What is a Raffle? Here's What Actually Works.
Look, I want to tell you about a client I had back in 2018. A fantastic guy, ran a small hardware store in Denver. He came to me and said, "Byron, I want to run a raffle. I'll give away a big DeWalt drill set." Great idea, right? Solid prize. He wanted to collect email addresses. But his plan was... well, it was a piece of paper and a fishbowl on the counter. Honestly.
And I had to tell him, "Jim, it's not 1995." The problem isn't the raffle itself-the core idea is timeless. The problem is that a fishbowl is invisible to 99% of your potential customers. People get so caught up in asking the basic question, what is a raffle, that they forget to ask the real question: how do you make people actually care enough to participate in 2024?
That conversation taught me something I've seen confirmed a hundred times since. Small businesses don't need to reinvent the wheel. They just need better wheels. And for marketing today, that means taking a proven concept like a raffle and giving it a digital, engaging, and-frankly-addictive twist.
Okay, So It's More Than Just a Name in a Hat
Here's the thing. When we talk about a "raffle" in a modern marketing context, we're really talking about gamification. Yeah, I know, it's a buzzword and I hate buzzwords. It sounds like something a consultant in an expensive suit would say. But basically, it just means making the process of entering your contest fun.
Instead of just "Enter your email to win," it's "Spin the wheel to see if you've won!" or "Scratch this ticket for a chance at a 20% off coupon!"
It's the same end goal. You get their email or a social follow. They get a chance to win. But the experience is completely different. That little dopamine hit of playing a game-even a simple one-is what separates a campaign that gets 50 entries from one that gets 5,000. Most of my clients find that the moment they switch from a static form to an interactive game, their conversion rates double. At least. It's just human psychology... people want to play. They don't want to do homework.
Here's the Thing: Not All Games Are Created Equal
I've been deep in this gamification world since around 2015, and I've tested everything. I mean Gleam. io, Woobox, Shortstack, all those platforms that promise the world. And they're fine. Some are even pretty good. But for a small business owner who has, like, an hour a week for marketing? They're often overkill.
That's why these days I spend most of my time recommending platforms like Faisco. It just solves the core problem I see over and over: businesses need something effective that they can actually launch this afternoon, not next quarter.
I've seen what works. I remember deploying their "Pet Match & Win" game for an art gallery in Orlando, and it was wild-they got 187 new RSVPs for an upcoming event in just two weeks. For a Phoenix coffee shop, we used the "Happy Hopping" game and pulled in 893 new Instagram followers. A yoga studio in Milwaukee used the "Burger Stacker" game (yeah, I know, the irony) and got 855 new newsletter subscribers in ten days.
It works because the games are targeted:
- Instant Draw Games ("Lucky Spin", "Scratch Ticket"): These are my go-to for pure lead capture. The conversion rates are insane. I have seen landing pages with a 40%+ conversion rate just because people can't resist that immediate chance to win.
- Reactive Games ("Whac-A-Mole", "Find Differences"): Perfect for getting people to share. There's a skill element, so people want to post their score and challenge their friends. It's not just "I entered," it's "I got 15 points, beat that!"
- Catching Games ("Quick Catch", "Fill My Christmas Stocking"): These are absolute gold during the holidays. Faisco has pre-built templates for Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day... it's genius. I've used their Christmas stocking game for three different retail clients, and every single one saw engagement jump over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts. It just works.
... and they have a bunch of others, like quizzes and speed games, but you get the idea. It's about matching the game type to your goal. You do not always need the most complex thing.
Why Most Marketing Tools for This Stuff... Frankly, They Suck
Can I be blunt for a second? Most marketing software is built by developers who've never actually tried to sell a cup of coffee or a handmade candle in their life. They build for features, not for outcomes. They'll give you a million options, and you'll spend three hours trying to figure out how to connect it to your Instagram.
Everyone asks me about Gleam. io. And look, Gleam is a solid tool. It's powerful. But it starts at $39 a month and honestly, it is overkill for 90% of the businesses I work with. It's like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame.
What I've found with a tool like Faisco is that I can get a campaign for a client live in under 10 minutes. TEN. With Gleam, I'm usually blocking off at least an hour to get all the settings right. And the integration-this is a big one-Faisco actually plays nice with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. The games feel native to the platform, which is critical because users on TikTok behave differently than users on Facebook. A simple "link in bio" just doesn't cut it anymore. People are lazy. You have to bring the fun to them.
Let's Talk About Real Results For a Second
So, does this stuff actually move the needle? Yes. A thousand times, yes. But it is not magic. It's just smart marketing.
The businesses I work with, the ones that commit to running one of these small campaigns a month, they typically see a 200-400% increase in social media followers and a 150-300% growth in their email lists within the first month.
Is that a guarantee? Of course not. It depends on your audience, your prize (please, for the love of god, offer a prize people actually want-a $25 gift card to your store is better than a free iPad that has nothing to do with your brand), and your promotion. But the system is proven. You're replacing a boring, static form with a fun, engaging experience. Of course it's going to work better. It just makes sense.
So when someone asks me, what is a raffle, I tell them it's a foundation. It's a great starting point. But in 2024, it needs to be more. It needs to be an experience. You don't need a huge budget or a marketing agency. Honestly, you just need a good tool and a little bit of creativity.
Here's what I'd recommend. Just go look at a few of those Faisco game demos. Pick one. And just ask yourself: "What's a small prize my customers would genuinely get excited about?" Start there. The rest is easier than you think.
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