subject: New Sweepstakes and Contest Games in America [print this page] New Sweepstakes and Contest Games in America
American contests are a 20th Century preoccupation. Initially, they were featured by general magazines and newspapers. From modest beginnings, contests now claim a wide variety of styles with some noteworthy prizes to back up correct solutions.
The difference between a contest and a sweepstakes is the need for skill. A sweepstakes is merely an entry with only the rare opportunity to answer a multiple choice question in order to have a correct entry form. A contest requires you to solve something(a crossword puzzle, a maze, a diagram, a photograph) or to create something (like an advertising slogan or a poem or a song to promote a specific product).
There are numerous contests sponsored throughout the country. One of the most popular is a word game where there are two possible correct answers and you simply have to choose between them. There might be 20 of these answers from week to week. If no one correctly identifies all 20 answers, the cash jackpot rolls over and more cash is added. This can go on for weeks and you can file more entries. The longer the game goes, the more chance there is for big money to come into play. It's almost potluck, though, as it isn't a matter of selecting a wrong answer since both answers (given) are correct. You must pick the one the editors of the puzzle settle on as the best answer. That makes it tough, but challenging and fun, too. There are a lot of people in town who look forward to playing that game each week.
For the newspaper that sponsors the contest, it means more sales of the paper. People who might not ordinarily buy the paper do so to get the puzzle. Sales mean dollars; thus the chance to give away prize money to increase subscriptions. Increased circulation can mean more advertising revenue. And the beat goes on!
Puzzles like these make contest favorites. One can participate in hundreds of contests given the time. The more you compete, the better the chance to win one or more prizes.
To get organized, simply make this an extension of your sweepstakes work. Maybe an hour per day is devoted to sweepstakes, another hour for contests. You'd use the same supplies you accumulated for the sweepstakes and keep the same type of records to ensure that you'll have proper records to deduct the expenses when you win prizes.
