Finding Local Sweepstakes through Radio and TV Stations

I’ve told you that entering local giveaways in your area is one of the best ways for you to win a prize. When you enter a sweepstakes, contest or other giveaways in your local area you don’t have as much competition.

While Sweepers do live all over the country just how many do you think live in your local town, county, or state? Of course, if you live in large states like California or Texas you will have a lot more competition, but still you aren’t competing against the entire nation of Sweepers.

If you can find local giveaways in your town or county that’s even better. Anytime you enter a restricted sweepstakes whether it is a local giveaway, a contest that requires skill, open only to the military, or a sweepstakes that is age restricted your odds are better than a sweepstakes that is open to the general public.

If entering local giveaways is such a great idea then just how do you find those locals to enter? I am going to break these lessons up because there is a lot of information to give out. This lesson is all about using local radio and TV stations to find local giveaways.

Local Radio and TV Stations

Radio and TV stations are one of the best ways to win prizes locally. The giveaways are usually open to just the people in your state. Prizes can range from tickets to local events, gift certificates to local restaurants, and even something as large as a TV, a $1,000 gift certificate, or even a car.

I have won a lot of prizes from local radio stations in my state. Guess what? I don’t even listen to the radio. I will listen to it in the car but since I work at home I don’t go out much. Most radio stations will have web only contests that you can sign up for. You will have to register for an account on their website but it’s free.

An Hour Away

I searched and found all of the radio stations up to an hour away for my state and the surrounding state. Like I said, I don’t even listen to the radio and some radio stations don’t even come in on my car radio but I can enter because the rules say I am eligible. I am in their “listening area” which may just mean I live in that state but it also might mean I am able to get their radio or TV station signal. I picked an hour away because I might have to drive to pick up a prize and I wouldn’t want to drive more than an hour. You might be willing to drive further and as long as you are eligible you can enter.

Make sure you are willing to pick up the prize if necessary

One thing you will need to do is to read the rules on the radio or TV station’s website about their policies on prize distribution. Sometimes when I win a prize the radio or TV station will mail the prize to me. Other times they make me pick it up. I recently won something from a radio station but it would have been an hour drive to pick it up and since the prize was only worth $25 I figured a long drive wasn’t worth it so I turned it down.

Hidden Giveaways in Newsletters

Make sure you sign up to get the free email newsletters for every TV and radio station in you area. Many times there will be special giveaways listed just for newsletter subscribers. Sometimes those giveaways are never posted on their website or announced on the radio or TV.

Watch or Listen to Win

Sometimes local TV news will run trivia contests to get you to watch the news or weather report. By watching you get a keyword you have to enter on their website. Other times they might want you to watch the show to get a keyword and call into a local radio station the next morning during the early show to get a chance to win. There are lots of local promotions that run through both radio and TV stations.

Of course, if you listen to the radio you know there are a lot of ongoing giveaways you can enter by listening and calling in. Nowadays you can listen to just about any radio station online but unfortunately participating in call-ins for local radio stations won’t work too well. There is usually a short delay when listening online and that delay can be just enough that the contests is over by the time you get to call.

Radio Remotes

Many radio stations do radio remotes where they go to a store, car dealership, ballgame or other local event and broadcast live. The company they are broadcasting from pays them to be there and advertise their business over the air for a certain amount of time.

You have a good chance of winning prizes if you show up to their radio remotes. I have heard of people winning small things like bumper stickers and hats and also tickets to area events and event and cars and trips. We won a housecleaning one time at a radio remote.

Where can I find radio and TV stations in my state?

If you listen to the radio or watch your local TV channels they will give out the URL of the website but if you want to find radio and TV stations up to an hour away you will need to do some searching.

Radio: www.radio-locator.com

TV: www.tvfind.us

National giveaways look like local giveaways

Many radio and TV stations are affiliated with national chains of stations and they will run the same giveaway on all of their stations. The giveaway may look like a local giveaway just for your station but it will actually be national and they will pool all of the entrants together to pick the winner(s) so your odds go way down. Make sure you read the details carefully. Of course, you can still enter it if you want.

Ongoing giveaways mean lots of prizes for you

When looking for local giveaways to enter, radio and TV stations are one of your best bets. Start with one radio or TV station, enter their giveaways, bookmark it for future use, and move on to the next one. I found that many radio stations will run new giveaways every Monday so you will always have a fresh supply of local giveaways to enter.

Wnat Even More Local Sweepstakes to Enter?

My private site, Sweeties Secret Sweeps, has local sweepstakes and new ones are posted each day.