Compers Are Lovely People: Why Comping is the Best Hobby

When I first got into comping, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who also love this hobby. And who wouldn't? The idea of getting little presents in the post is enough to make anyone #RTtoWin.

I first came across a comping friend in the form of a girl named Hollie. I went onto her Twitter profile and found that she was also a fellow blogger (check her blog out here), and so started to ask her about her comping tips, as I was new to the game. We continued to chat and to this day months later, we still tag each other in competitions, ask about each others day and comment on just how cute her dog Hugo was looking in her latest tweet (very cute I'll have you know).

When I first began to Google tips on comping, I read skeptics who said that compers were greedy people who refused to share their tips, and would'nt reveal how they managed to be so lucky. I do admit, I have come across the odd person to block me for retweeting their tweets, but never have I found a nasty comper. The 'Queen of the Compers', and a superlovely and superlucky lady who proves this, is Di Coke.

This woman is a miracle - not just because she wins so many competitions, but because she is so generous with her knowledge. She has a fantastic book called 'Superlucky Secrets' (review to follow in an upcoming blog), a YouTube Channel, and an amazing blog: superlucky.me. More than this though, she has set up a Facebook group called Lucky Learners that brings like-minded compers together to share stories of wins, tips and current competitions to each other. So much for selfish and greedy compers, eh?

Being part of this group has increased my joy of comping: I am aware of more competitions (and more obscure competitions), and I have met some really great people. The other day, I was handing out free tea at uni (why not, everyone loves tea, right?) when I spotted a girl I vaguely recognised. Then it hit me, she was a comper. I had seen Chloe on Lucky Learners, retweeted her Tweets and read her blog. She is so full of enthusiasm, winning spirit and creativity just flows from her. We chatted for a good half hour in the freezing Glasgow weather about competitions and life in general, and have agreed to meet up for comping sessions and brainstorming. As soon as we knew who the other one was, this shared link of such a wonderful hobby made us friends straight away. What more could you ask for in a hobby?

The other day I had a wonderful experience of just how nice the people of Lucky Learners are. Having entered a radio competition to win £500, I was sitting anxiously by my computer screen, willing them to read out my name. Before they could, I get a Facebook notification from Di: 'Lorna Beattie is this you?'. My name had been read out but, as I was listening on the app, I was a minute behind. I replied a quick 'ARGH YES' before snatching up my phone and punching in the numbers. Beep, beep, beep.... the phone rang, and rang, and rang... I paced the room...the phone rang....I paced the room faster...the phone still rang....

Throughout the whole 26 minutes that I was on hold, the compers in the group gave me support. There were no grumbles of 'Why wasn't I chosen', simply floods of luck, excitement and nerves on my behalf. People were pausing their day to hear if I had won (sorry if you were late on the school run guys) they were happy for me to be this close to a win and then, when I didn't get through, they were gutted for me, They supported me, told me to chin up and that I was clearly destined to win something else.

So that day I didn't win £500, but I still won. Because that support was the best feeling in the world.

There are so many ways that you can find comping friends. Twitter is a good one because you can see who else is retweeting the same kind of competitions as you. Be aware though, that not everyone on Twitter will want to make this a sociable hobby, as they may just like to comp on their own, and this is fine too.

To find people that are more likely to be group friendly, try doing a Facebook search for comping groups - local ones are great as then you will have access to competitions that are more likely to be lower entry. There are also forums for comping on sites such as Money Saving Expert, and you may even be lucky (no pun intended) and find a real life comping group in your local area. Try Googling comping groups, or put up a poster on a noticeboard to see if their is anyone else who wants to start one.

Comping is an amazing hobby, full of amazing prizes and, most importantly, amazing people. Come and say hi on Twitter @LaurieBeat: feel free to add me and tweet me any questions. I'm more than happy to have a chinwag and hopefully make another comping friend. You can also join my Facebook group here.

Luck and Love,

Laurie