Types of money-making competitions

The easiest competitions to enter are ones that are online. Since these are geared towards generating traffic all they really want is your email address - which is easy to provide.

By all means enter these if they look reasonable (many are not so be careful when you are looking around). But you MUST set up a separate email account to enter them. Otherwise you will find your inbox clogged up with nasty spam.

From what we now know about fake TV telephone competitions (think the BBC and ITV being fined for fixing their competitions), it’s sensible to assume that the vast majority of online competitions are there to attract traffic and will probably never pay out. However, concentrate on well known brands or companies who should have tighter controls and you are more likely be able to get your hands on the prize.

Here are a few competitions to get you started. The steps are all pretty much the same: you usually need to register with the site, fill out the survey and then you’re entered into the competition.

• A year’s free shopping at Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, ASDA’s and Waitrose - To win this prize you register and then complete an online survey about you, so they are able to select which offers and competitions to send you in the future. Be prepared to get a lot of emails from them, but there could be something useful for you in there!
• Win an Audi A4 - You need to register first which is free, but it looks like you will receive loads of advertisements via email - so don’t forget to set up another email account. Once you’ve registered you can enter the competition for a chance to win a your brand new Audi. Entrants have to be over 18.
• £250 in Harrods Gift Vouchers - Register for free online and complete two simple surveys to enter this prize draw. You could win yourself £250 in Harrods Gift Vouchers. Entrants have to be over 18.
• £250 in IKEA Gift Vouchers - This one works just like the competition above:  Spend a few minutes filling out the survey questions and have a chance to win £250 in IKEA Gift Vouchers.