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This giveaway has been LOOONG due.  In October 2011, I crossed 5,000+ subscribers, a milestone way beyond my expectations when I first started blogging. Last month, I exceeded 6,000.

So in celebration of surpassing 6,000 subscribers I am giving away four prizes to four random lucky winners.  I have been planning this contest out for a while now and albeit a bit late, here it is . . .

What Am I Giving Away?

$1,500 Cash to the Main Winner

1 Brand New Apple iPad 2 (16GB) with a Case – I will order this from Apple and have it delivered to your address in the color of your choice.

The iPad 2 has well over 80% market share in the US tablet market and although the iPad 3 is rumored to come out soon, I didn’t want to prolong this giveaway any further.

1 Free Vacation – This is a free certificate I won by promoting a particular product. I will not be using this certificate as I have plenty of trips already scheduled and paid for.

This certificate entitles you to a 4 day, 3 night vacation stay (Hotel room) in most locations, and a 3 day, 2 night stay in over 30 selected locations.

Locations include places like Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Cancun, Mexico and more.

1 $25 Amazon Gift Card – I will order this from Amazon and email you the certificate

TOTAL VALUE: $2,000 +

Where are the Goods Coming From?

I am paying for the Apple products and the Amazon gift card out of my pocket. Although I have not aggressively monetized this blog, I have managed to make a decent amount, more than enough to fund this round of giveaways. I hope to continue to give away more down the road.

I also receive plenty of freebies just from day to day affiliate marketing activities that my (now over 20) niche websites participate in. For example, if I refer the most leads in a given month to Vendor A, they may send me a prize at the end of the month. Many vendors run all kinds of contests of their own to encourage boost in activity. I have received video games, iPods, bicycles, gift baskets and all sorts of goodies over time from these promotions.

Why Am I Giving Out Over $2,000 in Freebies?

There are a few reasons why I am doing this contest now.  Although I never had doubts about persevering in the blogosphere, I didn’t really do anything for my one year anniversary which is a notable milestone that I really should celebrate. In addition, the blog surpassed 5,000 readers, another milestone worthy of celebration which I quietly ignored.

It is important for me to keep in perspective that when we work to earn a few dollars, we spend a few of them acquiring goods and services we need and want. Who we pay turns around and does the same.  This simple exchange of goods and services makes the world go round. I make some, I give some, I make some more and I give some more. It’s what we call economy.

Similarly, being on the receiving end of many of these freebies, I’d like to give away some of them away in exchange for more exposure, which leads to more opportunity to win more freebies down the road for everyone involved.

Why do I want exposure? The primary attribute of my blog’s success is the readership community – You! I have exceeded all my expectations since starting this blog so THANK YOU! I truly mean that.

So here is to the next 5,000 readers which I want to achieve in the next 18 months.  And as a small gesture from my end representing my appreciation for your support, I will continue to periodically host more contests and giveaways.

You can expect similar prizes in future contests.

How to Win in the Contest

This is an action based contest in the sense that your chances to win are based on the number of actions you take.  Each action equates to a certain number of entries into the raffle drawing (excel spreadsheet).  At the end of the contest I will randomly (really systematically) select three winners from this pool (more on how below).  Here are the actions you can take to gain entries to the raffle:

Subscribe to my updates via email (earn 2 entries)

This is not the same as subscribing to my RSS feed.  To subscribe to my blog updates via email, use the sign up box on the upper left hand side of the blog.  All existing subscribers will be imported to the excel spreadsheet to ensure you also get the 2 entries.

“Like” this contest post on Facebook (1 Entry)

“Like” this post and then tell me you did it in the comments below. It can’t get any easier than this as I have a like button readily available on the right hand side.

“Like” the Extra Money Blog on Facebook (1 Entry)

“Like” the Extra Money Blog Facebook Page and tell me you did it in the comments below. Can’t get easier as the link above takes you to the Facebook page.

Google Plus (1 Entry)

Use the side bar on the right hand side and Plus One this post. Tell me about it in the comments section below for 1 entry.

Tweet this contest (1 Entry)

You can use the bar on the right side to tweet or retweet this post. Tell me you did in the comments section for 1 entry.

Follow Me on Twitter (1 Entry)

Scroll all the way to the top where you will see a Twitter icon to the right hand side. Click this icon and it will take you to my Twitter page. Follow me on Twitter, tell me about it in the comments section below and earn 1 entry to the contest.

Recommend another subscriber (5 Entries)

This one takes some effort, but if you are successfully able to recommend a new email subscriber (not yourself) to this blog, I will give you 5 additional entries to the contest. I want you to tell me that you referred someone in the comments section below if you did. However, send me a personal email and include the name and email ID of the person you referred to me. I will need this for my audit (read below).

Mention this contest on your website or blog (3 Entries)

This also takes a little more effort so I am giving 3 entries for this action.  Mention this contest with a link to this post on your blog or website. Tell me you did in the comments section below and earn 3 entries. To be fair to everyone, if you don’t own a website or blog, mention this contest somewhere else online (this could be your Facebook or Twitter page, another blog or forum online) and link to it in the comments section below so I can verify it during my audit (more on the audit below). This option is only available to you if you don’t own your own website or blog.

Tell me how many of my niche websites I have mentioned on this blog (8 Entries)

This one can be challenging hence the 8 entries. I own several niche websites and have mentioned a good number of them on my blog over the last year and a half or so.  Tell me which ones I have mentioned and I will give you 8 additional entries to the contest.

Maximum number of entries you can get to the contest = 23!!!

IMPORTANT: Comment in the comment section below (1 EXTRA Entry) – In the comment section below, tell me which of the above actions you have taken so I can give you the appropriate number of entries.   If you are reading this on a reader or in your inbox, you can hit reply to the email and send me your answers that way, or you can visit this post online and leave a comment. You get an additional entry for providing your responses by commenting on the blog itself in the comments section below.

Contest Details

I will keep this contest open for a period of four weeks beginning today and ending on the 28th day from today at midnight Pacific Standard Time.  At that time all entries will be uploaded into a spreadsheet in no specific order.

Once entered, I will select the winners in order from the fourth prize working up to the grand prize (Apple Ipad 2) using the random.org program. I will announce the winner in a subsequent post following the 28 day contest period.

Important Note: Unless otherwise specifically stated in the future, this is the only time I will be announcing a winner publicly on my blog. In all future promos, contests and giveaways I will make the announcement via my newsletter. I am doing this to incentivize you to stay subscribed. I hope you stay on.  Future contests may also be announced via Facebook and Twitter as I get more involved with social media later this year.

All Winners Will Be Audited

In the interest of fairness to everyone, I WILL AUDIT EACH WINNER OF THE CONTEST. What do I mean by that? For example, if a reader comments that he or she did X,Y & Z and earned 10 entries as a result and I happened to pick them as one of the winners, I will go back and ensure that they did each and everything they said they did to earn those 10 entries.

For example, if they Liked this blog on Facebook, I will check to see that they did. If they subscribed to the newsletter, I will check to see if their information is in my list.  If I am not able to reconcile the activity, I will disqualify the reader from the contest.

IMPORTANT: Unless I am familiar with your email ID from personal interaction or regular interaction on my blog, I will email the winner personally using the email ID provided to subscribe to my newsletter (prior to  announcing who you are on the blog).  I need to do this so I know your name and can announce it on the blog.  If I don’t hear within 48 hours, I will disqualify the winner and select another one.  Another reason to stay honest and fair to everyone.

I can’t believe I am finally doing this. I am very excited about giving these freebies away. Once again, I thank you very much for enabling this blog’s success. I hope you win. And if you don’t this time, I hope you win next time, or the time after that, or after that . . .

All the best to you!

Sunil
Giving

Special thanks to the Yakezie Network for inspiring this giveaway contest. Several Yakezie members have successfully run similar promotions. Thank you everyone for your inspiration and support.

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