What Prizes Can I Win Online?

"You're so lucky, I never win a sausage" is a frequent comment that succesful compers here. If that's you then we can tell for certain that the only way to win a sausage is enter a competition that offers them as prizes. Seriously though, compers, especially those new to the hobby, think they're doing something wrong if they're not winning 100s of prizes after just five minutes of starting the hobby. Actually many seasoned compers also think the same. The thing is, you're probably doing nothing wrong at all. Luck plays a massive part in online comping and you can't control that. In life we can only control the controllables and the same applies to comping.

Before going over what you can control to help your comping let's look at the obvious reasons as to why you may not be winning. The biggest reason is that comping is now an incredibly popular hobby and the odds aren't always going to be in your favour. Just check in on Facebook and Instagram to see how many likes a prize draw post can receive even for the smallest prizes. That should give you an idea of your chances of winning. Some compers like to record their entries to win ratios and it's not uncommon to win a prize for say every 1000 (yes that many) entries you make.

Improve Your Chances Of Winning

Whilst you can't control luck you can control a number of factors to give yourself a better chance of winning. From our own experience with Loquax's prize draws the biggest reasons why people don't win is that they don't enter the competition correctly! This includes entering the wrong details, not following the entry instructions, giving wrong answers, not abiding by the terms and conditions and not replying to winning notifications. Entering the wrong details is a basic error os make sure your email address is correct when filling in forms. There's nothing worse than getting a bounceback when sending out a Winning Email - and yes it does happen.

Make sure you enter competitions correctly. On Facebook, Insta and Twitter we see so many people failing to follow the entry instructions and ultimately they don't get their entry in the draw. No entry means no chance of winning. Similarly some people don't check terms and this can result in disqualification because they've not adhered to the rules. Answers are a bone of contention among comping services. Some will post answers whilst others don't! The problem is that not every answer may be correct. Our advice is do your own research. We've lost count of the number of times we've sent out a winning notification and not had a reply. There must be 100s of promoters in the same boat so do take a few moments each week to check your spam folders.

Read The Rules

All competitions, regardless of whether it's on social media or a website, should link to a set of rules. If you can't see any rules this doesn't necessarily equate to "don't enter" but just be wary. Terms and conditions should be put in place in order to protect you and the promoter. Competition rules can help you can check if the competition is running, whether you can enter, how many entries can be made per person/household and any other conditions the promoter has included (for example word limits on tiebreaker competitions).

In the case of competitions where a purchase may be required to enter, a No Purchase Necessary option may be included in the terms. Some competitions may require you to collect a prize whilst others may require some payment in addition to the prize offered (e.g. mobile phone contracts). Competitions that run on Facebook and Instagram often don't provide too much in the way of terms and conditions. However they often have quite complicated requirements such as tag three friends, like two pages, leave a comment, join our newsletter, dance the hokey cokey etc as their requirements for entry.

The Key To Winning

The key to winning is perseverence. You may need to enter a lot of competitions to get lucky so enter online competitions regularly and keep trying. Make sure you're entering the competition correctly and that you are following the rules. If you're just trying to win a biggie like a car, holiday or TV then that makes being lucky even harder as there are fewer of these kind of competitions available to enter. We suggest that you keep an eye out for competitions that offer loads of prizes (e.g. 50 x Tshirts) and/or go for other smaller prizes you'd like to win. Smaller prizes usually attract lower numbers of entries meaning a better chance of getting that winning feeling.

Seeking out low entry competitions is also a good way to up your win rate. Local newspaper/online and radio competitions can attract low entry levels as can any competition that requires a bit of creativity. For example photo, video or comps that require a bit of thought are often bypassed in favour of easy to enter prize draws. Compers like Di Coke love creative comps because they require a bit of effort, have decent prizes and don't attract that many entries. Guess why she is a successful comper? Finding low entry competitions online can be tougher but it's not impossible if you're willing to spend the time looking.

How To Keep Going

Going through a long dry spell is probably the biggest reason why people give up entering competitions. It can be a frustrating pastime, but it also has many rewards and is ultimately fun whether you're a winner or not. But how do you keep going when the wins just aren't coming in? Firstly look at how you're comping. Maybe try Twitter or Instagram if you've been concentrating on Facebook. Perhaps be adventurous and consider getting creative? Sometimes quality over quantity is better but other times it might be worth entering a few more comps just to give yourself a boost. At other times less maybe more so that your day is not spent in front of a computer.

You can also gain inspiration and encouragement from other compers who are winning. New wins are posted daily on Loquax in The Winners Post! Don't forget to check the Winner's Lists - you might have won and didn't know about it. Plus keep an eye on your junkmail or spam filters - winning emails can get lost and you may be not know of your success. There's also no reason why you can't just take a break. Comping shouldn't be a chore or something stressful. If you feel you need time out then step away from the hobby for a while. They'll still be plenty of chances to win when you return.