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HOME > Contests > Articles on winning contests! > A Winteresting Pastime - 1

A Winteresting Pastime - Part 1

By Lynne Suzanne

A new leisure pursuit is sweeping Britain - comping. And everyone is getting in to it. Ordinary people of all ages and  all walks of life are winning cruises, cash, cars and cuddly toys.  Yes, comping is so widespread, the word has now made a dictionary appearance.  Comping - entering competitions.

It's the new exciting, challenging and stimulating hobby. So if you love completing crosswords, rearranging anagrams and solving puzzles, you can join the winners. 

”Compers” are jetting to exotic locations and   driving gleaming new cars, all for the price of a postcard and stamp. And you can have a share of the action.

“Oh, I enter lots and never win a thing”, is a common cry.  Well now you can increase your chances of success.   Have a flutter on the National Lottery and you've an approximate 14 million to one chance of winning the jackpot.   Enter a national supermarket prize draw and your chances increase to  several thousands to one.  Submit entries local  competitions and success looms nearer.

It's all down to luck. Should your numbers come up or your entry be `first drawn from the hat' you're a lucky winner.   But now you can increase your chances of success even more. By entering those competitions where skill is involved.  You may have seen them. Entrants are asked to answer a few simple questions, then complete a tiebreaker sentence, for example: “I buy product at store because...”

Like any other hobby, there's a knack to writing winning tiebreakers. You can learn this knack. Since learning this, I've won two cars, holidays half way round the world, had my home professionally decorated and shopped in supermarkets at their expense. Just think, you can be rewarded with a gleaming new car, all for writing a ten word tiebreaker.   And mine is in the drive to prove it. My mum drives my other winning car,  just in case you thought it was a fluke.

You can learn how to win your dream prizes, too.  Motor -vated? Read on.

To win prizes you need to say in a given word limit, for example, ten, twelve or fifteen words, what benefits you receive when you buy and use the promoters product.

Let's imagine your local diy store has a reputation for good quality products and is currently promoting shelving with a tiebreaker competition.  You could write:   `They are packed with shelf confidence!  

Have a look through magazines and newspapers and read the headlines.  Note how many use short eye-catching or play on words to get their message across.  

Here’s a few ideas:

“Garden gives shear delight”

”Tree-mendous value at every branch!”

”Gold-en opera-tune-ity!”

If a headline `grabs you', then you read on. If not, you skip the paragraph and read something else. You need then, to apply this principle when writing your tiebreaker slogans.

For a competition offering a prize-winning holiday to Paris, via the Channel Tunnel,  you could follow the lead-in line:

”I would love to visit Paris because...”

“Eiffel in love with (product) at the end of the Tunnel!”

One idea can lead to another. 

The word love may make you think of the phrase – love at first sight.

”Eiffel in love at first sight – with (product)!”

When the product is something eatable, then simply adapt it to:

”Eiffel in love at first bite!”

And if the product is a computer, then how about:

”Eiffel in love at first byte!

Part 2...


© Copyright 2002  Lynne Suzanne www.win-with-lynne.co.uk


About the author
Lynne Suzanne is a freelance writer, consultant and speaker. She has written four books on winning prize competitions and slogan writing and presents Win With Lynne Roadshows and marketing seminars.
FREE Win With Lynne Expert Guide to Winning competition prizes
http://www.win-with-lynne.co.uk


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