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You don’t have to look very hard to find plenty of web-based competitions that are free to enter, and some don’t require anything more from you than to take 5 minutes to fill out a questionnaire. When you think about it, this is not much to give considering the potentially huge reward that you will be in the running for. And depending on the competition, some of the rewards are truly huge, valued in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. The prizes include large sums of cash, luxury vacations, cars, gift cards, and lots more. Just by taking an hour or two a day to enter yourself in the running for these competitions, you make an investment that may pay off in a big way.
And although there are some online competitions that ask for an entry fee, most of them are free. The ones that ask for entry fees are usually associated with companies that are reputable and perhaps have been conducting the competition for years. Any time this isn’t the case and you find a company asking for a fee, approach with caution. In fact, if you’ve never heard of the company, the competition is not transparent, and a fee is asked, then you should probably avoid it completely.
In any case, if you hope to have any success taking competitions online, you’re going to want to stick with the free competitions. There is no barrier of entry for these competitions, and for most of them it only takes a few minutes to get involved. Of course, it’s always a good idea to take a close look at the contest guidelines, especially the fine print, because you don’t want to win a competition only to lose your prize due to a lack of eligibility. It’s always best to know what you’re getting into, even if you’re making an effort to enter lots of competitions.
When it comes to participating in online competitions, the secret is to balance the potential reward against the time you will have to invest. At first you may not know exactly how to formulate this equation, but after you enter a number of online competitions, you’ll likely become much better at making this decision. Veterans of this business can balance reward versus time spent in a split second just by glancing at a competition’s website and maybe looking at its guidelines.
Keep in mind that many online competition sites are going to entice you into entering by emphasizing their rewards. For example, a competition may promise, say, “$5,000 in cash,” but when you read the fine print you may find that the top reward is $500 and the rest is given out in small sums, maybe in the form of gift cards. That’s why it’s always good to read the fine print. You don’t want to enter a competition that you think is worth $5,000 when there is actually no chance of winning that amount.
Meanwhile, try to be aware of what a free online competition is going to ask of you before you get involved. One-time entry forms are best, but if a competition seems like it’s going to string you along and make you follow up multiple times before a winner is announced, then it might not be worth your time. Many competitions like to have multiple stages in the process so that they can get people’s hopes up and perhaps get a little money out of them. Don’t fall for this. Competitions that promise to be free should not ask you for money once you’re already involved in the process. The ones that do are liable to be shady.
Some competitions offer to enter you into the running if you fill out a questionnaire or provide certain information about yourself. Any time you approach one of these competitions, try to get a sense of what you’re in for beforehand. If it looks like the questionnaire involves multiple web pages with some long and involved questions, then it might not be worth your time, especially if the reward isn’t all that attractive. Meanwhile, it’s also best to avoid competitions that ask for a lot of private or personal information. Under no circumstances should you hand over your financial information or credit card number.
You can boost the value of surveys by having a dedicated email address and using autofill software, but even with these tactics it’s still a good idea to approach all competitions with caution. If you’re not sure how to get started, take advice from people who know the business well, and find your online competitions through reputable sites like Work From Home In Australia. Using a site like this is much easier that searching through all the competitions and reading through the guidelines yourself. These resources are out there, so why not use them? |
