Congratulations!  You're in a voting/referral contest and we want to help you win.  Here are some tips for what to put in your request:

*The name of the sweep with a quick description of what the contest is for, like cutest baby or messiest garage.

*A link to the sweep.  The closer you can get us to the voting page, the better.  If you can't link directly to your entry, tell us that you're "photo #4" or "Mary Q. from Wisconsin" so that we can find your entry.

*How often can we vote for you?  Once?  Daily?  Unlimited?

*When does the contest end?

*Please return the favor by supporting other SA members with their vote requests.  With a lot of the voting contests, after you vote, it will tell you what the vote tally is, or say something like "vote recorded 04-14-2007, 2:53pm".  If you can, copy this line into your "I voted" post to verify that you really did vote.

*It's really uncool to post "I voted" notes if you didn't vote.  You're not obligated to vote for anyone, so if you are not participating, simply remain silent.  Most of us would never claim to vote when we hadn't, but sometimes a person who is eager for support will save time by saying that a vote has been cast when it really wasn't.

*Tip - go into your Profile and post a quick "please vote for my kitty!" request along with a link in your signature block.  This will display the request every time you post a note.  When the contest ends, please remember to update your signature.

*Also, remember to check page 2 of the thread.  Sometimes there are a lot of requests and some go to page 2 depending on the number of contests running.

*You can send PM's to friends about your voting contest, but do not use the Personal Message system to send out random mass mailings.  This will earn you more negative feedback than votes.

*Did you win?  Let us know!