Rushing to enter comps

carlyh69

Is it just me or does anyone else rush through the pages to try and keep up to date? I find it so hard to not get behind i find myself skipping lots that i could potentially enter (mainly ones that require slight effort like a photo etc)
Maybe I need to slow down and improve the quality of my comping!
I dont know how you all do it! I must spend at least 2 hours a day if not more some days.

ChamomileTao

I find it best to comp in a way which doesn't have any great imperative so you don't panic and try to keep up. The most popular today list is my friend. The further you get into it the smaller the prizes so even if you don't have much time you still tend to get the big prizes done.

hazyjo

I do them on and off all day and at least an hour at night, and enter sometimes for hours at the weekend (not what I consider lucky though lol).

I do them in end-date order, then you don't worry about getting behind and missing ones that have finished by the time you see them.

I try to be a day ahead as some finish on the day listed so you can miss out on them.

That does mean the last day of the month is ridiculous with tens of pages to do so I try to clear some of those when I'm a couple of days ahead.

I also tend to open them in loads of tabs - I find it quicker than opening each one and doing them. I'll scour each title and if I think I'll want to enter, right click and choose 'open link in new tab'. I'm quite fussy with what I enter though, so can usually open them all fairly quickly (it's the doing them that takes the time!).

Jx

glittercutcrease

carlyh69 wrote: »

Is it just me or does anyone else rush through the pages to try and keep up to date? I find it so hard to not get behind i find myself skipping lots that i could potentially enter (mainly ones that require slight effort like a photo etc)

100% if I've not comped in a few weeks. I put more effort into blog comments with things I'm knowledgeable on and have had success with that, but hardly ever bother with the photo comps. If I'm in a rush I'll also skip all the 'tell us why you want to win' ones on Facebook :silenced: they do my nut in (sorry).

carlyh69

thanks for the feedback! will try out those functions mentioned! My other half laughs at me and says it would only be me that gets so worried about missing comps!

mjm3346

The simplest thing is to set your standards high enough so the number you enter matches the time available.

Apart from all the other reasons for not doing it entering by end-date takes longer so doing it that way will result in more missed competitions then by entering in the order they are added.


From an old thread

If a competition is properly run it makes no difference when you enter.

When it comes down to the best way to enter it has to be enter early - stay away from end dating as the advantages are almost none and the risks of missing out are many -

Comp closes early (or just sometime before midnight on the final day)
Comp website has problems (even worse if it's a weekend)
MSE forum goes down
Your broadband and or computer/laptop etc go down
Real life events take out comping time
Also unless you use the subforums you will miss out on the enter early ones where you get included in draws from the day/week of entry up to the competition end date.

The only possible advantage to end dating that I can think of is that someone posted about poorly run twitter competitions being more likely to pick later entries.

By entering early the comps closing early are not a problem and there is more time to overcome all the other issues above.

(Early entry would be after the post has been up a little while so if there are any problems they will have been noticed - self-promo/spam sites/wrong answer etc unless you are happy to check things like that out yourself)

If you do daily comps where nothing changes then bookmark them direct so you don't need to go through the forum to enter (it's a way to go now but the same applies for most advents) cuts down entry time and it doesn't matter if mse goes off-line.

Another disadvantage to entering by end date are the large peaks in the number of competitions that close on Fridays and on the last day of a month (There will be a huge number of competitions ending on Fri 31st Jan). Entry closer to when they are added gives a more even number to enter and allows more time to deal with any peaks that might arise.

Makeandsave

I no longer have a life on Friday or Wednesday lol, Being out of work it keep me busy and it helps that i enjoy comping. I have it worked out now which ones i enter on FreebieFriday and WinItWednesday to save time. I mainly know who posts what on here (worked it out) I know the sites etc. Thank you again to all of you who post. I do try and add bits i.e answers etc if i can.

Cathp808

ChamomileTao wrote: »

I find it best to comp in a way which doesn't have any great imperative so you don't panic and try to keep up. The most popular today list is my friend. The further you get into it the smaller the prizes so even if you don't have much time you still tend to get the big prizes done.

How do you search the most popular ?

mjm3346

Cathp808 wrote: »

How do you search the most popular ?

This thread

NEW COMPERS PLEASE READ - Competition Board - useful links

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4896515


contains a link with various sort methods

Quick ways to sort the board eg by end date & New Topic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4140535

Cathp808

Thanks mjm3346 No matter how long I use this site I always manage to learn something new. I love how it feels like teamwork on here.:T

carlyh69

Yes couldnt agree more, everyone is very helpful!