How and Where to Win Competitions in Australia

We see cars, appliances, cash and other giveaways everywhere but who is winning them?

Some of my wins this year include a $1,000 Into The Wild travel voucher (March 2023), a $500 Endota Spa Voucher (May 2023), a $400 Adore Beauty voucher (November 2023), 6 month magazine subscription, a $100 fuel voucher, $50 food voucher, $1,500 photography package and another $800 one, a beauty pack and a few other things.

In other years I have won things including a Phillips Air Fryer, a set of Stanley Rogers knives in a gorgeous wooden block, numerous food prizes etc.

Entering competitions can be so quick and it is amazing what you can win. With Maccas Monopoly, my friends Josh and Naomi won a car!

So how can you win and which ones are the best to enter? Here are my tips and some places to find them.

The Thrifty Issue uses affiliate links for products and services we personally use. Read the full disclosure here.

How I Win Competitions

Currently, we are entering every competition we come across and are paying closer attention to how we spend our money.

For example, Justin wanted a 6 pack and loves Hawkes Pale Ale.

Last year, we bought one and I noticed the competition so I sent him back into the store to get a receipt so we could enter.

I popped in my purse and forgot about it.

A few weeks later, I remembered but I had thrown out the box with the details so had to Google it, then entered. March 2023, I woke up and surprise, we won!

There were 30 x $1,000 vouchers to be won and now we will be doing a glamping holiday we’ve always wanted to do.

In May, I won a $500 Endota Day Spa voucher then in July a photography session with a photo, as well as smaller prizes throughout the year.

Being aware, entering everything relevant to brands we buy or our regular shopping has helped us secure a few great prizes recently.

5 Tips For ‘Comping’ aka Entering Competitions

Comping is a term people use for entering giveaways and competitions. For some, it is almost a full-time job and they love it.

Given how many competitions and giveaways there are, statistically, if you enter a lot, you should win something.

Previously, I win thousands of dollars worth of stuff when I am actively entering competitions. Dresses, food, skincare, cash, books, makeup, everything you can think of.

1. Get a Different Email Address

Have a competition-specific email address or your regular one will get overloaded.

I have an email address I use specifically for competitions and online surveys (find the best Aussie online surveys here).

You will get inundated with marketing because it is often a condition of entry. A separate email address saves your inbox.

Make sure you check the inbox and confirm subscriptions to email lists if it is a condition of entry for the giveaway. Otherwise, your entry won’t be valid.

2. Be Active on Social Media

Some people set up separate social media accounts purely for entering competitions and giveaways. Facebook is strict about this but Instagram allows multiple accounts.

However, being active and involved with a regular-looking account can increase your chances of winning rather than a comping account.

Some competitions now have it in their terms and conditions comping profiles are excluded from entering.

Also, social media has some incredible giveaways.

Need someone to tag? If you enter competitions on Instagram and need to tag a friend, you can tag us @thethriftyissue AND you can tag my personal account @kylietravers_au plus my family travel account @BlendedNomads if you want.

3. Don’t Fall for Scams

If something appears too good to be true, it probably is. Many of the competitions you see on Facebook where you share and could win an iPad, $10,000, tickets from an airline etc are fake.

Thoroughly check the account hosting or promoting the giveaway before you share anything. Any account with . or _ in the name probably isn’t the official one.

Scammers are extremely good at copying entire accounts to appear as if they are legit. Don’t be fooled. Always research it further.

Never click on links sent to you in email, messenger etc. Check the email address sending you the prize to see if it matches the competition or brand it claims to represent and check online to see the announcements for winners to confirm all is good.

4. You have to be in it to win it!

As basic as it sounds, you don’t win if you don’t enter. It can take time but it is something you can do while watching TV, waiting at school pick up or at similar times.

Put your scrolling to good use and enter comps where possible instead of mindlessly watching reels. You could end up winning some incredible prizes.

5. 25 Words or Less

The more effort someone has to put into entering the less likely they are to do it.

As a result, competitions or giveaways with numerous steps or requiring an answer always have fewer entries than those which are just like and share or random selection.

Ones with 25 words or less about something as a requirement get the lowest amount of entries.

Also, the more people you have to follow or the more friends you have to tag etc the fewer individual people enter.

Personally, I have found social media competitions and product purchase competitions to be good.

Meaning, blogger/influencer giveaways or brand giveaways where you enter after buying the item.

Be sure to keep receipts and enter correctly, read the terms and conditions and don’t throw anything away until well after the competition has ended.

I have had to provide the receipt again via email when they said I won, even though it had been uploaded as part of the entry.

Where To Enter

Personally, I have won the most through companies I already use e.g. HelloFresh, Endota, drinks etc or blog giveaways. Here is a list of places recommended by myself and my readers.

Brands You Use

We all have certain brands we buy for everything from food to beauty products. How often do you enter the competitions they run?

It wasn’t until my kids got to be around 8 or 9 and started noticing the competitions and asking to enter that I got serious about it.

Then as we travelled and the world shut down, we kind of stopped.

At the end of last year, we decided to get started again and so hard have won a $500 day spa gift card, a $1,000 gift card, another $200 gift card for a store, numerous drinks/food prizes and we are in the running for items all the time now.

Check the social channels, catalogues and promotions for any brands you like and enter.

Be sure to keep receipts when you buy them and follow the steps properly.

Terms and conditions can be tricky at times but this has been the best way for me to win stuff lately.

Blogs

Many bloggers run giveaways regularly for anything and everything. Companies know bloggers have great audiences and want to get in front of them.

Quite a few bloggers share their giveaways in this Aussie Facebook group.

Generally, if you follow bloggers you like they will share on their social pages when they are running giveaways.

Social Media

Instagram and Facebook have been amazing for giveaways.

Local businesses often run small giveaways which have fewer entries as they are open only to locals or only of interest to locals.

Follow some of your favourite businesses on social media or look up your local area hashtags to see what competitions are around. E.g. if you are in Canberra, look up #Canberra or #CBR or #CanberraGiveaways and tags like that.

Magazines

As a teen, I had a friend who entered That’s Life and Take 5 every week. All those puzzles, crosswords and opportunities to pitch stories, send in photos etc. It was popular.

While you can still get magazines at the shops, you can also enter numerous comps on the magazine websites. Mindfood is one I have liked and know a few people who have won things there.

Competition Sites

This is listed last as many of the competitions on comping sites now are spam. They used to be good but most just want your details.

The most popular and genuine competition sites we’ve come across are Mum Central, Mouth Of Mums, girl.com.au and for broader ones, Competitions Guide.

Read the terms and conditions of any competition thoroughly as sometimes you need to keep the receipt, live in a certain location or meet other conditions.

Where do you enter and win competitions or giveaways?

For more ways to make and save money follow us on social media:

The Thrifty Issue Facebook Page
The Thrifty Issue Facebook Group
The Thrifty Issue Instagram