For every competition that has a winner there’s always a whole bundle of people who haven’t won. For every newspaper article showing a “Queen of Competitions” there are plenty more compers who struggle day to day for any kind of win. The thing about comping is that it’s not glamourous, it can be hard work and at times it can start to feel a bit of a chore! But many plug on day to day in the hope of getting an LWE whether it’s for a DVD or a brand new car!
But at some point though – everyone loses their comping mojo!
Not winning is the usual cause! Entering hundreds of competitions a day/week/month without return can become pretty demoralising. Even more so when the same names keep appearing on the winner’s lists. Every day life can often interfere with precious comping time too and with so many ways to comp and so many competitions to enter it can become overwhelming.
If you find comping is becoming a chore and you’re not enjoying it – stop!
Comping is meant to be fun, so take time off to do other things. Time is precious and spending it in front of a PC doing something you feel is more work than enjoyment isn’t a good thing to do. This may sound strange advice from a website – after all we want you online all the time don’t we? Well, no, not if you’re not having fun!
Taking a break means you can come back to comping fully recharged and ready to take up the challenge again. I head off to the kitchen to make cakes when Loquax starts to get me down… so far I’ve enough cupcakes to stock several bakeries nationwide (joke… just a corner shop, and that’s this week).
If taking a break isn’t something you fancy doing then how about having a change instead?
1. Rethink Your Comping Strategy!
We keep telling you that there are low entry competitions out there. Blogs for example attract very few entries – so perhaps try something different! Most compers will do the easy stuff and overlook other comps in the process. Some will just try for the holidays and cars, but ignore the smaller goodies. So try a new approach and see if that works.
2. Don’t Fret About Twitter/Facebook Etc.
Most people have limited comping time! If you don’t have time for Twitter/Facebook etc then don’t worry. Yes there are some nice competitions on these services but it’s not the be all and end all of comping. There are plenty of things to have a go at.
3. Try And Be Positive!
Always tough to be positive during a no win patch, but if you start to think you’re not going to win then that’s going to drain your energy. Enjoy your comping, be positive about what you’re doing and try and have fun.
4. It’s Not a Job!
Don’t treat comping as a chore or a job. It’s not! If you’re in the mood for it have a go… if you’re not then there’s no harm missing out. You don’t need to do every competition. Tomorrow they’ll be another 100-200 new comps on Loquax – be selective and use your time wisely.
5. Be More Than Just a Comper! Be a Loquax Comper!
Only read on if you read the above in a seductive M&S advert way – if you didn’t go back and read it again.
You don’t have to comp alone… so get involved with a comping community like the forums here at Loquax! You can find compers around the country or in your own area to bounce ideas off, get motivated and hopefully be inspired by. There’s even a chat area which is for anything but comping.
6. If All Else Fails…
Moan like mad! For some reason compers feel a good old moan works wonders in getting their mojo back. Some even go for fairies and dust (!) whilst one or two even rub their lucky Buddhas (or lucky ducks)! It all sounds odd to most people, but for some reason it seems to work.
Remember it’s meant to be a fun hobby with the added benefit of winning cool stuff (for some people anyway). The internet has made comping less of a solitary pastime too so make sure you get involved with other compers. There’s no point being miserable about not winning on your own… far better to join the rest of us and so we can all be miserable together. LOL!!!!!!
Win a Loquax Mug Time!
Time to cheer things up! with our next blog competition.
We want to know what you do to stay motivated with your comping? Do you have a lucky charm? Do you just have a Positive Mental Attitude? Or did you change strategy to make comping more fun again?
Leave a positive comment on the blog and we’ll pick a winner (randomly) after the closing date of 5th March 2011. UK only and usual Loquax rules apply.
It’s logical really.
If you don’t enter you can’t win and the more competitions you enter then you increase your chances of winning. Sometimes it helps to win several small prizes – books or cds rather than only trying for really big wins. You may find that once in a while something bigger appears in the post.
One way I try to keep myself going is to enter in different ways, i.e. closing comps / A to Z / prize directory / latest competitions. I find that this does help to break the monotony – especially if I am not getting any wins. I usually only do my comps in the evenings as the days are to busy. Me doing comps and hubby watching telly – and making me a cup of tea to keep me going
I don’t think I have ever lost my comping mojo, and I’ve been comping for years! You always go through good patches and bad patches, so during a bad patch I just keep thinking about good wins. That’s enough to keep me going!
You’ve got to be in to win! Loquax keeps me going and have helped me win,I find their system easy to enter, have won a luxury weekend in London, an ipad 2 days before christmas and £500 worth of Hasbro toys which came in very handy, lots of small prizes,seem to win a few together then nothing for a while, just keep plugging away, even a small win always gives me a boost to keep going! don’t give up people really do win them!
Through lean spells I just keep looking back at my comping photo book (photo’s of the comps I have won). It keeps me going!
Love the site as give you a chance to win things money cant buy – Film Screenings.
A great escape form reality…
Started losing my mojo last year but coming on Loquax every week and seeing all the things I know I ‘could’ win keeps me going, lol!
I lost my mojo a few years ago because i just seemed to be sat here all day (think i was a little addicted). Now im at uni i have less time so only enter now and again which is great because i enjoy it again and have won a few dvd’s etc for the kids
I don’t have any lucky charm, though won a lucky duck long time ago via a U2U but this has now been claimed by little one lol.
post came very late yesterday while she was having a nap, and when she woke up, I told her a little parcel came, with a little toy phone inside…you should have seen her excitement, as she jumped out of bed “going to see it”….That in itself is a huge motivator lol.
Any wins I get even small keeps me motivated, when having a lean spell reading the winners post on loquax keeps me going as I think “it could be me next”…I feel even happier when I see regular contributors to the forum winning…;
At home my biggest motivator is my little girl
I now keep a spreadsheet. i try to beat the previous months total of entries. and always watch the telly whilst comping
I don’t have any lucky charm or special technique. I do have a positive attitude though. If I make the mistake of comparing the number of draws/competitions I’ve entered with the number of prizes won then that positive attitude can take a severe kicking and will take some considerable time to get back up to good levels again. I’ve just gone though such a period when I realised I enter between around 100, sometimes as many as 200, draws/competitions every month and in the last TWO years all I have won is a book and a DVD. That’s all. Still, if you don’t enter you can’t win. So I will keep on trying to win that big prize.
Not had many wins this year but keep on trying and have a definite positive feeling that i will win – added to which I am sure that a Loquax pen will help with the postcard comps and a Loquax mug filled with lovely hot tea to keep the mind concentrated
I don’t think i have ever thought about “packing in the comping”, obviously I get a bit down if i dont win. I keep a record of the competitions i am enetering in a little book – i have done this since feb 2010 and i keep a little black book of monthly wins. I LOVE what i do and never get tired of it! I love helping people out and posting competitions too! Most of all i LOVE this site x
been a wee bit slow with my comping just now, due to family illnesses
hoping to pick up again real soon, would love a new mug to help me along the way.
I think we all lose our mojo from time to time but I have found that reading about other peoples wins really helps !! Recently I havehad a friend win one of the packages from ITV (worth a few £1000′s) and another friend win a trip to Florida and both these times it has made me realise that people DO win these things and one day it WILL be me
That said it has been a little while since I had a win !!!
Another thing that keeps me going is the look on my kids faces when the postman does call
Priceless – especially the time when a courier delived a childs size Ferrari – my son was really struck speechless for about 10 minutes 
xx
When people say they haven’t won much this year!! I havent won anything since October and even that hasn’t turned up yet despite i don’t know how many emails.. I have a peep in a file with all my winning letters to help inspire me. Oh, and a nice cup of tea in a Loquax mug would really help. Thank you Jason and Kirsty.
Stack em and rack em, clean em and fry em!
I love comping, and consider it a hobby, i enter different comps on different days – i may enter loads for a few days then miss a day or two. then go mad entering again. this is my first year and have had some good wins especially the 3 months before christmas
I think my wins are considered on the small side but a wins a win, my prizes have been varied and it feels good to give a prize i have won to someone, cheers me up to see someone smile
i dont have a lucky charm. however i try to do a variety of comps to keep things fresh.
I just read the forum about the great wins people have had and it spurs on in the hope it might be my turn next
It could be me!
The excitement from imagining the winning prize turning up keeps me motivated – honestly I’ve been half way round the world in my daydreams whilst entering comps!! lol. Also any little thing that turns up reminds me that there is still hope of a good prize turning up one day soon……
i just think of the few nice things I`ve won over the years,and just as per above,take a break if I`ve had enough. Comping should just be a pastime, not take over your life.
I remind myself of the time I was about to give up comping then won a 42″ plasma TV. It makes me think that at the end of every dry spell could be one big prize rather than winning lots of small ones.
Someone once said to me that if you throw enough mud – some sticks! I often think of this when I am entering and it makes me throw just a little more mud!!! By the way, it does work, some does stick. Jane
No matter what happens, even if I am going through a dry spell without any wins I still keep going entering more and more competitions. I always post competitions I find if they arent listed and take an interest in other peoples wins. This makes me feel part of the community and hopefully creating comping Karma. Involving my 4year in the world of comping also keeps me going as he gets so excited when a win pops through the door, he always beats me to the letterbox.
Basically I’m an eternal optimist so I always think that the next prize is just around the corner. If I’m going through a lean spell I look back on the list of all the wins that I’ve accumulated over the past 23 years and think how lucky I have been. Loquax has been responsible for quite a lot of my wins – so thank you so much for being here.
Just enter when you’re in the mood – winning sure helps to keep going. Fits and starts is the best way.
There’s been a few times when dry spells have been far too long and I wondered if comping was worth continuing, but I would miss it if I gave up. Best thing to do is have a little break and then get back in the pond *Quack*
What keeps me going is the present box that has things in for my daughters. It makes a HUGE difference come xmas.
I’ve only ever won one prize and have had nothing since, so to lift my spirits and reinvigorate myself i just look in the forums and congratulate those who have had better luck. Sounds cheesy but makes me genuinely pleased for them…..btu also hope that some of their luck will rub off on me!!
I’ve had a bit of success lately (£100 and £200 cheques) but I remember a post by Lucien about ‘Cosmic Ordering’ and try to visualise what I’d like – including the colours, sounds etc and then press on and sit back and wait for it to arrive!
I have given up twice but then gone back to it. It is fun not knowing what is coming to your front door, be it big or small it is always a lovely surprise
The winner of the Loquax Mug is elainelane