How I Won 4 Contests in One Month


Way before online contests got become very popular as today, I have always been a fan of joining "contests". My thoughts has always been, if it's randomized then I'll take my chance.

I would say I am not an expert but I have had may fair share of wins that got my friends saying "ang galing mo talaga sa ganyan" (you're so good on those kind of things) even though most of the time, I literally just been picked randomly. 

Back in Manila, I won many, many movie tickets. I even won a full outfit (including shoes) in a fair I attended to. Heck, one of the contests I joined in ended up having me appear on national television sitting next to one of the biggest stars in the Philippines (story for another time, I guess) but with all of this,  I must be doing something right?

I thought my "luck" would not work in Australia, but boy I was wrong. I have won a couple of items early on - like gift cards (GCs), make-up brushes, etc and it has always been fun.

What prompted me to write this  blog posts though is the fact that between end-Sept and early-October, I have won in four (4) different contests that I joined in.

Yes, it's almost one win per week.

So, What and How Did I Win?
  • WHAT: Summer Clothes from @mikhailla (IG Influencer)
    • HOW: Just by leaving a genuine comment on her IG post
  • WHAT: $100 Woolworths GC from a company I rendered my service to
    • HOW: By answering their participant survey
  • WHAT: Four (4) Movie Tickets from @staffordcity (local shopping centre)
    • HOW: By simply answering their IG question on what movie I would want to watch
  • WHAT: Free BBQ from our company's workstation design contest
    • HOW: Designed my workstation for the Rugby World Cup (Team AU)
So, What's My Secret Formula?

// You have to be in it to win it //

For the summer clothes and movie tickets that I won, I just literally left comment on posts of page / people I already follow. On both cases, it's not as if I am actively searching for contest posts, I was just happily browsing my Instagram, and answered the question on their contest post. I always have this mindset of "why not"? So if it's not too much of an effort to join, join in!

Four (4) Hoyts Movie Tickets from @staffordcity 

 
The joining and winning process


Message to @mikhailla after learning I won

// If joining takes effort, "calculate" your chances //

For the $100 GC, I had to answer a couple of online survey questions about an experience that I've had dealing with the company that held the contest. It may have taken me 10 minutes to complete.

In this case, I decided that the effort to answer the survey will be worth it because there will not be a lot of people joining in. The survey (ergo, the contest) is offered to limited number of people who genuinely had dealings with the company so I know my chances are high.

If liking a post of an IG influencer with 100K followers will mean I'll be part of the contest, I'll go for it 'cause it's just a click of a button. However, if an influencer with that # of followers will post a contest with several steps, and the winner will be picked by their answer and not in random, I will opt not to join unless I have a very genuine / unique / funny answer to the question to stand out. Choose your battles, I guess, if time is an issue.

Email notification I received that I won the $100 GC

 // Enjoy the process //

Cheesy, eh? But for the free bbq for workstation design contest in the office, I joined cause I want to be in the spirit of World Cup. For me, in this case, being in the running to win something is just a bonus of joining a fun activity.

My entry to our "World Cup" Workstation Design Contest

Office-wide email advising we won the contest

// And if you have won something, make sure it's genuine //

This is not a tip on how to win, but in my experience, my advise is still be cautious. Before joining in a contest or answering to any email / message you receive that you won something make thorough research online. A simple search will do wonders. And if it requires you to pay something, then I would advise against it or the least I would say a further research or validation is highly recommended.

Grateful!

I would like to end my post though with a note that with all the things I have won recently, I always say a little prayer and recognise / say "I know it's you God"  because whenever I pray I always ask God to surprise me and to show me His creative ways to bless me (hehe). Whatever you believe in, I think that if you put a mindset of positivity and belief that one way or another, you'll be blessed with something then it is bound to happen.

xx, Belle

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