Winning competitions often comes down to pure luck - but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances.

Put in the Time – Entering competitions can take up a lot of time, but the more you enter, the more chances you have of winning. If you like to relax in front of the TV during the evening, it doesn’t take much effort to have a laptop on your knee, entering competitions at the same time. Or use lunch or tea breaks to enter magazine competitions or giveaways on your phone. Get into a consistent routine of looking for and entering competitions each day or each week.

Look for Local – Keep an eye out for competitions in your area, where there will be fewer entries. Check local papers and websites and like and follow the social media pages and accounts of local businesses, restaurants, nightclubs etc. Keep an eye out for competition and giveaway posters in your local shops.

Like, Follow and Share – Social media is a hotbed for competitions, especially Twitter and Facebook. On Twitter, do specific searches for hashtags such as #competition, #win or #comp and follow accounts which regularly hold giveaways. Facebook comps are harder to find and usually involve 'liking' a company's page and sharing a post. However, most are sponsored posts and will appear in your newsfeed automatically. Instagram and Pinterest are also competition hotspots and these get fewer entries than those on Facebook and Twitter – boosting your chances of winning. Hunt for competitions by searching #Competition on Instagram, though you'll need to wade through irrelevant results and check they're based in the UK and Ireland. On Pinterest, find comps by doing a search for 'competition'.

Search for Your Prizes – Use a search engine to find the prizes you want. Entering ‘Win a Washing Machine’ into Google, results in numerous competition opportunities.

Avoid ‘Pay to Enter’ – Competitions that charge to enter, such as ‘texts cost €2 plus your network fee’, are essentially lotteries and the chances of winning are incredibly slim. Be extra wary of premium rate phone competitions. You could be listening at €1 a minute for five or 10 minutes before you hear any details. If you receive notification by letter, email, or text, saying that you've won a prize, but the competition organiser asks for a fee or deposit, walk away. It’s most likely a scam.

Set up a Separate Email – Companies usually run competitions to get your email, number and other personal details for marketing purposes, so avoid your personal email becoming deluged with spam by setting up a dedicated competition account.

Get a Competition Mobile – If you don't want to give out your number, consider getting a cheap, pay-as-you-go phone specifically for competitions that you enter via text, or those that request a mobile number. Just remember to keep it charged and always carry it with you – you wouldn’t want to miss a call telling you that you’re a winner.

Think About the Prize – Many prizes are non-transferable, so only enter if you really want to win, or can use the prize. It’s no good winning a competition for a two-week holiday in the Bahamas if you can’t take your children.

Read the Rules – Note the closing date and whether multiple entries are allowed. Also, check for exclusions and travel requirements in the small print. If it means taking a midweek mini-break when you've no holiday leave left, or the kids will be in school, forget it.

Worth the Extra Effort – Competitions where you actually have to do something such as writing a slogan, completing a crossword, or sending in a photo, attract far fewer entries, so you have a greater chance of winning.

Keep it Short and Punchy – A lot of competitions require tie-breaker slogans. Read what the text says about the company offering the prize and check out their website. They will have spent a lot of money developing their brand so will want a short and punchy slogan that will reflect what they are about. Try and praise the product and the company and prize. Judges prefer rhymes so write down the headings, Product, Promoter and Prize and write down all of the related words you can think of for each heading and see if a rhyme or recurring theme jumps out. Get inspiration from www.rhymezone.com which generates rhymes at the click of a button.

Crossword Blues – Many magazines have numerous prize crossword competitions. The website www.oneacross.com lets you search for difficult answers. It also has an anagram solver – key in a word and it instantly generates hundreds of possibilities

Be Patient – When you first start out, things will be slow and you can expect to wait between three to six months before you actually win anything. Be patient. Think of comping as a potentially rewarding hobby,

Think Positive – Positivity breeds positivity. If you don’t believe you will ever win then you probably won’t.