Welcome to SA.
Are you feeling overwhelmed. Not quite sure how to get started. I felt much the same way you did in the beginning. I think there are as many different methods as there are members here.
Here are some tips to get you started until you get familiar with the hobby and create your own way of sweeping:
First, download Roboform if you haven't already done so. Try the free version first, and then, as you decide whether or not this hobby is for you, buy the pro version.
Next, get familiar with SA. There are threads all over the forums talking about all the tools SA offers.
That said, this is what I would recommend for you.
1. Enter today's new sweeps. I enter by category because there are some that I don't enter such as blogs. Use sweeps check to mark the sweeps you have looked at and acted on or chosen to ignore. That way, when you are going through your expiring sweeps, you can race right down the list, looking for unchecked boxes.
2. Run through the expiring sweeps for today and tomorrow. Enter the ones you have missed or put off entering.
3. Enter your instants and dailies which have been saved to mysweepstakes.
3. Pick a category, be it daily, one time, instant... Enter those from oldest to newest. As you enter, check the sweepscheck box. This will let you know you have already looked at the sweep and done whatever you wanted with it or ignored it.
I say start from oldest to newest so that you don't miss any new ones that come as you are trying to catch up.
Make sure you are entering the new ones daily. That way, once caught up, sweeping will be a breeze.
Now, this is where SA comes into play.
The free version of the site has some great tools.
1. My sweepstakes. This is where you want to put your dailies, instants, weeklies... Then, each day... you go into your my sweepstakes and enter those from there. To put a sweep into the mysweepstakes, click on the add button at the bottom of the sweep listing in the directory.
2. Personal note section. Also located at the bottom of the sweep listing is a place you can put notes to just yourself. This includes entry time (for 24 hour sweeps) codes, answers...
3. Comments. This is where you will find comments from other members about the sweep. If there is a problem with a sweep members will post here to notify other members....
4. Sweeps Pop. In mysweeps, you will notice a button, at the top of the page, called sweepspop. This is amazing. You hit the button, and a drop down menu will open. Click on check all then launch. All sweeps on that page will open at once so that you don't have to individually open the pages. This really speeds up the process.
5. Once you are settled, consider upgrading to Sweepsplus. There you can create your own sweeps categories. This is an amazing feature. By organzing your sweeps in a way that makes sense to you, it really speeds up your entries.
I hope this makes sense. Sweepscheck is the most valuable feature to me as it tells me what I have already looked at and can now ignore because I have either acted on it, put it into my sweeps and/or chosen to ignore it.
Good luck to you. If you have any questions, please let us know. SA has a very helpful membership.
