Sweepstakes Winners - 5 Ways to Find Out Who Won Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes Winners – 5 Ways to Find Out Who Won Sweepstakes

Have you ever entered sweepstakes day after day, only to hear nothing but crickets after the sweepstakes ends? If you’re curious about how to find out who won specific contests, here are some good ways to find out:

1. Check Your Mail, Email, Phone for Good News

The best way to find out who won sweepstakes is, of course, when you’re the lucky winner. Make sure that the sponsor has an easy time contacting you by making sure that you check your mail and email regularly, and answer your phone even when you don’t recognize the number. For more tips, see How Will I Know When I Win?

2. Check Your Email for Sweepstakes Updates

Sometimes sponsors will send out emails with sweepstakes results, even when you weren’t the winner. Check your sweepstakes email address for updates about the contest.

3. Check the Sweepstakes’ Website

Many companies will post winners on their sweepstakes’ websites, either during the contest or after it has ended. Check back a couple of weeks after the sweepstakes has ended to see if winners have been posted. You can also check the company’s main website, press release section, or Facebook page for winner information.

4. Create Google Alerts for Sweepstakes Winners

Google Alerts is a free service that will send you an email when a term you’re interested in appears on the Google search engine. (For more information, see How to Use Google Alerts.) This is a great way to find out whether a company has released a press release or a news article announcing their winners’ names. You can set up Google Alerts for specific sweepstakes that interest you, or for more generic terms like “prize winner” or “sweepstakes winner.”

5. Send Away for Winners’ Lists

If you check the sweepstakes’ rules, most will tell you how to contact the company to find out who won. The most common method of requesting a winners’ list is to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to an address listed in the rules, though some companies will also offer an email request method. Note that there is usually a time limit on when you can request a list of winners, so be sure to check the rules shortly after the contest ends.

Do you use any other methods to find out who won sweepstakes? Share your own tips in the “Comments” section below!

About the Author, Sandra Grauschopf

Sandra Grauschopf has been entering sweepstakes, and learning everything she can about how to win them, since 2003. She is the Guide to Contests and Sweepstakes at About.com, a daughter company of The New York Times, and she loves to help other people succeed with sweepstakes and contests. For more information, sign up for Sandra's sweepstakes newsletter.