Quick Holiday Comping Checklist
Are you reading this before you start your holiday? Maybe you are on holiday right now, like me – I’m writing this in a Cumbrian Center Parcs lodge! The lack of Wi-Fi certainly presses the brakes on any of my usual comping activities -especially with the family about – but there are a few things that are making this year a lot less stressful on the comping front that I’m about to share with you.
CHECK MISSED PRIZES
Last year, in the Isle of Wight, I decided not to comp and missed out on two Facebook wins and I don’t want to repeat that!
There is a difference between not entering competitions and letting everything else slide. I have entered so many competitions with August closing dates and I really don’t want to repeat my mistake. With so many competitions saying that the winner must be contacted in seven days or the prize will be passed on to another winner – I’m desperate for that not to happen again. So – to prevent me developing a cold sweat by imagining a duplicated scenario with even worse consequences (last year, it was only a set of tea towels and a games compendium), I’ve made a little plan.
When I CAN get Wi-Fi (usually in Starbucks or department stores) – I have bookmarked Social Mention website to check whether I have been mentioned online. This can also be done quite effectively on our browser (Google, Firefox, safari etc.) I check <my name> and a selection of the following terms:
- <congratulations>
- <You have won>
- <winner>
They are the best generic search terms and they may appear simplistic but one of them is always mentioned. Searching in this way is particularly god for Twitter if the promoter has not tagged you properly, also for the public Facebook pages. Blog posts usually post your name but if, like me, you haven’t got a blog, you aren’t linked and you don’t always get the e-mail as they come through as spam or get caught up in the notorious ‘other’ inbox.
EMAILS AND NEWSLETTER CHECKS
If you don’t already do so and can – it’s recommended to get your e-mails uploaded to your phone. Most smart phones do this – so if you haven’t got one – try to win a smartphone or a tablet with Wi-Fi enabled. If you are lucky to get enough Wi-Fi to check your e-mails on your phone, a quick check in the search box with the terms above and this should flag up any wins that have come through.
Have you ever missed out on a prize? What happened? Do you run checks? Tell us about it in the comments…