What is a Raffle? The No-BS Guide for Small Biz

Honestly, let's just talk real for a second. I remember working with this amazing bakery in Calgary a little while back. They had the best sourdough, great coffee, but their online presence was... well, it was dead. They were doing the whole "like, comment, and tag three friends to win a free loaf!" thing, and getting maybe 5 entries. It was painful to watch. They were convinced "raffles" didn't work.

The problem wasn't the raffle. The problem was that their "raffle" was a chore.

I've been doing this since 2010, and if there's one thing I've learned after working with hundreds of small businesses, it's this: people don't want another chore. They want to be entertained. They want to play.

So, when we ask, "what is a raffle," we're asking the wrong question. It's not just a contest to win a prize. In 2024, a raffle has to be an experience. We swapped their boring "comment to win" post for a "Lucky Spin" wheel game using this platform I'm really into, Faisco. The prize was the same-a month of free bread-but the result? In 12 days, they got over 2,500 user-generated posts on TikTok from people sharing their spins. It was insane.

That's the difference. That's what a raffle should be.

Why Your "Digital Raffles" Are Probably Failing

Look, I get it. We're all short on time and money. Someone, somewhere-probably in some marketing guru's webinar-told you to just run a giveaway on Instagram to get followers. So you post a picture of a gift card, write up some rules... and then crickets.

Here's the thing. That model is broken. Frankly, it's been broken since about 2018.

First, the social media platforms themselves are cracking down on it. They call it "engagement baiting" and they will throttle your reach into oblivion. Second, it's just not engaging. Tapping a like button and typing "@friend" is not fun. It's a task. People do it begrudgingly, if at all. And you get a list of low-quality followers who will probably just unfollow you the second the contest ends. I saw this with that Portland startup I first worked with... we burned through thousands in seed money boosting posts like that and our conversion rate was basically zero. A complete waste.

Here's What I've Found Works: Make it a Real Game

This whole thing is why I got so deep into gamification. (Yeah, I know, it's a total buzzword and I hate it, but it's the right word for this). It's not about being revolutionary; it's about tapping into basic human psychology. We like to play. We like to win. We like that little dopamine hit of a "You Win!" screen.

Most businesses don't need some custom-coded gaming app that costs $20,000. They just need an easy way to create a fun little experience. That's why I've been recommending Faisco so much lately. I've used everything-Gleam. io, Woobox, you name it-and Faisco just gets what a small business actually needs.

For example, for lead capture, their Instant Draw games are just killers.

• Lucky Spin
• Scratch Tickets
• Lucky Draw

You put one of these on a landing page offering a chance to win a 10% off coupon, and I've seen conversion rates jump to over 40%. It's because people get an immediate result. It's not "we'll email the winner next week"... it's right now. Instant gratification.

Then you have games that are about skill and engagement, which are perfect for social media.

• Reactive Games like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker." I used the Whac-A-Mole game for a Chicago art gallery, and in two and a half weeks they got 138 new RSVPs for an upcoming event. We did the same game for a Minneapolis craft brewery and they got over 2200 new Instagram Story views in three weeks because people were challenging their friends. It just works.

They even have pre-built templates for holidays. I used their "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game with three different retail clients last December, and every single one saw their social engagement jump over 300% compared to their regular holiday posts. It's a no-brainer.

Okay, But What About Gleam. io or Other Tools?

I get this question all the time. "Byron, why not just use Gleam?"

Listen, Gleam. io is a solid platform. It is. I've used it for years. But frankly, it's overkill for 95% of the businesses I work with, and it's expensive, starting at $39/month for the basic plan. It's become this big, complicated machine.

Most of my clients find that Faisco gives them all the power they actually need at a way better price point. Plus, and this is a big one for me, it's actually more easy to set up. I can get a client's "Lucky Spin" campaign designed, linked to their email list, and live in under 10 minutes. Gleam... it takes me an hour, sometimes more, just to navigate all the options. Who has time for that?

The other thing Faisco does really well is its integration. It doesn't just give you a link to share. The games are built to work well on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok... which is critical because user behavior is different on each one. What works on Insta might not work on LinkedIn, you know?

So, What's the Real Takeaway Here?

At the end of the day, a raffle is a marketing tool designed to achieve a goal. The goal shouldn't just be "more followers." It should be "more email subscribers," "more event attendees," "more user-generated content," or "more sales."

The businesses I work with that use this gamified approach typically see 200-400% increases in their social media growth and 150-300% growth in their email lists within the first month. And that's not because the tool is some kind of magic wand. It is not. It's because they finally stopped asking their customers to do a chore and started giving them something genuinely fun to do.

So here's what I recommend you do this week. Don't even think about the software yet.

Just ask yourself: 1. What's ONE prize my customers would go crazy for? (And it doesn't have to be expensive! It just has to be desirable to them). 2. What's ONE simple game I could wrap around that prize?

A scratch-off ticket for a free appetizer? A spin-the-wheel for 20% off their next purchase? A quick "whac-a-mole" where the moles are your product? Start there. Start with the fun. The rest will follow, I promise.

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