(The following article is a guest blog post submitted by Erika Komori. Erika has won near $45,000 in contests and writes about her contest adventures on her blog: Free and Fabulous Life. If you are on Twitter, follow her at @erikakomori.)

Win a new car! Win a free trip! Win dinner and a movie!

Have you ever seen giveaways such as these and then ignored them? Not me! As I like to say, “You can’t win if you don’t enter!”

My story begins back in 2010 when I was an MBA graduate, without the MBA salary. After reading an article in the local newspaper about a person who had won a BBQ package, I thought contests would be a genius method to save money on my entertainment expense. With over 400 contest wins thus far, worth almost $45,000 and counting, my expectations have definitely been surpassed!

win-contests

Trips, concerts, fashion shows, pro sport games … it’s a fabulous way to experience events you otherwise might never have known about! I also have a prize box which I refer to whenever there’s a birthday, holiday, bridal or baby shower, etc. My friends and family have definitely received some fantastic gifts!

Tips To Win More Contests

If you’re interested in winning contests, here a few helpful hints:
•    Contest forums are a great resource to find giveaways. Search “Contests Canada” and a number of sites will appear. Of course, the odds are better if it’s a local contest so you can change the search criteria based on where you live.
•    If you live in a populous Canadian city, go out and see a free movie! Advanced screenings are held for almost every film. With an entire theatre of winners, the chances of winning are good! Following movie distributors through Facebook and Twitter is a way to find out about these giveaways.
•    Is there an event you’re looking to attend? Find out who are the sponsors, media hosts or vendors because they almost always have a contest. Additionally, does the event have a hashtag on Twitter? Search this, followed by the words “contest” or “win”, and you could discover lesser known promotions.
•    Brands love working with notable bloggers. If you’re interested in fashion, then search “fashion blogs” followed by your closest major city. Similarly, if you have a family, search “mom blogs”. These sites will have fewer entries than contests run by corporations.
•    Concerned about junk mail? Create a separate email account and always uncheck the sign-up for newsletter box which often appears on an entry form.
•    Always read the rules and regulations. If a contest says you will be disqualified with an automated entry, don’t use one (for example, Google Chrome has an AutoFill option). If you have to be a certain age, or live in a particular province, don’t waste your time and enter. I’m sure there are those that try and create multiple identities, but always remember karma. I’ve achieved significant winnings without ever cheating.

Believe you can win because who knows where the contests will take you!