With a standard sweepstakes or giveaway, the winner is awarded by random draw.\u00a0 With sweepstakes contests, it works a little differently.\u00a0 By loose definition, a “sweepstakes” means the sponsor is giving away a prize.\u00a0 A “contest” means that your unique entry is being judged and a winner is selected.\u00a0 Typical contests often ask for a best recipe, photo, or essay.<\/p>\n
Great!\u00a0 I have the best baked bean casserole recipe, vacation photo, or answer to that essay question, you think to yourself.\u00a0 By all means, go ahead and enter your selection, but take a look at the Rules to see how they're selecting the winner.\u00a0 Sometimes the winner will be selected by a judging panel selected by the sponsor.\u00a0 IMHO, these are the most “fair” contests as there is no way to weight an entry in anyone's favor.<\/p>\n
Picking the winner is a trickier process when voting is involved.\u00a0 Again, look at the Rules.\u00a0 Does each person get one vote?\u00a0 Can you vote once per day?\u00a0 Are the votes unlimited?\u00a0 Do you rate or rank the entries when you vote?\u00a0 The answers to these questions make a big difference towards determining who wins<\/a>.\u00a0 In any event, the more people you can persuade to vote for your entry, the better your chances of winning<\/a>.\u00a0 This means that the winning entry is ultimately the one with the most votes, not the “best” entry.<\/p>\n Go ahead and show us your cutest pet photo or pumpkin recipe, but remember to read the Rules so you know how the sweepstakes<\/a>\u00a0winner is selected.<\/p>