In February I saw a lovely lady on the breakfast news who seemed to have won practically everything under the sun. That is how Di Coke got me into the world of comping. I seriously comped for the whole of March to see if I had got the Di-factor. So far, I got many freebies and prizes. I won around £100 worth of cinema vouchers. A biggie was a 100ml bottle of the latest Hugo Boss perfume which I won just in time for my wedding anniversary. But by far, the greatest prize was my garden photo being selected as the top 4 in Inamo tablecloth comp. The winner is not yet announced but I have already got my reward knowing that my talent was appreciated by a panel of judges and they compared my work to that of a ‘still from a BBC wildlife epic’! So here are some things I learned along the way:
1 – Play instant win comps to get instant but small prizes. They will keep your spirits up.
2 – Register with useful comping websites like ThePrizeFinder and CompersNews to get into obscure comps.
3 – Greater effort, greater rewards. For those wondering how Di manages to get all the big wins, I suggest please look at her entries and observe the tremendous amount of effort and creativity behind them.
4 – Do a cost-benefit analysis. I comped for a month and kept an account of how much I had won; believe me, it was worth my monthly mortgage!
5 – Be fair and honest while you comp. Cheating can make you a fortune, but then so can drug dealing! Have a conscience!
6 – Look at comping as something to explore your creative talents. Who knows, it could lead to a career change and a promising future!

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