Each week, I spend a few hours (3-4) browsing my favorite blogs and websites. As part of that practice, I am inundated with giveaways of all sorts of products. Clothing, food, jewelry, household goods, gift cards, trips, and a whole lot more. I love free crap (who doesn't?) And while it is tempting to take the time to enter every single one, I recently realized there are quite a few reasons why I shouldn't. I'm sharing those with you:
1. Time is Money
Spending a few hours per week reading blogs is justified by networking and building friendships. Spending another few hours on my own blog has even more benefits, but spending another hour or two entering giveaways (which usually requires links to here and there, 'liking' blogs on FB, and 'pinning' the giveaway) doesn't have a very high payoff. Sure, it does if I win, but that's going to happen rarely, if at all. Which ultimately means that I spent a few hours of my time each week doing something that has little benefit to me or my business - and I didn't even get a pair of shoes or juicy celeb gossip out of the deal!
Spending a few hours per week reading blogs is justified by networking and building friendships. Spending another few hours on my own blog has even more benefits, but spending another hour or two entering giveaways (which usually requires links to here and there, 'liking' blogs on FB, and 'pinning' the giveaway) doesn't have a very high payoff. Sure, it does if I win, but that's going to happen rarely, if at all. Which ultimately means that I spent a few hours of my time each week doing something that has little benefit to me or my business - and I didn't even get a pair of shoes or juicy celeb gossip out of the deal!
2. Clutter is Bad
Winning items from giveaways is great, until it comes to cleaning and organizing and you realize you have three crock pots. Now, unless you're a caterer, you probably don't need 3 crock pots. Nor do you need 300 nail polishes or 15 bubble necklaces. You can't possibly use them all and storing them takes up space and collects dust!
Of course, in order to develop a real clutter problem from winning giveaway swag, you'd have to enter all of them all the time (and win most.) The point remains, if you wouldn't pay for the item to take up space in your house, why should you let it linger for free?
Winning items from giveaways is great, until it comes to cleaning and organizing and you realize you have three crock pots. Now, unless you're a caterer, you probably don't need 3 crock pots. Nor do you need 300 nail polishes or 15 bubble necklaces. You can't possibly use them all and storing them takes up space and collects dust!
Of course, in order to develop a real clutter problem from winning giveaway swag, you'd have to enter all of them all the time (and win most.) The point remains, if you wouldn't pay for the item to take up space in your house, why should you let it linger for free?
3. Too many distractions
These giveaways also create clutter on my computer. Adding new blogs to my reader or 'liking' one on Facebook just creates more blogs I'm sifting through later. And I can't tell you how often I go through my pins to clear out closed giveaways and other "junk" as a result of entering various contests. All this does is distract me from more valuable internet time (see #1!)
These giveaways also create clutter on my computer. Adding new blogs to my reader or 'liking' one on Facebook just creates more blogs I'm sifting through later. And I can't tell you how often I go through my pins to clear out closed giveaways and other "junk" as a result of entering various contests. All this does is distract me from more valuable internet time (see #1!)
4. The Vicious cycle
Finally, if I'm wasting all this time and taking up room in my house and computer, I am probably "spending" more than the item is worth anyway. It simply creates a cycle of time and effort that may or not have the benefit of a cool new item in my mailbox.
At the end of the day, I will continue to enter giveaways. And host them and provide you links on my Facebook page to my favorites each week. Afterall, there are certain items that are totally worth the effort and you just might have a chance to win something you legitimately need. Just make sure you don't get too lured in by the idea of free stuff that you defeat the purpose of "free" to begin with!
Finally, if I'm wasting all this time and taking up room in my house and computer, I am probably "spending" more than the item is worth anyway. It simply creates a cycle of time and effort that may or not have the benefit of a cool new item in my mailbox.
At the end of the day, I will continue to enter giveaways. And host them and provide you links on my Facebook page to my favorites each week. Afterall, there are certain items that are totally worth the effort and you just might have a chance to win something you legitimately need. Just make sure you don't get too lured in by the idea of free stuff that you defeat the purpose of "free" to begin with!
1 comment:
Yeah I realized a while back that it's fine to enter a bunch of giveaways, but I've given myself permission to save the real effort for entries on the ones I really, really, really want. (I mean, I'd love a Target GC as much as the next person, but If I only have 10 minutes, I'm going to use them to do all the entries for the Silhouette machine instead, and just do what's required for the GC).
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