Fifty Pounds an Hour Entering Consumer Contests!
I'm talking mainly to my readers in the UK and Republic of Ireland in this post, so I hope the rest of you out there will bear with me. Your turn will come again soon!
If you're in either of these countries, did you happen to see the new TV show on UK Channel 5 last night titled It Pays to Watch? It's on at 7.30 pm on Wednesdays, and features Martin Lewis, the renowned personal finance campaigner.
Martin runs the excellent Moneysaving Expert website. If you haven't already, by the way, you really should sign up here for his free weekly email of money-saving (and money-making) tips. You can also read about the TV show, and view an extended online version, at the It Pays to Watch website.
Anyway, the show was very interesting - if a little frenetic at times - but one thing that especially caught my eye was when they interviewed a guy called Glynn Olive. Since he retired from the police force in 2007, Glynn has been spending an hour a day simply entering consumer competitions. During that time he has apparently won over 6000 UK pounds' (about $12000 US) worth of prizes. Some of these, such as a holiday at a five-star hotel in Malta, he and his family enjoyed - but others they didn't want, such as a Kymco motor scooter, he sold on for cash.
Martin Lewis worked out that, in effect, Glynn's hobby was earning him a staggering fifty pounds ($100 US) an hour. In fact, because in the UK prizes won in consumer contests are normally tax-free, this is the equivalent of a much higher rate of pay in a normal job. It's food for thought, isn't it?
Entering consumer contests has long been a sideline interest of mine, and over the years I've won various prizes, from a Mediterranean cruise to a crate of lager. I particularly favour the sort of contest which includes a tie-breaker slogan, e.g. where you have to complete a line such as "I love eating Australian apples every day because..." in 15 words or less.
These sort of contests are great for writers, because you really can use your professional skills to give you an edge over most of the other entrants. Here's an example of one such contest running online at the moment, so you can see what I mean. Note that these contests often require you to answer one or two other questions as well, but almost always these are very easy. Really, it all comes down to who can write the best "tie-breaker" slogan.
Unfortunately, this sort of contest is mainly open to people in the UK, and to a lesser extent in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Elsewhere in the world - e.g. the USA - sweepstakes abound, but because there is little skill in entering these, you have no opportunity to apply your writing abilities, and your chances of winning are therefore much less.
Anyway, I thought I'd take this opportunity to mention that entering consumer contests is a topic covered in my Quick Cash Writing course and, in much more depth, in my new course How to Win Contests. If you want to know all about entering consumer contests, how to devise winning slogans, essential online (and off-line) resources for "compers", and much more, you really should check them out. How to Win Contests does also discuss sweepstakes, but as mentioned above you can't do a lot to improve your chances of winning these. There are a few things, however, and naturally in my full course I reveal them :)
Good luck, and I hope you're soon earning the equivalent of fifty pounds an hour!
If you're in either of these countries, did you happen to see the new TV show on UK Channel 5 last night titled It Pays to Watch? It's on at 7.30 pm on Wednesdays, and features Martin Lewis, the renowned personal finance campaigner.
Martin runs the excellent Moneysaving Expert website. If you haven't already, by the way, you really should sign up here for his free weekly email of money-saving (and money-making) tips. You can also read about the TV show, and view an extended online version, at the It Pays to Watch website.
Anyway, the show was very interesting - if a little frenetic at times - but one thing that especially caught my eye was when they interviewed a guy called Glynn Olive. Since he retired from the police force in 2007, Glynn has been spending an hour a day simply entering consumer competitions. During that time he has apparently won over 6000 UK pounds' (about $12000 US) worth of prizes. Some of these, such as a holiday at a five-star hotel in Malta, he and his family enjoyed - but others they didn't want, such as a Kymco motor scooter, he sold on for cash.
Martin Lewis worked out that, in effect, Glynn's hobby was earning him a staggering fifty pounds ($100 US) an hour. In fact, because in the UK prizes won in consumer contests are normally tax-free, this is the equivalent of a much higher rate of pay in a normal job. It's food for thought, isn't it?
Entering consumer contests has long been a sideline interest of mine, and over the years I've won various prizes, from a Mediterranean cruise to a crate of lager. I particularly favour the sort of contest which includes a tie-breaker slogan, e.g. where you have to complete a line such as "I love eating Australian apples every day because..." in 15 words or less.
These sort of contests are great for writers, because you really can use your professional skills to give you an edge over most of the other entrants. Here's an example of one such contest running online at the moment, so you can see what I mean. Note that these contests often require you to answer one or two other questions as well, but almost always these are very easy. Really, it all comes down to who can write the best "tie-breaker" slogan.
Unfortunately, this sort of contest is mainly open to people in the UK, and to a lesser extent in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Elsewhere in the world - e.g. the USA - sweepstakes abound, but because there is little skill in entering these, you have no opportunity to apply your writing abilities, and your chances of winning are therefore much less.
Anyway, I thought I'd take this opportunity to mention that entering consumer contests is a topic covered in my Quick Cash Writing course and, in much more depth, in my new course How to Win Contests. If you want to know all about entering consumer contests, how to devise winning slogans, essential online (and off-line) resources for "compers", and much more, you really should check them out. How to Win Contests does also discuss sweepstakes, but as mentioned above you can't do a lot to improve your chances of winning these. There are a few things, however, and naturally in my full course I reveal them :)
Good luck, and I hope you're soon earning the equivalent of fifty pounds an hour!
Labels: contests, opportunities, resources, writing
Nick at 4:03 AM 
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