How to Win

If you're my friend or follower on any social media site, you know I share a lot of contests. You know why? Because my theory is that you can't win if you don't play. I realize this coming from me is a bit ironic because I don't take a whole lot of risk in life. However, what do I have to lose when referring to this specific topic???

I win a lot of things. Some call it luck, I call it playing smart. I've won fair tickets, parking passes, concert tickets, meet and greet passes, t-shirts, hats, candy bars, and recently, some cuticle oil from Nubar and Beauty Box 5. You might be wondering what in the world this blog post is even about. Hold your horses, I will tell you right now. This post contains a few tips to get you in the winner's ring.

1. If you see a photo on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter that says, "Enter here", then by all means, ENTER. Someone has got to win, why shouldn't it be you?
2. Follow your favorite brands and stores on social media. We are in the age of social marketing. Your favorite brands want to connect with you and they are constantly announcing contests, sales, special promotion codes, and even FREEBIES.
3. If you are out to score, do some research and take an interest in some smaller companies, the prizes might not be huge but your chances of winning great prizes from them are!
4. Instant win games really are cool. My Coke Rewards has quite a few instant win games and most of the time, if you read the Terms and Conditions, you can get up to 5 free chances to play, everyday. I've won a couple $5 gift cards from My Coke Rewards!
5. Be smart maybe even borderline sneaky. There is nothing wrong with asking your friends to "like" something of yours so you can win! That's what companies want, traffic to their brand and site!
6. Blogs. Lots of times when bloggers are just getting started and want to increase their loyal followers, they will host giveaways. Sometimes companies will provide the products for these bloggers to give away and sometimes a blogger will relinquish her personal stash of goodies for you to enjoy.
7. Text-to-win. Pay attention to radio stations with text to win opportunities because if you save the number as a contact in your phone, all you need to win is a pair of fast thumbs. 
8. Put in a little effort and you just may be surprised at what you can walk away with!

If you don't have any contests on your mind, here's one from Beauty Box 5 that you can enter right now! A short post today but I know you're on the edge of your seat, waiting to enter the next contest you come across. I don't want to keep you a second longer. If anyone wants to share some really cool winnings or has any other tips, feel free to comment below! I'd love to get to know you and any winning strategies you might have! Get out there and win! Good luck!!

XOXO,

The Redheaded Life

Get to know me and my blog!

Who's going to gain a legion of loyal followers without establishing a little credibility and sharing about themselves? No one. With that being said, I am dedicating my very first post (hopefully not my last) to that, so here goes nothing. I live in Oklahoma and I do not drive. Therefore, I do a lot of online shopping but I do get out every now and then to see what the brick and mortar has to offer. Usually I am disappointed, but nonetheless, I find some good stuff-things that make me happy. That's why I'm here. I want to share my triumphs with YOU. Yes, you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets excited about these things, so I invite you to share with me, as I will share with you.

I graduated college with a B.B.A. in Marketing and have a minor in Professional Sales. That being said, I do not have a lot of money to throw around. I like to make what I do have last and really get the most out of it. I do this by doing a bit of research. I use a couple sites frequently that I will gladly share with you. I will only tell you about three today since there will be plenty of time to share the rest.

The first I will tell you about is Ebates. Ebates has a few commercials so you have probably heard of them but are unsure if they are credible or not. Let me tell you, they are completely legitimate and the whole process is really interesting. Ebates has hundreds of stores that participate with them and if you do a lot of online shopping, it is a community you must be a part of. For every purchase you make, if you complete the purchase through an Ebates link, you get cash back. Essentially, you get paid to shop. They have several different ways to get the cash back such as donate to charity, through paypal, or you can opt for them to send you a check (if your cash back is $5 or more) quarterly. I opt for a big fat check and a few days ago, They gave me the option to immediately redeem for an Amazon e-gift card. Amazon is a site I frequent (I will talk about it shortly), so I took them up on the offer and successfully used the balance on a purchase yesterday.

The next website/store that I want to share my love for is Ulta. Ulta is a beauty store and they are definitely a go to for me due to their coupons, special offers, and rewards program. I have included a link to the earning page of the rewards program. Here's my tip: redeem your rewards at the 250/350/450/etc. balances. Here's why: 100 points=$3.00, which means that every 50 points would be equivalent, to $1.50. However, at the 250 point mark, the reward is $8.00, but when you add it up in 50 point increments, The reward would only be $7.50. You get $0.50 extra if you redeem at 250/350/450, I realize that's not a lot but it is how to maximize Ulta rewards. The entire reward system is consistent with that. It's also worth mentioning the special weeks, birthday months, and promotions where you can take advantage of up to 5X the points.

The last site that I will talk about today is Amazon. Who doesn't love Amazon? Amazon has recently upped their free shipping offer. The offer used to be free shipping on Amazon fulfilled purchases over $25, now the offer is free shipping of Amazon fulfilled purchases over $35 dollars. However, Amazon offers several programs to make purchases even more affordable such as Prime, deals of the day, AND coupons. Yes, Amazon has coupons! With all coupons, some are better than others. Recently, I got 2.00 a Kotex product and got the 24 count wipes for a little over $2.00-shipped, that was a good coupon! Could I have gotten it cheaper? Yes, some people have in fact, by opting in for "subscribe and save" and being Prime members. I am not a prime member, nor have I played around with subscribe and save but the deal I got was good enough for me. I'm not always out for the best deal. If it's a good deal and convenient, I am usually sold.

Hopefully, I have communicated what I want to do. I hope even more, that you enjoy it and are interested enough to give me some opinions, share your stories, share my blog with your friends, and get to know me even more! Stay in touch for good deals, freebies, product testing communities, and subscription boxes. I look forward to next time!

XOXO,
The Redheaded Life