Sweepstakes Tips & Tricks for Beginners

Sweepstakes Tips for Beginners (and Busy Parents!)

Entering online sweepstakes is way easier once you know the basics. These quick tips help you save time, stay organized, and spot real opportunities without getting overwhelmed.

Email Tips

Most sweepstakes require your email — totally normal.

Best practices:

Create a separate sweepstakes email you still check daily.
Respond fast: Big prizes often require a reply within 48–72 hours, or the sponsor redraws.
Search smarter instead of digging through your inbox. A few times a week, search your email for:
- “Congratulations”
- “Congrats”
- “Winner”
- “Potential Winner”

Spam worries?
It’s usually much less than people expect, and you can always unsubscribe from marketing emails later.

Phone Call Tips

Good news: 99% of sweepstakes will NOT call you.

The only sales calls I’ve ever received were from sweeps where I specifically opted in (like a gym membership giveaway). If you didn’t knowingly opt in, the sponsor almost never calls.

Opt-In Checkboxes

This is where beginners accidentally drown in emails.

Simple rule:

✔️ Only check the required boxes (age, terms & conditions, etc.).
❌ Leave optional marketing boxes unchecked unless you genuinely want updates.

After a couple of weeks, you’ll recognize formats instantly and this becomes second nature.