6 tips on how to win a blog giveaway

Am I the only one who can't hear the phrase "pick a winner" without thinking of someone picking their nose?

I've been asked a few times recently how I pick the winners for the giveaways on this here little blog. Each time it has started with an incredulous "you actually read all the entries?!". And the answer is yes, yes I do. Even when there are HUNDREDS.

So I figured I'd write it all down so you know what I'm looking for - and with a HUGE giveaway around the corner (check out that sidebar *coughbabyshowercough*) you'll want to know!

Blog giveaways, to keep within the laws and whatnot, are games of skill, meaning there has to be some sort of answer to a question and certain answers get my attention way more than others. And no, it isn't just the ones that mention wine. I minimize the columns with names so that I have no idea whose entry I'm reading and I go through highlighting ones that catch my eye with certain qualities.

So what qualities am I looking for in your entry?

• Short - I normally have a 25 word or less limit because I have to read all the entries and if they're novels it would take forever. And yes, I do check! 
• Humour - it doesn't have to be side splitting, but a chuckle or a half giggle is ace.
• Appropriate - if I've asked what your favourite icecream flavour is, don't tell me about your sister's boyfriend's dog's knee operation. No, really.
• Rhyme - a high proportion of the winners of giveaways here have written me a little rhyme. They show effort and I'm such a sucker for effort. If you can get a funny, appropriate poem in 25 words or less that is top quality stuff, baby! You're almost guaranteed to be in my top 5.
• Contactable - most of the time I'll have a spot on the entry form for your delivery address so that if my "you won" email goes to spam I won't be hanging around for weeks waiting for your address and the threat of a redraw looming over my head. If you write "124 Smith St" and don't tell me a suburb or state then you get culled. Sometimes I forget to put the address field in and smack myself in the head repeatedly because redraws are a pain in the ass.
• Valid - live in a different country? You (usually) can't win, sorry. Only half filled out the entry form? You can't win, sorry. Not answered the question? You can't win, sorry.

After I've gone through them all there are normally about twenty or so amazing answers in my short list that I will then ruthlessly cull to get a top five. Depending on how traumatic it has been for me to get to this point I either pull up my big girl pants and pick a winner or palm it off to someone else to choose - either the PR company or Map Guy.

Then I have a look at the name (sometimes I know them but most times I don't) and send them an email full of squee. The reply emails of OMG I WON?! completely make my day.

So it isn't hard to win a giveaway here, but it definitely requires a few minutes of effort. Having said that, some of the prizes for the big giveaway coming up will require you to find an answer on a webpage but I'll STILL be looking for entries that stand out!

Are you a comper? What is the best prize you have ever won?