It's not really so much of a make money thing on those contests. They're mainly used for practice, or to give you idea for a theme for a template, so when you don't win you can sell it for more later, lol.

The people who run these contests aren't usually graphic / web designers so usually the outcome isnt based on a "which design has better aesthetics, navigation, standards compliancy, etc. but rather on what the contest holder seems to like.