Tracking & Organisation

Why Organisation Matters in Comping

The difference between casual and successful compers often comes down to organisation. Without tracking:

• You forget which competitions you've entered
• You miss prize claim deadlines
• You can't analyse what's working
• You enter the same competitions multiple times (wasting time)
• You lose motivation without seeing progress

With good systems:

• Every entry is logged and searchable
• You never miss a prize claim
• Data reveals your winning patterns
• You avoid duplicate entries
• Visible progress maintains motivation

Setting Up Your Tracking System

Choosing Your Method

Option 1: Sweepzy (Recommended) Purpose-built for compers, Sweepzy offers:

• Competition discovery and entry tracking
• Automatic deadline reminders
• Win logging and statistics
• Community features
• Mobile accessibility

Option 2: Spreadsheet For those who prefer custom solutions:

• Complete control over format
• Works offline
• Free (Google Sheets, Excel)
• Requires manual maintenance

Option 3: Hybrid Approach Many successful compers use:

• Sweepzy for discovery and quick tracking
• Personal spreadsheet for detailed analysis
• Calendar for deadline management

Essential Information to Track

For each competition entry, record:

Building an Effective Spreadsheet

Basic Structure

Create columns for:

Date Entered | Competition Name | Brand | Entry Method | Prize | Value (£) | End Date | Status | Notes

Status Options

Use consistent status categories:

• Entered - Awaiting result
• Won - Prize won!
• Lost - Didn't win
• Pending - Awaiting shipment/confirmation
• Received - Prize in hand
• Expired - Competition ended, no result found

Automating Calculations

Add these formulas to your spreadsheet:

Total entries: =COUNTA(A:A)-1 (minus header row)

Win rate: =COUNTIF(H:H,"Won")/COUNTIF(H:H,"<>")

Total prize value: =SUMIF(H:H,"Won",F:F)

Entries this month: =COUNTIFS(A:A,">="&DATE(YEAR(TODAY()),MONTH(TODAY()),1),A:A,"<="&EOMONTH(TODAY(),0))

Conditional Formatting Tips

Make your spreadsheet visual:

• Green for "Won" status
• Red for "Lost" status
• Yellow for approaching deadlines
• Blue for "Pending" items

Using Sweepzy Effectively

Getting Started

1. Create your free account
2. Set up your profile with correct details
3. Browse the competition listings
4. Start entering and tracking

Key Features to Use

Competition Discovery:

• Filter by entry method
• Sort by end date
• View estimated entry counts
• Find competitions matching your interests

Entry Tracking:

• One-click entry logging
• Automatic deadline tracking
• Quick win recording
• Historical entry search

Statistics Dashboard:

• Win rate visualisation
• Entry volume trends
• Prize value tracking
• Category breakdown

Notifications:

• Deadline reminders
• Winner announcements
• New competition alerts
• Prize claim reminders

Best Practices

Daily habits:

• Log entries as you make them (not later)
• Check notifications for deadlines
• Browse new competitions

Weekly tasks:

• Review upcoming deadlines
• Update any won/lost statuses
• Analyse weekly performance

Monthly review:

• Check win rate trends
• Identify successful patterns
• Adjust strategy based on data

Managing Deadlines Effectively

The Deadline Challenge

Missing deadlines is a common problem:

• Daily entry competitions need daily attention
• Final entries are often forgotten
• Winner announcements get missed

Calendar Integration

Option 1: Phone calendar Add competitions with:

• End date as event
• Reminder 1 day before
• Repeat for daily entry comps

Option 2: Google Calendar Create a dedicated "Comping" calendar:

• Colour-coded by priority
• Shareable across devices
• Easy to add from Sweepzy

Option 3: Sweepzy reminders Use built-in notifications:

• Automatic deadline tracking
• Push notifications
• Email reminders

Prioritisation System

Not all deadlines are equal. Prioritise by:

High priority:

• High-value prizes
• Low-entry competitions
• Competitions you've invested time in
• Daily entry comps near closing

Medium priority:

• Standard competitions
• Regular value prizes
• Social media with moderate entries

Lower priority:

• Very high entry competitions
• Low value prizes
• Competitions easily re-entered

Tracking Wins and Prizes

Why Win Tracking Matters

Beyond the obvious joy, tracking wins:

• Motivates during dry spells
• Reveals winning patterns
• Helps with tax considerations (high-value prizes)
• Creates proof for disputed claims
• Enables accurate strategy analysis

Win Logging Best Practices

When you win, record:

• Original competition entry details
• Date won notification received
• Prize details (exact item/value)
• Shipping/claim status
• Date received
• Any conditions (reviews, social posts)
• Actual value (may differ from listed)

Prize Management

Pending prizes: Create a separate list/view for prizes:

• Not yet dispatched
• In transit
• Requiring action from you
• With approaching claim deadlines

Claiming prizes: For each win, note:

• What information you provided
• Any reference numbers
• Expected delivery timeframe
• Contact details for follow-up

When Prizes Don't Arrive

It happens. Your tracking system helps:

1. Check your entry record
2. Verify claim was completed
3. Find promoter contact details
4. Document timeline for enquiry
5. Follow up politely but persistently

Analysing Your Performance

Key Metrics to Monitor

Basic metrics:

• Total entries (weekly/monthly)
• Total wins
• Win rate percentage
• Total prize value won

Advanced analysis:

• Win rate by entry method
• Win rate by prize category
• Best-performing competition sources
• Return on time invested

Monthly Review Process

Set aside 30 minutes monthly to:

1. Update all outcomes

   • Mark competitions as won/lost
   • Update pending prizes status
   • Clear expired entries

2. Calculate key metrics

   • This month's win rate vs previous
   • Total value won
   • Most successful entry methods

3. Identify patterns

   • Which competition types perform best?
   • What times/days yield wins?
   • Which brands/promoters work for you?

4. Adjust strategy

   • Increase focus on winning areas
   • Reduce effort on underperforming methods
   • Set goals for next month

Data-Driven Decisions

Your tracking data should inform:

Time allocation: If social media comps have 1% win rate and creative comps have 5%, adjust time accordingly.

Source selection: If certain websites/brands never yield wins, deprioritise them.

Entry volume: If increasing entries doesn't improve wins, focus on quality instead.

Staying Motivated

Using Data for Motivation

Progress visualisation:

• Chart your cumulative wins over time
• Track monthly prize values
• Celebrate milestones (100 entries, first £100 win, etc.)

Dry spell management: When wins aren't coming:

• Review past wins to remember success
• Check you're still entering correctly
• Remember that statistics require time
• Connect with other compers for support

Goals and Milestones

Set achievable targets:

• Daily entry goals
• Monthly win targets
• Value thresholds (first £50 prize, etc.)
• Category completions (win each prize type)

Track progress toward goals visually:

• Progress bars in spreadsheets
• Sweepzy statistics dashboard
• Physical win board or journal

Advanced Organisation Tips

Batch Processing

Group similar tasks:

• All Instagram entries in one session
• All form entries together
• All daily entries at same time each day

Benefits:

• Faster due to routine
• Fewer context switches
• Better time tracking
• Creates consistent habits

Templates and Saved Information

Prepare in advance:

• Common answers to questions
• About me / tie-breaker templates
• Address formatted for quick pasting
• Standard photo assets for creative comps

Folder Structure

Organise digital assets:

• Screenshots of confirmations
• Photos for creative entries
• Winner announcements
• Prize documentation
• Terms and conditions

Backup Your Data

Whatever system you use:

• Regular exports/backups
• Cloud storage for security
• Multiple device access
• Recovery plan if data lost

Common Organisation Mistakes

What NOT to do:

Over-engineering: Don't create systems so complex you don't use them. Simple and consistent beats elaborate and abandoned.

Under-tracking: Logging nothing means learning nothing. Even basic tracking helps.

Irregular updates: Letting entries pile up to log later leads to forgotten entries. Track as you go.

Ignoring the data: Collecting data you never analyse wastes effort. Schedule regular reviews.

Perfectionism: Don't wait for the perfect system. Start simple, improve over time.

Getting Started Checklist

Your organisation setup:

☐ Create dedicated comping email ☐ Set up Sweepzy account (or spreadsheet) ☐ Configure deadline notifications ☐ Establish daily comping routine ☐ Plan weekly review time ☐ Schedule monthly analysis session ☐ Create backup system

Start small, build habits, and improve your system over time. The best organisation method is the one you'll actually use consistently.