Tag Archives: WEM

Is it worth giving up work to enter #Competitions? Can you make a living from entering #Giveaways?

Posted in Competition Advice, Competitions, Competitions, Make Money, Save Money by

As a successful comper for almost 15 years, I’ve often been asked why I don’t give up work and concentrate on entering competitions.  But can you make a living from comping?  Can you earn enough from giveaways and promotions to not go to work?

The short answer to this is NO!

I’m sure there may be people out there who would argue this point, as always in life people have different opinions.  But these are my reasons as to why you should not set upon comping as a career, but enjoy it as a (potentially lucrative) hobby.

  • THERE IS NO GUARANTEE YOU WILL WIN – Firstly and most importantly this is what you must realise.  Yes there are ways to improve your chances, (which I share on this blog so do subscribe)!  But you can have very long dry spells even when you enter 100s of competitions daily.  The mortgage or rent still needs to be paid during these times.
  • MINIMAL CASH GIVEAWAYS – Actual real hard cash competitions are few and far between.  It is unfortunately the currency in which you need to pay your mortgage or rent.
  • RESALE VALUE – If you are a very lucky and/or hardworking comper it is likely you will win some high value prizes.  A widescreeen TV, an iPad, maybe even the compers dream of a car.  If you were to sell these items yes it would generate income, but unfortunately not the full rrp.  It is likely if you did win a fabulous prize you’d probably want to keep it for yourself anyway, (I know I do)!
  • HOLIDAYS – Many holidays (and some experiences) are non-transferable and can only be taken by the winner so resale is not allowed, and no income can be generated.  Thats fine you say, you like holidays anyway.  But imagine you’ve just had a call to say you’ve won 2 weeks in Hawaii.  You have to go straight away though, and you haven’t made enough from comping this month to pay the mortgage or rent.  If you go you will miss two weeks work of entering as well.  Its not a situation I would like to be in.
  • AN ADDICTION – Any seasoned comper will tell you entering competitions, if you are so inclined to the hobby, is highly addictive and takes over your life!  We gladly spend hours filling in our details, taking wacky photographs, and coming up with tongue-tastic tiebreakers simply because we enjoy it.  If we could make a living and give up our jobs we definitely would as we’re all a bit bonkers!

Arguably entering competitions is more about saving money than making it.  It would take time and effort to sell on and make profit from the numerous small prizes.  But winning such goods as tea-towels or toiletries saves you from buying them.  I know I’m not alone in gifting some wins which saves on birthdays and at Christmas time.  Even winning a holiday saves on that budget.

Can you make a living from entering competitions?

Can you make a living from entering competitions?

Most people I know who are highly successful in winning put the hours in that would be equivalent to a part, or even full time position.  But they still don’t earn enough to pay the mortgage or rent every month of the year.  They have another guaranteed income stream for that.  Competitions can provide a way for a family on a modest income to have a few luxuries in life, but in my personal opinion there is no such thing as a professional comper.

I hope this has given you a useful insight if you are new to entering competitions and had questions to ask.  For those seasoned compers amongst you it would be great to hear your thoughts?  I have another post planned to discuss the term ‘professional comper’, something I personally find a little irritating!

#Competition Terms / #Comping Definitions / #Comper Acronyms

Posted in Competition Advice, Competitions by

When I first started out entering competitions, almost 15 years ago now, the focus was on postal competitions rather than the web.  There was a lot of terminology that went with the hobby, and still is!  I was a little bamboozled to say the least.  So, for any newbies out there here is a quick guide to some common competition terms you may encounter, along with their definitions.

  • Comper – An individual who enters competitions
  • Comping – The (some might say) art of entering competitions
  • Professional Comper – The Press tend to use this term for very successful compers
  • AIOE – All In One Envelope (a little extinct now but back in the day you would enter multiple competitions from one magazine, for example, by putting all entries in one envelope, isn’t the www a magical thing)!
  • CD – Closing Date
  • DTT – Day Time Telephone
  • E/F – Entry Form
  • FB – Facebook
  • Follow & RT – in reference to a competition on twitter indicating you should Follow the company or individual hosting the giveaway, & RT the competition tweet
  • FPD – Free Prize Draw
  • Like & Share – in reference to a competition on facebook indicating you should Like the page which is hosting the competition & Like & Share the competition post
  • LWE – Long White Envelope (those were lovely days when the postie brought more than bills)!
  • NPN – No Purchase Necessary
  • OOM – Order Of Merit
  • PC – Postcard
  • POP – Proof Of Purchase
  • PPE – Plain Paper Entry
  • SAE – Self Addressed Envelope
  • STD – Spot The Difference
  • TXT – Texting competition ie. Text to Win
  • WEM – Winning E-Mail (more of these please comping fairy)!
  • WTC – Winning Telephone Call

Comping is a hobby which can be very time consuming, but also extremely rewarding.  I sometimes feel I need an assistant though to help me get through all the ones I want to enter!

William

 

If it would make your life easier you can follow me on any of my social media platforms and check out the competitions I am entering:

https://www.facebook.com/sue.mellor.750

http://instagram.com/mesueyouwho

http://www.pinterest.com/MeSueYouWho/

http://www.twitter.com/mesueyouwho

Please feel free to share your accounts below so we can share the comping love!  Also, please do let me know if you have any comping terms to add to the post.

21/05/13 – 21/05/14 Prize Log: Entry 1

Posted in Competitions, Competitions I've won! by

Well, would you believe it………  I’ve only gone and received a WEM today.  For those of you that are non-compers this is a Winning Email, (note to self; post on competition terms would be useful).

A trip to London with £500 spending money, I don’t mind if I do!  It was totally out of the blue and put a very big smile on my face.  I have felt that these past few months I have been neglecting my comping hobby, and I couldn’t even remember entering the competition to be honest!  When I received the email, I thought straight away what great news to share on the blog.  And then I thought…..  wouldn’t it be interesting to see how many competitions I actually win in a year?  When I first started comping I used to keep a log of all entries and wins, I was very efficient.  But over the years I’ve changed computers and juggled jobs, and sadly got out of the habit.

Now I resolve to notify you of all my wins, I think it will be rather fun to see how many ‘entries’ I get up to.  I have started the year from when I made my first post which was actually 2 days ago.  The WEM for your perusal;

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I did a google search to find the competition I had entered.  I was most surprised to find, (given the quality of the prize), that I was infact a runner-up!

http://buenofashion.com/

Win a trip to a fashion capital, New York, Paris, Milan or London @ Kinder Bueno

Win a trip to a fashion capital, New York, Paris, Milan or London @ Kinder Bueno

You and a friend could soon be seeing more of the world in style – 
when you enter our competition to visit one of three amazing fashion capitals.

Grand Prize:
3 x 3 night trips to New York, Milan or Paris for two people including return standard economy flights and accommodation in a 4* hotel to be won.

Of course, fashion’s ‘big four’ are rightfully led by London. And we wouldn’t dream of running a competition without offering the chance to grab a little of our capital’s diverse style.

Which is why 10 runners up will each win a London shopping weekend for 2, with £500 spending money.
Includes return standard economy train tickets to London for the winner and their guest, overnight accommodation in a 4* hotel. 

And the next 100 entries drawn win a £50 Love2Shop voucher.

The competition was a simple prize draw, I only had to complete my name and contact details and the closing date was 30.04.13.

Now!  Can I just have a little ‘get out clause’ on my Prize Log.  When I first started comping I did, (I hold my hand up guys), enter ANYTHING and EVERYTHING going.  But after finding myself receiving items such as a bicycle repair kit, (when I do not even have a bike), and also time factors.  I made the decision to just go for prizes I really wanted.  I do win less, but I win MORE of what I want to win.

Everyone has their own opinions on this, its sometimes nice to give away unwanted prizes as gifts, or even sell them on.  I used to give away lots of tickets when I worked full time as I couldn’t always leave early, or take time off for concerts at short notice.  It did make me popular amongst my friends and it was lovely to hear their stories.  The Comping Fairy brings joy wherever she sprinkles her fairy dust!

Here’s to a successful blogging and comping year, why not leave a comment with your best guess as to how many wins I will be at on 21/05/14.