Into finding free stuff through sweepstakes and giveaways on the Internet? I’ll go for these every once in a while, assuming it won’t cost me too much time and it’s something I’m really into. Typically I don’t search for free stuff though. I just kind of stumble upon it, or I’ll see it in a friend’s rss feed, like when I saw the $50 Test Drive deal from Hu$tler Money Blog.

What I’m Doing Now

Here’s an idea that recently came to me. I’ve started using Google Alerts to provide me with daily search results of the keywords “giveaway”. I’m sure most of you are already using Google Alerts in some fashion, so I’ll spare you the details of setting those up and just tell you to go here to learn all about them if you don’t.

So far I’m only searching in “blogs” and I’m not being overwhelmed with the results. I may need to switch to a “comprehensive” search or use different keywords to get better results. That’s the greatness of Google Alerts is that you can tweak them and get them just right.

Update! My latest alert resulted in a nice giveaway: Weary Parent – Parenting Teens & Tweens is giving away an MP3 player. All you have to do is leave a comment on their site to be entered.

Are You a Big-Time “Sweeper?”

If you’re the type that enters these contests on a daily basis, I’d suggest:

1. Using the same name every time you enter
2. Setting up an alert for that name.

Why? Bloggers don’t always email their winners directly. They simply announce it on their blogs. If that’s the case then you’d need to remember to go back to their site. Instead of worrying with that simply set the alert for your entry name and you’re good to go. Source: Sandra Grauschopf

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2. Peek Inside the Google Machine: What We Buy and Sell
3. Prime Time Money: Best of January 2008!
4. Hundreds of Free Magazine Subscriptions: New Feature on Prime Time Money
5. Best of Prime Time Money: April 2008