10 questions I’m always asked

“Mother quits job to win prizes!”

So, last Monday as I boarded a flight to Lanzarote I was suddenly bombarded with notifications about this article on the Express website. Then this one in the Daily Mail and this one in the Daily Star. The following day my story was printed in the Metro and featured in Danish & Dutch news websites. I knew I’d made it when they name checked me on Loose Women!

I’d done a quick phone interview and photo shoot for Caters News Agency the previous week after being approached via Twitter. We thought it would go into one of the women’s weeklies: it’s a fun way to pick up some new blog followers. It must have been a slow day for the media as suddenly ‘mum quits job to enter competitions’ was touted as actual news!

The quotes and statistics in the press were right – it’s the crazy headlines that made no sense. I did quit my job (a part-time job, not full-time) in April to focus on comping. But not just entering comps: I wanted to devote more time to growing my comping blog and writing a comping book, as well as spend more time with my son. In fact, the last few months I’ve been entering LESS comps (the ‘two hours a day’ I quoted) as I’ve been enthusiastically working on the book and blog, and devoting time to preparing (unpaid) presentations and documents for Britmums Live, Blogstock and CAP.

Of course, the press saw it differently: “Unemployed mum wins her life!” All rather extreme, but “Mum quits job to try and make a bit of money from winning comps, writing a book and blogging” isn’t the most thrilling of headlines!

Anyway, whilst on my holiday I did an interview every day with various worldwide radio stations and papers – and they always ask the same questions… so I thought you might like to read my answers!

10 questions I’m always asked

Is Di Coke your real name?

Yes. I used to be Di John and married Mr Coke in 2007.  At the time, Facebook refused to change my name to Coke until I emailed them a copy of my new passport!

How did you get started winning competitions?

In the late 90s I won music festival tickets every year with homemade postcard entries. I got more ambitious and started entering holiday comps: before long I won trips to Ireland, Iceland, New York and Japan, discovered tiebreakers and couldn’t stop comping!

What’s the best prize you’ve won?

A VW Beetle. It was my dream car. After the competition closed I went to bed each night imagining how I would react when I got the winning telephone call. So it was no real surprise when I did! (read more about my top ten prizes here)

Do you play the lottery?

No. It’s a game of chance, costs money and the odds are tiny compared to competitions!

What’s your top tip for compers?

Be positive. If you don’t believe you can win, why are you entering?

What’s the worst prize you’ve won?

I once opened my front door to a radio presenter waving a prize packet of Danish Bacon at me. I was vegetarian at the time. Luckily the prize also included £500 Sainsbury’s vouchers – so it wasn’t such a bad prize after all!

Can you make a living from winning prizes?

Of course not. I hope I’ll be able to make a living from writing about winning prizes, but the prizes themselves don’t usually pay the bills. I do win enough vouchers and gifts to ensure Christmas and birthdays don’t cost any money, I never pay for our family’s clothes or toiletries, and winning family holidays certainly saves a lot of money – and each year I’m lucky enough to win a few surprise gadget prizes which I can sell on. Mind you, a big tax-free cash win on the radio or a gameshow could definitely replace an annual salary – and these newspaper headlines have given me the motivation to see how much I actually CAN win if I dedicate more time to comping. Watch this space!

Are you just a lucky person?

No, I don’t think I was born lucky. I’ve worked hard at it!

Why do you tell people about the hobby when that reduces your own chance of winning?

There are thousands of competitions running in the UK with enough prizes for everyone to get involved. If a promoter launches a good competition I like to share it so it will get lots of entries, encouraging the promoter to do more of the same. I also love to help people win prizes: I get tweets, emails and messages daily from happy winners which always make me smile.

Are you obsessed with entering competitions?

Er, yes.

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(Top banner photo courtesy of Caters News Agency)