When you finally got your degree or had your first successful job interview, nobody told you that you could one day survive in the world simply with the skills that you learnt when you bought your first raffle ticket in kindergarten. But it seems that in this day and age when competition is fiercer than ever and the internet provides instant access for consumers to suppliers and suppliers to consumers on a global scale, anything is possible.

In the good old days if you could spare the time, effort and inclination, you would enter a competition by sending in a postcard. Many competitions still accept postcard entries and certain 'comper's' guidelines even advocate buying your postcards in bulk so that you've always got one handy when you need one. But that almost seems like an antiquated system relegated to the bottom drawer with CD's and typewriters.

Nowadays everything is digital, including your competition entries. And with the internet fast surpassing TV as the number one form of entertainment, what better way to market your product than with competitions? Imagine going to your favourite bookstore's site to buy a book and seeing a competition to win a few others. Who can resist entering? It's free. You have nothing to lose and after all, everyone likes to be a winner. No matter what it is, we all want something for nothing.

But that's only the beginning. Online competitions have become so numerous and popular that some people are able to survive, make a living, furnish their homes and even go on luxury holidays by 'comping'.

Comping is a phenomenon that is gaining popularity in our consumer-driven society. Everyone wants a slice of the market, even if they have to 'buy' or lure the market by giving away freebies. In fact, the most lucrative online item nowadays is not a great product to sell, but a slice of the market, or mailing list to sell it to. Websites with large databases of subscribers are passing hands for millions of dollars because a mailing list = moola. And what's the easiest way to get someone to sign up to your mailing list? Tell them that they can win something simply for giving you their name.

But it seems to have become a win-win system because compers are laughing all the way to the bank. Comping has become a full-time job for many people who sit for hours each day and just enter thousands of competitions. And thousands there certainly are. By doing a simple search you can come across many sites, like MyOffers or bitsofinformation that allow you access to hundreds of competitions simply by signing up once. In fact, some sites, like theprizefinder enter you in a competition to win 1000 just for signing up.

Other than offering you access to hundreds of competitions, these sites will send you a weekly newsletter with new competitions and prizes up for grabs. The competitions can be anything from sending in a photo of yourself doing something funny, posting on a forum, filling in a poll or answering a question to subscribing to a mailing list. Prizes are just as varied, ranging from DVD's and T-shirts to playstations, weight loss programs, washing machines, cars and luxurious holidays.

Comping has become so popular that e-zines and e-books have been written with tips and tricks on how to better your chances of winning (and you thought it was all luck). Some of the big winners come from 'tie-breakers' which involve you having to complete a slogan or estimate to win. Beginners are often encouraged to subscribe to comping magazines such as Competitor's World that give you all the latest in competitions as well as tips and skills to help you win.

You'd be hard pressed to find them but some sites don't even require that you sign up or register in order to win. On such gem is the e-card competition launched by shutterchance. All you have to do is use their free e-card system to send beautiful photographs as e-cards to your friends and families and you stand a chance to win 100. With a plethora of beautiful and often professionally taken photographs to choose from, this could become a service to seriously rival the many paid for e-card sites.

So ultimately it's up to you. The market is so big that all you need to do is find your niche and enter the competitions that suit you. Most competition providers tailor your weekly email updates to the preferences that you selected when you subscribed, so half the work is done. And if you think that being a competitive comper sounds too much like hard work, then there's always services like Prizefocus, who, for a small fee will enter your details into hundreds of competitions that suit your taste without you having to lift a finger, leaving you free from the competitive rat race to spend your 'hard-earned' millions while downloading free music from your free laptop onto your free ipod while enjoying your free holiday in the Mediterranean.