Why I do so many giveaways and a few tips on how to win!

A few weeks ago I sent out an email to my amazing blog sponsors to see if anyone was interested in helping me celebrate 40,000 fans on Facebook. I was simply overwhelmed with the response. My email immediately blew up with the most amazing stuff…Tula, LÍLLÉbaby, Woven Wraps, Cloth Diapers, Gift Certificates, Tie dye, Feeding Pillows…..OMG!! It was honestly grueling getting all that put together. But what a blessing it was. {Make sure you read to the bottom for the how-to win tips.}

I like to mention this occasionally…

These giveaways are not sponsored by big business or corporate America. They are coming from small family owned and run businesses. Hours and hours of time, so much energy and loads of passion are put into these cloth diaper, natural parenting and product stores. It is a BIG deal that they are giving away all this stuff.

Yes, they are doing it in hopes of gaining new customers. I hope that it helps me grow the blog readership and fan base.

But more than that, I take a genuine pleasure in seeing the excitement about the prizes. I read as many of the comments as I can because I love to hear what ya’ll have to say. That’s why you’ll see all my likes on comments. (No, it does not mean those people have a better chance at winning. The winner is still totally random.)

I love contacting the winners to tell them that they won! I often get to know a little bit about them through these interactions. The excitement and gratitude they share with me warms my heart. Prize winners are real people. Some in desperate need of whatever they just won. Some might have been more in need of a pick-me up. Winning is something that brightens their whole week and becomes a story that they may share for years to come.

I am honored and so blessed to be a part of that process. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my amazing sponsors. What I do here on the blog and on Facebook in our chat group would not be possible without them. (You should totally make sure you check them out and shop when you can. <3 )

Thank you to all of you who enter and endure each giveaway process. You comment, like, share and whatever else I ask of you. I know it takes time. I appreciate you taking that time and so do the sponsors.

I do all these giveaways because I actually really love bringing them to you. I want to share my love of cloth diapers and babywearing and I want help the community grow in any way I can.

Believe me when I say….the cloth diaper community is really a community.

There is PASSION for the products. A love of what we all do.

There is a genuine feeling of wanting to help others and to make the world a better place.

I LOVE seeing all the real families win these amazing products. Don’t give up entering because you feel like you never win. It often takes more than luck. Time and dedication also play a huge roll.

With that, allow me to present you with a few tips on winning giveaways:

1. You can’t win if you aren’t entering. You want more of a chance to win? Enter more giveaways.
2. Make sure you are actually eligible and make sure you follow the directions. It would stink to get disqualified because of a silly mistake.
3. Complete ALL of the entries, even the optional ones. Each entry is another chance at winning.
4. If there are daily entries (like tweets or comments) go back each day and do them! Again, each one is another chance to win.
5. Don’t claim entries that you didn’t do. I check and I’m sure other hosts do as well.
6. Keep track of what you enter and make sure you check your email or PMs on Facebook (where ever the host said they would notify winners). I’ve had to redraw a winner plenty of times because the person replied back too late or not at all.
7. Make sure you say thank you if you win. I know that seems like common sense. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve excitedly emailed a winner congratulating them, thanking them and finally asking for their contact info. Then all I get back is the mailing address…and that’s it. Really? I’m not asking for a cartwheel or a handstand (although I do enjoy seeing that kind of excitement). Just a simple thank you will do just fine. <3

I hope you keep loving all the giveaways and keep entering. If you do, I’ll keep bringing them to you.

Remember, you gotta be in it to win it!

Jennifer Reinhardt

Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.