Competitions - handy tips!

Comping is one of the cheapest and most rewarding hobbies there is, and if you have Internet access you'll have no trouble finding thousands of wonderful prizes online. In sixteen years I've won more than £200,000 of prizes, including a VW Beetle and around 30 foreign holidays. Comping is a hobby I'm incredibly passionate about, and it's never too late to get started - in fact, my father recently entered (and won!) his first text competition at the age of 82.

There's a huge variety of prize promotions in the UK and you can find many of these listed in Compers News, a monthly subscription-only magazine which I write a regular column for. Competitions and prize draws can be found on products, in magazines, on Facebook and Twitter, in shopping centres and on the radio - running a prize promotion is one of the most popular ways for a company to get themselves noticed, and an enjoyable way to win treats for you and your family.

So how's the best way to start comping? First of all, decide what prizes you want to win. Don't dive straight in and try to enter absolutely everything - you'll feel overwhelmed. Start gradually and then try different types of competition until you find something you enjoy or are successful at.

Email and Web competitions

• You'll get lots of mail once you start comping, so set up a new, short, memorable email address - try www.gmail.com
• In your email software you can set up a 'signature' which will automatically appear at the bottom of your emails - use your name, address, email address and telephone number. This saves you typing it out every time you enter a comp!
• Download the free Roboform software at http://www.roboform.com/download - it will fill online entry forms with a single click, saving you valuable comping time
• Register for free at www.theprizefinder.com - every day about 150 new prize draws and comps are added to the site, and registered members can use their personal tracker to keep a record of entries

Social media competitions

It's easy to sign up for Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest - and even if you plan to use them for nothing more than comping, it's worth the effort. Lots of comps give you bonus entries for tweeting or liking a Facebook page, and it's a simple one-click entry to do either. Entry numbers for social media comps are low compared to website prize draws, so there's a high chance of winning a prize. If you need guidance on getting started and finding competitions, you can view and download free PDF guides to Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest on the Compers News site athttp://www.compersnews.com/comping-guides

In-store and on-pack promotions

Postal competitions

You can still find lots of postal competitions in magazines and newspapers, particularly local ones. If you don't want to buy the individual magazines, you can find national comps posted on online comping websites - or listed in Compers News.

Creative competitions

The harder a competition is to enter, the easier it is to win. This is one of my favourite comping mottos, and about 80% of the comps I win are creative ones. Whether it's photos, recipes, slogans, poems, videos or Pinterest boards, this type of competition can be inspiring, rewarding and fun. If you're interested in creative comps, I share lots of them on my blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/superlucky.co.uk

Comping clubs

There are plenty of local groups of compers that meet regularly to swap entry forms and chat about their latest wins. It's a great morale booster and a lovely way to make new like minded friends. Most online comping sites will have a forum with details of local clubs you can join - or you could try searching at www.google.com.

Top tips

• Try competitions with lots of smaller prizes - you'll have a better chance of a win
• Read the rules - check the closing date and that you've done everything required
• Keep an eye out for quick competitions on Facebook, Twitter and radio stations - some are only open for a matter of hours and won't get many entries at all
• Some instant win promotions give out prizes after a 'winning moment' - if you're up early in the morning you'll have a better chance of winning a prize!

Most importantly, if you're not winning DON'T GIVE UP. Try something different for a while - you could text your local radio station, try Twitter, make some postcards with the grandchildren, and eventually the prizes will start rolling in. Good luck!