Top Tips For Comping From a Professional Competition Winner

top comping tips

*Asterisks set out in this article relate to advertising and they indicate that the author receives a small share of sales through the related link.*

Today I am really excited to have a guest post from the amazing Di Coke who runs the blog Super Lucky. She has been comping for almost 20 years and shares prize-winning tips over on her blog. Some of Di’s favourite wins include: VW Beetle (my dream car too!), 3 week Lord of The Rings trip to New Zealand, a trip to the Brazilian Grand Prix and more!
I read out Di’s favourite wins out to my partner and he immediately queried why I am not a professional comper too – and I cannot think of an answer!

Earlier this year I won a competition for tickets to watch Little Mix in concert who are my daughters favourite band – we were so excited when we won them and it was lovely to take her there. All I had done was answer a question from a TV advert that I had seen and send it via email, so it was really simple but I had a good feeling about it.

Whilst it does require some work, Di is here to share her top tips for winning competitions – she certainly knows what she is talking about! I am definitely going to start entering competitions, and I love the tips she has for us.

If you are feeling inspired to start entering competitions now, I have one for you! We are giving away a copy of Di’s fab book Super Lucky Secrets where she shares 100 tips for comping. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page (UK only).
This competition has now closed but you can purchase a copy of Di’s book here:
SuperLucky Secrets: 100 tips for winning competitions, contests and sweepstakes*

Here are Di’s top tips for winning competitions:

1. Only enter for prizes you want
Don’t waste time entering for anything and everything – with a bit of focus, you’ll find the hobby more enjoyable and manageable. Write a wishlist and concentrate on winning those prizes – search Google and Twitter using “win competition” and your chosen prize, and check competition listings websites like MSE and Loquax. A great tip is to filter Google search results – click Search Tools to restrict to the UK and to the last week to find new comps, and you can even save the search as a bookmark to use regularly.

2. Try photo, video and ’tiebreaker’ competitions
The harder it is to enter, the easier it is to win. I keep a list in date order of ‘effort’ comps, and I copy links onto my list as soon as I see them!
Get into the habit of creating a gallery of photos on your phone specifically for competitions – smiling snaps of you, your partner and kids are always useful for comps, and for occasions like Christmas and Halloween make sure you have all your seasonal photos ready to go.
These days, winners of a creative competition are often picked at random rather than judged, so even if you’re unsure of your skills it can be worth a go!

3. Enter local promotions 
Look out for comps in local shopping centres, newspapers, free magazines, and especially on the radio – they get very few entries. In addition, find and follow your favourite local businesses on Facebook and Twitter to see if they’re running comps.

4. Comp on your mobile
Promotions on mobile apps like Twitter, Instagram and Wamo don’t get as many entries as most Facebook and web prize draws – and they’re easy to enter on-the-go. Squeeze comping into any spare moments – if you’re stuck in a queue or waiting at school, do a quick Twitter search for new comps and whizz through them.

5. Try winning moment promotions
A ‘winning moment’ promotion is an instant win competition where you can increase the odds of winning a prize by choosing your entry time carefully. Essentially, a computer randomly picks ‘winning moments’ throughout the promotional period, and if you’re the first person to enter after a winning moment, you get the prize.
For most winning moment promotions, you’ll have to make a purchase (you’ll need a unique code from packaging, or receipt details) but some are free to enter. They could be hosted on mobile apps (eg. Blippar, Pepsi Max), Facebook pages or websites – or even be text entry!
Check terms and conditions carefully – if it’s a 24 hour promotion, try entering between 1am and 6am for the best chance of a win (because nobody else will be entering at such crazy hours!).
If it’s 9am – 9pm it’s a bit trickier to choose a good time, but generally – avoid times when people are on work breaks or snacking, with a promotional pop bottle or crisp packet in front of them!.

6. Read the rules
It’s obvious, but a lot of people race through Facebook and Twitter competitions without even checking if they’re still running – or open to UK residents.
Reading the rules is especially important for comps where you need to make a purchase or do something creative – if something’s not clear, ask the promoter to clarify before you enter.

7. Keep your inbox tidy
Once you’re comping regularly, you’ll receive a ton of emails every single day, so clear them as quickly as you can. Avoid joining newsletters where possible, and NEVER tick boxes to share your details with a third party.
Set Rules up in your mail software that flag up any email with ‘Congratulations’ or ‘winner’ in it – and search your inbox and junk folders every couple of days in case a WEM (winning email) has been missed.

8. Enter blog giveaways
A lot of people don’t understand how blog giveaways work, and are terrified of Rafflecopter and Gleam! They’re actually an easy way for a blogger to host a giveaway and choose a random winner quickly.
Generally, you don’t need to do all the tasks to enter – just do the ones you can. Ignore the ‘total number of entries’ at the top of the widgets too – for some giveaways each individual entrant can earn a hundred entries so it’s not a fair representation of the number of entrants, which can be less than 20!
Find hundreds of blog giveaways on the SuperLucky monthly linky.

9. Enter promotions with lots of smaller prizes
It might not be a dream DisneyWorld holiday, but winning small prizes like aprons, tea towels and vouchers will keep you enthusiastic about the hobby.
Look out for comps that offer 100 prizes a day, or try the Quidco and Topcashback giveaways when you can win thousands of cashback prizes instantly.

10. Have fun!
Don’t take it too seriously – comping is a cheap, fun hobby where the prizes are a bonus! Stay positive, be friendly, and congratulate others on winning. If you’re going through a dry spell, don’t give up – try something different. Join Instagram, try some Google searches or do some fun photo comps! You’ll soon be back on track.

Enter the competition below to win a copy of Di’s Super Lucky Secrets book (UK only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

competition comping tips

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