March Prize Unboxing

 Welcome to my March Prize Unboxing! Wait until the end for perhaps the biggest prize of my comping career..?

Prize: Ring, £50 Voucher, Flowers 

Promoter: SVP Rings

Entry Method: Instagram

Prize: Anxiety and Sleep Capsules

Promoter: Unbeelievable Health

Entry Method: Instagram

Prize: Chopping Board

Promoter: Kinlochlovin

Entry Method: Instagram

Prize: 7 day holiday to Crete!

Promoter: Heart/Jet2

Entry Method: Radio

WINstagram: 2021 Update

 

It feels like Instagram is constantly updating and changing, so it's time for another update! Instagram remains by best for wins, probably because it is so easy to enter! For a break down on different Instagram competition types, check out my old blog here.

Below are my top tips for winning on Instagram!

1) Beware of the scams (and extra entries) 

First of all, watch out for the scams that seem to be so popular at the moment on Instagram! If you get a message request from a company after entering their competition, check out their Instagram handle. Scam accounts are frequently messaging entrants from an account that is close to the promoters handle, but not quite (see example below). In general, the winning announcement will be from the same account you entered on, will not be a private account and will only ask the details needed to send the item to you!

In terms of extra entries, watch out for companies who ask you to do ridiculous things for extra entries. Things such as tag a friend, like the post and follow the company are acceptable, as is share to your story (but make sure to tag the company). However, when they ask you to like 4 previous posts, follow everyone the company follows (yup, that one is real) or tell your dog all about the competition, consider how genuine the comp is. If it is difficult to track entries, question if you want to spend your time entering. 

2) Create shortcuts for your tags

Instagram comps are ones you can enter relatively quickly, just as you are scrolling through your regular feed. One way to speed it up even more is to create a shortcut on your phone so that you can tag your usual comping friends in just three letters. 

To set this up on Apple go to Settings. then General, then Keyboard then Text Replacement. In there you can set up a phrase (for example @lornab22 if you're tagging me) and a shortcut (for example lor). Just make sure that the word you pick isn't one that you use a lot (I had a lot of typos in texts where I would namedrop @mustardbomb (hey Neill)). 

3) Follow small businesses

A great way for small businesses to get engagement is to run a competition. And a great way for a comper to win, is to enter competitions with low entries. If I'm short on time, I will check how many followers a profile has before entering. If it's hundreds of thousands, I won't bother. If it's a couple of hundred, I'll make the time. Also, keep an eye out for local small businesses when you're out and about and check them out on Instagram! Some small businesses I have won from recently (and that do regular comps) are:

@kinlochlovin

@prettypomsuk

@completeplanners

@badgerbeers (has 6,000 followers but I've won twice so worth a go!)

4) Engage with the promoter

Although a lot of promoters say that winners are picked randomly, this isn't always the case. Especially for the smaller business comps, they will have more time to read through each comment. It could be a complete coincidence, but I have found that I won more competitions when I added a little personal message about the prize, rather than something generic or a simple tag. If you've got the time, it's worth commenting why you want the item, what you'd use it for or if you have a connection to the company (I won a Scottish themed chopping board by mentioning that I am a Scot abroad and miss my home country).

5) Don't be a private egg

Promoters want to give prizes to real people, and often not a "professional comper". So, make sure that your profile is public, that you have a profile picture (not the egg) and that you clear off any competition reposts from your main grid once a competition is finished. This also ties into tip 4, so try to leave genuine comments on the posts, rather than a generic "OMG winning this teapot would change my life, incredible, amazing, so cool", which may make you look like a bot. 

So there we have my 2021 WINstagram update. How do you find it for winning? Comment below your tips for winning, and your Instagram handle if you are willing to be tagged! See you on the 'gram!

Luck and love, 

Lorna

February Prize Unboxing

 My first month back to comping has been fairly successful. No big wins but a few lovely little ones:

https://youtu.be/u7QTvNh1akc

Prize: Case of 8 beers

Promoter: Badger Beer

Entry Method: Instagram

Prize: Embroidered Hoodie

Promoter: Tate Espoana Apparel

Entry Method: Online Entry (Gleam)

Prize: Cheese Board and Vegan Sheese

Promoter: Veggie Magazine

Entry Method: Online Entry

Prize: 3 planners and a pen

Promoter: Complete Planners

Entry Method: Instagram

What was your favourite win this month and what are you aiming for next month? I'm going to set the task of winning a fitness watch! Check in next month to see if I manage...

Luck and love, 

Lorna

Mental Health and Comping

Intro note: for those only interested in just the top tips, skip to the bottom. Enjoy!

*tries desperately to remember password*

*resets password*

 *dusts off blog*

Hello, does this thing still work? 

It's been a hot minute since I wrote a blog. In fact, my last blog published on the 27th of September 2018, announced my return to the comping world. Since that is still my last blog, I think we can all assume how that went. Since my last real blog post in July 2017, life has been busy. One university degree, an ED relapse, 2 break ups, 6 house moves, a parents divorce, a dream job, a global pandemic, meeting my incredible boyfriend and lots of other highs and lows in between. 

In short, it's been busy, and my mental health took a battering. As someone with a highly addictive personality, and a bit of a perfectionist, comping became something that I had to do, rather than what I wanted to do. And when I wasn't winning, rather than being able to brush it off, I felt like a failure. Rather than taking hope and celebrating other compers' wins, I felt jealous and compared myself to them. All of a sudden, I realised that comping had gone from being fun, to a source of my anxiety. And so, as the saying goes, when the fun stops, stop.

So, how did I get back to a place where I can enter competitions for fun, enjoy the wins I get and feel genuine pleasure when other compers win (the recent Capital Holiday comp being a great example, Lucky Learners showed the country how to comp!)? In truth, I worked on my mental health. Three things have helped me the most: I have given up alcohol (perhaps temporarily, but at least until I get my anxiety fully under control), I have started therapy and tackled my demons, and I have began to feed the good wolf, rather than the bad one. The parable goes like this: 

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I have decided to feed joy in others' wins, hope in success, truth in when I need a break, and compassion to myself when I do not win. And so, I have come up with 5 things I am going to do to protect my mental health, all while diving head first into this incredible hobby:

1. Focus on wins: your wins, friends wins and little wins

When you do win, rejoice! Celebrate it! I won a 4-pack of beers as my first win back into comping.        They will be going to my boyfriend, as I am not drinking at the moment, but I sprung out of bed and celebrated like I'd won the lottery!

2. Not winning does not mean you're failing

The fact that the word win in featured so heavily in the comping world, and the antonym is fail, makes it easy for compers to get caught up in their "failures" rather than their wins. However, given compers can enter countless competitions in a day, with perhaps only a 10% success rate, it is important to focus on the wins. If your success rate is 0% (we all have dry spells), try to focus on other people's wins and know that one day they will be celebrating with you! Finding the joy of comping friends will help with that.

3. If your eyes strain, head aches and you want to take a break: take a break

Simple this one. When the fun stops: stop. It's all so tempting to think "just one more", "the next one might be the winner". But in actual fact you cannot prove that the next one will be a winner and you are more likely to just end up with a head ache and a bad nights sleep (said from experience).

4. You don't need to spend all your time on social media. 

Switch up methods if you're avoiding social media: social media has never been great for mental health, so if you need to avoid it, do not think that it is the end of your comping! Yes, there are many competitions on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, but these are also becoming very popular. Perhaps by trying some gleam comps, or creative comps (to get away from that screen), you will even  increase your wins!

5. Have a natter. 

 Remember that there are real people our there! Chat to other compers on comping Facebook groups. Hearing other compers chat about their lives, their wins and their not-wins (avoiding that F-word), makes them real, rather than a competitor. It helps you to celebrate their wins, rather than being disgruntled that you did not. Groups such as Lucky Learners and Mission Competition (shameless self plug) are a great way to meet other compers. 

So, that's my current 5 aims of being a comper and keeping my head above water. I'll be trying to create a "compers chat" post on  my Mission Competition Facebook group about once a week and celebrating everyone's wins. Please do add your own tips in the comments: I'd love to compile a massive list of ways we can support each other!

Luck and love, 

Lorna