A Day in the Life of a Comper... Vicky Mill

Hello! I’m glad we share this amazing hobby, do you have a story about how you got into it?

I saw my local paper had a comp to win £1000 of Marks and Spencer vouchers up for grabs every day and they printed the winners name in the paper the next day. I read it was someone from my village who had won them so I said to myself 'If he can do it, so can I' and the next day my name was printed in the paper. To top it all off they offered me cash instead of the vouchers as it was so close to Christmas - we had a bumper happy Xmas that year! That's was in 2003 and I've been hooked ever since.
The 'Can Do' attitude is the way to go for sure! What has been your best prize so far?

Best prize has to be a 7 night trip to New York to see Mamma Mia on Broadway - it was via an EF (Entry Form) with Silvikrin hairspray and I got a LWE (Lucky White Envelope) by special delivery on a Saturday morning telling me that I'd won - a dream prize for me! It included flights, a hotel at ground zero, transfers, spending money and VIP tickets to Broadway - I will never forget it as the experience was wonderful
Wow! Having all that included really makes it extra especial! So do you prefer physical prizes or experiences?

I like both physical prizes and experiences. Normally the experiences are for things I wouldn't normally do or have spare money for - like weekends away, festival tickets or tickets to shows and events. I have also been able to sample some amazing free food and drinks via prize wins. I won a 4 course Mexican meal with cocktails and VIP treatment to a new Mexican restaurant in town. Once, I got to dine in a fancy 5 star hotel, enjoy delicious Italian food and then get to write a review in Stylist magazine - I felt like a proper restaurant critic that day 👌

Haha, maybe restaurant critic could be a new career! What do your friends and family think of this hobby? Have you managed to get any of them involved?

Some of my friends think I'm nuts, but the clever ones encourage and support me. My closest friends know me well and get to share treats and prizes with me. My boyfriend thinks it's fabulous and that I'm really lucky winning all I do. Seeing his happy face when I win stuff he can enjoy makes it all worthwhile too - even if he does have to take photos of me wherever we go (sometimes doing silly stuff)!
It's so worth the embarrassment when you win though! What are your top 3 dream prizes?

Top 3 dream prizes are:
1. An exotic luxury holiday for me and my boyfriend to somewhere like Borneo or Bali where we would normally never get to go. 2.A supermarket sweep as I think it would be so much fun and a real challenge to complete it properly. 3.A BMW as I love them and can't afford one but think they are just super classy.
Oh, I haven't seen any supermarket sweep comps, but I'll be on the look out for you now! What is your favourite method of entering competitions?

I like tweeting but also do online comps. I try to let my creativity go wild and love it when it's rewarded with a prize but I still have lots to learn from others when it comes to that. I must do some postcard comps again as I've not done any of those for ages!
I've only just started postcard comps, so I'll let you know how it goes! Any tips for fellow compers?

My tip is: stay focused on what you like, don't get sucked into Facebook comps to win pens/vitamins/garden toys if you aren't really bothered about those prizes. Focus on what you really want and visualize the prize arriving at your door and the joy you will experience owning it.
I definitely agree with only entering if you want the prize. Any final comments about this amazing hobby?

Enjoy this fab hobby and congratulate yourself on being a comper as it really IS the best hobby in the world
💙




I couldn't agree more! I love it and couldn't give it up if I tried! Thanks to Vicky Mill for being my featured comper! If you would like to get involved, send me a DM on Twitter @LaurieBeat or email me on lauriebeat@gmail.com