Congratulations!  You're in a voting/referral contest and we want to help you win.  Here are some tips for what to put in your request:

*The name of the sweep with a quick description of what the contest is for, like cutest baby or messiest garage.

*A link to the sweep.  The closer you can get us to the voting page, the better.  If you can't link directly to your entry, tell us that you're "photo #4" or "Mary Q. from Wisconsin" so that we can find your entry.

*How often can we vote for you?  Once?  Daily?  Unlimited?

*When does the contest end?

*Please return the favor by supporting other SA members with their vote requests.  With a lot of the voting contests, after you vote, it will tell you what the vote tally is, or say something like "vote recorded 04-14-2007, 2:53pm".  If you can, copy this line into your "I voted" post to verify that you really did vote.

*It's really uncool to post "I voted" notes if you didn't vote.  You're not obligated to vote for anyone, so if you are not participating, simply remain silent.  Most of us would never claim to vote when we hadn't, but sometimes a person who is eager for support will save time by saying that a vote has been cast when it really wasn't.

*Tip - go into your Profile and post a quick "please vote for my kitty!" request along with a link in your signature block.  This will display the request every time you post a note.  When the contest ends, please remember to update your signature.

*Also, remember to check page 2 of the thread.  Sometimes there are a lot of requests and some go to page 2 depending on the number of contests running.

*You can send PM's to friends about your voting contest, but do not use the Personal Message system to send out random mass mailings.  This will earn you more negative feedback than votes.

*Did you win?  Let us know!

 

When a voting contest is over, I like to change the Subject line to add "done" or "over" 
I also modify the thread to "lock" it so that you can see by a glance not to bother opening it!


z

Wondering why nobody is voting for you?

TIP: Just posting an ask - especially if you are new {but have been here at least 2 weeks} - won't get many responses/votes if you don't show you are willing to vote.

You'll get people to respond to your ask if you post {after you vote for their asks} in the other threads in this forum - you know, quid pro quo - then they will reciprocate.

If you are voting for others, please post.

Lately we've had quite a few who come to SA only for votes, OR referrals, and who'd leave shortly after, without returning votes, so us regulars are leery of voting for people we don't "know" - it's nothing personal


Waiting for your 2 weeks to pass before you can ask for votes?

You are allowed to give a "heads up" by posting that you are new, and that you will be asking for votes when your 2 weeks are up - just post and vote for those asking now - it will establish that you will return votes, so that when you are allowed to post your ask, people will gladly vote for you

*You can send PM's to friends about your voting contest, but do not use the Personal Message system to send out random mass mailings.  This will earn you more negative feedback than votes and you will be BANNED.