Entering Competitions: 7 Winning Tips for Competition Success

Did you know there is a whole world of people who are regularly entering competitions and did you know that this can be a very lucrative and fun side hustle?

I first discovered ‘comping’ the name given to a person entering competitions way back in 2009, when I was on maternity leave with my youngest I found this whole world I knew nothing about. In typical fashion, I threw myself into entering online competitions and found that I was successful.

Entering competitions was the start of my making money online ventures, since then I built up a number of income streams from online working but comping is still one of the most fun! I have even taken part in the Tv show Tipping Point recently as I love game shows and trying to win things!

I was often sat at the laptop comping spending my spare time when the baby slept filling in entry forms and searching out competitions that I could enter. In the short space of a year, I won about £10,000 worth of money and products. I didn’t win a car or holiday (both on husbands wishlist) but I did win some really useful prizes that made a real difference to our lives.

Examples of what I won from entering competitions

This list includes just some of the prizes I won from entering competitions during that first year, Carseat, 2 Travel systems, £1000 cash, Smart trike, countless toys for the kids, play mat, bikes, board games and kitchen equipment.

Plus a few odd ones

Fair trade condoms and a year of Fairy washing Up Liquid

Many of the prizes became Christmas presents, my little niece receiving a scooter and the nephew a trike, these were certainly gifts that I would not have afforded to buy them but I was able to gift them with thanks to entering competitions in my spare time.

Comping Now

After a few years break from entering competitions I have decided to build some time into my week to pick up this hobby or side hustle once more. I started last week and the day after had my first winning notification. After entering competitions on social media I have won some artisan brownies which I can’t to try! I am a super positive person and follow the law of attraction which I know helps me win. I have a strong belief in some of the prizes that I will receive and by putting it out to the universe I know that I am setting things in motion for it to happen.

Top tips for entering competitions

1. You may be wondering where I found all the comps and could be amazed to know that there are in fact websites that act as a portal to many of the competitions.  Loquax was the site I used, as it has a friendly forum and the competition pages are easy to navigate and track what you have entered.  It even has a swap section where you can swap prizes with other winners. Other sites include MSE which is very popular, Prize Finder and Travel Scoop for holiday competitions.
2. Have a system for recording what competitions you have entered. Many offer this as you can ‘like’ the ones you have done. I also try to be a few days ahead of the closing dates as some competitions might end early.
3. Many prolific compers will set up a separate email dedicated to entering competitions as you are often added to mailing lists as one of the entry requirements. Having a separate email for comping enables you to keep things separate.
4. Check your spam email as sometimes notifications may slip through and you don’t want to miss any winning notifications!
5. Look for competitions that require more than just filling in your personal details as those which have entry requirements that are a little more effort will have much fewer entries and this helps increase the odds in your favour.
6. Another good place to start is competitions on blogs as they often have lower entry levels as they normally have lower value prizes.
7. It is all about Maths, well probability really! The more you enter the more likely you are to win. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee you a specific prize but every time I win anything the adrenalin hits and I’m buzzing afterwards!

If you have time give it a go, you may be lucky and find yourself a new side hustle that provides some amazing treats for you and the family. And if you enjoyed this post you will probably love becoming a mystery shopper too! I really have tried it all!

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