This meme was originated by bloggers from Tiger's All Consuming Media and For What It's Worth. This meme occurs every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month to allow bloggers to vent, share an opinion, or offer a solution to a common problem.
Today's topic is:
Giveaways: As a blogger, how do you feel about extra entries, required entries etc? Do you have a system to choose/announce winners and keep prizes organized? What method works best for you when hosting a giveaway? (Rafflecopter/Google Doc's or other)
What do you do about people who enter your giveaways but don't follow instructions exactly?
Have you ever had problems hosting a giveaway sponsored by an author or publisher who is supposed to send the prize to the winner and doesn't? How have you handled these issues?
As a prize winner - what do you do if your prize never arrives? Do you contact the blogger or just let it go?
My Answer:
Extra entries are awesome, but there are times when they are just too much. When the form is way too long, there's too much in there. I have staples, if you may, for entries: Tweet the giveaway, follow a twitter account, follow a Facebook account, follow the hosting blog, leave a blog comment, and sometimes, a free entry. Anything besides those are just annoying sometimes.
I also dislike those giveaways where a bunch of bloggers are involved and so all their information are on the form so that the entrants can follow all of them. Oh my goodness. Too much.
When I host a giveaway myself, I make sure it is tour-wide. I have my own blog tour services, and it is mandatory that the authors accept a tour-wide giveaway as opposed to individual blog giveaways. One giveaway form, and one person to choose the winner (giveaway host). It's easier that way.
The method I use is Rafflecopter. I like it, the end :)
When I'm choose a winner, I check their entry first. If I find that they didn't follow the instructions or I can't find the required entry that they supposedly entered, I disqualify them and choose a new winner. No questions asked. I'm too busy to worry about people who can't follow simple directions. (Sorry if that sounds mean!)
I have not had a problem with authors/publishers who didn't send the stated prize. If it does happen, I think I would just gift the prize myself IF it's not too much for me to spend on.
As a winner, if the prize doesn't arrive, then I contact the blogger. Depending on the prize itself, I may or may not continue to pursue it.
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