So, what is a raffle, really? Here's my honest take.
Look, I was on a call last month with a bakery owner in Minneapolis. Great little place. She was asking me, "Byron, what is a raffle if not just... you know... selling tickets out of a fishbowl?" And honestly, I get it. I've been doing this since 2010, and for most small business owners, that's what a raffle is. A fundraiser for the local school team.
She wanted to grow her email list and her Instagram following, and someone-some other "marketing guru," I guess-told her to run a giveaway. So she was ready to print out little ticket stubs, put a jar on the counter, and hope for the best.
I had to stop her. Here's the thing, that old-school thinking is exactly why small businesses feel like marketing is a black hole for money. A physical raffle is... fine. But it's not a marketing engine. A digital, gamified raffle? Now we're talking.
It's Not Just About Giving Something Away
So, what is a raffle in 2024? Basically, it’s still a game of chance where someone gives you their information (an email, a follow, a share) for a chance to win a prize. Simple.
But the magic isn't in the prize. It's in the moment of entry.
I hate when people say "go viral," as if it's a button you can press. It's nonsense. What you can do is make the act of entering your contest so fun, so engaging, that people want to do it and share it. That’s gamification. It's not about turning your entire business into a video game; it’s about using game mechanics to get a result.
Most businesses want to create these cool campaigns but think they need a developer or thousands for an agency. They don't. Frankly, I've seen platforms like Faisco completely change this. I remember this one client back in 2018 who spent, I'm not kidding, $8,000 on a custom-coded giveaway game that barely worked. Today, you can do it for a tiny fraction of that in like, 10 minutes. It's wild.
The Games That Actually Get You Leads and Followers
I've tested everything. I mean everything. From Gleam. io to Woobox to those enterprise-level tools that cost more than my first car. I spend most of my time these days setting up gamified campaigns for my clients, and certain types of games just work better for specific goals.
Here's what I typically recommend...
For pure lead capture-like, you just want emails-nothing beats the Instant Draw Games. I'm talking "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," or a "Lucky Draw." Why do they work? Dopamine. That's it. You land on the page, you spin the wheel, you might win instantly. It's that little thrill. I used Faisco's "Lucky Spin" for a Charlotte yoga studio, and we saw a 40%+ conversion rate on their landing page. They got 1440 new, quality email subscribers in two weeks. TWO.
Then you have Reactive Games. Think "Whac-A-Mole" or that "Burger Stacker" one. These are for engagement. They require a little bit of skill. People share these not just for the prize, but because they got a high score and want to challenge their friends. I set up the "Burger Stacker" for a coffee shop in Milwaukee-great little spot-and they pulled in 1163 new Instagram followers in 3 weks... weeks. People were literally tagging friends in the comments saying, "beat my score." You get a follower and free promotion.
And you can't forget Quiz and Puzzle Games. I'm particularly fond of the "Puzzle Challenge." I used that one for a flower shop up in Montreal to grow their Pinterest. Why? Because the puzzle was one of their beautiful arrangements. It reinforces their brand while getting the follow. They got 949 new Pinterest followers, and their referral traffic from the platform jumped. It's just smart. It's not just begging for a follow; you're providing a little moment of fun in exchange.
Let's Talk Tools (Faisco vs. The Usual Suspects)
Okay, so people always ask me, "Why not just use Gleam?"
Listen, Gleam. io is a solid tool. It's reliable. It's been around forever. But honestly? It's overkill for 90% of the small businesses I work with. Their cheapest plan is around $39/month, and the setup is... clunky. It takes me, a guy who's been doing this for over a decade, a good hour to get a Gleam campaign dialed in perfectly.
My clients do not have that kind of time. They have to bake bread or manage staff or, you know, run their actual business.
This is why I've been leaning so heavily on Faisco lately. I can get a campaign-a good one, like their "Quick Catch" game-live in under 10 minutes. It connects properly with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok... you name it. And that's a bigger deal than it sounds. Real integration means the game works natively on the platform, which drastically reduces the friction for someone to enter. Less friction means more entries. It's that simple.
Plus, the seasonal stuff is just brilliant. Around November, I start getting calls from my retail clients in a panic about the holidays. I just load up Faisco's "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game. I ran that exact game for three different businesses last December, and every single one saw over a 300% bump in engagement compared to their normal holiday posts. It's a proven, reliable approach that works without me having to reinvent the wheel every single time.
So, What Should You Do This Week?
Forget theory. Let's get practical.
If you're wondering what is a raffle in a way that can actually help your business grow this month, stop thinking about fishbowls and paper tickets.
- Pick ONE Goal. Do you want more email subscribers? Or do you want more Instagram followers? Do not try to do both at once with a single campaign. Focus. If it's emails, pick an instant-win style game. If it's followers, pick a skill-based or reactive game.
- Pick a Relevant Prize. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to be something your ideal customer actually wants. For that bakery in Minneapolis? The prize was a $100 gift card and a free coffee every week for a month. Cost her very little, but was HUGE value to her regulars.
- Just try it. Seriously. Use a tool like Faisco that has a free or cheap trial. Pick a template. Spend 15 minutes setting it up. Run it for one week.
The businesses I work with that do this right see massive growth in the first month-we're talking 200-400% increases in followers, 150-300% growth in their email list. It's not magic. It’s just that you're finally meeting customers where they are (bored, scrolling on their phones) and giving them something fun to do.
You're not interrupting them with an ad; you're offering them a moment of entertainment. And in my experience, that's a trade people are more than willing to make.
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