10 Steps To Increase Your Odds Of Winning Prizes

"Baby Boy, what's the secret of being caller number 9?" That's a question I get asked all the time. So, I'm gonna help you out and give you some insider information that has to stay between us.

I'll start by saying that I DO NOT guarantee by any means that you will win a prize by using the information I'm about to give you. I can say, however, that it will increase your odds.

1. Turn on your radio (Reba reference not intended)

You can’t win as much if you don’t listen. Don’t worry though if you aren’t able to listen at work. There are tons of opportunities to win online at wkdq.com (which I'll cover later). Also, By listening to WKDQ more, you can become more familiar with our patterns. Sometimes we  give things away about the same time every day (Lunch Time Word Of The Day) or after a certain sound plays. If you are familiar with the times, you increase your chances.

2. Try to win

This should have been point number 1, but it’ll do as number 2. You CANNOT win if you don’t try. I have friends who always exclaim “I never win anything!” as if it's unfair or something. The first question I ask them is if they ever try. You WILL not win every time and you will not win MOST of the time, but every time you try, you are increasing your odds. While there are certainly no guarantees, there are a few things you can do to increase your odds.

3. Know YOUR phone and OUR phone inside and out

Ok, Lets break this down. When you call in to WKDQ 1-877-437-5995 (should already be on speed dial) you will be one of three people on our phone pot.  That means when you're caller number 3. I'll have to answer the two other lines, tell them sorry, their call number, and then when I get back to your original line, that person will be caller number 6. How can you use this information to increase your odds? Lets say you happened to be caller number 3 and 6. If you were able to judge your phone's delay (mine's about 6 seconds) and the time between the calls (assuming we are answering at the same speed) your odds of being caller nine have just increased.

4. Get Organized

Take good notes about our different contests. For example, if we announce an upcoming contest, write down the date, time, and location in a calendar. Also write down information like the song or sound you need to listen to hear and any hints or tips we might offer.

5. Set Up Reminders

Set up reminders to warn you ten to fifteen minutes before the contest is about to go live. Email programs such as Outlook, calendar programs, digital watches, and cell phones offer easy-to-use reminders.

6. Be Persistent

Once the contest  goes live, you should call over and over again as quickly as possible. Don't give up if it seems like a lot of time has gone past; sometimes we may wait a while before we start picking winners. Our phones don't ring either and we may not see the red flashing light on the phone, indicating a call.  Don't ever give up until the winner is announced on the air.

7. Use Flash and Redial

You want to be sure to get as many calls in to our station as quickly as possible. If your phone has flash and redial buttons, this will speed up your call time. Flash hangs up the phone more quickly, and redial will save you the time of entering the number by hand or scrolling to your saved speed dial every time. Just be sure that you don't hang up so quickly that you mistake a ring for a busy signal!

8. Use More Than One Phone

If you have two telephones - such as a house phone and a cell phone - available, dial with both at the same time. This will double your odds of getting through.

9. Regular Phones are Faster

I know regular/home phones are almost a thing of a past but, cell phones usually take a little bit longer to dial and to hang up than regular phones. If you have your choice, enter with a regular phone. However, it's better to try to enter with a cell than to have no chance of winning at all!

10. Go Online

We constantly are giving away prizes on the Country Club. By joining, you're increasing not only your odds, but your knowledge on all of the contests we are doing. How? you ask (thanks for asking). We send out what's called an E-Blast, alerting all of our Country Club Members on the latest contest news. Giving detailed information about what you need to do to, when you need to do it, and where it will be. Did I mention that the Country Club is LOADED with prizes? More prizes + more outlets to get them = better odds for YOU.

Bonus: Know The Rules

Remember that once you win a prize you can't win again for 30 days. So, don't try and win a prize now if you know a concert is coming up that you want to win tickets to. Also, like all prizes, you have a week to claim them. So, if you didn't win the prize you want, the person that did win might forget to pick it up (it happens).  "re-gifting" has never been this much fun.

Good Luck and I hope You're our next winner!

Check out some of the contests we have going on here.