Different types of competitions There are many different types of competitions you can enter -
Facebook competitions
Twitter competitions
Instagram competitions
Pinterest competitions
Email competitions
Rafflecopter and Gleam competitions
Entry Form competitions
Facebook Competitions Facebook competitions are entered by liking a company's page, liking, sharing and commenting on their competition posts. There are also groups and pages on Facebook that you can join where competitions are listed. These are not only good for finding competitions but also to meet like minded people. You can add these people as friends and the competitions they share will appear in your newsfeed enabling you to enter them as well.
Twitter Competitions Competitions on Twitter are usually entered by following companies pages and retweeting their competition tweets. You can find competitions on Twitter by using the search box and entering things like #win #winitwednesday #freebiefriday etc
Instagram Competitions You can find competitions on Instagram by again using the search option and entering things like the #'s I have listed above, although it is a little harder to find competitions on Instagram using this method. To enter a competition on Instagram you are asked to follow a page and like and comment on pictures. Sometimes your also asked to regram. You can regram by taking a screenshot of the picture and posting it on your Instagram account using the hashtag they have asked you to or by tagging the company in the post.
Pinterest Competitions when I first starting entering competitions I had never heard of Pinterest and it took me a little while to get used to using it. Although these types of competition are the most time consuming I really enjoy entering them as it gives you a chance to be creative. To explain how to enter a Pinterest competition I will use an example of one I entered recently. A company asked you to create a Pinterest board of your ultimate shoe collection to win £250 to spend on their shoes. I went on to Pinterest and used the search bar to search shoe related pictures that other people had posted on the website and the ones I liked I pinned to my board. I also uploaded some photos of my own shoes and saved some images from the company's website. After I was finished and happy with my board I messaged it to the company. It may all sound a bit confusing . If it does do an online search on how to use Pinterest.
Email Competitions Email Competitions are pretty straight forward. Using your email account send an email to the address given including your answer and any contact details that they have asked for. Keep your eyes peeled for anything they ask you to put in the subject line otherwise it might not go to the right inbox their end meaning you won't be entered.
Rafflecopter and Gleam Competitions Rafflecopter and Gleam are apps that bloggers use to run competitions on their blogs. They have many different ways to enter and the more actions you complete the more entries you get! Some of the actions you can even complete daily over a period of time to get more entries. The first time you come across Rafflecopter or Gleam you have to sign in to them but once you are signed in your good to go.
Entry Form Competitions These are pretty self explanatory. You enter you information into the boxes and click submit to enter, but beware of the tick boxes! If you don't read them carefully and tick or untick them you could be signing yourself up for a whole lot of spam emails. Also some websites will disqualify you if you use autofill so read those terms and conditions.
Where can I find these competitions? As well as some of the methods I have suggested above there are a few websites that have these different types of competitions all in the same place where you can sign up. Making it easier to keep track of the competitions you have entered.
Create a new email account especially for competitions. When you start entering competitions your inbox will be ten times fuller this is a good way to keep on top of your emails and make sure you don't miss a win.
Check your spam folder on your email account and your filtered messages on facebook. I have had messages about wins that I completely missed and couldn't claim months down the line.
Check for wins on Facebook by writing your name and winner, or your name and congratulations in the search bar at the top. Sometimes you get notifications when you are a winner but not always.
Sometimes companies only give you 48 hours to claim your prize after it has been announced. So make sure you are regularly checking for wins.
How Can I Sort The Real From The Fake? Although the majority of companies offering competitions are real there are increasing numbers are fake competitions flying about so that they can get page followers or likes. You can't always tell and it can be disappointing to be announced as a winner and to never receive your prize or for no winner to ever be announced. Here's a few things to look out for though to make them easier to spot -
On pages like Twitter or Facebook you will see a tick next to some companies names. This means that they have verified that it is the real companies page.
If a page on a social media account lists competition after competition with very little other content never announcing a winner that you can see these competitions are likely to be fake.
If you are being offered something that is too good to be true like an island or a house again be wary. If it looks to good to be true it usually is, but there are some big competitions out there so don't write them off completely just make sure you do your homework.
What Can I Do If A Company Doesn't Send Me My Prize? If you have won something and it hasn't arrived or it has and it's damaged the first thing you should do is contact the company you won with and nine times out of ten they are only too willing to help, but if you are meet with rudeness, no resolve to your issue or even end up being blocked from the companies page contact ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and make a formal complaint.
And finally after listing some of the more negative aspects of being a Comper STAY POSITIVE! This is supposed to be a fun hobby. You won't win all the time but when you do it is an amazing feeling. I will add more tips as I think of them so check back now and again. I'm also aiming to make a blog entry at least once a week to start off with so keep an eye out for that too.