How To Win Competitions
I'm Lynne Hargreaves and I would like to share some of the comping secrets that have helped me win £250,000 worth of prizes.
A lot of people just think I'm lucky, but that's not the case; you've got to know how to find the competitions that give you the best chance of winning – and of course you have to actually enter them. My first win was a modest pack of crayons, then some playing cards - my friends and family laughed then. But I kept at it and since those early days I've won everything from cash and cars to luxury holidays.
Here are my Top Tips for Winning
- You've got to be in to win!
- Stick to the rules
- Never say never
- Write great slogans
- Be organised
- Be in the know
You've got to be in to win
Prize competitions are everywhere. Even if you don't make a point of looking out for them, you probably still notice them. At any given time, there are probably THOUSANDS of competitions and prize draws on the go throughout the UK! And the chances are that if you take a little more time to look out for these winning opportunities, then the prizes really will start coming your way. Why am I so confident? Well, believe it or not, entries to competitions - especially those where an element of skill is involved - are on the way down these days, while the number of valuable prize opportunities remains very high. In fact, it's not unusual for a competition with a large number of prizes to have more prizes than entries... so make the effort to enter, and sometimes your success is guaranteed.
So my first tip is the most important one for any potential winner. If you don't enter a competition, then it's 100% certain that you won't win a prize. But if you DO enter, then who knows?
Stick to the Rules
The small print for any competition is very important, so you should always get into the habit of reading it thoroughly. Never fall into the trap of thinking that, since the writing's so small then it can't be important. Trust me - nothing could be further from the truth!
Pay special attention to the closing date of the competition and look out too for any entry restrictions. If the competition has a skill task, answering a question perhaps, then read the instructions carefully to make sure there's not a 'trick'.
I've heard of competitions where less than one-third of entries have made it through to the judging stage. The rest were disqualified for, in most cases, the most minor Rules infringement. So if you want to improve your own winning chances, it couldn't be easier to give yourself a flying start. Simply read the rules!
Never say never
The 'comping' scene is always changing, but it's very easy for even regular 'compers' to get stuck in a rut. A decade ago, the most common forms of competition were slogan contests, postcard draws, and other skill tasks such as orders-of-merit, estimations or seeing how many words you could make from a given phrase.
I opened a letter and to my amazement it said I had won £3,000 in travel vouchers in the Co-op 'Uncle Bens' Competition.
I had been comping for three years and only won a fitness DVD, a bottle of perfume, a paperback book and a T shirt. Not that I am complaining, because I always kept saying the "Big One" is coming.
About a week later I received a voucher for £3,000 and in Feb 2006 I went on a two week cruise to the Caribbean and in October a weeks cruise to the Mediterranean.
If I ever had any doubts about entering competitions, it went away after I received the letter from Uncle Ben's. I will never give up now and have realised a dream. "I have always wanted to go on a cruise and thought I never would, but two in six months is just unbelievable.
"I am thankful for any win which complements what is for me, the best hobby in the world". Philip Denham from Yorkshire.
Write great slogans
The type of competition that gets by far the fewest number of entries these days is one that needs a slogan. Which means that if you make an effort to enter a slogan comp, then your chances of a win are statistically the best ever!
Don't think that you can't write a slogan. Even seasoned comping pros will tell you that they've probably won as many prizes with last minute efforts as they have with entries that they've spent a lot of time on. The simple fact is that no-one knows what judges might be looking for. Indeed, they might prefer a charming 'amateur' effort from the heart compared to a more professional sounding line - so EVERYBODY really does stand a chance in a slogan competition.
Some slogans - known as 'chestnuts' - win prizes over and over again. "Experts perfect them, connoisseurs select them" is probably the most famous chestnut of all, and this continues to win prizes to this very day. A generic, 'one size fits all' slogan like this remains the Holy Grail for slogan writers, but don't be put off if you think that this sounds out of your league. Just try to praise the product and promoter, tie this in with the prize on offer to make the line 'apt and original', and you won't be going far wrong. Judges today also tend to prefer rhyming slogans, so perhaps write the headings 'Product', 'Promoter' and 'Prize', write down all of the related words you can think of in each column, and if you're lucky a rhyme or recurring theme will jump out. It's easier and much more fun than it sounds - honest!
Be organised
Organisation and strategy will make your comping hobby easier and more fun. In fact, for some people, keeping records on what competitions they've entered and ticking them off when the prizes roll in is all part of the excitement! But even if spreadsheets aren't your idea of fun, once again there are plenty of little things that you can do to improve your chance of a prize.
Most importantly, make sure that you never miss a closing date - visit the closing soon section of this site. If multiple entries are allowed in a competition and you fancy extra attempts, then plan to spread these out right up until the closing date.. Don't be fooled by a long closing date... I've known them to sometimes disappear within a week. The shorter the closing date, the lower the number of entries there'll be!
Be in the know
The final tip is to make sure you know about as many competitions that are running at any one time.
In order to be a successful comper, you need to enter as many competitions as possible.
