by the following Monday.

ExtraTV also offers a few sweeps that do not require the word of the day, but are still short-running sweepstakes. 'Qantas 90th Anniversary' Sweepstakes started on October 12th and ends on October 20th. You must be able to travel to Australia from November 5-9 if you win and of course, you will need a passport. These little details will prevent many people from entering and give you much better odds of winning if you can travel on the required dates and have a passport. Always read the sweepstakes rules on travel sweepstakes and get the details that may give you an advantage.

To find current ExtraTV sweepstakes on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list do a Custom Search by typing Extra in the Contest Name field. To find the 'Qantas 90th Anniversary' Sweepstakes type Qantas in the Contest Name field. To find expired ExtraTV sweepstakes click on "by Status" then click on "Expired". Now do a custom search for ExtraTV. Be sure to click on "Current" in the "By Status" category to get back to the current running sweeps.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

Fearnet.com’s Halloween "Hung & Skinned" Giveaway is offering a very unique prize. You are sure to be the talk of your neighborhood when you display this life-sized corpse suspended from a wooden rack in your front yard. You can enter once a day until October 22^nd.

To find the Halloween "Hung & Skinned" Giveaway on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contests list do a Custom Search by typing skinnned in the Contest name field. To find other Halloween sweepstakes and promotions type the word Halloween in the Contest name field.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp

The Democratic National Committee "Backstage With The President" Sweepstakes only runs for five days and will award a trip to Las Vegas to three separate winners who will each get to meet President Barack Obama backstage at the Moving America Forward rally on October 22^nd. Don’t miss out on your chance to enter for an “only in sweepstaking” prize.

To find the “Backstage With The President" Sweepstakes on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contests list do a Custom Search by typing demo in the Contest Name field.

Take care and win Big!

Gwen Beauchamp