Tips & Tricks for Enter Sweepstakes without getting Spammed
Are the rising number of junk emails and spam in your inbox driving you crazy? If you answered yes, you are not alone! Entering into sweepstakes will lead to more emails, however we have put together a list of tips & tricks to help you sift through these emails--hopefully taking some stress off your plate. First things first, one thing you need to know is some sweepstakes emails are extremely important; for instance proof of entry or a notification if you are the winner! You could also get emails such as newsletters, site updates, or other types of spam.
This will likely lead to a desire to mass delete or fully ignore these incoming emails; however you might want to be careful as the really important messages could be thrown into the mix. Think about it, you don’t want to forfeit a great win just because you were overwhelmed or too lazy to go through your emails.
The good news is, entering sweepstakes does not mean you need to crowd your inbox with an overload of unwanted messages. We have put together a guide to help you keep spam away and make sure that your important messages (i.e. entry confirmation or winning notice) do not go unseen.
1. Create an Email Address Solely for Sweepstakes Entry
This is probably the most fundamental tip and the best thing you can do if you want to keep your sweepstakes emails organized. There are plenty of companies that offer free email accounts, which will instantly help make your life more manageable. If your inbox is only receiving sweepstakes emails, it makes it much easier to determine where spam mail is coming from, and how to get ahead of it (or stop it) before it becomes overwhelming/unmanageable. You can make it a priority to check this email regularly so you never miss a prize or a win. And if for some reason the spam mail ever does get to be too much in this account, it’s easy to throw it away and start over with a new one, because it is not your personal email address (so you don’t have to contact those in your inner circle and let them know it’s changing because its only use is for sweeping).
2. Look at the terms & conditions or the privacy policy prior to entry
A reliable sweepstakes should also have a clear privacy policy. This will disclose what the company will do with the information you provide, so you’ll know what they’re going to do with it.
3. Don’t sign up to receive additional emails
Upon entry most sweeps will ask you if you want to sign up for their newsletter or to receive more info from them or their sponsors. If this is something that appeals to you then you can definitely check that box, but it’s good to know that this will lead to more mail in your inbox, so look out for that question if additional emails are something that you’re trying to avoid. Also know that whatever you choose to do will not affect your chances of winning, it will only impact the types of emails you will receive. In addition to opting out of newsletters, unsubscribing from newsletters you’ve already signed up for, but no longer want, can also help clear up your inbox.
4. When you do receive spam, report it!
You can help reduce your spam, & the spam that others receive by reporting it. This tool seems to be something that is forgotten about, however spam is something that is taken seriously so when you report it you can help minimize it. Just be sure that what you’re reporting is spam and not an unwanted newsletter. If it is a newsletter, like stated above, you can simply unsubscribe to no longer receive those messages.
5. Use a spam filter of anti-spam software
Today’s email services offer a lot of helpful tools to their users. For instance, filtering spam can be very useful for keeping junk mail out of your inbox. However be sure to periodically look through your spam folder as sweepstakes notices (like a winning notification) could be sent there by mistake. Anti-spam software can also be used as an additional step to keep the junk out of your inbox, but this comes at a cost, so definitely try to use the free tools from your email provider first.
6. Avoid using your home phone number
It’s important to provide a legitimate phone number when entering sweepstakes, especially because if you are chosen as a winner they will likely contact you by phone. However sometimes when you give out your number for these sweeps, they could call you to provide more info, not to tell you that you won. It can be helpful to use your cell phone number so that you are able to monitor the calls coming in.
If you are worried about using your cell phone, you can always use a forwarding telephone number (i.e. google voice offers a free phone number as well as many other companies). This allows you to receive all the calls and messages while still maintaining some privacy. You can also easily change this number if for some reason you are receiving too many unwanted calls, which would be more difficult to do with something like a home or cell phone number. Additionally, putting yourself on the “National Do Not Call Registry” will also help keep you safe from unwanted callers.
All in all it is not necessary to take these steps, but they should help you if you are receiving spam and want to decrease it or help you in avoiding it all together. If you are aware as you’re entering sweeps and taking some precautionary measures (such as these) as you go then entry should not lead to spam or scamming. Entering sweepstakes and contests should be fun, and these steps should help ease your mind of any worry. Happy sweeping!
