When you enter a sweepstakes, you won’t gain any extra chances to win by sending a note to the sponsor. “Just wanted to know how the contest is coming along” notes quickly make their way to the trash can. The same is true for notes asking how the entries are coming in, how many have arrived, etc. However, there are appropriate times to contact your sweepstakes sponsor. Sending a note at the right time to the right address will mean a lot to the sponsor.

For instance, if you believe the sweepstakes has been conducted in an improper manner, please do the sponsor the courtesy of passing along your complaint. Read the fine lines in the sweepstakes rules. There should be an address listed in which to mail concerns or complaints. If there is not an address listed, contact the president of the company directly. You may have to do a little investigative leg work to find out who that is and where to send it, but if you have a real complaint it will be worth your time and effort.

One legitimate complaint would be if your sweepstakes entry was part of a direct mail package that did not reach your house until days after the sweepstakes had expired. In a situation like that, the sweepstakes sponsor probably would not make special exceptions to add your and others’ entries, but it would let the sponsor know that his promotions company failed him. When sponsors pay big money to give away a nice grand prize, then pay a company to promote the sweepstakes for them, the process gets to be an expensive one. The last thing the sponsor needs is the reputation of being delivered late, which is a risk when contest entries are delivered after the entry deadline has ended.

Another complaint would be if you are trying to complete an online entry application, but keep having technical difficulties. Make sure that the problem is not on your end. If it is a problem the company is having with the sweepstakes eb page, report it to the web master listed on the sweepstakes website or drop a note in the mail or e-mail to the company.

Another time it is acceptable to write to a sweepstakes sponsor is to thank them for sponsoring the contest. Always wait until the contest is over, then send your thank you card or note to either the company president or to its marketing director. They are likely the two people who decided to host the sweepstakes. The number of entries received will help the marketing department determine the success of the sweepstakes. A thank you note would be icing on the cake.

Please always be sure to take a moment to send the sweepstakes sponsor a thank you note if you have won a prize in the contest. Again, send it to the president of the sponsoring company or to the company’s marketing director. Your gratitude will be appreciated by those who made the decision to sponsor the sweepstakes and you will be showing your appreciation to them as well.