WINstagram: 2018 Update

Like with most social media, Instagram is constantly updating and changing the way that it does things. This means that the way we enter competitions is also constantly changing. And so I felt it was high time to update my old Instagram tips blog with this brand spanking new one. While my old one had more tips and tricks, this blog serves as more of a guide as to how to enter Instagram competitions (with the odd tip thrown in for good measure of course).

In my opinion, Instagram is one of the trickiest and also best ways to win competitions and it is where the majority of my wins have come from. These two things go hand in hand: because the competitions often require a little more effort and hunting, less people will enter them.

There are different kinds of Instagram competitions:

- Repost (including repost to story)
- Combination of like/comment/follow/tag
- Loop competitions
- Creative competitions


1. Repost Competitions

Now to be honest, this is the sort of Instagram competition that I enter the least. In fact, I have only done a repost comp once, and that was to win a pair of wellies that I really needed for work, and I was lucky enough to win!

The issue with repost competitions, in my opinion, is that they make my Instagram profile look a bit messy. Some promoters will check out your Instagram page to check if you are a bot or a comper (give us a break), and so making your profile as 'real' as possible is important. For this reason, I would recommend deleting the post from your page after the competition winner has been decided.

To enter a repost to win competition, you have to post a copy of the promoters original competition post onto your own page. The simplest way to do this is to download an app such as 'Repost for Instagram' or 'RepostIt'. This will make sure that the caption below the promoters post is also copied over, and this often contains essential hashtags and handles.

For the repost to story competitions, you just need to take a screenshot of the post and put it on your story, as shown in the infographic below. Once you've chosen your picture you can add things to it! Make sure to tag the company and include any hashtags.

2. Comment/like/tag/follow Competitions (I need to think of a catchier name for these)

The most common type of Instagram competition is a simple interaction one. The promoter will give instruction in the post, and you just need to follow these. Be careful to check how many people you need to tag, and also if the person you tag also needs to follow. If that is the case, I will tag a fellow comper who has already entered the competition (or I'm pretty sure will after my tag) to make sure we are both entered correctly. If you're looking for people to tag, or want to be tagged, comment below this blog with your Instagram handle to build up some comping friends.

Make sure to follow all the brands mentioned, as they will check if you follow if/when they go to contact you as a winner. Be prepared for your Instagram feed to become filled with promoters, so if you're not a fan of  'JD posting a different angle of shoe every 15 second' (Neill Johnstone, 2018) consider opening a separate comping Instagram (but make sure to post to it so it doesn't look like a fake account). A similar style of competition are:

3. Loop Competitions

If you don't like following a lot of brands on Instagram, this is not the competition type for you. The idea of a loop competition is that lots of different brands collaborate together to have one large prize, and each of them benefit.

Starting on any of the competition posts you will have to like and follow the post/promoter before following a link to the next promoter in the chain. When you find the same competition post on their page you then also like/follow and continue to the next page. Do this until you are back at the original post and comment 'DONE' (or they will tell you to comment something). The idea is that all the promoters benefit, however it can be a bit of a long process, as sometimes there can be a hundred brands involved (well, about 15 but you get my point). Easy to enter if you can be bothered, but check where it's open to, as these are more common in America.

4. Creative Competitions

All hardcore compers love a good effort comp! Instagram is the perfect platform for them, as it is such a visual social media channel. These can be harder to find, but there are a few good Facebook groups that advertise them. Whenever I see an effort comp on Instagram I take a screenshot of it and add it to an album on my phone, so that I can check the details whenever inspiration hits. Another way of doing this is the 'Save' feature on Instagram. This way all the details are easily accessible for when you have time to create your post (often not when scrolling through Insta on the bus).

The key thing to remember with creative competitions is to stand out. Really take your time with these and read the brief carefully, making sure to include any tags, hashtags, products or specifications necessary. You don't want to go to a lot of effort for the perfect landscape photo when it has to be a selfie.

Another tip would be to check out the other entries by clicking the hashtag to view the other entries. Obviously not to copy any entries, in fact, the opposite: make sure your post is original and stands out amongst the others. Pick a colour of background or clothing that hasn't been used much, or include text or quirky angles to draw the eye of the promoter. 

Personally, I love a good Instagram competition. They are so easy to enter when out and about, and as I follow so many brands, the competitions just come to me on my timeline when I'm scrolling anyway. 

Follow me on Instagram (@lornab22) and comment below your Instagram handle if you want to be tagged in competitions too.

Luck and Love, 

Lorna 

The Return of the Lost Comper....

Hello! Long time no speak. In fact, I just checked and my last prize unboxing was September 2017: a whole year ago!

Let's begin by addressing the fact that I (digitally) disappeared for a year. Basically, life got in the way of comping, however, I now sit before you as the proud owner of a 2:1 degree in Geography from the University of Glasgow. This is something that 4 years ago seemed totally impossible for me to achieve, having had to leave the University of St. Andrews due to an eating disorder. Going into my final year of university, I knew that a couple of things would have to take a back seat, and sadly, comping was one of these things.

However, I am now hoping to prove something that I always used to say back in my blogging days: comping is such an amazing hobby because you can dip in and out of it! Sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming to have a list of competitions in front of you and trudge through them until your back is hunched and your eyes ache. So stop. If you need a break from comping, just pause, competitions will still exist when you get back. And if, like me, you suddenly have something else taking up all your time (a new house, a degree, a baby etc), then take a break from comping! In truth, I feel so much more ready to get stuck in with comping because I took such a long hiatus. Yes, every so often I would enter an Instagram competition (something in my core won't let me ignore the word 'win') but I was not seeking out competitions and my comping Twitter was inactive for a whole year.

And what am I doing with my life now, I hear no one ask. Well, let me tell you anyway. I am currently starting an internship with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in North Yorkshire, a beautiful part of the country. This will be 4 days a week, allowing me to dedicate some time to comping and this ol' blog here. I hope you guys are just as excited to join me on this adventure back into comping, and that I'm not just nattering away to myself.

So what are  my plans to break back into this wonderful world gently? Here are my 5 aims for my first month back (October 2018):

1. Film a prize unboxing

For me, knowing that people will be looking at the items that I have won really encourages me to actually have something to open in front of the camera. It's not much of an unboxing without any boxes is it?

2. Seek out prizes I want to win

Following on from point 1 though, I am not wanting to just enter any old competition. Something that has changed this last year is that I have become a lot more environmentally aware. Comping can be very wasteful if not done correctly. I am planning on only entering competitions for items I really want or that I know other people in my life will use.

3. Start seeking out Christmas presents

It is never too early. Trust me. Two years ago I paid nothing for Christmas presents because I started early and won a combination of person-specific gifts and vouchers that I could then spend on items for people.

4. Be patient

When talking to comping newbies, I always say it's so important to be patient when starting out at comping. I may have a head start with my experience, however I know that I cannot just start winning the same amount that I was before. Good things come to those who wait (and comp).

5. Communicate

Now that I'm back into comping and blogging I really hope my comping family will be behind me. My Facebook group 'Mission Competition' has been kept going by the wonderful Neill Johnstone in my absence, and so I will be using it as well as running it as I get back into comping.

Leave me a comment below to let me know if you've ever taken a break from comping and any tips/encouragement for my journey back.

Luck and Love, 

Lorna xx

Swagbucks: Top Tips to Earn Vouchers

Like more and more people in this increasingly technological world, I spend a lot of time with my eyes glued to a screen. The lure of Facebook, YouTube and Netflix all seem too much to resist. Surely there’s a better way to be using this screen time? Surely I can Swag some Bucks?

To put it simply, Swagbucks is a website where you complete tasks that you would be doing when online anyway, and get rewarded with a currency called Swagbucks. This adds up until you can swap it for gift cards. Some examples of ways to earn Swagbucks are:

• Completing surveys
• Watching videos
• Using the SwagBucks search engine
• Playing games
• Shopping

If these seem like things that you would be doing anyway then that’s half the battle won! Sign up here and follow these top tips for making the most of Swagbucks.

1) Loyalty Pays

Swagbucks have a great system in place to encourage you to visit every day - every day you get given a daily target and each day you hit this target you get a bonus. Then, every 7 days you consecutively reach this target you get another bonus, reaching a total of 300SB if you manage to make it every day of the month. At the start of the next month, pick up your bonuses from the previous month, or else you will miss out.

2) Get into a routine

It is easier than you may think to visit Swagbucks every day - just add it into your routine and you'll hardly notice! For example, I always squeeze in a survey first thing in the morning as I eat my breakfast. Then, I will watch a few videos while I’m having my lunch and play some games in the evening after I’m finished studying. I would be on my laptop doing mindless tasks anyway, so why not earn some Swagbucks?

3) Searching for SwagBucks

One of the changes I hardly noticed was searching through Swagbucks. By setting your search engine to the Swagbucks one instead of Google, Bing or Yahoo, you have a chance to win bucks every time you search the internet. You won't win every time, and if you have won you won't get another winning search for another few hours, but the occassional 5-15SB really adds up.

As someone who has always used Google, I was a bit dubious about whether or not these search results would be up to scratch. However, the search engine is actually run by Yahoo, so they are pretty reliable. The only difference that I have noticed is that it’s not as good as Google at predicting what you are going to search for, but it’s a small detail in the grand scale of things.

4) Swag Button

Another way to easily integrate Swagbucks into your usual routine is the Swagbutton. This is a little icon on the top right of your toolbar (a bit like the Pintrest button) that means you can access Swagbucks  easily while elsewhere on the net. You can watch videos while on other sites (who doesn't love a good technology multi-task), use the search engine, and find quick links to shopping offers! Another bonus is that it gives you an alert when there is a new SwagCode available.

What’s a SwagCode I hear you ask?

Well, every so often, Swagbucks give out a few Swagbucks and all you need to do is enter a code into the appropriate box. These can be found on certain pages of the Swagbucks site and also are often posted on their Facebook page – so worth following them. You can also Google (or SwagSearch) for the latest codes, as there are some sites dedicated to posting up SwagCodes as soon as they are released (such as sc-s.com). But be aware that there is a time limit to each code, so enter it as soon as you see it!

5) Surveys

To earn large amounts of Swagbucks fast, surveys are the way to go. The rewards can vary from 20SB up to over 200SB but the time they take also varies massively. In addition, it's very common to get screened out and miss out on the full reward (but you do get 1SB when this happens). One 10 minute survey can be enough to hit the daily target - so if this is all you have time for, prioritise the surveys. For other great survey sites, check out this post.

6) Shopping

If you are someone that does a lot of online shopping, Swagbucks offers a certain number of SB per pound spent at specific stores. If you have installed the SwagBucks Toolbar you will automatically be alerted when you are on a site that offers SwagBucks for your purchases. It works in a similar way to cashback - the reward won’t be instant, as they have to make sure you don’t cancel or return your order. When making big purchases, you can really rake in the points. Also, look out for promotional periods where they offer things like double bucks on certain sites.

7) Videos

Who doesn't wish that you could get paid for all that time on Youtube? Well, SwagBucks offer something pretty close - although there is a 150 SB daily earn limit. You can pick from a wide variety of genres such as Fitness, Food, Entertainment and Fashion. I particularly like watching the trailers to the newest films that have come out, or doing Yoga along with the fitness instructor in the video. If ever there was motivation to work out, it’s getting paid for it! 

By combining all of these techniques, the Swagbucks can build up fast! I tend to earn around £10-£20 a month in Amazon vouchers – not enough to quit uni and live off, but a nice wee bonus when you want to treat yourself, or take the strain of the Christmas shopping debt. Last year, I saved up just over £100 of Amazon vouchers and got all my Christmas shopping done without paying a penny. 

Currently, I'm saving up my vouchers to buy a bike for getting to and from uni – something I couldn’t normally afford to buy. So even if you are on a tight budget, you can still treat yourself and your family, without breaking your budget. Sign up here and get earning!