How to Win Voting Competitions in Australia
Voting competitions can be challenging if you don't have a large social network. Learn proven strategies to gather votes, rally support, and maximise your chances of winning.
Key to Success
Community
Best Approach
Start Early
Success Rate
Higher Effort = Higher Reward
The Honest Truth About Voting Competitions
Voting competitions favour those with big families, friendly neighbours, and lots of social media friends. If that's not you, don't worry - you can still win with the right strategy. Or, you might decide to skip them entirely and focus on other competition types. Both approaches are valid!
Should You Enter Voting Competitions?
Enter If You Have...
- Large family willing to help
- Many Facebook/Instagram friends
- Active in competition communities
- Time to campaign for votes
- Willing to vote for others in return
Skip If You...
- Have a small social network
- Dislike asking for favours
- Prefer anonymous entries
- Don't want to reciprocate votes
- Get discouraged by public numbers
7 Proven Strategies to Get Votes
Utilise Your Competition Community
Ask for votes in comping forums like the Competitions.com.au community. Keep your request warm and genuine, and always vote for others in return - it's a two-way street!
Pro Tip: If you're really serious, offer to give away a small prize to someone who votes for you.
Start Early & Start Strong
If you blow your competition out of the water right from the start, many people will drop out and quit the race. Plus, other potential voters will see you at the top and vote for you (bandwagon effect).
Have a Plan: Know when the competition opens and be ready to start campaigning immediately.
Personal Email Outreach
Don't rely on the automatic "invite friends" feature - those emails often get marked as spam. Instead, cut and paste the link to your entry into a personalised email to friends and family with clear instructions on how to vote.
Hidden Goldmine: Check your inbox - there are potentially 30+ people you've emailed in the past who aren't "friends" on social media. A polite "How are you?" followed by a voting request can work wonders.
Social Media Blitz
Post on all your social media platforms - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, even LinkedIn if appropriate. Send direct messages to close friends who might miss your public posts.
Advanced: You can run a Facebook Ad campaign for a small fee to reach more people. Be careful with Facebook groups though - posting promotional content might get you kicked out!
Local Community Letter Drop
If you have time, print flyers and drop them into neighbours' letterboxes. Include any incentives (like sharing your prize if you win). You'd be surprised how your local community will rally around you!
Make It Easy: Include a QR code that links directly to your entry so neighbours can vote instantly from their phone.
Workplace Network
Depending on your workplace culture, send a short email to colleagues asking for votes. Seek out people who have access to larger mail groups in your organisation (like office managers or team leads).
Caution: Make sure this is appropriate for your workplace. Keep the email brief and professional.
Cross-Pollinate with Other Voters
Befriend people from OTHER voting competitions (not the same one you're in!). Building relationships with fellow compers creates a network of mutual support for future voting competitions.
Long Game: The friends you make helping others today become the votes you receive tomorrow.
Before You Enter: Check These
Terms & Conditions
- How can you solicit votes?
- What's the closing date?
- Is there anything that counts as cheating?
- Is there a judge's prize too?
Prize Structure
- Is the winner purely by votes?
- Is there a judge's choice component?
- Are there runner-up prizes?
Best Comps: Look for competitions that have BOTH a public vote winner AND a judge's choice prize - gives you two chances to win!
Still Create Your Best Entry
Even in voting competitions, it's still vital to create the best entry you can - whether it's a selfie, a product photo, or something as creative as a slogan on a coffee cup.
A great entry does double duty: it might win the judge's choice prize, AND it's easier to ask people to vote for something you're genuinely proud of!
Voting Competition Checklist
Read T&Cs carefully first
Create your best possible entry
Start campaigning early
Send personalised vote requests
Use forum voting request threads
Vote for others in return
Voting Competitions: Worth the Effort?
Watching your name climb up the Winners Board is exhilarating - and all the more rewarding when the prizes are big!
With the right strategy and community support, anyone can win a voting competition.