Winning Prizes by Post

Hello everyone!  How is your week going, any nice wins to report?  One more win for me so far this week of a case of Sauvignon Blanc wine from Isla Negra on Facebook – will probably try and put this away for Christmas, as we don’t really drink very much outside of the summer holidays or at weekends.  I know it is very early to be mentioning the dreaded (for some) “C word” but I find if I don’t start planning, buying and putting things away during the summer months, by the time Christmas does come I am so busy with work and activities that I don’t have the luxury of actually enjoying the season that I love so much!  Do you do this too, or do you prefer to leave your organising until nearer the festive season?

Well, this time next week will be the last day of the summer holidays for us – it has actually gone pretty quick this year and I feel like we have done quite a bit.  Weather has been pretty pants for most of it though, and we haven’t spent as much time on the beach as we would have liked, but can’t have everything.  At least now that routine is starting to return here I can get back into my comping groove too.  Some of my regular coping has slipped right by the wayside during the summer holidays, as I was not able to do everything.  I always like to do the daily & instant wins, holiday & short break comps and then work through the comps closing that day.  However I haven’t managed to do any postal comps, as I find I have to be more organised with those and plan my time a bit better.  Now I am looking forward to getting back into postal comping here are my top tips on how best to enter these sometimes underrated and overlooked competitions:

Where to find Postal Comps:

• Compers News:  Your fabulous, monthly edition of Compers News is packed full of current postal competition, listed in date order to organise your entries.
• Compers Update:  Sign up for our bonus update that lists even more short-life, lower entry postal competitions with a handy tracker and printing options – updated weekly online and monthly in newsletter format.
• Chatterbox Forum:  As a Compers News member you also have access to the wealth of information and competitions that other members and Compers News admin list on the Chatterbox Forum.  Head over to the Postcard & Plain paper Competitions board and discover loads more great postal comps that may not have made it into any of the magazine publications as yet, or are too short entry to include.
• Local Publications:  Local papers and magazines are a great source of postal competitions too and are often low entry.  Look out for entry forms in your weekly newspaper, or in the free magazines that come through the door and make sure you enter them in good time as they are often short-life.

Make Your Entry Stand Out:

• Go Colourful:  Stock up on good quality printed postcards and envelopes with pretty and interesting designs and pictures to help make your entry stand out.  As a Compers News member you have access to some great deals on discounted stationery, which are often included in the monthly magazine. 
• Tailor Your Entry:  Try and match your postcard or envelope to the competition: for example if it is a competition for a beach holiday try and use a postcard with a tropical paradise scene on it, or if it is a competition for some pet supplies maybe use a postcard with a cute animal image on it.  This helps to show the promoter you have really thought about the prize you are entering to win.
• Stamps & Stickers:  Play with embellishments if you are using plain postcards and envelopes too.  Have a stock of seasonal or fun stickers and stamps which can often be bought cheaply online, which you can then use to embellish your entries and make them stand out.
• Pens:  Try using different coloured pens when entering comps too.  Always use a plan black or blue for all the important information such as address and contact details, but maybe try embellishing your entry with some humorous text, a little drawing or a relevant quote written in sparkly gold pen, or a pretty shade of biro.

More Tips & Tricks:

• Check the Date:  No amount of embellishments and organising your time will help if your entry arrives too late to be included in a draw.  Check and double check the closing date and make sure you send your entry in good time.  As a rule of thumb leave at least three days for a first class entry to be received, and more if you are posting second class or from a non-mainland UK address (here on the Island it can seem to take forever for post to be delivered!)
• Check the Terms:  As well as the closing date make sure you check any relevant terms & conditions too.  If a competition calls for a plain white envelope, receiving an entry on a heavily embellished picture postcard won’t be included in the draw.  Make sure you aren’t wasting your time and stationery by getting your entry right first time every time.
• Buy in Bulk:  Stock up on stationery deals when you see them – postcards, envelopes, stickers, stamps, pens and anything else you use on a regular basis for your comping.
• Be Legible:  No matter how interesting and entertaining your entry is, if the promoter cannot read your details or your answer then you probably won’t be winning anything!  If you know your handwriting isn’t the best in the world (mine certainly isn’t) maybe invest in a personalised stamper or contact details stickers (which can be bought online), to make sure that your details are neat and legible every time.
• Be Selective:  Don’t waste your time entering loads of postal competitions for prizes you don’t really want – stationery and stamps are expensive and you need to be selective about what you use them for.  Use your Compers News and Compers Update magazines to go through and highlight those comps you really want to win and concentrate on entering those first.  If you have a quiet month and feel like you wasn’t to splash out then you can go through the rest of the postal comps in order of preference and enter those too.

So there you have it, enough tricks and tips to get you started in the world of postal comping – do let me know how you get on!

Happy comping and lots of Lucky Dust to you all!

Kirsty x