Review of '31 Strategies on How to Win Radio Contests' by Catherine Collins

Everyone loves to win a contest. Apart from getting our hands on the prizes, there is this unspeakable joy and thrill of winning a contest, knowing that we have done something right in beating other contestants to it; or simply by just being more fortunate! Joining radio contests may start off as merely exploratory and eventually reach the height of not being able to live without it. 

Stage 1 - for the fun of it / out of curiosity 

Stage 2 – it becomes a Hobby – ever since winning the first contest, your confidence level has certainly gone up a notch! Moreover, listening to the radio is also a hobby. 

Stage 3 – it becomes an Addiction – you tell yourself that you must win a particular contest and you will not be at peace until you have done so. You will do all you can to win, e.g. wake up early or stay up late (depending on the time of the contest), take leave off from work, etc. 

Stage 4 – it becomes a Passion – you know you are good at winning and you idolise your radio station. Winning radio contests is an integral part of your lifestyle. You want to share with others the good news of winning (but not the secret of doing it!). 

Stage 5 – it becomes a Profession – this is when strategies are being charted as well as research being done in order to maximise the winnings. 

Radio contests are also generally more “transparent” as the contests are run live on air with participants calling in at “real time” and scrutinised by the thousands, if not millions of listeners tuning in. 

You will find 31 STRATEGIES ON HOW TO WIN RADIO CONTESTS - INCLUDING WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING MORE! a useful tool in whatever stage you may be at.

Available on Amazon

**My thoughts*

Catherine Collins has assembled a list of her tried-and-true tips for winning contests on the radio. Many of them are fantastic and great tips for those who haven't been sure what to do in the past. I have used some of them in the past. I also learned a few new ideas that I may try to employ in the future. I have a couple of friends who seem to be crazy lucky when it comes to winning contests on the radio, and I believe they likely employ a lot of these strategies.

The final section, though, advises people to try to mask their own identities or to borrow the identities of others. The author includes a disclaimers saying that she does not advocate cheating. She also doesn't feel that those methods are exactly cheating. From my understanding of radio contests, at least around here, though, they could be considered cheating. I would personally advise against those ideas, but the rest of them are fantastic tips.

I would have loved to have had some anecdotes of successful contest wins, either by the author or some of her friends. How and when did these tips work for her and them?

There is an additional surprise section that includes great reasons for listening to the radio. And then another part talks about World Radio Day. While that information is interesting, in a way it felt like a bit of filler based on the title of this book. At the same time, the author is obviously dedicated to listening and wants to share her passion with others, which is great.

I did quite enjoy the poem at the end that is a nod to her love of listening to the radio.

So, overall I give the book three stars. It has a lot of useful information in it, though I caution against a few of those final tips. (Check the fine print of your own local radio stations to clarify their requirements in these situations.) I appreciate the nod to the love of radio and the interesting trivia. I would love to see an updated version with more stories in it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the author:

Catherine Collins enjoys writing and one of her favourite hobbies is joining, or rather winning radio contests. She is also a lyricist and poet. She holds a BA in Social Science & Humanities and a MBA from Australia. Her areas of specialisation include linguistics, sociology. services marketing, and consumer behaviour.