You can’t win if you don’t enter

You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter by Carolyn Wilman

Carolyn Wilman calls herself the Contest Queen. Having won numerous prizes from hundreds of contests, some of the larger ones including trips to Barbados and Europe, she is an expert. I thought this should be a useful read, because I like entering contests.

I skimmed through some parts and ignored the chapters on viruses and spyware, contest software, and attracting luck; there’s some good information though. For instance, the differences between the terms contests, lotteries, and sweepstakes are defined. The contests I’ve entered are actually sweepstakes – a promotion with no entry fee, which is a game of chance with a prize. Contests involve a skill, like writing, have no component of chance, and have an entry fee, likely in the form of proof-of-purchase labels from a company’s product that you’ve purchased.

The author outlines her method for keeping track of and entering online contests (online contests are the book’s focus, although mail, phone, in-store and text messaging methods are briefly mentioned). There are tips and resources like newsletters, web sites, and groups listed, with anecdotes from other contest winners sprinkled throughout. As a much more casual contest person, I won’t be making use of all the information presented, but I did learn about the subject from this book.

self published, 2005
isbn: 1419613286 or 9781419613289
Carolyn Wilman’s site is here.