The evolution of sweeping

saraclare1

saraclare1

New member
Just some thoughts.
I have been sweeping over 4 months now! Wow! Time flies! :laughing: I am starting to feel like an old hand at it...but KNOW I am not there yet! :crazytongue: One thing I have realized is that, after a while, you start to realize the contests/sweeps/giveaways that really are making you work everyday (dailies) with little chance of winning. You do start to weed out what you want to spend your time on. It's a process.
 
i think over time you become more attuned to your own tolerance levels....like how badly do i want the 29 snickers bars that i've won recently vs. how much time did i spend on it.....and on and on......throughout it all..dont forget to have fun, and enjoy it
 
19debbie52 said:
i think over time you become more attuned to your own tolerance levels....like how badly do i want the 29 snickers bars that i've won recently vs. how much time did i spend on it.....and on and on......throughout it all..dont forget to have fun, and enjoy it
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Exactly to all of that!....and even a $50-$100 item or similar (or more) might not be worth *daily* going through flashing media, making it take more time than it should....or stupid questions...or captchas you can barely read...and on and on....a whole list of *deterrents*. LOL
 
what's up with the captchas you can barely read????? It's getting harder and harder to make them out. sometimes they aren't even words or numbers , they are symbols that i can't find anywhere on my computer. lol.
 
thumbelina said:
what's up with the captchas you can barely read????? It's getting harder and harder to make them out. sometimes they aren't even words or numbers , they are symbols that i can't find anywhere on my computer. lol.
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I think it's a deterent! LOL They stop at nothing! :laughing:
 
I posted this in NOT WINNING ANYTHING? Tips on WHY:
http://www.sweepstakesplus.com/smf/not-winning-anything-tips-on-why-t63762.0.html

I think the usual sweeping learning curve goes something like this:

Oh boy, LOOK at all these!!! I MUST enter ALL of them and then I WILL win.

For some, it only takes a week for them to get frustrated and start asking "Why can't I win??? I see all these others doing it, what am I doing wrong???" while others plod along and don't reach that point for months.

Since 6 months is the norm, those posting they won after a few days/weeks are actually outliers, who are also more likely to post, but that doesn't change how others react.

The other part of the curve is in how many & how often you enter.

When you start out, ANY win sounds fun, and so we tend to go hog wild - yes, I did it too.

In time, we learn to prioritize, and that while entering lots of sweeps may increase your chances, it doesn't guarantee them.
 
Talking about the evolution of sweeping. I'm 56 years old and I remember winning a record album when I was about 15 years old. I remember I was in high school. My next memorable win was a hand mixer from a radio call-in contest. I still have that working hand mixer all these years later. I used to sweep back in "the olden days" when there was no internet. Hand print those 3X5 papers and cards, hand address the envies, send them out every day, having a tickler system to keep up with the daily entries. I've won a fair amount of stuff over the years that way. Now, there's the internet and everything is right there at your fingertips.

I am disabled and money is tight. All my Christmas gifts were from wins this past year. The kids loved their Crayola Dream Maker boxes and the older kids (grown) liked their selections of DVDs and such. I look at this as a job. I spend at least 5 hours a day on the computer, sometimes, if I feel well, more. I'm all over the map, I'll admit. Some days, I enter every single one I can find. Other days, I skim over the "poor" ones and dig into the "rich" ones. I do think that over a long period of time, my method will work in my favor. I can't imagine only sweeping for 2 months and already getting discouraged. Shoot, the big ones don't even notify you of a win for 2 months after the sweep is over! I guess instant wins are fun for some. I've never gotten into them that much. I guess I have a threshold of what I will spend time on. To win a candy bar? No. Wouldn't do it.

There is certainly an evolution. Just when I was getting into a groove with internet entries, along comes Facebook and Twitter and all that other stuff. Call me an old fogey, but, I just can't catch on to all the social media. I guess I'll stick to what I know and make it work for me.

To be honest, I have not kept good records of my wins over the years. I can remember the big ones. I've won 3 really nice trips (one was worth $10K), $500 in gift certificates to a grocery store, lots of things that have gone on to be nice gifts for others. I suppose if I'd kept a good list of wins, I could reflect on it from time to time and get motivated. Hurray for all your wins. I'm happy for each and every one of you who snag a prize on a regular basis.
 
Just a general response, and some to Amy and Vicki. I am certainly not complaining. I have won more than some and less than others in my first four months. I can say my thinking is changing. I no longer feel like doing a daily entry for a $100 prize if I have a long shot of winning because there are 10,000-20,000 or more other entries per day on it. Maybe I would here and there....but not whole lists of them. That is just how my thinking has evolved. At first, I guess it is true that in the beginning, you just want to win...even the smallest things. Now, I might still like the $100 item, or even a $10 item, but I will have to think about if it is worth a daily entry for a small chance. Vicki, can't blame you for not wanting to get into certain contest/sweeps. I stay away from some different kinds of sweeps myself. I really am not a blog sweeper. I tried, but just can't get into it. I know you, Amy and Vicki, have been very successful at sweeping and your insights grew over time.
 
Speaking of evolution, 20 years ago, I was the KING of radio call-in contests in Chicago. Won everything from records and tapes to concert tickets and cash. My biggest win was a shiny new red 1990 Mustang GT (funny, I already had a white 1990 GT - took $12000 cash from the dealer instead of the car). They used to have call-in contests every weekend and I could invariably win. I remember once I won $500 while I was at work and they couldn't figure out why I wasn't whoopin' and hollerin'. Now, all the stations are on a "nationwide" kick - how impossible is it to get through when there are a hundred stations involved and they want caller 20? Now I'm in Nashville and hardly listen to the radio anymore although there would be less competition due to the reduced population here. They're just not giving good stuff away any more.
 
damnyankee2 said:
Speaking of evolution, 20 years ago, I was the KING of radio call-in contests in Chicago. Won everything from records and tapes to concert tickets and cash. My biggest win was a shiny new red 1990 Mustang GT (funny, I already had a white 1990 GT - took $12000 cash from the dealer instead of the car). They used to have call-in contests every weekend and I could invariably win. I remember once I won $500 while I was at work and they couldn't figure out why I wasn't whoopin' and hollerin'. Now, all the stations are on a "nationwide" kick - how impossible is it to get through when there are a hundred stations involved and they want caller 20? Now I'm in Nashville and hardly listen to the radio anymore although there would be less competition due to the reduced population here. They're just not giving good stuff away any more.
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I remember those days a bit. I *tried* to enter numerous call-in radio contests. I once won Ski Tickets to a nearby Ski Place. I didn't ski though...so it was a waste. Later (in the 90's), I won 20 instant lotto tickets and won $20 or something like that. That was the total of my wins way back when. Not quite like yours'! LOL
 
Sara - I didn't take it as complaining, I just saw this thread when you first posted, vaguely remembered I'd posted on this before, about went nuts looking for it. :crazytongue:

Then I saw the thread again, and DID find the captcha stuff so posted.

Then, while looking for something else, I found my prior post on learning curves, { YAY :laughing: } and was responding to another thread so I just posted without commentary.

I like that you are so engaged and want to draw out comments from those of us who have been doing this for awhile - it gets us to remember what we did and how we felt and thought about it. :sunny:
 
thumbelina said:
what's up with the captchas you can barely read????? It's getting harder and harder to make them out. sometimes they aren't even words or numbers , they are symbols that i can't find anywhere on my computer. lol.
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I find if I request new captchas, like 5 to 10 times, the code is very easily read by my 70 year old eyes.
 
Amy Shulkusky said:
Sara - I didn't take it as complaining, I just saw this thread when you first posted, vaguely remembered I'd posted on this before, about went nuts looking for it. :crazytongue:

Then I saw the thread again, and DID find the captcha stuff so posted.

Then, while looking for something else, I found my prior post on learning curves, { YAY :laughing: } and was responding to another thread so I just posted without commentary.

I like that you are so engaged and want to draw out comments from those of us who have been doing this for awhile - it gets us to remember what we did and how we felt and thought about it. :sunny:
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AWE :love: I took absolutely no offense to what you said anywhere....and appreciate your experienced answers,...yes!
 
bud43 said:
thumbelina said:
what's up with the captchas you can barely read????? It's getting harder and harder to make them out. sometimes they aren't even words or numbers , they are symbols that i can't find anywhere on my computer. lol.
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I find if I request new captchas, like 5 to 10 times, the code is very easily read by my 70 year old eyes.
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I know what you mean, bud! Oh...and speaking of captchas....I want to make another separate comment about something I saw!....
 
Additional question for SA brainiacs in sweeping:


Why would a company who sells stuff and has pages of giveaways put a captcha on only ONE prize...the same one everyday...or at least the first one I do? TO make sure I am not a robot, as they put it on some other sites? LOL
 
SaraL2 said:
Additional question for SA brainiacs in sweeping:


Why would a company who sells stuff and has pages of giveaways put a captcha on only ONE prize...the same one everyday...or at least the first one I do? TO make sure I am not a robot, as they put it on some other sites? LOL
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Yep. Bots are *why* we have captcha's - that and people using multiple addys to target one sweep {DELF} :cussing:
 
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