Most competition enthusiasts spend many hours on-line keying their details into entry forms online, but even though there are enthusiast communities and message boards, there's no denying that this can be a repetitive and tedious task.
Although form filling software can speed things up a little, this is no replacement for a competent, professional entry service, that will do all of the work for you, and never get bored or miss a closing date.
Automatic competition entry has been around for some time, but has suffered with a poor reputation from some unscrupulous operators who simply spam contest providers with hundreds of identical entries at once. But the benefits are clear - you wouldn't go back to a hand washboard, when a washing machine can do the job better in a fraction of the time would you?
So what's stopping you signing up? We've heard the following reasons:
1. Why pay? - I could enter myself for nothing.
That's true, you could enter competitions in your free time, but that time isn't really free. Why not? Well, it's all to do with what's known as 'Opportunity Cost'. That's the the money you lose when you could have done something that would have made you more For example, if you spend just one hour a day entering competitions, when you could have been working then that's £6 you've lost (based on the UK minimum wage). And remember, that's the minimum, it doesn't include the cost of power, heat, light, your computer or your internet connection. With an automatic entry service, you just have your subscription to pay, and you have your free time available to spend with family and friends.
2. I don't think anyone really wins this way.
Yes they really do - every competition entry site will have a winners page, and any site that didn't produce winners would soon fold as most new members come through recommendations. Obviously luck plays a part, just as it does when you enter your own details, but reputable sites will list their winners and make winner's emails available for inspection. Look for sites that list proper names and locations; 'Mr X.Y.Z from England' doesn't inspire confidence. Automatic entry sites rely on the goodwill of winners to let them know about their wins, so you can be sure that the wins you see represent just a fraction of the total wins generated.
3. I won't know what I've been entered for.
A good competition entry service will provide a subscriber's login page so that each subscriber can find out exactly what they've been entered for. This should be updated in real-time and show the date and time of each entry. You should be able to choose the types of prize you want and the location of any domestic holidays so you can decide whether you are prepared to travel.
A really good competition service will back this up with regular statements, so every member will have a complete record of their entry history, plus you'll have entry confirmations in your competition email account to check at your leisure.
4. I'll get too many spam emails.
A professional automatic entry service will be able to separate legitimate competitions from fly-by-night sites harvesting address details, and will always check the 'Don't send me more information' button where possible.
The best ones will set up new email accounts specifically for your competitions so that your regular mailbox is not filled with marketing emails.
5. They don't enter that many competitions.
That may be true for some of the more basic services, you should always check to see how many entries you should expect.
Remember that even competitions for small prizes attract thousands of entries, so a good competition entry service needs to make thousands of entries for you in order to give your entry a reasonable chance of being drawn.
