You've Got to Be in It to Win it

I started entering sweepstakes 10 years ago while working a job that involved a lot of downtime. (The job was task-oriented, and if assignments were completed without new ones waiting, we were basically allowed to hang out, chat, surf the internet, read, etc.) After a few months and spending countless hours online, I began to feel that the internet was a little bit like television -- a million channels, with nothing good to watch. Of course, this was at the very dawn of the era of blogging, before social networking and youtube -- but still, I got bored pretty quickly.

One day, I happened to land on a now-defunct sweepstakes website called huronline.com. On a whim, I decided to enter some sweepstakes to see what would happen. Almost immediately (which I now know to be unusual), I'd racked up my first win. It was nothing spectacular -- I'd won an Oscar Awards-themed gift basket, including movie candies and popcorn, plus a $100 gift card to buy movies. Still, I was hooked.

Since that time, I've won close to $100,000 in cash, gift cards, and prizes, including trips to Japan, Paris, Rome, London, California, and Florida, among others. People often say I'm "lucky," but the truth is, you've got to be in it to win it, and I am definitely in it. With patience, persistence, and a few key tips, you too can be a winner. On this blog, I'll share the secrets of my sweepstakes success.