Thursday, May 19, 2016

Why You Should Enter Blog Contests

   I love to win! Anybody that tells you they don’t is not being honest. It is a rush to me whether it is winning a game, a lottery scratch-off #FreeTicket, or a contest. The fact that I am by my very nature super competitive does not hurt my desire to win. It wasn’t long after I began Barking from the Bayou in December of 2013 that I discovered blog contests. Since that time I have won countless giveaways and contests.
Why you should enter blog contests
1. Bloggers need you
Most contests are sponsored by a company that wants exposure. They are either investing money and /or product to the host blogger. If the contest only garners a few entries, it does not reflect well on the blog. It is a business advertising expense and they want results.
2. You scratch their backs…
Bloggers are great at supporting those who support them. If you enter someone’s contest, they are more likely to take the time to enter yours.
3. You win some amazing things!
There are some pet products that I really want to own. If I happen to find a blog that is giving it away, I will enter and make myself a note to visit for their daily “tweets.” The daily entries can be a game-changer because many people don’t take advantage of the opportunity.
4. You can build your social media
Many contests give you the option to follow the host and the contest sponsor. This is a terrific way to meet new friends and gain followers on your social media.
5. You can’t win if you don’t enter.
It amazes me how many people will say, “Oh, I’d LOVE to win that.” And then, don’t take the necessary steps to try. Most contest entries take only a couple of minutes and if the prize is something that you’d really like, it’s well worth the effort.
Some of My Awesome Prizes
   I want to thank these amazing bloggers for my most recent prizes. We will be reviewing some of these in the very near future.
Petzi Treat Cam
*Peggy Frezon of The Writer’s Dog
   I won a Petzi dog treat/camera combo on Peggy’s blog. This was one of those prizes that I simply had to win. Not for me, but for my daughter. Her pup, Clementine loves to explore and this is definitely going to help alleviate their concerns. We are going to be sharing her thoughts and probably some incriminating video with you soon. 
Variety of dog toys and treats
Photo Courtesy of Wag n Woof Pets
Wag ‘N Woof Gift Bag
   Bentley and Pierre lost their minds over this prize package. Our friends at Wag ‘n Woof recently moved and we were the lucky winner of their moving giveaway. The first thing Bentley smelled were the cookies. He would stick his nose in the bag a steal them. He managed to pull them out twice. All of the items were fantastic and the extra squeakers are a toy saver. I didn’t even know that you could buy those!
Six PL360 cleaning supplies
PL360 Cleaning Supplies
   Nichole Burke from Lapdog Creations had a terrific contest for PL360 cleaning supplies. I was already a fan of PL 360 and a product that is safe for use around pets is a no-brainer for me. This arrived this week so I haven’t had a chance to use most of them. The Stain Remover worked great, though!
Kinn Kleanbowl™
Kinn® Kleanbowl™
I won this new concept food/water bowl from PetSittingology. Kinn Kleanbowl uses a stainless steel frame and compostable/recyclable bowls. This would be perfect for traveling so you wouldn’t have to deal with dirty dog bowls. We will be carrying it to the BlogPaws® conference! *Be sure to check out PetSittingology's website for upcoming webinars.
Cocker Spaniel next to bag with paw prints
Photo of Dexter courtesy of Fidose of Reality
Wigglebutts Uncorked Swag Bag
   My friend, Carol Bryant from Fidose of Reality holds Wigglebutts Uncorked, a spectacular fundraising event each spring. I was honored to be one of her blog sponsors this year even if I couldn’t attend in person. She held a giveaway for three lucky winners to receive one of her Swag bags. It was so exciting to be one of those three!        This bag had so many fantastic items like cookies, dog food samples, discounts, dog toys, and a copy of House Trainedby Jackie Bouchard.
All Dogs Go To Kevin by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang
All Dogs Go To Kevin & Dr. Dalton’s Treats
   One of my favorite people, Caren Gittleman from Dakota’s Den always has the greatest contests. I have been fortunate to win a copy of Dr. Jessica Vogelsang’s book, All Dogs Go To Kevin. It has been on my must-read list for some time now. I also won her giveaway for Dr. Dalton’s treats. There is not a photo of them because the boys LOVED the taste and I love being able to carry them on our walks. Bentley and Pierre give them high paws!
Against the Wild 1 & 2 DVD movies

Against the Wild 1 & 2
   Oz the Terrier and his mom are awesome PLUS! She has not only helped me countless times with Blogger, but they always hold fun contests. I recently won two movies; Against the Wild and Against the Wild 2 ~ Survive the Serengeti. It will definitely be a popcorn and movie night this weekend.
AvoDerm Natural dog biscuits
#BlogPawsChat
   Most Tuesday evenings you will find me on the BlogPaws Twitter Chat. It is a fantastic way to meet and talk to other pet parents and bloggers. I love chatting with everyone and the fact that they give away prizes for their quiz questions is icing on the cake. I have won several times in the past but my most recent wins have been fantastic.          
   Several months ago I won a bag of treats from AvoDerm Natural®. Somehow things got mixed up and I only recently received my prize. Instead of one bag of treats, I received SIX! Bentley and Pierre were rejoicing. I also won a branding consultation from BlogPaws’ Director of Community Education, Aimee Beltran. She really helped me make some changes that matter on Barking from the Bayou. I also won an Instagram consultation with BlogPaws Social Media guru Carol Bryant. She gave me some excellent tips to grow my account. You are following me on Instagram, aren’t you?
BFTB NETWoof sports with LSU Flag from Flagology
The Bottom Line
   Contests can take some time but you can win a lot of really incredible pet products. Remember to enter as often as possible, get extra daily points if they are available and keep your paws crossed.

   Of course, I have a contest for you to enter today! We are giving away a house flag that you can design from Flagology. Enter now and you could be flying high as my winner!
light brown paw prints to separate
It is Thoughtless Thursday’s blog hop with Ruckus the EskieLove is being owned by a Husky and me. The rules are, there are no rules!


22 comments :

  1. I have won lots of stuff from blogs over the past few years. I enter everyone I come across that has something I would like to have.

    anncluck(at)att(dot)net

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  2. We used to be crazy about entering for almost everything. With time, we have gotten more selective, but we still enter for products we really want or love. It is fun and it is good for the social media too.

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  3. We love entering contests! We have won a lot of cool stuff. Just recently we won a new scratcher.

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  4. We're so happy that you and the boys were pleased with our moving prize package! Wow, you have really been on a roll and have won some great stuff!
    It's funny that I find I tend to get on a roll winning and then have a dry spell for a while. Of course, I haven't had as much time to enter since we've moved and I've been so busy with the new house. But thanks for reminding me about the Flagology so I could do my daily tweet (I tend to forget to do that).
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  5. We won some awesome prizes from different blogs. We enter every international giveaway we can on blogs we follow. As we are not living in the US, we sometimes enter as well US-only giveaways to be able to give our prize to an US friend or an US shelter. Purrs

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  6. Wow! you have won some great stuff! We have been winners on occasion and it is always fun!
    We love our Drool towel we won at one of your giveaways.
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  7. We have won a lot of cool stuff on blogs, but not that much. We always say "pick me, pick me" and sometimes they do.

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  8. Great post! I always enter contests but I rarely win anything... I'm not sure I've ever won now that I think about it! ha But it is fun to enter and you can discover some cool brands, too.

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  9. I am always nervous about entering competitions 'cos...well...if I was to win someone is gonna get stuck wiv postage charges to the UK which they probably weren't expecting
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  10. we use to enter a lot of contests but these days with the boys allergies there is just so much they can't have or it is just things we don't need so we don't bother much anymore. At one time I was just donating all we won to our local shelter but there isn't one close by to us now and postage costs so much I don't even like donating them to auctions because someone (usually me ends up paying more in postage than the product is worth :)

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  11. I love entering blog contests too, I've won some great things!
    Love & Biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

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  12. I have won so many great things from other bloggers. I love to have giveaways too.

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  13. You are exactly right!!!!! Blog give-aways are great and I frequently enter. I have won some pretty cool things! I try to run as many give-aways as I can. It's fun to give! Thanks so much for including us in your pawesome line up of things that you have won!!! DakotasDen

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  14. I love this post!!! :) Someone once said bloggers shouldn't enter others contests and this just proves them WRONG! :) Congrats again!

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  15. You are SOOOOOO correct... you gotta get IN it... to WIN it... and if the prize is somethingy YOU don't Need or Care fur... you can ALWAYS donate it to the less fortunate...
    We love contests.

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  16. We can't even keep track of all the stuffs we have won from blog contests!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  17. Entering contests is fun! We've won lots of stuff for our cats, and for PAWS, too. :)

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  18. Well I want to win the lottery. Can we make that happen? Lol! I remember when I was a teen I won a radio contest twice. I got an album as one prize and a gift card for lunch for two at a bbq place as the other. I was so excited! Haha

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  19. When I won a gift, I was totally flabbergasted. Such an unexpected surprise that continues to make me smile every time I look at those cookbooks. :)

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  20. I love contests but the issue is because we live in Canada we usually can't enter:(

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  21. What a haul! We don't enter as many as we should obviously.

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