Intro to Comping

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What is Comping?

Compers are people that take competitions very seriously. They actively seek out mass quantities of contests, prize draws and raffles to earn themselves winnings. Who doesn't like to win things?

I don't think there's ever been a time when more competitions have been run. Social media has made things so much easier for brands to reach the public – especially new ones – and it's got to the point where there's a non-stop supply of competitions flooding Facebook and Twitter.

The fact that there are so many (and that number is only getting greater) means that it's increasingly accessible for new people to get into. Once you win your first one – or your first big one – you will get the bug.

What's in it for Me?

Lots and lots of free things. Days out, hotel stays, high end electrical, practical homeware, toys, cars, year-long supplies of food, holidays, luxury goods, and cash money. And that's just some of it.

This is why this has been placed in the earnings section. I get that compers do this for fun, but I'm only in it to get free things to resell. I'll take the other fun things if they come my way, but sourcing Amazon FBA and eBay stock for free is great. Not only will you come across physical products, but also actual cash. And it's tax free.

In the UK, Di Coke is the don at comping, and even won a competition I hosted last year. If you want to know the full potential of this lifestyle, she does this full-time, and has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds of goods in her time. Now you’re interested.

What's in it for Competition Hosts?

Publicity, primarily. They want to let the world know about their products, and the easiest way is to give someone a freebie. As brands often need a social media presence – but may not have the means to run it themselves – they may hire agencies, who are set monthly social media engagement targets. The easiest way to get people to like and share your posts? Competitions.

Follow and RT competitions create the illusion of a viral campaign. Anyone that knows about them is aware that a single tweet with that phrase will generate about 1,000 retweet, regardless of the prize.

How Do I Find Competitions?

The easiest ways are on the following websites:

MSE

Loquax

The Prize Finder HotUKDeals

LatestDeals

Google

Twitter

Wanna take this offline? I wouldn't know where to start. Do a crossword or something.

What's My Experience with Comping?

I entered my first competition in 1997. Channel 44 on Diamond Cable was the only one I cared about back then, home to Cartoon Network. They once hosted a competition to win goodies and all you had to do was name the silhouette on the screen. I KNEW IT WAS DAPHNE! So I wrote the letter, my dad walked me down the road to post it, we returned home, and I just waited for that prize to arrive. The day after, I asked my mum why the prize wasn't here yet. She said I had to wait a week. I asked the same a few days later. Same response. Then I asked my dad. He told me how the world works.

“But I got the right answer!”

“But thousands of other boys and girls did too.”

“Oh.”

Tears followed.

That experience put me off competitions for ages. There was no point. How could anyone ever win anything? May as well forget it. From 12-15, I had high hopes of earning my riches doing TV quiz shows, but never got around to it. Competitions weren't for me, until I saw competitions for things I actually wanted.

2011-2013, I was heavy on music events and managed to snag tickets to a few major things that I otherwise would have missed. Along with those, I got my biggest competition win ever. I'll cover them in a later post though.

Congratulations to Chiino Stoppard who has won guestlist to tomorrow nights @LordOfTheMics 3 Launch Party. An email has been sent 🙂

— HTF Magazine (@HTFMag) 11 December 2011

And the winners are………. Smita Jalaf and Chiino Stoppard!!! Congratulations guys you win a pair of tickets each for @DecaLDN VIP night

— Urban Development (@urbandevelopmnt) 14 October 2011

Since then, I've done my bit. One week, I decided to make use one of my many spare Hotmails to use as my comping email. I entered everything I came across, and won two DVDs and a children's book. I didn't do much after that. It takes up too much time, and even the low entry and skill-based ones require effort to seek out.

I've hosted a fair few competitions in my time and it's taught me plenty. Although I’ve largely retired from it, someone close to me is full involved, so I have many insights to share on how to claim those winnings.

Summary

If you have the time to do it, great things can come of comping. It’s something you need to be strategic about to actually turn into a legitimate income stream. Oh, and don't introduce WeWin4U into your competition strategy.