Loquax's Top Tips For Compers!

We all like the idea of winning something for free and thanks to the internet a few minutes effort of sending in an email, sharing a post on social media or getting creative could win you prizes ranging from cash to cars, holidays to hats and an assortment of gadgets and goodies. The good news is that there are 100s of competitions with new ones being added every day to sites like Loquax. By the way we don't run the competitions - we just list them! The bad news is that to be a regular winner you're going to need to put a bit of effort in!

This may sound a little bit tedious - and to be fare it can be. But away from the thrill of winning, comping is also a sociable hobby. Our comping community can be found on the Loquax Forums plus there are plenty of other online and offline comping groups. Online comping is also fun. By entering competitions you get to visit a whole range of websites, and this is a great way to surf the net and learn new things! Whilst we can't guarantee prizes we think you'll enjoy comping more by using our top tips below.

1. Be Selective With Your Entries

Some comping guides and compers will suggest the best way to win is to "enter everything". In many respects this is true as the more comps you do the more chance you have of luck comping your way. But we think this is bad advice. Our view is that from the get go you should just enter competitions for the prizes you'd like to win. The Loquax Prize Directory lists competitions in prize categories and this enables you to target your efforts. Additionally we have listings based on Type Of Competition which means you can select to do comps by social network or format.

2. Read The Rules - Don't Get Disqualified

Rules are tedious but in comping they're also very important. As is reading the entry requirements! A lot of compers fail at the first hurdle by not reading the rules or getting questions wrong or not doing as the promoter asks (e.g. liking a page, sharing a post). Make sure you don't get disqualified by not paying attention. Read the competition information, check your answers, complete your details and make sure you've read the rules. You can't win if your entry is in the bin.

3. Be Positive - PMA Is Key

Our research suggests that the number of entrants for a lot of competitions is often between 500 to 5000 - so the chances of winning a prize are still reasonably quite good. Of course the bigger the prize (e.g. a car) or website (e.g. ITV) the more people will enter. In general the harder the competition to enter (e.g. Video & Creative comps) the lower the number of entries. What ever you do, don't ever think you won't enter a competition because you have no chance of winning. You do. A lot of compers swear by vision boards - prize targets that they hope to achieve. Will PMA guarantee you wins? Unfortunately not but it does make the hobby more enjoyable and avoids the lows of missing out on prizes.

4. Enjoy The Success Of Others

If you don't enter competitions - you can't win - that's a simple fact. So if you do enter then you have a chance of winning. Be positive, perservere, and take encouragement from the fact that people do win competitions. Strange as it may seem you can get enjoyment and encouragement from other people's wins! There are some fantastic stories on Loquax and a lot of inspriration from real people winning real prizes. You can see who's having a good month with our top winners - perhaps you'll be on there next?

5. Don't Try And Do It All!

We've said this a few times but the arrival of social media changed comping dramatically. Not only has it meant 100s of competitions per week but entrants often can gain entries for the same prize across different platforms. But what if you don't use Twitter, Instagram or Facebook? What if you can't do all the competitons listed? Don't worry about it. Comping isn't a race to enter as many competitions as humanly possible. Set aside some time to do your hobby, focus on what you can do, and don't worry about what you can't.

6. Enjoy Your Comping - It's Meant To Be Fun

The key, in our opinion, to comping is simply to enjoy it! It's a great hobby with the added bonus of the chance of winning some exciting prizes. If you participate on our forums or chat with other compers via social media you can also enjoy friendship and chat too. By sharing opportunities to win as a community, celebrating the highs and supporting each other through the lows, it makes life better and it makes comping better.

7. Sort Out A Dedicated Email Address

When you enter competitions via websites you usually give them your details such as email address. What this means is that the promoter may then want to let you know about other competitions and offers. This isn't spam unless you have said "no" to receiving these emails. If you enter a lot of comps you will get a lot of promo emails so set yourself up with a dedicated comping account. We suggest avoiding including "comps" or other competition terminology in the email address. Promoters shouldn't be swayed by such things but you just never know. Our favoruite option for emails is Gmail.

8. Join Loquax

Ok we're a little bit biased with this one but why not. We've been listing competitions for 20+ years now and are still regarded as one of the best sites for compers. Our service is free, we have a tracking facility, multiple ways that you can list competitions (new today, closing soon, a to z, prize type, competition type etc) and options to hide comps you don't want to see. We also have a community of like minded folk who are happy to share comps and occasionally have a chat. It's not as fast and furious as social media but it's a welcoming home for many.