“I’m not winning”, “I never win” and “I never have much luck” are all phrases you hear in comping circles. If there are x thousand people entering competitions and y hundred available comps then it stands to reason you may not always get the winning emails you hope for. However there are ways to improve your chances of winning and everyone has their own approach. Some people believe that using competition listing sites like Loquax is a bad idea “because thousands of others are using the same sites and entering the same competitions”. This is in our view quite a flippant throwaway remark and does a disservice to listings sites. You could for example spend time logging your entries, keeping records and saving everything you do in a spreadsheet. Or you could click one “entered” button and review things with our tracker. But each to their own. In this blog we look at some of the reasons why listings site are a good place for compers.
Community Spirit
Competition Listing sites do make the job of finding current giveaways a lot easier, thanks to the unselfish nature of it’s users and the community spirit of sharing that thankfully a number of users have in spades. With a listing site like Loquax at least is numerous eyes looking for prize draws and giveaways. If you go it alone then you’ve really only got the circles you move in to help out. It stands to reason that having a listing on Loquax or similar could and should increase the entry numbers. However that isn’t always the case due to a number of factors: the prize on offer, the format for entry, locality of the prize and brand offering the promotion. During advent 2022 for example the more well known brands such as Argos, Remington and Next regularly topped the lists of most visited sites. Whereas local interest sites, creative comps and those offering small prizes were overlooked. They were still listed here on Loquax though!
Not Everyone Enters Everything
It should also be noted that not every Loquax user enters every listed competition (and we suspect the same applies for other sites). Some users visit specifically for holiday competitions or to see the latest house raffles. Some will happily use Instagram whilst others avoid it like the plague. By just assuming “number of Loquax visitors” equates to every competition listed is not going to be low entry is naive. Furthermore any competition that has a sharing element will ultimately attract more interest from social media users – and therefore compers – then anything else. In fact in our view the reason why most compers don’t win is because of social media. Every share, every retweet and every tag attracts more interest in a pyramid scheme style way. The ever present risk of social media bans also makes compers wary of social platforms.
Low Entry Competitions
Of course a site like Loquax cannot nor will it ever be able to list every single current prize draw running in The UK. So that means there will always be competitions floating around the internet that may not make it on to Loquax or another listing service. But where are these prize draws? In the past a good place to start was by scrolling through #ukgiveaway on Instagram. Similarly you could seek out #ukcompetition and similar hashtags. Then in their infinite wisdom Instagram ruined their own search so to find low entry comps you need to doom scroll. That’s fine if you’ve the time and inclination. If you do have the inclination then it is well worth looking at local companies that are on social media and/or checking out accounts for products you’d like to win. Not every brand is social media savvy and with hashtags being rubbish you may well find low entry competitions if you really dig deep. We add some of low entry (<30 comments when we post) comps to Loquax so they are out there.
Comping As A Community
Finding a low entry competition does mean you probably have a better chance of winning. Although if that competition is listed on Loquax and still low entry how does that equate to advising people to not use listing sites? It doesn’t! In our view you need to probably check every comp you find yourself and make sure it’s not been listed on any listing service before proclaiming it’s a low entry comp which couldn’t be found elsewhere. Still each to their own and that’s the beauty of comping – there are many ways to do it. Loquax is a community site and we’d rather promote an ethos of sharing competitions and supporting each other. If we, or our users, can find low entry competitions – and there were quite a few as we get into the festive season – then that gives other visitors the chance to be winners too. Compers keen on dismissing listing sites are unlikely to share all their comps with you though which makes a listing site a little more generous when it comes to sharing.
Mix It Up
It’s a pretty obvious fact but we’re not going to agree with the “don’t use listing sites” advice. But by the same token are we going to advocate that we’re the be all and end all for comping. Our role is simply to facilitate a community spirit and provide a free platform for sharing competitions and tracking what you’ve entered. It makes the process easier and saves you time. Some folks like that – some don’t! However if you’re not winning or getting frustrated then maybe take a look at what you’re entering – our system allows that – and maybe change your targets. If you’re only entering car and holiday competitions then you’re not going to be winning loads. Look towards food giveaways as there’s loads of them and local prizes and you may find better opportunities. Consider creative comps too over social media share and likes. Do scan through Insta for those low entry comps – if you share them with fellow Loquax users then great – if not then that’s your choice too.
There’s Nothing Wrong With A Listing Site
And ultimately the point we want to make is that there’s nothing wrong with using a listing site. In our case we’re simply making it easier for you to choose what to enter based on what’s been posted. If more people search for comps and share then you have more choice. That’s also better for promoters because they get a bigger audience too. Look deep enough into the Loquax system and you may well find selected comps that attract less entries. Of course do your own searches, use other sites other than Loquax, check Facebook groups, and you’ll find many of the comps listed on Loquax plus some of your own too. Whether they’re for prizes you want to win is another story. In short we’re not overly impressed with compers being told not to use listing sites when the advice should be use listing sites better and/or target your prize choices. The big named brands will attract more entries; the big prizes will attract more entries; easy to enter comps will attract more entries. Consider your choice of giveaway, prize and brand and that opens up new horizons.
Our Top Tips
- Consider the prizes you’re targeting. Are you aiming for big ticket prizes?
- Look at brands too! Smaller brands, new brands, local brands may attract less interest.
- Use the filter system on Loquax to narrow down the prizes listed. It’ll save you time scrolling through everything.
- Enter for prizes you want to win.
- Creative competitions will naturally attract low interest.
- Insta stories sometimes host prize draws so keep an eye out.
- Don’t ignore newsletters – just in case there’s a prize draw included.
- Social media has a lot of giveaways but you will need to scroll more these days
- Local area competitions tend to be lower entry. Keep an eye/ear on local radio, newspapers and brands.
- Special event days (e.g. Valentine’s, Blue Monday) are also good for low entries as many comps go under the radar.
- Follow compers who prefer solo comping. If they’re having to share to enter then you’ll be able to enter too.
- Winning is great but being part of a community and seeing fellow users win from your posts shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Don’t believe the “thousands and thousands” of entries line. It’s not always the case.