Have I got a treat for you! I’ve been friends with fellow blogger ‘SuperLucky’ Di for years now, and she inspired me to get into comping through her blog. I’ve won a fair amount, but it’s nothing in comparison to her. Here are her tips to successful comping.

‘SuperLucky’ Di Coke has been entering competitions for over 20 years, winning over £300,000 of prizes (yes… really!)

From holidays and computers to a VW Beetle, Di has won it all and teaches people how to do the same. 

Di’s blog at www.superlucky.me is packed with advice on how to find, enter and win competitions and she’s shared some of her top comping tips with us…

1. Be selective

There are thousands of competitions running in the UK at any one time, so focus on winning prizes you need or want – do you really need another plastic lunchbox or inflatable flamingo? 

Search for your wishlist prizes on competition websites like MSE or Competition Database – but also do your own Twitter, Facebook and Google searches to find competitions with less entries.

2. Put the effort in

Enter as many creative competitions as you can. The majority of compers can’t be bothered with photo, video or effort competitions, but the harder a competition is to enter, the easier it is to win. And don’t be scared of selfies!

3. Smarten up your social media

Make sure your social media accounts have profile photos, cover photos and a memorable and easy-to-spell name (for example, Twitter accounts with lots of numbers are associated with spam or bot accounts).

On Instagram or Twitter, don’t only use your accounts only to enter competitions. Create your own original posts, upload photos and share content that’s not related to competitions! 

This will mean your account will look more human, and you’re less likely to get flagged as spam or banned. The last thing you want to do is look like a robot and lose a prize!

After a Twitter comping session, try to make your final tweet something that’s not a competition – any promoters visiting your profile will see it first. 

Some brands don’t want compers winning their giveaways, so avoid using ‘comper’ or ‘comping in your username or bio.

4. Have a go at on-pack promotions

Prize promotions on products in the supermarket offer a good chance of a win, especially those where the prize is awarded to the first person that enters after a ‘winning moment’. 

You will usually have to input a unique code from product packaging online, text a short code number, or upload a photo of your receipt to take part.

Look out for promotions where you only need to buy one product, and can enter the same code or barcode daily – and there are even some where you don’t need to buy the product at all. 

Your best chance of striking it lucky in a ‘winning moment’ competition is by entering overnight, when less other people are taking part.

5. Make comping friends

It’s a good idea to find friends who also love comping – then you can share competitions, and tag each other in social media comps. Join a local comping club or a Facebook competitions group like Lucky Learners. 

There are lots of comps where you can nominate a friend to win a prize, so find someone who will return the favour. 

Chatting with likeminded friends and sharing stories will also keep you motivated when you’re just not winning!

6. Read the rules

A lot of compers rush to get as many entries done as possible, and as a result many of their entries aren’t actually valid. 

Check the closing dates, tagging requirements – and the judging criteria if it’s a creative competition. 

There’s no point spending hours creating an amazing photo entry if the small print says it will be chosen at random!

On Twitter, make sure you actually do a regular retweet rather then ‘retweet with comment’ – when you add your own comment, it doesn’t actually register as a retweet. 

You can check if you’ve retweeted because the double arrow under the competition tweet will be green.

7. Be scam aware

Watch out for suspicious winning text messages, emails and phone calls. On social media, scammers may set up copycat brand pages and contact you via comments and messages, in the hope of getting hold of your personal details. 

Poor spelling and grammar is the most obvious sign of a scammer. There’s more guidance on spotting scams here.

8. Be efficient

Streamline your comping, so you can get it done quickly and efficiently. Use autofill to fill entry forms, set keyboard shortcuts (or text replacement) to quickly post tweets and comments, and use browser bookmarks to save your favourite competition sites and daily entry comps. 

Create shopping lists of on-pack comps you want to look out for in the supermarket – and check social media notifications, inboxes and your spam email folder regularly so you don’t miss any wins.

Take advantage of pockets of time – 5 minutes spent waiting at school pick up or at the doctors can be used to enter easy Twitter competitions or to do a quick Google search for the prizes on your wishlist. 

If you’re early for a train, pop into the newsagent and flick through the magazines taking photos of any comps you spot, so you can enter them later.

9. Use Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck can only be used on a computer, but it’s an awesome way to find competitions on Twitter. Log in at www.tweetdeck.com, and set up new columns to follow lists and show search results.

10. Have fun!

It might sound obvious, but don’t forget comping is only a hobby! Don’t get stressed out if you’re not winning – if you feel it’s becoming addictive and you’re not enjoying it, then take a break.

I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired! I’d love to win holidays and a Volkwagen Beetle for a hobby! If you want to read more of Di’s content, her website is www.superlucky.me.

Have you ever tried comping? What’s the best thing you’ve won? I’d love to know in the comments below, on Twitter @Jordon_Cox or on Facebook.