Here I am going to give you some useful tips on how to win competitions in general. (Not just tv competitions!)
As the saying goes….”You have to be in it to win it!”
Most people who say they have “never won anything” as a rule have probably not actually entered more than a few competitions or are just thinking about the lottery which in all honesty, at 14 million to one, is pretty hard to win. Having said that the thing to remember is that it’s all about quantity, the more you enter the more chances you have of winning. It’s basically a numbers game!
Keep on trying and don’t get discouraged. You have to remember that there is a time lapse from when you actually enter the competition to the closing date. The winner is then chosen and finally contacted. This could take a few days. Over the years that I have been entering competitions I have tended to really concentrate my efforts and enter plenty of contests and if I haven’t won anything I’ve given up and lost interest. Eventually I win something (even a little something!) and that spurs me on to give it another go. The best advice I can give is to try to avoid this sequence of events and just stick with it! That win could be just around the corner!
This is common sense really, but if not so many people know about the competition then obviously less people will enter. New companies / brands can be useful as they often have contests to raise the profile of their product and build a client list ready for when they launch. Another hint is to keep your eye out for local competitions, such as in your local paper or radio. The less well advertised the less entries and the higher your chances of getting that email, letter or phone call telling you you’ve won!
With so many free to enter online comps around these days, lots of people will only enter the ones with amazing prizes, like luxury holidays or cars. Obviously you have to be in it to win it and if its free entry the a few moments spare will be well invested if you fancy winning these prizes but if you want to get into the winning way don’t reject competitions to win books, tickets, small household items or similar. The small wins mount up and keep you on the right track for that biggie!! So in this case the smaller the better!!
Likewise the less time to enter, the better, as there is less of a window of opportunity in which to enter – ideally just a few days. This means that there will be less entries than if the closing date was further in the future, again lessening the odds of winning.
I know this may sound as if I am contradicting myself but the harder the competition is, once again the more likely you will win.
The more difficult it is to enter, the more hoops you have to jump through, the less likely other people will spend the time to enter. This is good news for you – as long as YOU actually do it! By this I mean, if the qualifying questions are difficult and need some research or there is a condition of entry to complete something creative (such as drawing or writing a poem) then that will put a lot of people off. Slogan entry competitions are notoriously harder to win, so if you have a way with words and are prepared to grovel a little about the promoter and/or the product, you stand a pretty good chance of winning.
In closing just remember that t
he trick to winning competitions is to enter regularly. Obviously lady luck plays her part but in the meantime fingers crossed and Good Luck!
