Update: NEW! Essay Contests

This week in Sweeps, we are unveiling a new type of contest--an essay contest.

With the Power of Persuasion Contest, we're giving away a 16.1MP digital camera, valued at $199.99.

How do you enter? You simply write a short essay as a message to the contest topic page, explaining why you should win the camera.

Members will vote on their favorite by "liking" the message of their choice. The top ten messages with the most "likes" will end up in the finalists, where the Sweeps judges will select a winner based on how convincing his or her pitch is, along with creativity, overall quality in the message and community enthusiasm for his or her entry.








This contest ends March 6, 2014. View the Power of Persuasion Contest Topic Page to read the current entries. You'll want to "Follow" the page to receive updates about the contest.

By: Laura Meyer, Copywriter

Sweepstakes vs. Contests: What's the difference?

Our name is Sweeps, and we run contests and sweepstakes. But what’s the difference?

When you enter a sweepstakes, you are put in a pool of entries that has the potential to be selected as a winner. Every sweepstakes winner is randomly selected.

Contests are different; they are based on skill and content, and the finalists are chosen by our members. Our contests can either have catalog creations, posting a photo, caption a photo of our choosing and other new options coming soon. The content is based on the criteria listed in the official rules. Members “vote” for their favorites and this creates our pool of finalists. Our panel of judges then choose the winner from the finalists, based on the quality of the content and the effort put into the entry.

So in essence, sweepstakes winners are chosen randomly, contests are chosen based on skill and the quality of the content, but both are part of Sweeps.

By: Jimmy Musial, Community Moderator