Does anyone EVER really get upto date entering all the comps posted on here?

mjm3346

From a previous thread

From a previous post in Jan 2014, not included in the list of advantages is the fact it is also quicker to enter without needing to sort the board by end-date

Quote:
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.
Added - "dead" comps past their closing date don't matter as they are out of the way down the board.

Also cut your cloth accordingly, if there are regularly too many for the time available then raise your standards and enter fewer. If it only happens occasionally then drag n drop the comps into a folder and enter when time permits - by having a folder you don't need to go back through the board and just carry on from where you left off.

Little_Miss_Winner

It's lovely to hear how you all manage your time /comps/ priorities etc...

I do like doing the dailies (Thanks Laura !!) as there are some fab prizes...maybe i need to limit these a little.

Cant wait for my first win after being absent from comping for it must be at least 6-7 years !! the time has flown, I did win some fabulous things over the years - but then life sorta gota in the way.

Anyway plodding on .... I can see a light at the end of the tunnel....altho its tiny, at least its there :D


xx

Compingfairy

I haven't read all of the posts but I enter them by date put onto the board. I am up to date entering a day behind eg today I entered all those from yesterday therefore when i'm done for the day I know no more for that day will be added and cuts my time down to fit around full time work and family life

bell

Im generally up to date.

I found the easiest way, is basically to just come every day (or as often as possible and enter anything like that is a new post until I reach the point at which I last entered a competition. I assumed everybody entered this way as its so simple to do.

I've tried the sorting by date thing, but I'd never get through them that. I did do it after taking most of Christmas off.