Entering competitions is something that anyone can do (not just for the geeks and Norris Coles of this world), and someone’s got to win them. In fact, often your chances are better than you think as some competitions don’t get many entries, so if you regularly enter competitions then just by the law of averages you’re bound to win a few.

Getting started entering competitions on a regular basis can be a bit daunting, so here are a few hints on how to get started:

• *Avoid sales scams – these are where you’re offered the chance of a free holiday so that the company can try to get you to buy a timeshare with them. These sorts of things can be really very pushy, so be aware that if you find it hard to say no, these are best avoided. If you do take a ‘free holiday’ with them, then make sure you know what you could be letting yourself into.
• Set up a separate e-mail account – this way any spam or junk mail you get sent won’t clog up your regular e-mail account. Use something like hotmail or google mail which have plenty of space and where you can filter the spam.
• Subscribe to a monthly comping magazine where they will share not just tips and hints, but also info on competitions you can enter.
• Enter everything – the more competitions you enter the more chances you have of winning. In fact, the bigger comps online generally get less subscribers than you might think making the odds better because often people think that there will be very low odds so they don’t bother.

There are many different types of competitions you can enter and in all sorts of different places. Look for

• Online competitions
• Magazine & Newspaper competitions
• Product based competitions (where the comp details are on a wrapper or container)
• Slogan competitions – these appear in different places, but are a little different as you win by designing a great slogan.
• Writing competitions – again these appear all over the place, but you win by entering a poem, short story or other piece of writing.
• Photography competitions – take lots of pictures everywhere you go if you’re going to enter this sort of thing, you never know when one will just hit the spot for something like this. Also, make use of sites offering free developing online as often photo competitions are postal.

You might never win enough to be able to quit working, but you never know. People win everything from holidays to cars and houses entering competitions, and even if you don’t win big like this, several smaller wins can still add up.

From personal experience of entering competitions over the years I have won 3 holidays, money, nights out, clothing the list goes on. And don’t worry if you don’t want the TV or mobile phone you’re entering for, you can always sell it on for cash.

Visit the competition section of the forum for upto date competitions to enter.