Book It Twitter

Did you know that Twitter is one of the best places to win free books on the internet? I love a good book and have won several over the past few months through simple giveaways on Twitter.

books all won on twitter!

How to Win Free Books on Twitter

1. First, follow the publishers who do the giveaways. Check out my Book Giveaways list at Twitter of the publishers and authors I follow. Feel free to start following them yourself or start Twitter searching for your favorites!
2. Now that you are following some publishers start to look for the giveaways! Some publishers do weekly giveaways, like every Friday, and others do spontaneous or 'flash' giveaways. Look for Tweets such as 'The next 5 people to RT (retweet) this message win a copy of THIS AMAZING BOOK!' or 'RT this by 5PM to win a copy of YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR'S AWESOME NEW BOOK!' Some require a bit more work such as answering a question, but they take very little effort. The hardest part is not missing the giveaway tweet. Check your Twitter feed often.
3. Join Goodreads. There are dozens of giveaways at Goodreads! You can also keep track of what you are reading and see what your friends are reading. You can post reviews for more chances to win free books too. It is free to join. The publishers link to their own giveaways at Goodreads on Twitter too! Follow @goodreads as well on Twitter.
4. Look for more giveaways on blogs. Publishers will link to bloggers who are also doing giveaways. If you like book reviews start doing them on your blog. Be sure to send a link to the author and publisher. You just might be chosen for future ARC's (Advance Reading Copies) to do more giveaways! 
5. Several of these same rules apply to Facebook! Start liking the fan pages of your favorite publishers and you could be winning on both.

If you like a certain genre of books, such as children's literature to win books for your kids, then start using Twitter search to find their favorite authors and publishers! If you are unsure if a certain Twitter account does giveaways, send them a Tweet and ask. They probably do! In addition to physical books, several Twitter accounts list free Kindle books. Use the wonderful Twitter search and start filling your virtual bookshelf as well! 

I have to give a shout out to Lisa @loveforlillie on Twitter who introduced me to the wonderful world of Twitter Book Giveaways. Thank you Lisa!

Have you won any books on Twitter? Do you have any more tips for us avid readers? Share in the comments below!



© 2012 Embrace The Free. All rights reserved. Disclosure Policy.

Keep Those Wins on Track

If you win prizes online you need a way to keep track of them. I can't stress how important it is to do this! Nothing is more frustrating than never receiving a prize and not being able to contact someone about it. My own tracking system takes very little effort and is quite low tech. It is also super easy!

current prizes i'm waiting for on sticky notes

Easy 4 Step Tracking System

1. Most of my wins come from Twitter giveaways. I always favorite every tweet that announces a win. I do this to have a record of the prize, who I won from and the date in a place that is easy to find. If the win comes via email, then I label that email WINS in my gmail account.
2. Then I write a sticky note and stick it on the LEFT side of the bottom of my computer. The picture above shows the six prizes I am currently waiting on. You could do this via a list, virtual stickies, or another way that you are comfortable with. I have a constant reminder of what I am waiting on and if a prize hasn't arrived in a timely manner, I have all the information I need to inquire about it. As I'm writing this I realize I could have easily added the date to each sticky note as well. Note to self: do this from now on!
3. When the prize arrives I inspect it to make sure it is indeed the correct item, photograph it with my phone, and move the sticky note to the RIGHT side of my computer. 
4. The photographs are sent to a folder on my computer with just my winnings. When I find the time I enter each item into an excel spreadsheet that lists each item, where it came from, date, and ARV, approximate retail value. After those two steps have been done, then I can remove the sticky note and recycle it.

Now I have a complete inventory of what I have won in case I need to use it during tax season. If you are a member of rewards programs such as Swag Bucks and SuperPoints keep track of those winnings too, as they are also considered sweepstakes! For more information about dealing with sweepstakes and taxes check out this great blog post at Sweeties Sweeps that breaks it all down for you.

How do you track your wins? Do you use an easy or a more elaborate system?

Please share in the comments below!



© 2012 Embrace The Free. All rights reserved. Disclosure Policy.



 

What do YOU want to Win?

In the future, I will be doing fun giveaways here at ETF! Yay! I believe in paying it forward. I am still in the brainstorming stages and need your valued opinion on exactly what types of giveaways you would love to see.

Please help me out and choose which you would like to win the most from the list below.


ETF Giveaway Ideas

1. Amazon e-Gift Cards
2. PayPal e-Gift Cards
3. CHOCOLATE!!
4. Books (could be e-books or print feel free to indicate which you prefer)
5. Other (please indicate another choice you would like to win and that fits in with ETF)

Choose a number and leave you answer in the comments below or tell me on twitter @valeriesweeps.

Many thanks for taking the time to leave your input!



© 2012 Embrace The Free. All rights reserved. Disclosure Policy.

How to Play Favorites on Twitter

Twitter is my favorite social network. I love the streamlined nonsense approach! I appreciate being able to view only what I am actually interested in. Yes, there are distractions, hello twitter parties I'm talking to you, but it still allows me to access and share information in the shortest amount of time.

If you are new to Twitter, haven't joined yet, or just want to learn more about it, I highly recommend checking out Michael Hyatt's The Beginner's Guide to Twitter. It is the best tutorial I've seen on the subject and extremely easy to follow. Give yourself an hour or two and get in there!

click to see larger example

Now that you are familiar with All Things Twitter, be sure to use one of the most underutilized features: the favorite button. The favorite button appears as a star underneath any tweet. When you favorite a tweet it will have little yellow star in the corner in the twitter stream. It then shows up in your Favorites list on your profile publicly.

Here are three different types of tweets and reasons why you might want to favorite them.


Milestone and You Really Really Like Me Tweets

These tweets are when someone tweeted something awfully nice to you (like you won a giveaway!), or something you want to let the user, who wrote it, know that you liked. Favorites and retweets are the twitter equivalents of Likes on Facebook. You can retweet AND favorite a tweet if it is especially important to you. I call that a Double Like!

Bookmark Tweets

You can also bookmark or favorite tweets for a subject or #hashtag you are following. Then go back and read them later. Companies often favorite tweets to keep them as possible candidates in a giveaway. When I am on my phone, I favorite tweets that I will want to view later when I am back on my computer at home. This is very handy when it has a link to a webpage that is easier to view on a computer. You can use the share feature on the Twitter mobile app as well, but clicking the favorite button is much easier.

For these types of tweets I usually un-favorite them after I have gotten the information. This keeps my list current and full of only the most important tweets.

Tweets to Tweet Again In the Future

If you finally found the perfect way to promote your blog, program, contest in less than 140 characters, you will probably want to use it again at a later date! Favorite that tweet and when inspiration is nowhere to be found, use it again! I wouldn't post the same tweet over and over though. Tweak it a bit or give enough time between uses.


How do you use the favorite button? Would you like to see more Twitter How To's in future blog posts at ETF?

Share in the comments below or tweet me @valeriesweeps.




© 2012 Embrace The Free. All rights reserved. Disclosure Policy.

January Win Roundup

It is time to say THANK YOU! to some of the awesome brands who gifted me with wins, through giveaways on Twitter and Facebook, in January of 2012.  I love brands who embrace the power of social media. Smart brands award their loyal fans with giveaways, samples, and other promotions! I hope this trend continues with more brands and consumers connecting online.

Four Fun Wins from January

1. T-shirt from Wham-O on Facebook. They have wonderful Twitter Parties too!
2. Chair from Corona Beach Break.  
3. Box of Skinny Cappuccino capsules from Nescafe Dolce Gusto for the Piccolo I won in December on their Facebook page.
4. PEOPLE 1,000 Biggest Moments in Pop Culture: Fame, Fads and Breaking News 1974-2011 on Twitter!

Do you have a favorite brand or company that you follow who does giveaways? Have you won something fun lately on the social networks?

Share in the comments below.




© 2012 Embrace The Free. All rights reserved. Disclosure Policy.