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When Commenters Don't Follow The "Rules"

Alrighty, recently I've come across some interesting items I thought I'd throw out for us to discuss.

I have a gal who regularly leaves comments on my giveaways w/out doing either the requirement, or not doing it all the way, or some random thing. I email her each time and explain to her that I have to delete her comments unless x, y, and/or z are done. Sometimes she even comments on reviews that aren't giveaways.

I have people who do their own "extra entry" like: subscribing to my blog when it's not an entry, but they're counting it as one; tweeting when it's not an extra, that sort of thing. Do you contact these people?

What happens when someone wins an item, but doesn't get back to you within several days. Do I need to have a certain time period, such as 48 hours (which I just started doing) or do I not worry about it? I've only had it happen 2x that people haven't emailed me back...until I've given their giveaway to someone else, of course. Both times they were legitimate reasons: 1 gal was out of town for a week and this past week a gal had been sick for several days and hadn't been online. I felt TERRIBLE. Do you have a time period that winners have to get back to you, and why? Is it necessary? Should I care if it's a week later or am I just impatient?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Mimi @ Woven by Words

Tags: commenters, guidelines, rules

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Permalink Reply by This Mama Works It! on February 17, 2010 at 10:38pm

I agree with Michele. Your blog your rules! Just make sure they are clearly defined and posted. And when you email them they won let them know the rules again for claiming prize.

www.thismamaworksit.com

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 18, 2010 at 2:30pm

If that happens I say just delete the "entry". It's their loss, they're the one who was stupid and didn't follow rules.

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Permalink Reply by Mimi on February 18, 2010 at 2:42pm

Hey Jenny. I totally delete their entries. It's so baffling to me! I mean, it's all right there in front of them! hahaha

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Permalink Reply by Francisca on February 18, 2010 at 6:37pm

Hello Mimi I agree with you, it's not your fault after the giveaway has ended to claim prize and they didn't do so for whatever reason. Rules are rules and I understand why a person can get impatient. You just want to move on and do another giveaway.

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Permalink Reply by Storm on February 18, 2010 at 8:24pm

I delete them. Why should I allow someone to get an entry in who's clearly not reading the post? I have one that always puts "I want to win"

Well, if you want to win so bad, follow the directions! They're not that hard! :)

Most of the time, I give 48 hours for winners to get back to me. I usually wait until the next day if it's been the weekend before re-drawing, just to be sure their email isn't slow getting back to me, if "stuff happens", or maybe they only have internet access at work.

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Permalink Reply by karenmed409 on February 18, 2010 at 8:26pm

You shouldn't need to bend rules for a select few! Stick to your rules!

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Permalink Reply by Kristen on February 18, 2010 at 8:29pm

I state in any giveaways that I do that if the required entries (if there are any) aren't done....then their entries don't count. I used to e-mail them but I don't anymore. I know it may seem rude to some but hey...they are stated there...in plain black and white. If they don't read them...not my fault. They've been warned. I have never had the issue with people not replying as far as winners to a giveaway...so I can't really help there (Sorry!) but I do state 48 hours. I too would feel horrible if someone was sick or something and couldn't get back to me though!

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Permalink Reply by forgetfulone on February 18, 2010 at 8:36pm

I think comments on review posts that aren't giveaways are fine! Hey, you're getting traffic, and that's what your sponsors want.

Second, I don't contact anyone from a giveaway post if they haven't met the requirements. I just delete their comment. I don't have time to contact them to tell them they didn't do x, y, or z. If they had cared, they would have followed the rules. Their loss. Obviously, it didn't matter to them. And if they enter a second time when a second entry isn't allowed, I just delete that entry, not the first one. But contacting them to tell them? I'm not going there! My time, and yours, is valuable.

I usually give the person three days to contact me. If I still haven't heard from them, I might give them one more email (emails get lost) and one more day) illness and vacations happen, and yes, people enter even when they know they're going on vacation). So, that's my UNofficial policy. I prefer to hear back right away, and that is my impatience, but these things work for me. Find what works for you and don't sweat the small stuff! Best of luck!

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Permalink Reply by Virginia on February 18, 2010 at 10:10pm

I agree with Jenny. We delete entries if the person did not follow directions. We have had people enter our giveaways that were clearly titled (Closed). LOL. People don't follow directions or look at giveaway start/dates.

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Permalink Reply by Mimi on February 18, 2010 at 10:58pm

Oh, I definitely LOVE comments. *grin* I was just saying that you can tell when someone is leaving comments and adds one that isn't part of the "Extra Entries".

Since I've only had 2 people in the 2yrs I've had a blog not respond to my emails, I don't mind trying to reach them. Both times, they've been legitimate reasons, but the time had expired. Of course I felt TERRIBLE!! This last time, I emailed her 2x and left a comment on her blog.

I figured my email went into her SPAM and she doesn't moderate her comments so probably hadn't even seen my comments.

I guess in a way I don't really mind when people don't get back to me right away. I think my biggest fear is that I will forget about it! hahaha

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Permalink Reply by Heather MarineCorpsNomads on February 19, 2010 at 1:27am

I agree with everyone else here. It's not fair to those that follow the rules if you bend the rules for a select few. I wouldn't bother to email them. Just hit delete and move on...

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Permalink Reply by Mimi on February 19, 2010 at 2:00pm

hahahaha, Oh, you are soooo not the only one. You're right, I will at least give them a week. After I had sent this last gal my 2nd email, I realized, what if she's in that snow storm and has no power or something. Then I started the 2nd guessing game. Should I email her and tell her never mind. Will she now think I'm a total dork? Etc.

After she emailed me back, I sent her an email telling her I'd already notified the next person, but offered to send her one of my books that I have in my giveaway pile. I haven't heard back from her. I may have lost a follower. I don't know. Still feel bad, but what's done is done, and I'm not going to hang on to it. :)