I know that many of you who like freebies are also very big on contests and sweepstakes. Accordingly, I thought you might enjoy a little introduction to Tom Stamatson, our Contests and Sweepstakes Guide here at About.
After you have read the interview be sure to visit Tom's Contests and Sweepstakes site to get the scoop on how, where and what you can win.
| Q. | How long have you been "seriously" entering contests and sweepstakes? |
| A. | Fifteen years, beginning with what was available "back then" - snail sweeps. |
| Q. | Please tell us what the difference between a contest and a sweepstake is? |
| A. | Contests require that the entrant "do" something...like find an object or answer skill questions or submit a recipe/essay. Sweepstakes only require the NAZ (name, address, zip) info with perhaps a "qualifier" which can be writing down a phrase or something else they ask of you. |
| Q. | How much time do you spend entering? |
| A. | Time? What's that? If I have it, and thankfully my wife does most of our entering, it takes about 2 hours a day. |
| Q. | What have you won? |
| A. | The biggest was $6,000 - that's when I stopped laughing at my wife and started doing this too! There have been other prizes like $1,000, savings bonds, snowboard, small appliances, T-shirts, hats, radios, towels, modems (3), gift certificates, computer games. Still working on that car though! |
| Q. | Could you sum up your winning strategy in a couple sentences? |
| A. | To quote a Mail-In Newsletter: Patience, Persistence and Postage! Now with the ease of online entering, there isn't so much postage drain, but one still needs a positive attitude, persistence, and a bit of discipline to fit these activities into a "regular life". |
| Q. | What is your favorite kind of contest or sweepstakes? |
| A. | The Three Cs - LOL - Cars, Cash, Computers! |
| Q. | If you were to state a mission statement for your site what would it be? |
| A. | I strive to make it as easy as possible for people to find and enter the contests and sweepstakes of their choice, as well as providing a forum for them to swap or sell their won items. |
| Q. | Will people find different things in your newsletter than they will find on your site? |
| A. | Yes, I update my readers on the latest sweeps news and changes which affect my Feature(s), and I include contests and sweeps which do not make it into my lists for one reason or another - usually because there is absolutely no information on them. |
| Q. | How did you come to be an About.com Guide? |
| A. | This was my wife's fault :) as she is the Powerboating Guide. She happened to see this spot was open and told me about it. |
| Q. | Other than the your site and the Freebies Site :) what are some of your favorite About.com sites? |
| A. | Well, Freebies and Sweeps rule! I enjoy the Vintage Cars and RC Vehicles as I am the proud owner of a chopped and channeled 32 Ford ("Deuce") and I have been building airplane models since the age of 5! I am also a private pilot, but unfortunately my flying full-scale planes is over since my stroke two years ago. |
Don't forget to visit Tom's Contests and Sweepstakes site.